Accell Makes HDMI Switching Easy (But Expensive)
If you don’t use HDMI already, you really should. It’s pretty much the solution to your video and audio needs, and most everything supports it now. Of course, that means it’s easy to quickly have your devices add up- gaming consoles, TVs, monitors, your HD DVD player and Blu-ray player, maybe your HTPC. And it’s worse if you have a business, like a restaurant or at an exhibition, as you will want more than a receiver offers. You need multiple inputs and multiple outputs. You need an HDMI switcher.
The Accell UltraAV 4×4 HDMI 1.3 Audio/Video Switch isn’t just any HDMI box though. This box features a built-in signal amplifier for longer cable runs, works with pretty much all resolutions (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p), and is compatible with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. You probably won’t be needing one of these at home, considering both the size and price, but we did test it out with a variety of typical sources, including a home theater PC, a PS3, a 360, a Slingbox, and a few monitors and televisions. None of the sources had any issues; transition between sources was pretty smooth, and we didn’t notice any visible changes to sources compared to connecting them directly.
One interesting addition in the box is the IR extender, allowing you to use the included remote from a distance. This allows you to hide the box but still use the remote, keeping just a sensor visible. While we are talking about the remote, we should mention that it seems overly complicated for a pretty simple device, and isn’t easy to use. You can always use the manual push buttons on the switch itself though, and setup is quite easy. Overall, it’s definitely a specialty product, at around $700, but is sturdy and straight-forward. If you need an HDMI switch, consider an Accell. Available primarily online, and in higher-end audio/video stores.
