Monoprice 8X1 Enhanced Powered HDMI Switcher w/ Remote

I have a rather absurd retro gaming setup, with 13 consoles wired up to my basement TV (the FPGA consoles with HDMI out, such as the Super NT and AVS, as well an an ultrahdmi modded N64). Some consoles without HDMI out have a Retrotink 2x going to this switch. My AV receiver only has 6 HDMI in, so I needed lots more. I tried the cheaper route, using up 2 receiver ports with the chinese 5x1 switches here on Amazon, including two by AVBOX and one by NEWPOWER. They had good reviews here so I thought it'd be ok, but no. First one lagged like crazy, second one had a dead port, third one almost worked but required removing/reinserting the HDMI out every time to output the signal, and for a new product to need that every time I use the unit is a bit silly. So I forked over the extra money for the monoprice... This unit is FANTASTIC. Flawless operation, lag-free gaming. Automatic switching works exactly as I want it to (It auto switches when something is plugged in when nothing else is on, but won't autoswitch if you are using an input and you turn another on). Remote works well. I can see how the lights could get annoying when trying to watch a blu ray, but the need for occasional electric tape to cover it isn't worth knocking off a star to me. It is a small blip on an otherwise flawless unit.

If you order this from amazon, and you get a message that it's out of stock or the seller recieved defective shipments, cancel your order immediately. Go to Monoprice.com and buy it directly, it's cheaper. Those here selling it are just ordering it from Monoprice after you place your order, and adding a percentage to the purchase. They DO NOT HAVE IT in stock. This Switch box works very well, however it is a bit big. The most annoying feature is the lights, they're always on and blinking. I can get used to it, but you might want to cover them with something. Nothing bad can be said about the functioning of the device, and if you need HDMI ports, this is the one to buy. (The 5x1 is also good, but only input 5 can handle the more advanced HDMI signals, i.e. encoded) the 8x1 works on all inputs with the "encoded" signal.

I bought this as a solution for the growing number of game consoles hooked up to my TV. I like having everything hooked up and ready to go at a moment's notice, and my current TV only has a measly 2 HDMI inputs located in a hard to reach spot in the center back of the TV. So having a switcher has always been a must for me and the more inputs, the better. After playing around with cheap unpowered 3x1 and powered 5x1 switchers, I finally decided to take the plunge and buy a 8x1 unit. The price jump when going from 5 to 8 is massive, so it wasn't an easy decision. But overall, I'm glad I did it. This unit does what it says it does - it switches between 8 different inputs. Inputs can be switched using the buttons along the front or with the mini remote included. The remote is IR so presumably you could program switching functions into a universal remote. The build quality is very sturdy with a metal casing and rubberized feet. Input plugs are spaced out nice and evenly across the back of the unit and are labelled clearly. The unit is externally powered (as expected with this many inputs) but unlike smaller/cheaper switchers, it can be turned off when not in use. The image quality is good and I've seen no real issues with degradation. I also haven't felt any notable lag in my games, although it wouldn't be surprising to learn if there was a frame or two added. That's just how it goes with switchers. I can't really tell on this unit though and that's a good thing. Another thing I'm not sure if I've seen others mention is the ability to daisy chain. Many cheap switchers will NOT like to daisy chain with other switchers in order to get more inputs. But I know for a fact that this unit does in fact work with my 3x1 unpowered switcher. So in case I go even crazier and add even more consoles simultaneously hooked up, it's good to know I have the ability to do so via daisy chain. Now for the things I don't like... first are the lights along the front. These things are BRIGHT and cannot be switched off or dimmed while the unit is on. Another annoying thing is that they scroll between 1 through 8 when no input has been selected. I've resorted to placing a long strip of electrical tape over my buttons just so that I don't have to see the constant bright, scrolling lights. The other issue I have is that there is no auto-detection. While auto-detection can sometimes be more of a pain than its worth (some devices draw too much power even when powered off and can switch over when you don't want them to) I still would've liked to have the option to switch it on or off. As it stands, this unit will ONLY switch when the device in question is already on and I press the correct input number on either the unit or the remote. By default, it actually does auto detect input 1 for me (my cable box) so that's nice at least. But for inputs 2-8 it can be slightly annoying to have to fumble for the little remote and press the button just to get the image to come up. For a device that costs $100 or more, you'd think auto-detect would be a standard feature someone would want. So overall, I think this is the best there is for an 8x1 switcher. There aren't a lot of choices and the price is pretty intimidating, but at least this provides a solid option. There are some design choices that I question, but at least it does the job and works well.

I bought this to make it easier to select multiple consoles (6) and not having to worry about shuffling inputs and wires. This is particularly relevant as I am a hobbyist YouTuber and this makes footage captures much more expedient as I can simply have this send the output to the capture card and with the press of a button I can be swapped to the current console I need. The only complaint I have is that it won't switch off of some of my consoles that don't 100% power down unless I use the remote or press the button manually. Also some labeling might go a long way but I made my own so whatever. Honestly, I had to scrape to find these gripes. This thing was exactly what I needed. It has a respectable heft to it and feels solid. If anything goes wrong then I will update accordingly.

I genuinely couldn't find any 8-port switches and this guy goes above and beyond. The automatic switching works nicely and is predictable. My use case for reference is my small home office with a Samsung 27" (S27D590CS) - Ports 1 + 2 - As a KVM between a Mac-Mini (2011) and MacBook (2016) - Ports 3 + 4 - PS3, Xbox360 - Ports 5 + 6 - HDMI modded original consoles - HiDef NES, UltraHDMI Nintendo64 - Port 7 - Framemeister - Ports 8 - Nintendo Famicom Mini (Classic Edition) I wasn't able to find another HDMI switcher for 1080p sources that wasn't also under $400. The price point alone makes this a an absolute buy.

EL EQUIPO FUNCIONA BIEN EL TIEMPO DE LLEGADA FUE CORRECTO LO UNICO QUE NO ME GUSTO ES QUE NO ME LO PUDIERON FACTURAR

Perfect item if you have too many hdmi products and not enough ports I just wish this had bluetooth support instead of infrared even works on upscaling and downscaling connectors

excellent product, fast shipping.

Works as advertised. Only downside is the bright front panel LED's, as others have noted. More than that, the current input LED *blinks* all the time, which is distracting when looking towards the TV. The box has to be positioned front facing, as that's where the remote sensor is.

Maybe this just doesn't play well with my new Samsung TV. This switch box doesn't even work about 75% of the time for gaming consoles and then seemingly randomly works 25% of the time. The cable provider box through for TV service always works for the video, though there is often audible clipping.