Connect ALL THE HDMI to ONE PORT! TESmart 16x1 HDMI Switcher Review
337In this episode, we unbox and test out the TESmart 16x1 HDMI switcher box so that I can play all of my modern and retro video game systems through one HDMI port.
System Count:
1 - Switch
2 - PS4
3 - RetroTink 5x
Component Inputs
3.1- Super Nintendo Jr
3.2 - Wii
3.3 - PS2
3.4 - Xbox
SCART Inputs
3.5 - Super Famicom Jr
3.6 - Saturn
3.7 - TurboGrafx16
3.8 - JVC X'EYE (Genesis)
3.81 - Sega CD
3.82 - 32X
3.9 - Master System
3.91 - Sharp Famicom Twin
4 - HDMI Modded NES
5 - Wii U
6 - GameCube
7 - XBox One S
8 - TG16 Mini
9 - PlayStation 3
10 - N64
11 - Dreamcast
12 - Japanese Saturn
13 - Japanese GameCube
14 - Core Grafx
15 - ?
Never in my life did I imagine that I would have a video game collection as large as I have now. When I was a kid, we didn't have a whole lot of money. My mom had to stop working when I was a teenager because of her cancer, and that put financial responsibilities elsewhere. Now, thankfully, I am in a place where I can have this nice collection. One challenge of that, however, is the fact that if I want to hook them up and play them and record content off of each of them, I need to have HDMI connections for them. To date, I have been using an 8x1 HDMI switcher with a 5x1 daisychained into It. This is not the ideal solution, it did have some HDCP issues, and some signal loss to it.That's where the folks from TESmart stepped in to send me one of their 16x1 HDMI switches to solve my input issues .
As with all HDMI switchers, this one is fairly simple in its elegance. The face of the unit has push buttons for navigating your menus to select your input, but it also has the ability to be connected to a network through an Ethernet port on the front. How neat! Other features include an infrared remote control, brackets to mount to your entertainment center or a rack if you had it, an IR remote extender, and power supply.
Getting the system unboxed and tested out was very simple. One of the things I like most about this unit is the fact that the output is on one side of the system itself. My existing 8x1 has the output in the middle, and sometimes that can be a bit of a inconvenient placement. Getting everything connected took me a few minutes to swap cables in and out, And I was up and running in no time flat.
The first thing I had to test out was whether or not the PlayStation 3 would work through this. See, the PS3 was developed in an era where streaming really wasn't a thing as of yet, so as such Sony installed really difficult to bypass HDCP protocols into the system. For years, people have used simple and cheap HDMI splitters that strip out HDCP copy protection as a workaround, but it also adds signal loss. When you do that. I will tell you I was thrilled to see the PlayStation 3 played through the test smartswitch without any issues, without needing a separate HDMI splitter, or anything. This is truly wonderful.
I love and hate the remote control for this system. First and foremost, I think we got off on a bad foot because no battery was included. That kind of bummed me out. Navigating through inputs. Inputs one through nine is a snap, but once you need to get to input 10 things get a little, shall we say interesting. Going from an input higher than 10 back down to one. You might think that you should be able to just hit 01 and it goes. It. Doesn't. You just hit one, wait a few seconds, and it will switch to that input for you. Not necessarily intuitive, but I adapted pretty quickly.
Why it RoX:
- I can connect 16 systems via HDMI
- Included remote control
- Works with PS3 without a separate splitter!
- Audible town to tell you when you switch inputs
- Works with 4K 60 Hz
- Smaller units available to suit your needs
What could be improved:
- Battery for the remote control sold separately
- Going back from an input in the teens back down to one can take a minute to get used to
- While not crazy expensive, it is still not cheap
Should you buy one?
I admit that my use case is fairly unique. Most people will not have this many systems connected to one HDMI port. For that reason, I am glad that TESmart also produces smaller switches of similar quality for those who still need something. I'm glad that I was able to get rid of my daisychained HDMI switch, I'm thrilled that it works with the PS3 flawlessly, and overall I could not be happier with this unit. While I don't have all 16 inputs filled at this time, I do have plans for those open inputs. I still need to finish my HDMI mod of both my Dreamcast and my N64. Those are two HDMI ports that I'm going to need. I now have my TurboGrafx16 Mini hooked up, it wasn't before. I have options if I want to connect things such as my NES Classic or Super NES Classic. Overall, I am thrilled with the performance and simplicity that this has added to my gaming rig setup. If you need a large number of HDMI inputs, this is one you definitely need to check out.
#TESmart #HDMISwitch #VideoGames
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