SCART Switcher's. ?

LoadsaMoney · 28 Jan 2006 at 14:43

Anyone know if these SCART switchers are any good, as at the minute i have to keep unplugging my Sky to put my 360 on as my Tv's only got the one RGB socket, the others are just composite ones, if i keep unplugging all the time and switching between the 2x, then im gona wear the socket away, and it will become loose etc... i know you can get those doublers, but they allow both signals through at once, so id still have to unplug one, otherwise the pictures would be merging, so is this here what im looking for.

It allows 3x into 1 SCART, but it has manual switching between the 3x, so that should mean i can plug them both in, and switch one off so that other can run through on its own without the need to still unplug, and retain the perfect picture quality.

Thanks.

MaxPower · 28 Jan 2006 at 14:58

I have to be honest mine was absolute crud, it wasent too bad when it was working but one day it just decided not to. However this was a cheapo one and you probably get what you pay for and a decent one shouldnt lower the quality.

My advise if you get one dont go cheap.

BEN_UK · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:02

I brought this ONE at christmas for £9.99

Brought for the same reasons you need one.

I found the picture quality dropped a lot, when watching TV.

Took it back and got a refund.

There must be better ones out there but not sure which to get. As its a right pain having to swap SCART cables.

wiiija · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:10

You want one of these

dlittley · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:14

wiiija said:
You want one of these

For that money you'd be much better off getting one of these:

http://www.joytech.co.uk/products.php?section=viewprod&productID=78&lang=1&catID=9

Rich · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:26

If they made one with headphone out and volume i would definately buy one

LoadsaMoney · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:27

BEN_UK said:
I brought this ONE at christmas for £9.99

Brought for the same reasons you need one.

I found the picture quality dropped a lot, when watching TV.

Took it back and got a refund.

There must be better ones out there but not sure which to get. As its a right pain having to swap SCART cables.

Was looking at that one as well, but i only need the 2x sockets, and the one i was thinking of getting had the least i.e 3x, sounds like it could be a bit hit and miss, dunno wether to give it a try, and if it isnt that good i could always get a refund i suppose, thanks for the help guys, anymore on this is welcome.

Puzzled · 28 Jan 2006 at 15:43

I got a cheap one from that place, and it was complete rubbish. Was nowhere near composite quality, let alone RGB.

If you do get one, spend a bit more cash.

Although if you have a Sky box, why don't you just plug the 360 into that?

Psyk · 28 Jan 2006 at 16:03

I had one but the signals still interfered with each other. I think if you want one you'll want to get an AV control centre like that joytech one.

R0B75 · 28 Jan 2006 at 16:31

I have a scart switcher, it's called a Trilogy 2 Switch. It has automatic device switching, auto widescreen switching (16:9/4:3 most switch boxes don't have this feature) and all inputs are wired for RGB, again not all do this.

It was great but i don't use it anymore because I bought a better TV. You may be able to pick one up quite cheaply these days.

mmj_uk · 28 Jan 2006 at 16:39

wiiija said:
You want one of these

***!! ^^^^^

Pricey but you're paying for quality.

With a cheaper switch box you may notice signal degradation, but then again you may not.

BEN_UK · 28 Jan 2006 at 17:03

Just sorted my problem out

I have plugged my 360 into the back of the Ntl Digital box.

The plugged the Ntl digital box into the TV's scart socket 1.

Both the 360 and Ntl box are running in RGB.

Just turn either one off to get them working.

Wicked

R0B75 · 28 Jan 2006 at 17:10

BEN_UK said:
Just sorted my problem out

I have plugged my 360 into the back of the Ntl Digital box.

The plugged the Ntl digital box into the TV's scart socket 1.

Both the 360 and Ntl box are running in RGB.

Just turn either one off to get them working.

Wicked

Thats a good point, Sky boxes have a scart passthrough. This means you can plug your 360 into the 2nd scart on the back of the Sky box and it will run through the RGB socket. Only problem is, you have to switch the sky box to standby to use the console.

d123pw · 28 Jan 2006 at 17:16

After much deliberation i decided to get one from the high street, got it from dixons for £20, its a ferguson 4 way switcher. Its auto switching so no need for a remote or buttons on it, its also fully RGB compatable, uses oxygen free copper and gold plated connectors. They also sell a manual switch that does 5way for £18 of the same make but id rarther not get off my butt. Only small downside is that it needs it own plug/transformer which is just one more thing using electricity, but apart from this its perfect (quality is excellent as fat as i can see).

5 stars for the ferguson 4way auto switch!

Edit: i did try to use the second scart as a passthrough on my sony freeview box but it completely ruined the picture, dissapointed from sony as most digi/sky boxes are ok.

LoadsaMoney · 28 Jan 2006 at 18:18

BEN_UK said:
I brought this ONE at christmas for £9.99

Brought for the same reasons you need one.

I found the picture quality dropped a lot, when watching TV.

Took it back and got a refund.

There must be better ones out there but not sure which to get. As its a right pain having to swap SCART cables.

Well ive just been and picked up that one, as i noticed it was the only one that said RGB compatible, and it works a treat, no picture quality drop from either inputs.

Thanks for the help guys.

BEN_UK · 29 Jan 2006 at 00:26

LoadsaMoney said:
Well ive just been and picked up that one, as i noticed it was the only one that said RGB compatible, and it works a treat, no picture quality drop from either inputs.

Thanks for the help guys.

Gald its working well, carnt be beat for the money.

Wonder why mine dint work well.

Anyway i am happy now with my 360 connected to my Ntl box. Dont even have to get off my butt, its all done by remote now

Ripper · 29 Jan 2006 at 00:34

What if I was to get one of those and just simply plug my gamecube, 360 and ps2 into it, and leave the sky and DVD plugged into the tv as it is, would that ruin picture quality at all?

PuncH · 29 Jan 2006 at 00:47

i've got one that works fine. i tried an automatic one and it was rubbish, so i got a manual switching one and it's much better. it's got audio out too, so i can plug the sound into my hi fi and have it coming out of that no matter what i have selected on the scart switcher.

LoadsaMoney · 29 Jan 2006 at 14:01

BEN_UK said:
Gald its working well, carnt be beat for the money.

Wonder why mine dint work well.

Anyway i am happy now with my 360 connected to my Ntl box. Dont even have to get off my butt, its all done by remote now

Yeah was back up to £12.99 though, still its working fine thats the main thing, and that is the only downside, ive got to get off my ass to switch it over.

Raider · 29 Jan 2006 at 14:31

LoadsaMoney said:
Yeah was back up to £12.99 though, still its working fine thats the main thing, and that is the only downside, ive got to get off my ass to switch it over.

How long is the cable going to the television? If it's too short then I'll still have to reach round the back of the TV to switch