Any Solid SCART Switches Out There?

Joneo

Joneo

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With 8 or so analog RGB consoles in the loop, switching inevitably requires me to daisy chain a couple switches.

While I'd love something like this, it looks like ordering won't be possible anytime soon.

From the roundup, it appears all the really good ones are out of production and now difficult to find. The Extron looks awesome, but I can't see spending another couple hundred bucks for the necessary SCART to BNC adapters (not to mention the phoenix audio plugs).

Soo... are there any switches available now that accept a large # of inputs (8 or more would be ideal) and have the build quality to last a few years?
 
Archdesigner03

Archdesigner03

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I currently use the shinybow switch and is the best scart switch in my opinion. It is a little pricey but you get metal built quality and perfect pictures. I tried half of the scarts in the round up article and shinybow is definitely the best among that I tried.
 
wyo

wyo

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Hama AV-100S is the best when you look at value vs performance. Bandridge SVB7725 was excellent but sadly no longer available. Unless you like pissing away money, go with the Hama.
 
Lemony Vengeance

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I use a 10 port Extron RGBHV switch with BNC to female scart adapters. Works great for me :)
 
Joneo

Joneo

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Archdesigner03 said:
I currently use the shinybow switch and is the best scart switch in my opinion. It is a little pricey but you get metal built quality and perfect pictures. I tried half of the scarts in the round up article and shinybow is definitely the best among that I tried.
Click to expand...

Definitely looks well-made.. For this type of layout (non-stacking), I'd have to find one with at least 8-ins though.


wyo_vr4 said:
Hama AV-100S is the best when you look at value vs performance. Bandridge SVB7725 was excellent but sadly no longer available. Unless you like pissing away money, go with the Hama.
Click to expand...

I had a couple Hama clones that were alright, but just too few inputs (and not stack-friendly). The Bandridge is my current switch, but still not as robust as I'd like in construction or inputs per switch.


Lemony Vengeance said:
I use a 10 port Extron RGBHV switch with BNC to female scart adapters. Works great for me :)
Click to expand...

Those are indeed awesome switches, but I'd need at least 8 SCART to BNC adapters for my setup which would add considerably to the cost. Maybe if I assembled my own adapters it would be a little more reasonable.


Thanks for the input!
 
Bill Kilgore

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What a coincidence, a few days ago this one broke on me. My snes was getting an awfull picture and i first thought it was the console itself. It almost gave me a heart attack (given the prices on snes hardware today).
2mn1y05.jpg

This switch was cheap and sucked anyway, don't go for one of these.

Those Bandridge switches are very good, i still got one but now i'm looking for another. Prices have indeed gone up the roof on those.
 
Lemony Vengeance

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Joneo said:
Those are indeed awesome switches, but I'd need at least 8 SCART to BNC adapters for my setup which would add considerably to the cost. Maybe if I assembled my own adapters it would be a little more reasonable.


Thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

I'm making my own.. they're about 8 bucks a piece if I make them myself.. just get a double sided RGB BNC cable from monoprice, cut it in half, and put a female SCART socket on it. You will need to Run L/R/Gnd wires up the length of the cables, I have the entire cable covered in techflex so you can't see the wires outside of the main cable. It's not too bad to wire them up.. only takes 45 minutes for each cable.
 
Larrs888

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I have the Hama and while good in terms of picture quality Pin 20 is not wired up for sync so if all your consoles are using pin 20 of the SCART lead then you need to open the switch as add a couple wires. A fellow member advised of this and it works a treat.
 
White Devil

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Thank you for thread. Found the Hama AV-100s for under $50, seems like a fair price.
For some reason I didn't think to do this.
 
H

Halfabag

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Thanks MuppeT, so they are all the same. You've also just saved me a few quid!

Is there a thread on what Larrs888 was saying?
 
Joneo

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Lemony Vengeance said:
I'm making my own.. they're about 8 bucks a piece if I make them myself.. just get a double sided RGB BNC cable from monoprice, cut it in half, and put a female SCART socket on it. You will need to Run L/R/Gnd wires up the length of the cables, I have the entire cable covered in techflex so you can't see the wires outside of the main cable. It's not too bad to wire them up.. only takes 45 minutes for each cable.
Click to expand...

You talked me into it. I found nothing else that could touch the Extron in terms of build quality and input capacity. I'll never need more than 12 RGB inputs, and it'll be nice having everything running through a single shelf-mountable box. Thanks!
 
SmokeMonster

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MuppeT said:
No problem.

want more savings ? Click for Belkin
Click to expand...
That Belkin switch is what killed one of my Dreamcast's video cards. The cheap adapters don't separate the inputs, causing some crazy shit if you have things like a Genesis, SNES, and DC on the same switch. Turning on the SNES also powers on the Genesis for example, because the +5v just jumps between all consoles plugged in at the same time. It's really a dangerous situation and is why it's so important to use a good quality switch.
 
Lemony Vengeance

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Joneo said:
You talked me into it. I found nothing else that could touch the Extron in terms of build quality and input capacity. I'll never need more than 12 RGB inputs, and it'll be nice having everything running through a single shelf-mountable box. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I made two more Scart to BNC cables last night, and have two more to do, and even then, that will only give me 7 inputs available total. I have one of those spider scart cables so luckily input 1 covers 4 consoles, but I'd like to ditch that as the pic quality stinks. Here's what I have sofar:

1) SPIDER (Xbox, DC, SATURN, PS1/2. It would cover SNES but when I turn it on, the power light immediately flashes off... crazy wiring)
2) Omega CMVS
3) NES (RGB modded)
4) MegaDrive
5) PC Engine
6) Xbox 360
7) Unused
8) (uncabled)
9) (uncabled)
10) (uncabled)

My impressions of it so far are pretty good. you can make labels for the inputs that can go inside the selector buttons will light up when you press them. I labeled mine last night with as close of a representation of the console's logo that I could muster with freehand. You can also use this switch for Svid and Composite in and out :)
 
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Joneo

Joneo

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Lemony Vengeance said:
I made two more Scart to BNC cables last night, and have two more to do, and even then, that will only give me 7 inputs available total. I have one of those spider scart cables so luckily input 1 covers 4 consoles, but I'd like to ditch that as the pic quality stinks. Here's what I have sofar:

1) SPIDER (Xbox, DC, SATURN, PS1/2. It would cover SNES but when I turn it on, the power light immediately flashes off... crazy wiring)
2) Omega CMVS
3) NES (RGB modded)
4) MegaDrive
5) PC Engine
6) Xbox 360
7) Unused
8) (uncabled)
9) (uncabled)
10) (uncabled)

My impressions of it so far are pretty good. you can make labels for the inputs that can go inside the selector buttons will light up when you press them. I labeled mine last night with as close of a representation of the console's logo that I could muster with freehand. You can also use this switch for Svid and Composite in and out :)
Click to expand...

I would have preferred that style button in a 12-input but couldn't find 'em (the clear tapes for those P-touch labelers work great for those). I got one with the paper label behind plastic window above the buttons. It was priced well though & has all 12 inputs present on the back.
 
White Devil

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MuppeT said:
How about I save you additional $35 ?

CLICK

They are all same just re-branded. ;)
Click to expand...

Holy shit balls, seriously?

And it ships from Germany... Total $15...
Think having this hooked up to a SCART to HDMI converter will cause lag? I'm ignorant with this shit.

That's a crazy good deal. Thanks for posting that link dude
 
Caplet

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Maybe I got a bad one, or perhaps it needs to be rewired like someone else mentioned, but I bought one of those switches and I never use it. It degrades the image quality immensely. YMMV.

White Devil said:
Holy shit balls, seriously?

And it ships from Germany... Total $15...
Think having this hooked up to a SCART to HDMI converter will cause lag? I'm ignorant with this shit.

That's a crazy good deal. Thanks for posting that link dude
Click to expand...
 
Dark Sakul

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Lemony Vengeance said:
I'm making my own.. they're about 8 bucks a piece if I make them myself.. just get a double sided RGB BNC cable from monoprice, cut it in half, and put a female SCART socket on it. You will need to Run L/R/Gnd wires up the length of the cables, I have the entire cable covered in techflex so you can't see the wires outside of the main cable. It's not too bad to wire them up.. only takes 45 minutes for each cable.
Click to expand...
I remember seeing photos of those cables you made, they look almost like they are store bough.
How bulky is the Extron RGBHV switch?

SmokeMonster said:
That Belkin switch is what killed one of my Dreamcast's video cards. The cheap adapters don't separate the inputs, causing some crazy shit if you have things like a Genesis, SNES, and DC on the same switch. Turning on the SNES also powers on the Genesis for example, because the +5v just jumps between all consoles plugged in at the same time. It's really a dangerous situation and is why it's so important to use a good quality switch.
Click to expand...
Avoid anything that actually lacks a switch of some sort. There better be a turn knob, a push button or some electronics for a automatic switch. If there zero switches and the adapter is passive avoid the Scart switch.
Also avoid anything with molded in cables.

Worst case scenario get your self a old turn knob VGA switch box and splice some cables to make adapters.
 
Lemony Vengeance

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Dark Sakul said:
I remember seeing photos of those cables you made, they look almost like they are store bough.
How bulky is the Extron RGBHV switch?
Click to expand...

Weight wise, it's not bulky at all. very sturdy, but light. As far as space goes... well it's on top of my PVM at the moment, and if I had a smaller one, it would go off the sides.
 
famicommander

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I tried a few different switches but kept getting tons of interference on all of them.

In the end I got frustrated and ran an extension cable from the back of my PVM to the top of my entertainment center. I have all the male ends of the console scart cables rubber banded together and I just switch them manually by plugging them into the extension.
 
M

MtothaJ

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Hama AV-100S and other clones of a decent quality (e.g. Vivanco) are the safest bet, although should more than 3 inputs be required one has to resort to daisy chaining.
The Bandridge 5 input switch is an obvious choice, although supplies have seemed to dry up - since I got mine last year I have been unable to locate another one in the usual places (Amazon, ebay etc.)
Recently I got a cheap 3 input switch with a scart cable attached from a French supermarket chain for c.a. 3 EUR (from what I can see also available on ebay):

2015-07-04 09.29.23.jpg
carr switch.jpg

Looks a bit tacky but works perfectly fine, I used it to daisy chain into the Hama. In general I back up what was already said here - anything with individual switches for the inputs is likely to work fine with no interference.
 
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