3-Way HDMI Switch Unboxing and Review

Watch the video below!

Category: Video Accessories
Price: P265
Bought at: Lazada PH

Here we are with another unboxing and review of a product I bought from Lazada.

This time I got myself a generic 3-way HDMI switch for 265 pesos. The seller I transacted with operates under the name HawkOneCP Gadget and it was delivered to my place two days after ordering.

So what's an HDMI switch? If you have multiple devices at your home, say for example a computer, a PlayStation 4 and an Xbox One, but unfortunately your monitor or TV has only one HDMI input (meaning you can plug only one of those devices to the TV), then you will be needing an HDMI switch like this so you can switch between your consoles without having to plug and unplug their HDMI cables.

Product Features

• 3 inputs, 1 output, 1 button to switch between devices
• Supports 12-bit Deep Color mode
• Intelligent or manual switching
• Supports HDMI 1.4b
• High transfer rate up to 2.5Gbps
• Supports 1080p, 1440p and 2k video resolutions

My expectations were low since it was the cheapest of the bunch, yet I decided to risk in buying it anyway out of curiosity. It's inexpensive, but on the off-chance it works, then great! It means I was able to save some cash and at the same time I can recommend it to you guys.

What made me hesitant to buy it before is the fact that it didn't have any power supply. HDMI cables consume power and electricity- it's no problem if it's just one cable from the source to the monitor (since the cable will be getting power from that single source) but if we're talking about this switch, it would need extra juice to power up the LED lights as well as the switching mechanism. That's why the more expensive ones have a separate power supply. Surprisingly, it turns out it can run just fine by itself it only gives electricity to the channel you're using. If you like to travel, keep in mind, that power plugs all over the world differ much and you will need an adapter.

VERDICT

I am happy to share to you that there have been no problems, and that it's working as it should. My LED TV has only one HDMI input so now I can easily switch between my PC and PS4 with just the press of a button.

Yes, my PC could have connected to the TV's VGA port (sadly no DVI port), but weirdly enough the maximum resolution I can only have with that connection is 1366x768. Maybe because that's my TV's native resolution? Anywho, I needed to connect via HDMI so I can have that sweet 1920x1080 screen.

One minor issue I have though: this is still technically a switch so every time I 'switch' to the PS4, the signal to the PC is lost. This means the PC will consider it the same as taking out the HDMI cable, therefore disabling my secondary monitor. All the windows and icons opened there, if any, will abruptly jump back to my primary monitor. My second monitor will have ceased to exist until I switch the switch again to PC. Then again, it's not much of an issue as I won't be needing an extra monitor on my PC when I play. Just wanted to bring it up so you'd know.