What is up with these crazy prices on the gscartsw?

[Josh128]

$399? $550?! For a video selector? $249 used? Am I missing something, is this thing made of gold? TBH I was looking for a SCART sw recently and actually threw a $175 bid on a used one, but even that is a bit overkill IMO. I repaired my Keene but was still looking for more ports, I found a brand new 5 port auto switching Bandridge for $100 shipped so I went with that.

I know this is a niche hobby, but come on, these prices are insulting. The OSSC can be sold new for $150 and you're telling me $249 is a good deal on a video selector? Come on...

[ldeveraux]

The last listing has both a gscartsw and an OSSC. So that's a decent price!

[Josh128]

Yeah but thats the starting bid. Theres no way its going to end anywhere near that price.

[ldeveraux]

Yeah but thats the starting bid. Theres no way its going to end anywhere near that price.

It's not like he mass produces these things, the market will dictate the price one way or the other.

[Ikaruga11]

Welcome to the greed of humanity.

[Gara]

Instant gratification. Plus there are always periods of time when the gscartsw is out of stock. Those prices start looking better when it's that or wait.

It's a high end specialty item with a following. Even when readily available the used prices stay pretty close to the original price.

[Taiyaki]

I didn't know there were still periods of time where the gscartsw is unavailable. I thought at most now a days it's 60 days or so wait time.

[Guspaz]

They're $220 new, and are never out of stock for long, and can still be ordered to be shipped as soon as they're back in stock. So I don't know why anybody would pay more than $220 for one.

[H6rdc0re]

They're $220 new, and are never out of stock for long, and can still be ordered to be shipped as soon as they're back in stock. So I don't know why anybody would pay more than $220 for one.

Exactly this.

Why would anyone buy the old model secondhand for more money when you can buy a brand new model for less from Superg himself? Support Superg and buy a new one.

[kitty666cats]

There’s always the Taxon switch, too. Anyone tried it?

[Josh128]

Just a heads up-- an 8 port Hydra just got listed on Ebay starting at $75 + $10 shipping.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HYDRA-8x-SCART ... Sw9jdeWt7Z

I'm not bidding on it, I just got a brand new Bandridge 5 output autoswitch for $100 shipped. The Bandridge, btw, works perfectly with no signal degradation and even autoswitches the Genesis 1 where the Keene SCART Commander does not! Only knock on the Bandridge so far is that its pretty darn big, but otherwise seems to be a really well made unit!

I plan on daisychaining into my Keene for a total of 8 SCART ports. This should cover me and if it doesnt, I need someone to and slap the hell out of me! Enough is enough, lol. Once I get the CMVS and Saturn going that should be it for SCART!

[kitty666cats]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Taxon-Scart-Sw ... SwHwReS3RK

https://taxon-tools.com/shop.html

Here's some links to that mysterious Taxon switch I stumbled upon recently. Have literally not heard about it a n y w h e r e. I like the solid colors, reminds me of that company Orange who makes the guitar amps/cabs/etc

[ldeveraux]

I just got a brand new Bandridge 5 output autoswitch for $100 shipped. The Bandridge, btw, works perfectly with no signal degradation and even autoswitches the Genesis 1 where the Keene SCART Commander does not! Only knock on the Bandridge so far is that its pretty darn big, but otherwise seems to be a really well made unit!

I have 3 of these and love them. Auto switching works great and the indicator lights are useful when troubleshooting. They are a bit large, but the cables come out the back instead of the top so you can stack them. I think I got my last units from German Ebay for ~$70, so sad to see prices have risen. Why they aren't available on Amazon is beyond me.

[Josh128]

I just got a brand new Bandridge 5 output autoswitch for $100 shipped. The Bandridge, btw, works perfectly with no signal degradation and even autoswitches the Genesis 1 where the Keene SCART Commander does not! Only knock on the Bandridge so far is that its pretty darn big, but otherwise seems to be a really well made unit!

I have 3 of these and love them. Auto switching works great and the indicator lights are useful when troubleshooting. They are a bit large, but the cables come out the back instead of the top so you can stack them. I think I got my last units from German Ebay for ~$70, so sad to see prices have risen. Why they aren't available on Amazon is beyond me.

Whats weird is, I ordered it from Ebay but it came in an Amazon box. But I checked Amazon and could not find it. Perhaps the seller just had some spare Amazon boxes lying around.

But you are right about the Bandridge 5 port-- they appear to be right up there with Keenes, gscartsw, and Hydra as far as switching and signal quality!

[chrholder]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Taxon-Scart-Sw ... SwHwReS3RK

https://taxon-tools.com/shop.html

Here's some links to that mysterious Taxon switch I stumbled upon recently. Have literally not heard about it a n y w h e r e. I like the solid colors, reminds me of that company Orange who makes the guitar amps/cabs/etc

Hi guys

I'm Chris and the main designer of the Taxon Scart Switch electronic circuit. The reason you didn't hear about this product anywhere is firstly, that we are a small company and secondly, that we decided to not invest too much into marketing yet because the product is not in it's final stage. Technically it is 100% finished, but we are working on a new design, because the design you see on ebay takes a lot of work and we are not too happy about it.

A little info about me some of you may know me as a retro gaming seller on ebay (sellandbuyx) but you of course don't know that I am also behind this product. I am a retro gamer as well and I do own some Bandridge switches, Sony BVM Monitors and a lot of CRT TVs. However, I am not too happy about the Bandridge switches, because I noticed color changes in s video and problems with Pin 8. If you want for example a global sync stripper cable after the scart switch and need power from Pin 8, it is not possible with the Bandridge. The Taxon Scart Switch provides some milli amps of power on this rail (if present on input device), even if the input device provides not that much milli amps which is required. There is all this small stuff which made up the decision to design a new old product with a friend and here it is.

So if all of you are waiting that some one else is trying it, then no one will ever get one and know what it is about;-) I am 100% standing behind our product and it should be suitable for most of you. However, there is always something to improve and there will be a next version once we have sold enough items to make it reasonable. So just if you want the units with the solid colors we have now the eight left you see on ebay and these units will not be produced anymore. Maybe this will be like the Nintendo Playstation Prototype in 30 years:D

I am happy to answer your question and doubts about our product.

Chris

[mykie]

wait, you're saying I can make $400 on my used gscartsw?

hmmmm <eg>

[kitty666cats]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Taxon-Scart-Sw ... SwHwReS3RK

https://taxon-tools.com/shop.html

Here's some links to that mysterious Taxon switch I stumbled upon recently. Have literally not heard about it a n y w h e r e. I like the solid colors, reminds me of that company Orange who makes the guitar amps/cabs/etc

Hi guys

I'm Chris and the main designer of the Taxon Scart Switch electronic circuit. The reason you didn't hear about this product anywhere is firstly, that we are a small company and secondly, that we decided to not invest too much into marketing yet because the product is not in it's final stage. Technically it is 100% finished, but we are working on a new design, because the design you see on ebay takes a lot of work and we are not too happy about it.

A little info about me some of you may know me as a retro gaming seller on ebay (sellandbuyx) but you of course don't know that I am also behind this product. I am a retro gamer as well and I do own some Bandridge switches, Sony BVM Monitors and a lot of CRT TVs. However, I am not too happy about the Bandridge switches, because I noticed color changes in s video and problems with Pin 8. If you want for example a global sync stripper cable after the scart switch and need power from Pin 8, it is not possible with the Bandridge. The Taxon Scart Switch provides some milli amps of power on this rail (if present on input device), even if the input device provides not that much milli amps which is required. There is all this small stuff which made up the decision to design a new old product with a friend and here it is.

So if all of you are waiting that some one else is trying it, then no one will ever get one and know what it is about;-) I am 100% standing behind our product and it should be suitable for most of you. However, there is always something to improve and there will be a next version once we have sold enough items to make it reasonable. So just if you want the units with the solid colors we have now the eight left you see on ebay and these units will not be produced anymore. Maybe this will be like the Nintendo Playstation Prototype in 30 years:D

I am happy to answer your question and doubts about our product.

Chris

Glad an admin finally verified you, Chris! You should make a thread about your product (or wait until your next run if you're more comfortable with that)!

I'm pretty cash-poor right now RE: buying one of your switches, but I've been keeping an eye on the device and will be sure to check out your separate eBay page

And, once again: loveeee those colors, heh

[XtraSmiley]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Taxon-Scart-Sw ... SwHwReS3RK

https://taxon-tools.com/shop.html

Here's some links to that mysterious Taxon switch I stumbled upon recently. Have literally not heard about it a n y w h e r e. I like the solid colors, reminds me of that company Orange who makes the guitar amps/cabs/etc

Hi guys

I'm Chris and the main designer of the Taxon Scart Switch electronic circuit. The reason you didn't hear about this product anywhere is firstly, that we are a small company and secondly, that we decided to not invest too much into marketing yet because the product is not in it's final stage. Technically it is 100% finished, but we are working on a new design, because the design you see on ebay takes a lot of work and we are not too happy about it.

A little info about me some of you may know me as a retro gaming seller on ebay (sellandbuyx) but you of course don't know that I am also behind this product. I am a retro gamer as well and I do own some Bandridge switches, Sony BVM Monitors and a lot of CRT TVs. However, I am not too happy about the Bandridge switches, because I noticed color changes in s video and problems with Pin 8. If you want for example a global sync stripper cable after the scart switch and need power from Pin 8, it is not possible with the Bandridge. The Taxon Scart Switch provides some milli amps of power on this rail (if present on input device), even if the input device provides not that much milli amps which is required. There is all this small stuff which made up the decision to design a new old product with a friend and here it is.

So if all of you are waiting that some one else is trying it, then no one will ever get one and know what it is about;-) I am 100% standing behind our product and it should be suitable for most of you. However, there is always something to improve and there will be a next version once we have sold enough items to make it reasonable. So just if you want the units with the solid colors we have now the eight left you see on ebay and these units will not be produced anymore. Maybe this will be like the Nintendo Playstation Prototype in 30 years:D

I am happy to answer your question and doubts about our product.

Chris

Chris, two questions:

1. Will the next version have the same feature and cost more or less than this one currently?
2. The current version, I can feed RGB in via SCART and you output in Component? Like a RetroTINK RGB2COMP device?

Thank you for making this device, competition is good!

[tjstogy]

In a free market, competition ends up driving the prices down across the board. People seem to think it's the only scart switch viable for retro gaming, and ebay scalpers don't help the situation. Not saying it's not worth the $220, as it's amazing quality.... but perhaps he could offer a real bare-bones sub $100 model, before competition creeps in. That's the sweet spot for most people.

[nmalinoski]

In a free market, competition ends up driving the prices down across the board. People seem to think it's the only scart switch viable for retro gaming, and ebay scalpers don't help the situation. Not saying it's not worth the $220, as it's amazing quality.... but perhaps he could offer a real bare-bones sub $100 model, before competition creeps in. That's the sweet spot for most people.

Before I started trying to go HDMI over RGB for compatible consoles (and YPbPr for everything else), that's what I was looking for; a 3- to 5-port, no-frills (except maybe RGsB->RGBS conversion) automatic SCART switcher around that price--like the mini Hydra, but without all the problems.

[chrholder]

Chris, two questions:

1. Will the next version have the same feature and cost more or less than this one currently?
2. The current version, I can feed RGB in via SCART and you output in Component? Like a RetroTINK RGB2COMP device?

Thank you for making this device, competition is good!

1. The next version will have more features. We are not sure what we will include yet but we are open for ideas. The devices on ebay now are the cheapest you will get. We have lowered the prices and the price for the next version will be at least in the 150 area. It also depends on the production cost. At the moment, it is almost complete inhouse production. We can't do that for increased demand and we have to check the prices for outsourcing some production steps.

2. No, there is no component conversion. If you input RGB, you will get RGB out. But this is as well an idea to make it switchable in the next version. Conversions should be technically simple. However, for the low resolutions, most devices won't accept the component signal. Maybe this causes more confusion than it helps, we don't know.

[Josh128]

Just a quick tip I just discovered on the Bandridge-- using the SCART cable from Console 5, my Keene would switch the PS1 and work perfectly, but if I plugged the PS1 SCART into the Bandridge, while having the Bandridge daisy chained to the Keene, or just plugged the Bandridge output to the Keene with the PS1 plugged into another input on the Keene, I would get nothing but a black screen with a bit of interference on it, no audio, no nothing. It was very strange, had me scratching my head.

Turns out, the +5V is present from the PS1 multi-out to the SCART in the Console 5 cable, and it somehow makes the Bandridge shit a brick if its plugged anywhere in the chain-- whether the PS1 is powered on or not. I opened up the multi-out side and unsoldered the +5V wire and taped it up. Now everything works fine, no problems at all!

TL;DR - If you have a Bandridge auto switch and plan to use an NTSC PS1, disconnect the +5V wire from your SCART cable.

[chrholder]

Hi all for anyone interested in the Taxon Scart Switch we have an update: Case redesign and different colors:) Check out here: https://taxon-tools.com/shop/video/scart/scart.html

[Josh128]

Would have bought one if you posted this about 4 months ago! Im all set now.

[fernan1234]

That looks like a nice switch box. It'd be cool to see a HD-15 version.

Speaking of which, for those upset about high prices of good SCART switches, it may well end up being cheaper to have all your SCART cables sold and replaced by HD-15 cables, and use Extron VGA SW units, which also have auto switching. The Ars models use 3.5mm TRS jacks for the audio input, while the older ones use the Extron phoenix connectors. Anyway, they're dirt cheap, and you'd be set free from the SCART prison. There doesn't seem to be any 8- or 12- input one available at the moment on ebay, but there are several 4- and 6-input ones for around ~25USD or less. There's this listing right now for a bunch of 4-input ones that you could chain together starting at 0.99: https://www.ebay.com/itm/143598057393

[Josh128]

Thats cool, but then you would need to find some way to get console A/V out to VGA w/ audio, and then you'd also need a VGA > Component converter like the AA 9A60 if you are using a non-modded TV like most are.

Then, even if you have a PC, you'd need some kind of crazy cable to adapt stereo audio and VGA into a single D-15. I just spent a couple hours making a D-15 + AV > SCART cable, and it was a lot of work. This sounds like a lot more trouble than SCART, to me. Unless you know where to

[fernan1234]

Thats cool, but then you would need to find some way to get console A/V out to VGA w/ audio

You just need a custom cable with the appropriate connectors, with HD-15 ("VGA") plus an audio lead on the end instead of a SCART head. retro-access offers this as custom build cables and they're great. Only cost a few dollars more than buying their pre-made SCART cables, as they have to use coax for custom cables.

Then, even if you have a PC, you'd need some kind of crazy cable to adapt stereo audio and VGA into a single D-15

It will depend on what you have available, but PC can be the easiest. You can get digital audio from it and feed it to a receiver, amp, audio extractor, etc. And the video out, even HDMI, can be easily changed to analogue RGBHV with a dongle, and then you just need to combine it to RGBS if needed (plenty of cheap Extron boxes can do this). Or if the PC has analogue out you can skip the first step. All done with cheap VGA cables.