gscartsw / gscartsw_lite / gcompsw switches support thread

[nmalinoski]

There aren't any other good automatic/powered component switchers, or at least, Ste has indicated that every single one he's looked at was badly designed. All you're left with is decent manual pushbutton unpowered switchers.

There aren't any good automatic ones that are readily available and ~$100 USD or less. The only one that I can find that I'd want is the Audio Authority 1154B, which is priced at $313 USD direct from the manufacturer (And from Amazon, sadly). Everything else is second-hand or manual.

I ordered a 1154A, the 1154B's predecessor, on eBay last night for what I think is a decent price.

I'm not familiar with Ste or his reporting on component switches, and I wasn't able to find anything with a cursory search; do you have a link handy? Does anyone know if Ste taken a look at these Audio Authority switches?

If you'd need 8 inputs or more, you'd have to daisy chain 3x gcompsw for $300, and it would take up alot more space aswell.

And then there's the power requirement; unless a better power delivery method is devised, you'd end up with a wall wart for each switch.

[superg]

And then there's the power requirement; unless a better power delivery method is devised, you'd end up with a wall wart for each switch.

One power supply would be enough to power all 3 gcompsw's (using barrel splitter cable).

[Guspaz]

I ordered a 1154A, the 1154B's predecessor, on eBay last night for what I think is a decent price.

I'm not familiar with Ste or his reporting on component switches, and I wasn't able to find anything with a cursory search; do you have a link handy? Does anyone know if Ste taken a look at these Audio Authority switches?

He hasn't specifically reviewed any of them, it's just that it's something I've discussed with him, and the gcompsw is the only active switch they felt comfortable as recommending on their site:

http://www.hdretrovision.com/vote3rdparty/

I've got an 1154A. I didn't do any A:B comparisons to validate the image quality, but it's not a very good product from a usability standpoint:

- The plug layout is a huge pain in the neck that won't even work with all component cables because of the large distance between the video inputs and audio inputs and how recessed they are, and even if your cables fit, the audio and video inputs being on the opposite sides makes a cabling nightmare

- The auto-switching is triggered by both video and audio, but has no hysteresis and can think a black image or silent audio is inactive, so it can get easily confused and flicker very rapidly between inputs.

- The manual channel select button doesn't click, it just pushes in with a mushy feeling and then rapidly cycles between inputs until you let go, so you need to rapidly stab the thing to try to get it to change one input at a time

- It's an awkward form factor because of the tall height

You should really just wait for the gcompsw, which doesn't have any problems with auto-switching or image quality.

[nmalinoski]

- The plug layout is a huge pain in the neck that won't even work with all component cables because of the large distance between the video inputs and audio inputs and how recessed they are, and even if your cables fit, the audio and video inputs being on the opposite sides makes a cabling nightmare

I can see that, but I don't think it'd be as bad as when I was trying to wire up an Extron IN1508, where the video and audio inputs are on opposite ends of a 1U case.

You should really just wait for the gcompsw, which doesn't have any problems with auto-switching or image quality.

I didn't spend much on the 1154A, so I'm not worried if it doesn't work out for me; if it does, I won't have to wait till sometime next year for superg to restock on the gcompsw (or indefinitely for one with TOSLINK).

[superg]

I won't have to wait till sometime next year for superg to restock on the gcompsw (or indefinitely for one with TOSLINK).

I never talked about gcompsw next year, don't know where did you take that from. But you're right about toslink

All international orders are packed and will be dropped off tomorrow. Combined international orders are shipped in separate boxes, two different tracking numbers were provided, one through paypal and the other one using paypal to email.

[arithmaldor]

You could always convert TOSLINK to Digital Coax and use the composite video port. Converters are ~$10 but simple conversion circuits exist. A quick google search found this:

_____100nF
TTL ----||-----330ohm--+--------- coax S/PDIF signal out
in____________________|
___________________100ohm
_____________________|
Ground -----------------+--------- coax signal ground
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Not sure how accurate/usable this is but options do exist.

So the gcompsw could still be utilized for digital audio, there would just be some extra work/cost involved

[hyrulebr]

You could always convert TOSLINK to Digital Coax and use the composite video port. Converters are ~$10 but simple conversion circuits exist. A quick google search found this:

_____100nF
TTL ----||-----330ohm--+--------- coax S/PDIF signal out
in____________________|
___________________100ohm
_____________________|
Ground -----------------+--------- coax signal ground
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Not sure how accurate/usable this is but options do exist.

So the gcompsw could still be utilized for digital audio, there would just be some extra work/cost involved

I need a solution to converting 4 toslink fonts but it's a mess to handle 4 separate converters and 4 separate power supplies! Did you ever see one (low cost) converter with 3 or more inputs? I only know this one (excelent quality and also automatic) but look at the price!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOSLink-Coaxial ... 1438.l2649

Unfortunately I cannot build one by myself...

[superg]

You could always convert TOSLINK to Digital Coax and use the composite video port. Converters are ~$10 but simple conversion circuits exist. A quick google search found this:

_____100nF
TTL ----||-----330ohm--+--------- coax S/PDIF signal out
in____________________|
___________________100ohm
_____________________|
Ground -----------------+--------- coax signal ground
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/spdif.html

Not sure how accurate/usable this is but options do exist.

So the gcompsw could still be utilized for digital audio, there would just be some extra work/cost involved

TOSLINK is optical interface, isn't it?
Moreover digital S/PDIF is not going to be forwarded by video multiplexer / amplifier.

[superg]

I need a solution to converting 4 toslink fonts but it's a mess to handle 4 separate converters and 4 separate power supplies! Did you ever see one (low cost) converter with 3 or more inputs? I only know this one (excelent quality and also automatic) but look at the price!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOSLink-Coaxial ... 1438.l2649

Unfortunately I cannot build one by myself...

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

[hyrulebr]

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

My receiver only have 2 toslink inputs and both already in use and also I want to keep automatic switching in both audio and video, So even a new receiver with more toslink ports (if exist anything more than 3 or 4) will not work automatic.

[superg]

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

My receiver only have 2 toslink inputs and both already in use and also I want to keep automatic switching in both audio and video, So even a new receiver with more toslink ports (if exist anything more than 3 or 4) will not work automatic.

I see. Which consoles with toslink do you use? Just curious, I own PS2 and original XBox.

[mjs0686]

And then there's the power requirement; unless a better power delivery method is devised, you'd end up with a wall wart for each switch.

One power supply would be enough to power all 3 gcompsw's (using barrel splitter cable).

I assume one of the included power supplies would be enough to power both a gscompsw and a gscartsw?

Anyone know where I can get of those splitters? I'm running out of sockets!

[superg]

And then there's the power requirement; unless a better power delivery method is devised, you'd end up with a wall wart for each switch.

One power supply would be enough to power all 3 gcompsw's (using barrel splitter cable).

I assume one of the included power supplies would be enough to power both a gscompsw and a gcompsw ?

Anyone know where I can get of those splitters? I'm running out of sockets!

Yes, it would be enough. Search for "barrel plug splitter" on eBay or Amazon.

[DirkSwizzler]

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

My receiver only have 2 toslink inputs and both already in use and also I want to keep automatic switching in both audio and video, So even a new receiver with more toslink ports (if exist anything more than 3 or 4) will not work automatic.

If it's optical, and I'm assuming unidirectional. And assuming you only have 1 input on at a time. Shouldn't you be able to passively tie all the lines together and get automatic switching that way?

5 minutes of googling seems to agree that you can get away with using a splitter backwards as long as 1 device is on at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/TosLink-Optical- ... B0099SG1Q6

[ZellSF]

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

My receiver only have 2 toslink inputs and both already in use and also I want to keep automatic switching in both audio and video, So even a new receiver with more toslink ports (if exist anything more than 3 or 4) will not work automatic.

If it's optical, and I'm assuming unidirectional. And assuming you only have 1 input on at a time. Shouldn't you be able to passively tie all the lines together and get automatic switching that way?

5 minutes of googling seems to agree that you can get away with using a splitter backwards as long as 1 device is on at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/TosLink-Optical- ... B0099SG1Q6

I use one of those, but I had to use good and short cables to make sure there was no signal loss. I don't think chaining two together would be a good idea. If you already have decent optical cables it isn't expensive to try though.

[nmalinoski]

I never talked about gcompsw next year, don't know where did you take that from. But you're right about toslink

Sorry; I mistook the no-new-development-this-year comment as also meaning no additional production this year.

You could always convert TOSLINK to Digital Coax and use the composite video port. Converters are ~$10 but simple conversion circuits exist.
...
So the gcompsw could still be utilized for digital audio, there would just be some extra work/cost involved

In addition to what hyrulebr said, and assuming it would even work (superg said the signal wouldn't be forwarded), it would be messy when both your devices and your endpoint use optical--you'd be converting TOSLINK to coax to go into a switch and then coax to TOSLINK coming out of the switch. This is a big reason why I haven't just purchased one of the more readily-available switchers with coax support; the cabling and setup would be so much simpler and cleaner if the switch handled TOSLINK.

Why not just to use an AV Receiver and map optical audio to your input video?

While my receiver will happily digitize and forward 240p from its two component inputs, my TV has no clue what to do with 240p over HDMI--it'll tell me Mode Not Supported. I figure an OSSC will work around this issue, but then that means using something other than my receiver for switching. (And, sure, it's not ideal having to route TOSLINK from a switch, around the OSSC, to my receiver, but it'd work okay for me.)


Idea: TOSLINK switcher as an expansion board for the gcompsw; four inputs, one output; listens on/polls EXT header for switching; could be retrofitted to existing units. Thoughts?

[hyrulebr]

I see. Which consoles with toslink do you use? Just curious, I own PS2 and original XBox.

I own ps2, xbox classic and also PSX DESR (deluxe ps2). 4th port for future needs.

[superg]

I see. Which consoles with toslink do you use? Just curious, I own PS2 and original XBox.

I own ps2, xbox classic and also PSX DESR (deluxe ps2). 4th port for future needs.

Ok, so DESR is just an advanced PS2, basically it still comes down to PS2 and XBox - I thought there might be something else.

[Wolf_]

I see. Which consoles with toslink do you use? Just curious, I own PS2 and original XBox.

I own ps2, xbox classic and also PSX DESR (deluxe ps2). 4th port for future needs.

Ok, so DESR is just an advanced PS2, basically it still comes down to PS2 and XBox - I thought there might be something else.

Panasonic Gamecube.

Spoiler

But you are wayyyy better off just using the plug and play hdmi dongle BadAss Consoles has coming out for that kind of investment.

[nmalinoski]

Ok, so DESR is just an advanced PS2, basically it still comes down to PS2 and XBox - I thought there might be something else.

Panasonic Gamecube.

The Panasonic Q apparently doesn't use TOSLINK for games, so it would be the equivalent of hooking up an old DVD player alongside your consoles. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I think the only consoles that had TOSLINK as their best option for digital audio are PS2, Xbox, and non-HDMI Xbox 360s.

For several older consoles, citrus3000psi has one or more TOSLINK mods that will work for the GameCube, SNES, certain models of PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast, 3DO, and, theoretically, N64. I would think native HDMI mods for any of these would make TOSLINK support moot.

[Wolf_]

The Panasonic Q apparently doesn't use TOSLINK for games, so it would be the equivalent of hooking up an old DVD player alongside your consoles. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

I think the only consoles that had TOSLINK as their best option for digital audio are PS2, Xbox, and non-HDMI Xbox 360s.

For several older consoles, citrus3000psi has one or more TOSLINK mods that will work for the GameCube, SNES, certain models of PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast, 3DO, and, theoretically, N64. I would think native HDMI mods for any of these would make TOSLINK support moot.

Huh, didn't know that. Never occurred to me that the spdif out would be limited to one of the device's outputs but I can see that being a thing.

Are spdif mods really a thing? Unless it is also going to use some kind of predictive algorithm to upscale your audio to surround sound or something I don't notice any quality loss via rca. And plenty of receivers have ability to create false surround sound so I don't see any point in modding each console individually.

[hyrulebr]

Ok, so DESR is just an advanced PS2, basically it still comes down to PS2 and XBox - I thought there might be something else.

Yes in the end is just a (beatiful) PS2. But I keep both ready to play games (DESR using OPL and ps2 for regular discs) and need two toslink ports.

[Guspaz]

It bypasses whatever noise and low quality amplification circuitry are present in specific consoles, at least when the spdif mods involve pulling the digital audio data directly, like they do in the SNES.

[superg]

Yes in the end is just a (beatiful) PS2. But I keep both ready to play games (DESR using OPL and ps2 for regular discs) and need two toslink ports.

It looks beautiful but badly designed inside. Two lasers, one for gaming the other one for DVD / DVR stuff where latter constantly fails but it's needed for the initial recognition of PS2 game disc, not very handy.

[Dopefish]

It looks beautiful but badly designed inside. Two lasers, one for gaming the other one for DVD / DVR stuff where latter constantly fails but it's needed for the initial recognition of PS2 game disc, not very handy.

The biggest worry is if the harddrive dies, and it becomes unusable

[Go-Kyo]

Thanks SuperG for the fast turn around!! Was not expecting the package to arrive so fast. Will definitely keep an eye out for more of your products.

[superg]

I ordered a new gscartsw_lite batch, a plenty of units, it's currently being manufactured, shouldn't be any issues this time.
I'll order some gcompsw's after this batch, that's the plan.

[zak]

I ordered a new gscartsw_lite batch, a plenty of units, it's currently being manufactured, shouldn't be any issues this time.
I'll order some gcompsw's after this batch, that's the plan.

Maximum awesome!

[Weiwei107]

hi @superG , first i would like to say a big thank you as I have received my two Gscart_lite yesterday was able to set up one side of my systems already. it works like a charm!!!

Second, i have a question, so i use both outputs, one to my xrgb to my gaming monitor and another to my sony PVM with scart adaptor that has audio breakout that goes into my pvm. (from retrocable in UK, the adaptor worked fine with all my cables) however, once everything was setup, there was no sound. i ordered a brandnew scart cable from amazon (kabeldirekt), extremely heavy duty feel so i dont know if it is that scart cable or the output port itself. have not start trial and error testing yet.... but just wanted to ask first in case it is something small or stupid I've missed.

Otherwise it works like magic. I will be daisychaining the other one next week~ can't wait!


p.s., i would like to post photos of my setup with your product .... how da hell do i post images in here? lol

[superg]

hi @superG , first i would like to say a big thank you as I have received my two Gscart_lite yesterday was able to set up one side of my systems already. it works like a charm!!!

Second, i have a question, so i use both outputs, one to my xrgb to my gaming monitor and another to my sony PVM with scart adaptor that has audio breakout that goes into my pvm. (from retrocable in UK, the adaptor worked fine with all my cables) however, once everything was setup, there was no sound. i ordered a brandnew scart cable from amazon (kabeldirekt), extremely heavy duty feel so i dont know if it is that scart cable or the output port itself. have not start trial and error testing yet.... but just wanted to ask first in case it is something small or stupid I've missed.

Otherwise it works like magic. I will be daisychaining the other one next week~ can't wait!


p.s., i would like to post photos of my setup with your product .... how da hell do i post images in here? lol

KabelDirect makes very good SCART cables, RetroRGB is using them and he initially recommended them. Back to your audio question: SCART connector has input and output pins for audio, make sure it's connected to the right pins.