Being that my 20-in. Sony Trinitron TV only has one A/V input, I ended up deciding to get an A/V selector so that I could plug my new DVD player into it. Originally, though, I was thinking of getting Sony's SB-V40S. But then I found that Terk sold this one for about half the price, and it was literally identical to Sony's except for one thing: Terk's A/V selector has gold-plated connectors. And being that this helps prevent rust & improves signal transfer, it was easy to make the decision to purchase the Terk VS-4.
The instruction manual I looked at on Terk's web site doesn't mention it, but I noticed that this selector is magnetically shielded, allowing me to place the VS-4 anywhere I want to. Also, the rubber feet underneath it prevents it from moving around on top of my cable box (where it's located). No matter how many times I use it, it never moves. I LOVE THAT!! In short, I'm disappointed that Sony charges double the price that Terk charges. That's why Terk got my money, and Sony didn't. Terk VS-4 S-Video/Video/Audio Switch Selector
I purchased this A/V switcher to connect an S-Video DVD player and the S-Video on my Nintendo Wii to the same TV. The problem with most TVs and S-Video is 1) there's only one S-Video connection on the TV, and 2) the audio that accompanies the S-Video is generally only at the first A/V channel. The A/V switcher solves this problem by allowing more than one S-Video device to connect to a single S-Video TV.
Lightweight, Somewhat Cheaply Made Product: This A/V switcher is so light that a few cords can tip it or pull it from your entertainment center to the floor. Be sure to position it well.
Not Powered: A powered A/V switcher should produce better quality video. Thus far, I have noticed little if any difference in the quality of the S-Video with this switcher.
Ease of Use: The change from DVD player to video game console is instant and as easy as pushing a button.
Overall, I recommend this product because it does the job well and there's little to no noticeable decrease in the quality of the S-Video. Read the reviews of other A/V switchers, and you'll see that many are problematic. This one works great.
Regarding two of the comments above- Gold plated contacts, while nice, are really just a marketing scheme. I've never had a contact rust- ever. And as far as increasing signal quality- I'm sure that's true, but at this price level, it's not enough to matter. So if you are using top of the line equipment, gold contacts may be worthwhile. But if you are looking at a $22 switcher, it probably doesn't matter, because you are probably using low-gage cables that came free with your $59 VCR. That said, it's obviously not a bad thing that the cheaper product has gold contacts- it's just not a selling point.
Regarding the second point- that this switcher doesn't "mix" composite and s-video- that's actually a GOOD thing. Splitting a composite signal to a s-vid connector without some sort of power behind it will actually degrade the signal. (You can go the other way, though.) I have a semi-professional Sony switcher I use in my video production business that does not perform this function because it's unpowered. If you want a switcher that performs this function, you need to make sure it's powered- no matter how much it costs.
I will probably purchase this switcher to augment my Sony, because I actually NEED to be able to keep the S-Vid and composite signals separate. (I have a Toshiba monitor with both inputs, but no way to switch between them- plug them both in and you see both signals.)
If you need a cheap switcher to switch between a DVD and Satellite Reciever, this is probably a great option. But don't expect it to do anything it shouldn't at this price level.
It works and satisfied what we needed. At first I had the impression that it had two conventional RCA/S video outputs, but one is only for headphones. It worked for us because we wanted an additional headphone output, but for those thinking they would have two full sets of audio and video outputs, they will be dissapointed.
i have my play station, my vcr, dvd, and sony gv-d1000 all hooked up and its an easy switch, this thing saves alot of time pulling wires, i had one before and lost it in a move, i had paid $30 for it and saw it online for half of that, it was the best thing i could ever purchase, and at the right price, if you have 4 devices that need to be routed to your 1 input this is the thing for you
This is a good, cheap mechanical video switch. I use it to switch between my satellite dish receiver, PlayStation 2 and XBox, all using S-video. I tried connecting a VCR that only had RCA outputs, but having both the S-video and RCA video connected to my TV's input caused a strange diamond pattern to appear. When only the S-video or only the RCA video were connected, the pattern disappeared and I had great quality video.
So, if you need to connect multiple sources, be sure to use only one type of video connection. Of course, you can always manually connect the desired video connection to your TV's input when needed, but then why bother purchasing a switch? You'd be better off purchasing two of these: one for S-video sources and one for RCA video sources. - S-video - Switch - Audio - Avswitch'
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