Belkin’s 2-Port HDMI Switch Box Saves the Day

• December 5th, 2007 | HDTV

Belkin has a solution to the problem of two HDMI sources with just one input port: it’s their new HDMI 2-to-1 Video Switch. Just how does this problem come up? Well, think about it–if you were an early adopter of HD TVs and got yourself an early model it may have just one HDMI input. Another possibility is that the High-Def TV you picked up because of a thousand really great features had just one really lousy feature–a single HDMI port. You also might have ended up with an older HD set that has just one port. Regardless, Belkin’s new HDMI source switcher solves your problem.

What it does is allow you to connect two sources to it and one cable from it to your HD TV. It comes with a remote control for easy switching without getting up from your couch (although it does add a bit of height to your remote pile). The thing that they don’t talk about on Belkin’s product page for the HDMI 2-to-1 Video Switch is that you can also use one of these little guys to get creative. Say you’ve got an HD TV with two inputs–with this, you can now have three input sources. This allows you to connect your HD gaming system, your HD DVD player and your HD TV signal all to your HD TV. Pretty cool, huh? Just think what you could do with two ports on your TV and two of these video switchers?

The only thing that might be a stumbling block here is price. The Belkin HDMI 2-to-1 Video Switch prices in at $55 US. Seems a little pricey just to switch one feed to another. But hey, if you’re tired of getting up from the couch to swap cables all the time, $55 may not be too much for you to spend.