Pelican System Selector Pro - $69.99 + $1.40 Shipping @ Overstock.com

[daphatty]

Not a bad deal since Best Buy B&M is still selling these for $100. (At least my BB was when I was there yesterday.)

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=835186 (http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=FKSJxY2VJAk&offerid=57189.314625033&type= 10&subid=)

[LV-426RS]

Nice find.... thanks.

[willardhaven]

Do selectors decrease video or audio quality?

[daphatty]

I had a $15 4 system selector made by Pelican a few years ago and it was utter crap. But most of the reviews I've seen say that this one is much improved. It appears that Pelican actually did their homework on this product.

[XxFuRy2Xx]

Is it worth the 70 dollar price tag? I'm coming accross some extra money so I want to know if I should go with this or a few games?

[LV-426RS]

The pelican 4 system selector I have now is decent. Before it I had a no name brand 3 system selector (turn knob) that was decent for as crappy and cheap as it was. Nothing noticable (to me) on a regular 27" TV.

*EDIT* I've got G.I. Joe issue 155 available for trade for this.... (hey it's worth a shot :))

[Professor Oreo]

I've had the Pelican System Selector Pro for about 9 months or so, and it definitely has high and low points. I have a 34" Widescreen Hi-Def TV, and being able to hook up all my game systems via component video cables is a great thing. The Selector has 7 component/S-Video/composite inputs in the rear and one S-Video/Composite input in the front. 3 of the rear inputs even have have an ethernet port for switching between online enabled consoles. It comes with interchangable front buttons labeled for all of this generation's consoles and components (Playstation 2, XBOX, Gamecube, DVD, Cable, etc.) that light up when selected. This is all the Good stuff...

Now, the bad stuff...
If you're running an Xbox/Gamecube/PS2 game in progressive scan mode (480p), you may notice some interference in the form of small wavy lines that appear to float diagonally across the screen. This becomes more emphasized if you're running a game that supports the higher resolution of 720p. Also if you plan on hooking-up some devices through S-Video, some through component, and others through composite, you need to have some sort of magical television with a shared audio input. Even though the Pelican selector has all of these fancy inputs, it only has ONE output. So if you have the audio cables from that single output on the system selector going into the component input on your TV, then you won't have any audio cables available to plug into the S-Video input on that same TV. Kinda Dumb if you ask me. Also the panel that conseals the front input of the device is a really flimsy piece of plastic that feels like it could easily break at any second.

All in all, it's an okay device, but it might not be the "holy grail" product that you're probably think it is. At first I thought it was great, then I thought it was a total piece of shit, but now I've grown to accept its shortcomings and think it's just okay. Hope this helps.

[kodec]

Thanks for the review, I was considering picking it up but the problems you described is too great to justify that price tag. Does anyone else have any recommendations for another component selector?

I've been searching on the web and currently I'm leaning towards a JVC SX-111. Anybody have experience with this one?

[Stryffe2004]

I really like it. I have both optical and regular audio running through my selector. For example, I could run my HI-Def cable box audio either off the optical or regular. It worked well also with my Xbox, which is in Dolby Digital and the PS2, which is not. I could switch between each of them with the touch of a button. I also have a DVD player and VCR hooke dup to it. The customized buttons a nice touch. I do agree though, the front panel is a tad cheap, but as long as you are careful, it should last.

[XxFuRy2Xx]

Hey stryffe and professor oreo, I've been told to get the most out of this product you should have a high def tv. I don't have a high def tv, so would it still be worth it?

[CheapyD]

I have this product and am using it too connect my PS2 & Xbox to the single companent input on my TV and the single digital audio input on my cheap ass surround system.

So far, I have not noticed any decrease in video or audio quality as compared to connecting direct to the TV/Audio

[The-Bavis]

Thanks for making your first post so useful, Prof O, but I am confused, probably my own fault and not yours.


So if you have the audio cables from that single output on the system selector going into the component input on your TV, then you won't have any audio cables available to plug into the S-Video input on that same TV.

Audio cables into S-Video input? I thought the audio always went to the component hook ups and the S-Video was its own thing, so for the one output you describe, you would just be using the S-Video cable to feed the video from everything plugged into the Pelican and the component cables for the audio for everything plugged into the Pelican.

Straighten me out, dude.

Also, a comment... I don't like how they include all of these current gen. name tags, b/c I'm a cheap guy I only have one system right now from this generation, but I want to be able to toggle to the old school stuff with ease and I'd like to not have one slick name plate and then four others that are hand-written. I don't know how they could work around this, but it would be nice. Also, if you didn't notice, I'm a bit anal...

[bsesb2003]

I also had the wavy lines, which may be more perceptible on a larger screen TV. I have the Xbox, PS2, and GC all hooked up with component cables to the switcher. I initially did have wavy lines when using the Xbox. I moved around the connections and used the connections on the switcher that were closest to the output connection and now I don't see any more wavy lines.

[ZForce915]

I'd like to see pictures of someones set up with the system selector. I'm thinking of getting something like this but don't know how I can get all of my systems hooked up without looking cluttered.

[fwacce]

If you're going to buy this, you might as well save 7.5%.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?&cid=52667

Discount will appear in your cart.

[schultzed]

I love this device!

I have it in my TV cabinet, so all the cables are hidden.

I don't notice any loss of signal quality. But there must be some . . . because you are adding connectors and more cable.

I have a hi-def set that has 2 component (3 plugs for video) inputs. So, I have put my Xbox in one (with a Monster Cable) to try and get the purest signal from it into the TV.

Into the Selector, I put my DVD, PS2, Gamecube and my cable TV will go in once I get a DVR box that supports Hi-def . . . Time Warner says they're getting them in stock soon.

I don't use the selector to handle any standard inputs . . . my TV has several other inputs that I use for my VCR on a temp basis for legacy systems.

I bought it months ago for $90 at Best Buy.com but got a $20 rebate card as well.

[gamegeizer]

:lol: I have this system I bought it at Game stop months ago for $ 69.00 There regular price is $ 79.00 . Thay had a sale a while back for 69.00 :P
.
It works fine except. If you have the S video connected to the TV as well as A/V plugs .Then when you want to play an old school system that just has A/V plugs.ie NES. It will not reconize (NO VIDEO) until you disconnect the S video from the TV set.. This is one pain in the butt.
Otherwise it works fine. :P :cry:

[daphatty]

If you're going to buy this, you might as well save 7.5%.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?&cid=52667

Discount will appear in your cart.

What was this link supposed to be for? It only goes to the main page.



:lol: I have this system I bought it at Game stop months ago for $ 69.00 There regular price is $ 79.00 . Thay had a sale a while back for 69.00 :P
.
It works fine except. If you have the S video connected to the TV as well as A/V plugs .Then when you want to play an old school system that just has A/V plugs.ie NES. It will not reconize (NO VIDEO) until you disconnect the S video from the TV set.. This is one pain in the butt.
Otherwise it works fine. :P :cry:

That sounds just like the old Pelican System Selector I had. That would piss me off something fierce because I only had S-Video for my PS1 but not my Saturn or Snes or...

[fwacce]

If you're going to buy this, you might as well save 7.5%.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?&cid=52667

Discount will appear in your cart.

What was this link supposed to be for? It only goes to the main page.



As stated, the discount will appear in your cart once you add an item.

[Professor Oreo]

Thanks for making your first post so useful, Prof O, but I am confused, probably my own fault and not yours.


So if you have the audio cables from that single output on the system selector going into the component input on your TV, then you won't have any audio cables available to plug into the S-Video input on that same TV.

Audio cables into S-Video input? I thought the audio always went to the component hook ups and the S-Video was its own thing, so for the one output you describe, you would just be using the S-Video cable to feed the video from everything plugged into the Pelican and the component cables for the audio for everything plugged into the Pelican.

Straighten me out, dude.

No problem, maybe this will help... Every input into a television has both an audio and video portion. So a component input actually has 5 cables to hook-up, 3 for video and 2 for audio (red, blue, and green for the video signal, and a different red and white for the right and left audio signals). An S-video input actually has 3 cables to hook up, 1 black one for the video signal, and 2 cables for audio (the red and white ones for right and left audio)

So the problem with the Pelican System Selector is that it only has one pair of the red and white audio cables for output. Since you need a separate set of audio cables for both the S-video input and the component input of a television, you are going to be short one set of audio cables.

I personally think this is a major problem that you really shouldn't have to deal with if you are going drop $70 bucks on a system selector. Just my 2 cents...

[impirius]

It's not elegant, but you could probably solve that problem with a couple of RCA Y-cables.

[Professor Oreo]

Hmmmmm...I thought Y-Cables worked the other way. I thought that they combined two signals into one, instead of splitting 1 into 2. All the Y-cables I've happened to find are used to combine the left and right audio signals of a stereo output so that both channels of the stereo sound information could be fed into a single mono-sound input. But yeah, if you can find the cables to split the signal, that should work just fine. I just think that for $75 to $100 you shouldn't have to. :?

[kraid]

Thanks alot for the review, Professor Oreo. I was looking for a review of this product with progressive scan turned on since I use it for my GC and Xbox, and PS2. Since wavy lines appear I will not get this product. I heard that Monster is either supposed to release, or has released, a similiar product but I would imagine it will be more expensive but at least much better quality.

I currently use the JVC JX-S111 and it is great. I run my games via progressive scan and DO NOT not ice any visual quality loss vs going directly component on my TV. My TV, by the way, is a Sony KV-32HS510, one I consider among the best for gaming. The JVC-S111 is a product that I highly recommend provided that you don't need optical inputs/outputs and ethernet ports. It has 3 component inputs, and 2 RCA/S-Video inputs and outputs for the different types of inputs. Again, this product does not show any quality loss for progressive scan display.

Only reason I was looking at the Pelican selector was for more inputs as I would like to hook up my older systems such as my N64, SNES, and even NES. Right now I have my Xbox, GC, PS2, PSX, and DC connected, so the selector is full. If anyone has any other questions on the JVC JX-S111 selector let me know. It has served its purpose wonderfully but I will need a bigger unit since I want to connect even more devices.

[LV-426RS]

Hmmmmm...I thought Y-Cables worked the other way. I thought that they combined two signals into one, instead of splitting 1 into 2. All the Y-cables I've happened to find are used to combine the left and right audio signals of a stereo output so that both channels of the stereo sound information could be fed into a single mono-sound input. But yeah, if you can find the cables to split the signal, that should work just fine. I just think that for $75 to $100 you shouldn't have to. :?

Flip them the opposite way and they'll do the opposite thing. If I've got two dvd players I want to show on one TV I can get a Y-Cable and do it that way.