I get the feeling that none of you looked at the manual, or at least all of the photos in the ebaY auction. xD Thank you all for your replies, though! :) I appreciate it.
On July 2, 2018 at 13:13, Fred Harding said...
A connecting block is a device with terminals for the ir target, 3.5 mm jacks for emitters, and a coaxial power supply jack. It is a way to easily connect all the disparate parts needed for an IR system.
Good luck!
Ah, I see. :) That… sounds a
lot more complicated than what I'm used to using. I think I can see how it would go together, though.
On July 2, 2018 at 13:33, Fred Harding said...
Before you go a lot further, does your AudioPlex device have it's own remote control?
Note I do not have any experience with the brand, and do not have any work arounds if you do not have the remote control.
As far as I can tell: no, it does not come with a remote control. There's not even a port/window on the device that it looks like I could point an IR remote
at.
The manual states that "…6 individual Luma's [sic] may be controlled via the 6 source selector button functions on ProScan/RCA remotes." So I'm guessing that I could
technically use my RCA-brand Universal Remote with it —
if I had some way of getting the IR signal
into the device…
On July 2, 2018 at 15:12, Ernie Gilman said...
This is a moment to say "let's back up a step."
I think this product is a bad choice because it does not now allow you to just plug it in, point a remote at it, and choose an S-Video input. This is just going to get harder and harder.
Indeed. Unfortunately, I didn't do the research on this device (or its company); I'd thought that the rocker switch on the front of it was what I used for flipping between the inputs. (I was under the impression that it was a "discreet toggle switch", not that it was a switch for flipping between "Discreet Mode" and "Toggle Mode".)
If I'd known that it needed extra devices attached to it to use it, I most definitely would have passed on it.
I was also mistakenly under the impression that the knob on the switcher was actually a volume knob — which would've been nice for my uses — rather than a device-numbering conflict-resolution switch. :|
But hey: I learn best by making mistakes, so I'll just consider this a "learning mistake". I've certainly learned a lot from it, after all! :D
You should go back to looking for a remotely controlled S-Video switcher. You now know more questions to ask the seller before buying. Heck, if the person you bought that switch from is reputable, they might admit that they described it as working or complete and take it back. I mean, it is not working because it is far from complete.
Admittedly, while they didn't send it in its original box, they did send it in/with all of the original packaging and padding that was probably
in its original box, and they did have a photo
of its box in the ebaY listing; they listed it as "Brand New", mentioning that it was from the factory.
As far as I can tell from reading the Installation Manual, which lists exactly what it comes with, it's implied that you have to supply the remote yourself — as well as the IR signalling devices.
Instead of suggesting some time-consuming things to get you to your new goal (which is making this thing work), I'm going to suggest that you go back to your original goal (which is getting an S-Video switcher).
I mean, if you want something that will actually be simpler, I have at least two old Yamaha AV Receivers that have S-Video inputs (but no HDMI),
I actually got some HDMI-to-Analog converter boxes so I can use my few HDMI devices on my CRT TV. XD A lack of HDMI doesn't bother me much.
… so therefore can be used for S-Video switching. These, as a matter of fact, will do EXACTLY what you want done. You might say they aren't appropriate, but they're more appropriate than a technological wild goose chase.
I
would ask you how much you wanted for one of 'em — but I've actually already gone ahead and bought an Extron MPS 112. ^^' It's got more inputs than I need (twice as many S-Video as I need, and it's also got VGA and those fancy RGB connectors used in professional video monitors and such), but at least I know that I can plug things into it, have it route that video to a display, and switch between the inputs with the buttons that are
on the device — no external remotes needed!
Look for an S-Video switcher. Failing that, look for an A/V processor or receiver with few features. All such components have input switchers built into them. But don't go any further down this rabbit hole.
Yeah. I'm just gonna return this device to the seller.
It's
very well-made (it's even made in the U.S.A.!), but… it's just far,
far more complicated than what I want/need.
Sure, it was only 28 dollars, and I'll be losing about 11 dollars of that on shipping it back — but it doesn't matter how much it cost if, in the end, the device is useless. ¯\(º_O)/¯
On July 2, 2018 at 15:43, MediaImageAV said...
[Link: amazon.com]$21. Get it in 2 days. And it looks like a UFO landed on your TV. SWEEEET
edit:
HA! Looked at it again, it only has 1 s-video in. What a turd.
Yeah, I've seen a LOT of those kinds of devices. XD Most of them lack an AC adapter or other power cable, which makes them
cheap… but I bought a Dynex 4-in/2-out switcher (it has Composite on all In/Out, and S-Video on both Outs and 2 of the Ins) — which is actually the device I'd thought that I was replacing with this
Audioplex Luma switcher —, and it has awful "ghosting" artefacts in the S-Video image, no matter the input/output ports being used. :x
Hence why I want to replace it.
Composite looks just fine — at least, as fine as Composite Video
can look — but the ghosting effects on the S-Video was just ghastly. :(
tl;dr: thank you all for your replies; I do
very much appreciate the help and the information — but I'm sending this back. Alas, it has turned out to be much too "high-end" for my needs.