Gefen rolls out 4x1 / 8x1 1080p-capable DVI switchers

Just in case you get the itch to hook up nearly every high definition source currently available (okay, maybe not all of them) in the comfort of your living room, Gefen has unveiled two new plug and play DVI switchers for the biggest of HD junkies. Doubling up on its DVI KVM device, the 4x1 DVI switcher sports 4 dual-link DVI inputs along with a single output, and supports local switching right on the box -- upping the ante even further is the 8x1 flavor, which conviently comes in a 1U rackmountable enclosure and touts HDCP passthrough capability. Both units sport IR remote switching, RS-232 serial ports, includes as many 6 foot DVI cables as inputs, and can sustain HDTV signals 1080p. Detangling that royal mess of DVI cables won't come cheap, however, as the little guy will run you $349, while the 8-port sibling demands a whopping (but not at all surprising) $899.

[arkansized Posted Sep 9th 2006 11:13PM]

When this sucker is available for $100 I will be in. $349?? Nawp.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 9th 2006 11:43PM]

Sewell's got the 8-port for $810 and the 4-port for $314 - not exactly $100, but better than list...

http://sewelldirect.com/gefen-8x1-dvi-switch.asp
http://sewelldirect.com/gefen4x1dviswitch.asp

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 16th 2006 11:47AM]

Don't these things degrade signal quality?

[DBG Posted Sep 10th 2006 5:49AM]

Hmm I guess I'm not the target audience for this device, because I would want audio to go with my very nice video input/output. Nice for what it is though.

- Tony R.

[nemi Posted Sep 10th 2006 4:49PM]

This 1x8 port solution is way overpriced.

Anyone with half a brain would buy two of the 1x5 port HDMI switches from mono price for ~$250 total. When conected in series you have a 1x9 port solution. Any universal remote control worth using can coordiante the switching of both as requried.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 11th 2006 9:04AM]

do it with Cat5...

http://www.tecstream.com