Gaming Haven

January 26, 2018 11:08 PM

Hello, AskMe! I have searched previous questions but did not find this particular one. Tax refund time is rolling around and I am building myself a lovely little entertainment center/gaming heaven, YAY.

However, the new TV I've chosen only has 3 hdmi ports, and I need a total of 6. (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, and Direct TV box. Possibly a 7th if I can figure out a way to make the Gamecube hdmi too.)

One friend suggested an a/v receiver, but
1) $200 is more than I want to spend for this issue
2) a/v receivers seem geared more towards enhancing the sound, which I don't care about because I keep the volume low and have closed captioning always on
3) all the ones I see on amazon only seem to have 3 hdmi ports too which ultimately doesn't resolve the problem

My best bet seems to be a 5 port hdmi switch + 2 of the built in ports on the tv, but it still seems kind of ... clunky to me.

Is there something I'm missing or some better way to do this?

Assume I am dead set on this tv, and my budget is no more than $50.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

posted by Zarya to Technology (7 answers total)

The only thing I can think of that would be less clunky is a switcher with more ports but this is the cheapest I could find and it’s outiside your extremely low $50 budget.

The other semi-reasonable option is to just hook up the three of the things that you have used most recently, under the assumption that you aren’t going to want to switch between five different gaming consoles within any given 8-hour window so it’s okay if it takes 30 seconds to move a cable whe you do want to swap one out.
posted by aubilenon at 1:29 AM on January 27, 2018 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: @aubilenon, I *strongly* considered just hooking up 3 things, but the whole setup will also be used by a teenager who is great with technology but uhhh... not so graceful, and I am trying to minimize having to move the tv so it doesn't end up being knocked over.
posted by Zarya at 3:08 AM on January 27, 2018

A couple of these doesn’t quite get you to six, but maybe in combo with putting the least-used couple of things on a smaller switch on one of the hdmis?
posted by songs about trains at 3:56 AM on January 27, 2018

Best answer: How about the port-swapping plan but with HDMI extension cables coming out of the set (possibly even secured to another surface at their ends) so the teen never has to get particularly close to the set, much less rummage with fiddly bits in the back of it?
posted by teremala at 6:18 AM on January 27, 2018

Monoprice has an 8x1 port HDMI switch, but it's outside your budget at $80.
posted by bluecore at 6:53 AM on January 27, 2018

Best answer: Will this one work?

https://m.ebay.com/itm/8-Port-1080P-Video-Aluminium-HDMI-Switch-Switcher-for-HDTV-PS3-DVD-with-Remote/231583002732
posted by Slinga at 8:38 AM on January 27, 2018 [1 favorite]

I run the 360 through the XBone (you end up using the "watch TV" option on the XBone to play it). Then it's a matter of getting a good HDMI switcher to make the ports you have work for everything else. They can be found inexpensively online.

Important: label which channel goes to which thing, on the TV for sure and physically on the switcher if it contains more than 2 items.
posted by oblique red at 3:47 PM on January 30, 2018