Directionality of video switching

I am guessing the answer is no, but I'm wondering if the component switching path in the 950 works backwards.

In other words, I will soon have 2 destinations (PJ and TV) for my one component source (DVD player). 950 has 2 ins and 1 out. What happens if I hook them up backwards?

BB

I'm guessing that whatever "source" is selected will see the signal, and the other will not.

I think you'd do better with some simple signal splitters. Or use one of the other DVD player outputs, S-Video maybe, for the TV.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

RIght, but if I hook up the TV as a "source" and the PJ as a "source", and the DVD player to the component output, would the signal flow correctly backward? I'd only want one at a time.

BB

Brandon, to be honest I have not a clue but something tells me this would not be possible. I would go a cheap splitter route.

I'm betting that it would work just fine. The switching circuitry won't send the electrons off in any certain direction. There will either be an electrical connection, or there won't. The directionality of which way you want the signal to flow is irrelevant. Just like you don't hook up interconnects with a 'to' and 'from' side (at least normal people don't -- some extreme, delusional audiophiles do), the switchin circuitry will make a connection regardless of which 'direction' the signal is flowing.

The only reason this wouldn't work if all of the switching was taking place inside a processor, like sampling the video, processing it, then sending it out another set of connectors. Other than video processors, like scalers, pretty much all video switchers just make an electrical connection.

I imagine it would work to some degree. My concern is since the source end is supposed to be the voltage source, I may be back feeding some diodes or circuit elements in a way they were not designed for, and degrade the sginal, or worse deteriorate the circuit. I'm not sure if this would happen though, since it seems to me a video signal is an AC sort of signal, so the voltage is changing direction anyway.

I am going to post this question somewhere where more EE types might see it, and will post back here if I get an answer.

BB

Also, some IC's do have a directionality (like Outlaws), due to the cap to filter out RFI at the destination end vs. hard grounding of the shield at the source end.

Unless you were referring to people who think the IC's develop a "direction" after being used for a while, and try to maintain that.

BB

Well, one good explanation for why it would likely not work from a fellow member on another forum:

"Feeding a receiver's or pre-pro's video switch backwards would not work, as the signal is buffered (basically passing through a pre-amp of sorts). Now if you use a mechanical signal switcher (like the ones you get at Radio Shack) that should work just fine, since they're just switches, no buffering or amplification is taking place.

So in short, if switching mechanically, it'll work, if electronically, it won't."

I guess a definitive answer would have to come from an Outlaw tech.

BB

I still don't see why it would be better than a cheap signal splitter, even if it does work.

KISS; that's my philosophy.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net