I don't know, maybe the manufacturer has identified a need and is just taking advantage of the fact that it is seemingly the only switch of its' kind on the market and in turn tacking on a huge markup? Kudos to them. I don't blame them for charging this much, especially if they can get folks to pay it. Supply and demand and all that. It seems that at some point there will be competition, and when that occurs prices will come down, sort of like any other piece of gear. I'll wait, even though my current ARC/HDMI set-up is somewhat less than seamless.