# Optical switch



## browndk26 (Jan 3, 2011)

Can anyone recommend an optical switch for me? My Pioneeer VSX-517 AVR has only one optical input. I need to connect at least 2 devices to the AVR with optical cables.


----------



## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

I haven't looked for one in a very long time. I think almost any brand would work fine. One with a remote should be easy to find. There are some that convert optical to coax and back - CO2 is one that I bought a long time ago.


----------



## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

If all you're wanting to do is distribute your AVR output to two devices, just use an optical _splitter_. This one should do the trick:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10423&cs_id=1042301&p_id=966&seq=1&format=2


----------



## koyaan (Mar 2, 2010)

RBTO said:


> If all you're wanting to do is distribute your AVR output to two devices, just use an optical _splitter_. This one should do the trick:
> 
> http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10423&cs_id=1042301&p_id=966&seq=1&format=2


I've used a couple from Radioshack with mixed results. Their manual switch worked fine. their digital selector gives you the ability to switch with a remote, but I've only been able to use it if seperated from my other components . Unless it is seperated by several feet, the selector will go bad in a couple of weeks. They're good about replacing them, but they always want to send it off for repair first,which takes weeks and is never successful.


----------



## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

What two things are you connecting?
Most cable and sat boxes have digital coax/spdif on them.


----------



## browndk26 (Jan 3, 2011)

rab-byte said:


> What two things are you connecting?
> Most cable and sat boxes have digital coax/spdif on them.


ATT uverse STB and Apple TV. Both of them only have optical outputs.


----------



## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

browndk26 said:


> ATT uverse STB and Apple TV. Both of them only have optical outputs.


Does your TV pass 5.1 via optical?


----------



## browndk26 (Jan 3, 2011)

rab-byte said:


> Does your TV pass 5.1 via optical?


Yes but only if the tv is hooked up to an OTA Antenna or cable.


----------



## jimbodude (Jul 26, 2011)

I had an optical switch a while ago that worked well. It seems there are not as many choices as there used to be for optical switches... Cables-to-go has a couple that look alright. The key features I looked for back then were discretely select-able inputs by IR remote and a box form-factor.

This is the one I used, it worked well:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=3116&sku=28731

Here is something similar, with component video switching:
http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=3116&sku=40324#


----------

