Pelican HD System Selector Review

If you have an Xbox, PS2, GameCube, and DVD player all in the same room finding enough inputs to plug them all in can become quite a problem. Pelican has the answer to your prayers in an affordable solution called the HD System Selector. It has four inputs that are at least S-Video and three of them are component so you can get the best possible picture for your games. It isn’t perfect, but for less than $25 it is worth picking up.

Features

The HD System Selector has three inputs on the back for composite, s-vide, and component video inputs and outputs to your TV with the same. There is also an additional s-video/composite hookup hidden in the front of the unit. Keep in mind, though, that it does not upconvert so if you have your Xbox hooked up with component and your PS2 with s-video you will have to run both types of cables to your TV. A nice feature is that there is an extra audio output so you can hook up the sound to both your TV and a stereo system to get the best sound possible. You will also find Ethernet ports for the inputs on the back so you can hook the HD System Selector into your network and easily go online with your consoles without having to mess with routers or other complicated stuff. Rounding out the design are four buttons on top of the unit that allow you to switch between your systems.

Performance

As far as performance goes, the HD System Selector works exactly as promised. So long as you are using a standard TV, there is no discernable loss in audio or video quality. If you are using an HD TV you would be wise to check out Pelican’s other switching device the System Selector Pro. For everyone out there still stuck with a standard TV it is still absolutely worth it to find a set of component cables for your videogame systems and DVD player because it makes a pretty big difference. With the HD System Selector Pro you can hook everything up at once and get the best experience possible with all of your games and movies. For $25 it is foolish not to get something like this if you are serious about games. The Ethernet ports also worked flawlessly and online gaming for both PS2 and Xbox was just as smooth as ever.

Bottom Line

All in all, the Pelican HD System Selector is a pretty darn good little device. It lets you hook everything up to your TV with component video cables so you can get the absolute best picture possible for your videogames and movies. There are some little problems such as the fact that there is some slight signal loss and there are no digital audio ports, but overall it is a fine product that gets the job done. Unless you are playing games on a HDTV and have a fancy surround sound setup (which most gamers I know don’t) you won’t even notice any of the HD System Selector’s deficiencies so the few complaints there are with the unit are ultimately very minor. Pelican does offer a higher end and considerably nicer system selector for quite a bit more money, but the HD System Selector is a great product that will meet the needs of the vast majority of gamers out there. For $25 you really can’t go wrong so I highly recommend it.