We have reviewed ATEN products before, as they make great KVM switches. The last one we reviewed was geared towards the PC gamer and included DMI and audio switching.
Anyone who has been around home theater for the past twenty years has seen the industry change the video cables from RF cables, RCA, S-Video, component to DVI. On the audio side of things, things pretty much stayed the same until digital audio, where S/PDIF and optical cables came into fruition. Now HDMI merges the two latest audio and video technologies into one digital cable.
The problem with HDMI is that it is relatively new. Home Theater components usually lag behind the new industry standard, because the technology could lose support. As a result, some flat-panel TVs only have a few HDMI inputs, but your gaming consoles, receivers and DVRs have many. You can simplify or eliminate the unsightly rat’s nest of cables in your home theater rig by just using the elegant HDMI solution. Some of the newest home theater receivers now support multiple HDMI switching, but not everyone has a need for a full-blown amplifier.
ATEN’s new product, the VS481A 4-port HDMI switch, appears to be geared towards the console gamer or home theater enthusiast.
Features
The VS481A 4 Port HDMI Switch allows you to quickly and easily share your HDMI display device with 4 HDMI input sources. The VS481A allows convenient switching between digital devices such as DVD players, Satelite receivers, Digital Camcorder. The VS481A allows you to select the desired input source via a remote control unit and pushbuttons located on the switch.
- Toggle between A/V sources using remote control or front panel pushbuttons
- Supports high-resolution video – HDTV resolutions of 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (1920×1080); VGA, SVGA, SXGA, UXGA (1600×1200) and WUXGA(1920×1200)
- Supports 12-bit Deep Color for HDMI formats
- Supports Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master Audio
- Up to 60 Hz refresh rate
- Long distance transmission – up to 20m (24 AWG) and 15m (28 AWG)
- Built-in bi-directional RS-232 serial remote port for high-end system control
- Plug-and-play – no software installation required
- DDC Compatible
- HDMI 1.3b compliant
- HDCP 1.1 compliant
- Supports HDMI Type A 19-pin female connector
- Signaling rates up to 2.25 Gbits in support of 1080p display
- All-metal casing
- LED indication of video source devices
- Easy and affordable way to add four HDMI inputs to your home theater system
Specifications
- Display Connections 1
- Connectors Device HDMI In 4 x HDMI Type A Female (Black)
- Display HDMI Out 1 x HDMI Type A Female (Black)
- RS-232 Port 1 x DB-9 Female (Black)
- Power 1 x DC Jack
- LEDs On Line 4 (Orange)
- Selected 4 (Green)
- Video HDTV resolutions of 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p (1920×1080); VGA, SVGA, SXGA, UXGA (1600×1200) , WUXGA(1920×1200)
- Power Consumption DC 5.3 V, 2.4 W
- Environment Operating Temp. 0 – 50°C
- Storage Temp. -20 – 60°C
- Humidity 0-80% RH, Non-condensing
Physical Properties
- Metal Housing
- Weight: 0.47kg
- Dimensions: 20.00 x 8.00 x 2.50 cm
On the next page we take a look at the unit’s features (there’s more than you think)…
The new Aten switch comes with everything you need to get started, but not everything you need to connect all of your devices. I mean, the entire reason you’re buying an HDMI switch is to consolidate all of your video devices, so I’m disappointed that there was only one HDMI cable included, and a relatively short one at that. Here’s what’s in the box:
- 1 VS481a HDMI switch
- 1 IR Remote Control
- 1 Power Adapter
- 1 HDMI cable (1.8m)
- 1 User Manual
- 1 Quick Start Guide
The ATEN VS481A HDMI switch appears to be a very simple device. It is a small (8cm x 20cm) metal box that has several switching buttons and HDMI ports. Even though it’s so small, it has nice rubber feet that keep it from sliding around. On the front of the switch is a single HDMI switch (for easy access to portable HDMI devices like a camcorder). To the right of this port are four buttons that you can use to switch between your different devices, each of which have an LED to indicate the current selection. To the right of this is an IR sensor to be used with the included slimline remote.
The back of the unit has three HDMI IN ports labeled in sequential order from 1 to 3. A single HDMI out port is highlighted with white paint and is your single connection to your monitor. A 9-pin serial port (RS-232) also appears on the back, and is reserved for advanced usage, such as being controlled with a PC or home automation package. Also included is a small DC power input for the included AC adapter.
The remote control is very simple. It is a slimline remote that uses small watch batteries. On the front of the remote are six buttons: Port Up, Port Down, 1, 2, 3, and 4. With this mechanism you can directly switch to a particular device by pressing the appropriate number, or just toggle through them.
The ATEN HDMI switch was tested on a Sony rear-projection TV and HANS-G 28” LCD computer monitor, both of which have a solitary HDMI input. The Sony TV supports a maximum resolution of 1080i and the Hans-G monitor supports full 1080p (1900×1200 progressive).
Whenever the HDMI switch is powered on, it automatically selects Port 1, so it is recommended to connect your most frequently-used device to that port. Selecting other devices is as simple as pressing the button on the front, or selecting the appropriate number on the remote control. Although the remote comes with a port up and port down button, I really doubt that anyone will use these and simply directly select the appropriate device. Each button has two LEDs, and the selected device illuminates green while the unselected ports are orange.
To configure this unit with home automation, you must make sure the master device matches the default rate of the ATEN’s serial port:
| Baud Rate | 19200 |
| Data Bits | 8 |
| Parity | None |
| Stop Bits | 1 |
| Flow Control | None |
Once you’ve matched these settings up, you can issue simple commands to the unit. Here are the serial commands that can be issued to the device:
| Control Function | Start Code | Head | Function | Data Lendth | Data | Checksum | End Code |
| Switch to Last Port | 0x5A 0x7E |
Port Code 0x81 | Switch to Next Port 0x00 | 0x00 | N/A | 0x81 | 0x81 0xA5 |
| Switch to Next Port | Switch to Next Port 0x01 | 0x00 | N/A | 0x82 | |||
| Switch to Port 1 | Switch to Next Port 0x08 | 0x01 | 0x31 | 0xBB | |||
| Switch to Port 2 | Switch to Next Port 0x08 | 0x01 | 0x32 | 0xBC | |||
| Switch to Port 3 | Switch to Next Port 0x08 | 0x01 | 0x33 | 0xBD | |||
| Switch to Port 4 | Switch to Next Port 0x08 | 0x01 | 0x34 | 0cBE |
The ATEN switch supports HTMI 1.3b, which supports single-link bandwidth to 340Mhz (or 10.2 Gbit a second) and the latest Dolby audio technologies. This standards also supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit color, compared to the 24-bit sRGB in previous HDMI versions. HDMI 1.3b added Cable and Sink modifications and a few other things that really don’t matter to the end user. The latest HDMI version is 1.4, but the major difference is the expanded support for 4096x2160p (used by digital theaters). So unless you have a monitor that supports a resolution over 1080p (and therefore you are a millionaire) then you should be ok. Most consumer devices are tested for HDMI 1.3a compliance. What this boils down to is that this ATEN switch is capable of reproducing an insane amount of colors and audio technologies. The only thing better is going to a digital movie theater.
In our testing the color levels remained very the same and there did not appear to be any signal loss at all. Your mileage may vary depending on the quality of cables you use, but we used high-end Monster cables for all of our devices. Switching was instant and there were no problems, ghosting, lag, or any other type of digital video or audio issue.
The ATEN VS481A HDMI switch is a rather good product that solves connectivity problem if you have limited HDMI ports. It is rather costly if you just use it as a simple video switch, but is more valable if you actually tie into the home automation features it supports. This was meant to integrate with high-end home theater equipment, so if you are the type that only has high-end gear then the price won’t scare you away. It will certainly last for many years of service, or at least until HDMI remains the audio/video standard.
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