Rocketfish™ - 4-Input 8K Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 Switch - Black

The Rocketfish 8k (or 4k 120 for most people) switch has made my desk setup streamlined and fun to use. I currently have a Google 4k streamer, and Xbox hooked up using all HDMI 2.1 to utilize the full functionality of the devices. I used to run my laptop using HDR 4k 120 (which worked great), but I switched to USB-C Displayport. All devices are running thru an Audioquest Forest 48 HDMI 2.1 cable going to my Samsung 32" 120hz 4k OLED. This product was the key for connectivity, and worked according to its purpose very well. Remote is nice too but I use the toggle button on the front more often than not.

For the first hour or so it worked fine, but then we had two issues on the first day. First, the TV and sound system all randomly turned off while watching TV. This never happened before with the switch that we were using previously. Additionally, the screen became green, with seemingly hues from two different images (see picture). Might have just been a damaged unit, but my experience wasn’t great. Lastly, the switch advertises“auto input switching” capablities but they are limited. It only auto switches if you plug in a new hdmi cable or remove the cable that is the current source.

I got this switch because my short-throw home theater projector only has 1 input HDMI, as the second one is used by my soundbar for audio output. This switch allows me to have multiple source devices connected to it without me having to constantly unplug and plug in cables. It is plug-and-play, sets up quickly, and intuitive to use. The device comes with a USB-C cable and wall adapter for power and two double-sided stickers, if you want to fix it in place. There are also rubber feet on the bottom to prevent sliding and keyhole ports for wall mounting. The switch has a ‘select’ button on the front as well as LED indicators for power and the four inputs. When switching inputs, the display will go blank and its takes 4-8 seconds for the new source video to show up. In addition to changing the input, long pressing the ‘select’ button twice allows you to toggle on or off auto-switch mode. While off by default, when enabled, auto-switch will change to any new HDMI source when it is connected and powered on and swap to the next available connected input if the current input is unplugged or turned off, and I found that this feature works exactly as expected. The unit also comes with a remote that has the numbers 1 through 4 on it for selecting the corresponding input source; just note that the remote cannot toggle auto-switch mode and runs on a CR2025 coin cell battery. The switch supports up to 8K video input/output (7680x4320 @ 60Hz, or 4K @ 120Hz), Dolby Vision, HLG, HDR10, and HDR10+, and HDMI versions 2.3, 2.2, and 1.4 with up to 40 Gbps bandwidth (10 Gbps per lane). For 8K resolution, the HDMI cable must be HDMI 2.1 and no longer than 10ft to prevent signal degradation. It also passes through audio just fine but doesn’t perform audio extraction or support mixing multiple inputs for split-screen viewing. While my highest resolution device is currently only 4K, the video and audio quality was just as clear and crisp as directly connecting to the projector without any noticeable transmission lag. Now I can have my FireTV for streaming, gaming consoles, and laptop all connected to the projector simultaneously and switch between them at the press of a button. I'll also be ready for higher resolution devices in the future when upgrading to 8K.

This HDMI input switcher is basically future proof. It supports HDMI input at 40 GBPS data transfer rate and compatible with resolution up to 8K at 60 HZ resolution. In other words, should 8K TV becomes significantly cheaper in the near future, this HDMI input switcher will not become obsolete. And that is a good product value proposition. The input switcher supports HDMI cable version 1.4 up to 2.3. It supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR as well as DTS HD, Dolby Truee HD lossless digital audio. There are 4 HDMI input ports so there’s enough open ports for my game console, streaming device, and Bluray player. It comes with a remote control to switch input swiftly and the included AC adapter is connected through a 6 feet USB to USB-C cable, which is long enough for my use. I use the input switcher to manage HDMI connection to my UST projector, which sadly only has 2 HDMI ports that are all used up. It works great and all my devices’ HDMI input needs are all covered. Since it works basically as an HDMI port extender, I find it more convenient to manage HDMI connection through a switcher like this one rather than doing it from the HDMI ports at the back of the projector.

The Rocketfish HDMI switch is great! It is compact, it is light, and works perfectly. I like that it comes with 4 Inputs, greatly increasing my TVs input capacity. It comes with a small remote that includes a battery. The remote is simple, containing four numbered buttons corresponding with the input number. The switch is also wall mountable, and it comes with thick double sided tape to anchor it to the surface and prevent it from sliding. The HDMI ports are nicely and evenly spaced so as to not feel like the back is too crowded. A red light indicator in front of the switch shows you what input is currently active. The switch is able to output an 8K resolution, although I only tested out to 4K and it works perfect. It comes with a USC charging cable with a block. The switching happens almost instantly, so no big delay like old, outdated switches. There is also a button on the device to switch it there in case you misplace your remote. Overall, I highly recommend this switch. It makes it so easy to use multiple devices in an input limited TV.