Simplify Your Life with the Pelican HD System Switcher

You may consider yourself as the cream of the crop with all of your gaming consoles and high definition electronics piled up on your expensive entertainment stand. But the question is: Do you keep it all neat and tidy? I’m not asking about how frequently you dust off your systems – I’m asking about the tangles of cables and wires looped around each other behind your huge TV screen or stacks of consoles and games. Pelican designed a special device to solve this very problem.

The Pelican HD System Switcher will allow you to connect up to four video systems or video game consoles together. You can now switch between one input to another without having to fumble around disconnecting and reconnecting cables behind your TV screen or computer monitor! Now, with the push of a button, you can instantly switch between your Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Blu-Ray Player, and much more – so you can what you want – when you want it!

All you have to do is connect your Pelican HD System switcher to your TV or monitor with the set of included cables featuring connections to AV, S-Video, or Component, and turn it on. How much simpler can it get? All of these features make the Pelican HD System Switcher very appealing. But what tops it off is the Ethernet connectivity.

Just plug in your Ethernet cable and you will be instantly ready for gaming online against people all over the world. It also features a flat, slim, and sleek black look, so it can be added discretely into your entertainment center without distracting the color scheme of your systems. To simplify your life, it has labels for each of the buttons: PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Other.

This will be the last time you ever have to deal with those nasty tangles behind your entertainment system, and trust us, you’ll be happy you invested in this product! Simplify your life with Pelican’s HD System Switcher for only £17.95!

Connecting to the Most Displays with the Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable

With television standards changing from analog to high definition, and an increasing number of kinds of displays and cables out there, sometimes I find myself wanting to connect my Xbox 360 to a screen that can’t handle the standard output. It’s also convenient from time to time to be able to switch my Xbox 360 from one display to another at will. The Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable makes that easy.

There are five different types of output on the Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable: VGA, RGB, Component, S-AV and AV. All kinds of screens from CRT, LCD and plasma monitors to new high definition flat screen TVs are supported, and the display quality through the Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable is crisp and clear on any screen. When I want the option to switch from one screen to another, I can do it simply by flicking the switch on the 5 in 1 Cable, and I don’t have to plug and unplug. The Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable is yet another great converter / switch that helps me to control my expanding entertainment center!

Do you use the Xbox 360 5 in 1 Cable? Leave a comment and let us know!

How to Get Sound From the Playstation 3 with the HD Fury Gamer or a DVI Cable

If you want to play your PS3 on a PC monitor using either a HDMI to DVI cable (if your monitor supports DVI and HDCP - be careful as most don't) or the HDMI to VGA HD Fury Gamer Cable (which doesn't require a HDCP monitor and uses standard PC VGA connections), you may be confused as to how you get sound out from your Playstation 3.

Neither the VGA or the DVI connections are capable of carrying sound. This means you cannot just plug the HD Fury Gamer cable from the PS3 to your VGA monitor and expect to hear sound. There are two options for enabling sound in this situation:

1) Digital Optical Output
If you have an amp that supports a digital optical audio connection, then this option is your best solution. One end plugs into the optical output on the PS3 and the other into your amp. You'll be able to get the highest fidelity 5.1 Dolby Digital sound on your films and games with the optical cable.


2) Red and White Phono Stereo Output (from AV Composite Cable)

If you aren't fortunate enough to have an optical amp, there is another alternative. At the same time as having a HDMI-DVI or HD Fury Gamer cable plugged into your PS3, you can also plug in the standard red/white/yellow AV composite cable that comes in the package with a new PS3, or separately available for £3.99.

The HDMI output has a separate port to the AV Multi out (see pic), which means both cables can be plugged in together. In this way, you can get a high-def PS3 image on your monitor with analog sound supplied by the red/white phonos, either plugged directly into your speakers or via your computer. To set it up, you just need to navigate the 'display options' in the PS3 menu, selecting HDMI output for video and analog output for sound.

Has this been useful to you? Let us know and leave a comment!

Which Wii AV Cable Should I Buy?

When it comes to connecting the Wii to your TV, you've got a lot more options than simply using the composite cable that comes in the box. Though the composite cable is great for small Televisions, if you really want to get the most out of TV, it's worth upgrading.

It's important to realise: you can't use RGB Scart cables on a US/Japanese Wii and you can't use S-video on a UK Wii. This is true of all Wii cables and is due to limitations built into the consoles by Nintendo - there's no way around it. So here goes...

Wii Component Cable (£7.49)

If you have a HDTV with a component input (like the picture below), this is without doubt the best cable to have. The video signal is split over three separate cables to give a pin sharp image, and you can run your Wii in progressive scan at 480p.

Wii S-Video Cable (£6.99)

If you have a US or Japanese Wii and don't have a HDTV, the Wii S-Video Cable gives the best picture, superior to the default composite cable that comes with the console. This won't work on a UK/European console.

Wii RGB Scart Cable (£7.99 / £5.99)

If you have a UK Wii and no HDTV, the Wii RGB Scart Cable give a picture that's better than both the original composite cable and S-video. We offer two types of Wii RGB Scart cable, the Talismoon one includes separate red/white audio phonos so you can connect to speakers and a slightly cheaper version without the audio phonos: