i have a comcast motorola cable box with HDMI in and out, can i use it as a switch box? i only have 1 HDMI in on my tv and already use it for the cable box but i would like to use HDMI on my upconvert dvd player also. if it is so, how do i swith the cable box over to the other HDMI source? i couldnt figure it out with the front inputs.

i have a comcast motorola cable box with HDMI in and out, can i use it as a switch box? i only have 1 HDMI in on my tv and already use it for the cable box but i would like to use HDMI on my upconvert dvd player also. if it is so, how do i swith the cable box over to the other HDMI source? i couldnt figure it out with the front inputs.

Nope sorry. Comcast disabled all of the inputs. They are useless. They do not seem interested in updating the box software to get them to work either. It's a shame and I wish it would work also.

Your going to have to get a switchbox, run everything through there and use the selector on the switchbox to share your one HDMI input. Try looking for them at www.monoprice.com

Something like this perhaps? http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011001&p_id=2786&style=&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

Good luck.

thanks for the help, does monoprice have a switchbox just like this one but i have the same problem with my digital optical audio as well. i would like one switchbox with at least 2 HDMI outs and 2 digital optical audio out. are those available? sorry i have never dealt with switchboxes before and i really dont know what im looking for.

thanks for the help, does monoprice have a switchbox just like this one but i have the same problem with my digital optical audio as well. i would like one switchbox with at least 2 HDMI outs and 2 digital optical audio out. are those available? sorry i have never dealt with switchboxes before and i really dont know what im looking for.

There is such a thing but its not cheap.

Here's an example:
http://www.octavainc.com/HDMI%20switch%204port_toslink.htm

You should have the digital audio stream embedded within the HDMI cable though. You can always run the optical audio ports to a reciever and manually select the input.

for that kind of money couldnt i just upgrade my receiver and use that as a switchbox? i really havent looked into prices of newer receivers with HDMI in yet.

Yeah you might as well. There are a few A/V receivers with HDMI switching with price tags all over the place. It just all depends on how much you want to spend and how many features you want in your receiver.

You did say you have Comcast... Some Comcast/Motorola firmwares are buggy with HDMI switching. If you have firmware 16.35 or newer you are good to go. Otherwise you'll get a screen saying something to the effect of "This device does not support HDMI/DVI repeaters."

The easy way to check the firmware is :
Push Menu Twice
Go to Setup
Go to Cable Box Setup
Go to Configuration and click Select to Display
Note the Firmware version on the right hand side. Mine says 16.35

OR you could power off the box and then push the OK/Select button on the remote.
Scroll down to d08 code modules. Push the right arrow to go into this menu.
Note the Platform Built: Version: xx.xx

Best of luck to you.

ok thanks, i didnt even think about that.

mine says 16.20 so that means i cant use it as switcher right? is there anyway i can talk comcast into getting me a newer box?

if i decide to upgrade my audio system, what are some good receivers with all this capability to consider? right now i have a 42" plasma display with upconvert dvd player and i may want to add more later like a ps3 or something like that. i have an old sony all in one surround system that is getting outdated quickly.