New Switch Box

[SpaceBooger]

I'm looking for a new stitch box for my CRT. I currently have a Madcatz 4-1 switch, but I have 6 consoles. This switch is great no signal loss, but I tried a cheap switch I had lying around and put it in one port (so I had a 3 switch going into a 4 switch) and there was a noticeable signal loss.
So I think I am in need of just replacing those two with an 8-1 switch. I'm not sure if I need one that is powered or not. Amazon reviews are all over the place, so I'm asking you guys: what do you use and recommend?

This one looks nice for a non-powered one:
So does this:
Both of these have reviews that mention no signal loss/noise and some that do.

This powered one looks interesting, only one review but the reviewer is crazy knowledgeable and this looks like a nice choice:
This seems to be a similar product with more reviews:

So any suggestions?

[Limewater]

I'm looking for a new stitch box for my CRT. I currently have a Madcatz 4-1 switch, but I have 6 consoles. This switch is great no signal loss, but I tried a cheap switch I had lying around and put it in one port (so I had a 3 switch going into a 4 switch) and there was a noticeable signal loss.
So I think I am in need of just replacing those two with an 8-1 switch. I'm not sure if I need one that is powered or not. Amazon reviews are all over the place, so I'm asking you guys: what do you use and recommend?

This one looks nice for a non-powered one:
So does this:
Both of these have reviews that mention no signal loss/noise and some that do.

This powered one looks interesting, only one review but the reviewer is crazy knowledgeable and this looks like a nice choice:
This seems to be a similar product with more reviews:

So any suggestions?

The powered units you link to are splitters, not switches. This is an important distinction. They are intended to take a single input and duplicate that input signal up to eight times. Being powered matters a lot for splitters because otherwise you will expect to experience at least 9dB of signal loss going from one channel to eight, and you would need to terminate any unused output.

ALSO, these probably won't work for what you are trying to do.

You want a switch like the first items you posted. You should not need a powered switch unless you are trying to change the video to a different format, and I wouldn't recommend an external box for that. And I'm not entirely sure that they exist, though I have never looked.
But you don't get the signal loss on a switch that you do a splitter, unless the switches are kind of crappy, which, for low-end composite video they might well be.
I can't recommend a specific switch because I don't have much experience using external switches, but you definitely won't get what you want if you accidentally buy a powered splitter instead. The two you posted claim the exact same specs, though take those with a grain of salt. They may well be completely identical internally.

[Markies]

I'm looking for a new stitch box for my CRT. I currently have a Madcatz 4-1 switch, but I have 6 consoles. This switch is great no signal loss, but I tried a cheap switch I had lying around and put it in one port (so I had a 3 switch going into a 4 switch) and there was a noticeable signal loss.
So I think I am in need of just replacing those two with an 8-1 switch. I'm not sure if I need one that is powered or not. Amazon reviews are all over the place, so I'm asking you guys: what do you use and recommend?

So does this:

I just upgraded both of my Switch Boxes from a 4 Component to that one. They both have 8 inputs into them and I highly recommend that one.

When I bought them, a friend of mine said his family had used one for years, so they are very reliable.

[SpaceBooger]

Crap. I didn't realize the difference at first.
I think I will go with that 8 switch one with the purple buttons.

Once I get that my CRT will have
Composite: Roku, NES, Master System, N64, PS1, and 2600.
S-Video: Genesis, SNES, Saturn, and Dreamcast
Component: Wii, oXBOX, PS2/3 (same cords so I just move to the console I'm playing).
I like the early 3D systems (N64, PS1) on composite I like the way it blends and looks less jagged.

I follow this guy on Twitter who compares outputs for games: https://twitter.com/CRTpixels?t=1MoreoM ... gRv-Q&s=09