OPPO HM-31 Advanced 3x1 HDMI Switch Review :: Setup and Usage

Setup of the HM-31 is easy. Plug the AC Adapter into the wall and then plug the DC plug into the DC In port. Plug the Primary HDMI Outport into the monitor or HDTV and plug the HDMI cables from the other devices into the HDMI In ports. A typical installation might consist of attaching the HDMI cable to the HDTV in the living room then using HDMI cables to PS3, Xbox 360 and Blu-Ray Drive.

In the test system I set up using a 52” HDTV from Samsung, a PS3 and a Blu-Ray Drive from Sony. The PS3 outputted the same as connecting it directly to the HDTV. The Blu-Ray Drive played 1080p Blu-Ray Discs with no loss of quality on the switch that I could see. Switching to the Cable TV was a simple matter of pushing the channel switch on the remote and it worked as well.

The HM-31 has an Automatic Input Selection ability which automatically switches to the next priority input on the 1, 2, or 3 lists. When an active input is turned off (i.e. turning off the PS3), the next port in line is made the active port. This works extremely well and is intuitive. The priority of the switches is 1, 2 then 3. If you have an active HDMI output when turned off as in some cable boxes plug the input into input 3 so it has the least priority.

Wall mounting screw holes

Bottom of HM-31

You can mount the HM-31 on a wall, with pre-drilled holes set to allow you to mount it on the wall. Note that if you want to put the unit on top of the HDTV this switcher is small enough not to be obtrusive anywhere as it is smaller than a VHS tape. Mounting it on a wall requires drilling 3 holes in the wall and mounting the unit aligning with the holes. Another option is to hide the HDMI switch, but that requires an external IR Sensor to be plugged into the IR In port and line of sight with the switch to work.

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