Got this four port VGA switch and didn't pay enough attention when I was getting it. It has one output and four inputs, and I was thinking it was gonna be the other way around. I obviously want one input and multiple outputs, but when I hook it up backwards the image is very strange. I was kinda thinking this is just a straight feedthrough, but I guess it's not. Are signals just getting sent to the wrong place? Can I swap wires in the input cable to get trick it to route the signals properly? Or are there some diodes or something in there the signals from traveling the other direction?

From this....

To this...

The switch probably has a distribution amplifier built in. Do not run the switch in reverse.

It can only select one output at a time, so why would it use an amp? Would there really be losses it would have to compensate for? I could see if it was a splitter.

Yes, whenever there is a switch there is a loss, so they bump it back up.

So now I'm thinking I could disconnect one of the four inputs, and wire it up in parallel with the output. If it's being amplified, maybe it's enough. If there's too much loss, I could always just remove one of the two output cables and would still have a 3 port switch. Even with an N6, I wouldn't be able to use my computer with the monitor AND the projector with ease without something like this. I would be playing DVD's with a pscan player and the N6, so this would only be for computer displays. I think it's worth the experiment to have a chance at not spending any more money.