- Jun 30, 2004
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This thread is sort of an "advisory" for anybody who feels the "need" for a KVM switch, uses an old KVM equipped only with analog-VGA, and wants to go totally "digital" or insure HDCP-compliance -- one, the other or both.
It is not so clear that the existing KVM switches work with 4K monitors, KVM DVI/USB switches I've looked at cap the resolution at 1920x1200.
Further, although 4K seems to be nominally available for only 60 Hz refresh rates, you may want a KVM for a regular full-HD monitor to run at above 60 Hz -- 120 -- even 144 Hz. The makers of DVI/USB KVMs I'm looking at advise through tech-support that "we advise running our KVM for refresh rates of 60 Hz," and they don't give any additional information toward what is actually possible.
What do you do in the interim?
You can supplement some old analog-VGA KVMs with USB patch, "Y-" cables or converter plugs (green or purple, but the wiring is different for mouse or keyboard, so use the right color for the proper device).
Generally, I've found that any "quirks" with this USB-klooge are minor. You may have to press R & L CTRL-ALT-SHIFT (6-fingers) if you ever lose any functionality on some computer, and you'll want to press and hold down the left mouse button after switching to the current machine, or you'll see mouse activity that opens windows or even changes the desktop at random. Through Y-cables connecting a single USB to both mouse and keyboard, this takes no more than a second and you'll see the lights on the keyboard flash when "all is clear -- all is safe."
I've used the converter plugs between kybd/mouse and the PS/2 input of the old KVM; I've used the splitters for at least two computers connected to the same 4-port KVM.
So you CAN get extended use out of your old KVM. Heck! Mine are pushing 21 years! But the caveat: You still have to deal with video switching.
You can use an HDMI switch (an extra button to push) to supplement the kybd/mouse usage of the KVM. There is at least a minor drawback.
Even a $35 bi-directional HDMI switch, though HDCP-compliant, will "lose" the signal on the computer from which you are switching, although it should re-establish the EDID handshake on the return switching. You may hear an audio report similar to the familiar sound when you unplug a USB device.
This sort of problem with HDMI switching can be annoying if you have another monitor or HDTV DIRECTLY connected to the computer while using the KVM-connected monitor as a second display -- particularly with your windows desktop. The desktop will re-establish itself on the directly-connected display or HDTV.
But the HDMI switch seems to work. It should be HDCP compliant. You can switch your KVM from the keyboard and then hit the button on the HDMI switch, if the switch is located nearby.
There is a second possibility -- alternative to an HDMI switch. It depends on how "modern" is the monitor you are using, and its OSD or on-screen (configuration) display. The monitor needs to have multiple input ports of various types (except analog -- which we wish to exclude), and it must handle the switching between inputs through the OSD.
OSD menus are often clumsy, and the OSD contacts or buttons on the display are tedious. You'll have to learn how to use them.
I can report as a positive example that my new BenQ monitor comes with a mouse-like device with scroll-wheel. The device has three programmable buttons, so you can elevate any feature at the bottom of the OSD menu tree, to make it a "pre-menu" option. So switching between inputs may only require one or two "mouse" (S Switch) wheel-clicks, scrolling a line or two, and an execution or exit click.
This also has quirks. Can you get to the OSD if the currently selected computer goes to sleep or hibernates? In my case, I can choose "Auto-HDMI" selection for the monitor's sleep state. It will change the default input to the first HDMI input that is still active. With older models, I'd think this is likely to be automatic and cannot be turned off.
If you only have one input on your monitor, then not only are your KVM prospects limited in your selection choices, but you can't avail yourself of using the monitor's own circuitry to switch between active inputs.
I suppose that's all I have to "report" -- to "advise" -- to . . . . communicate.
KVM users on this forum need a few good "Wise Men" [persons, girls] to watch for the Star. The star I mean would be an HDMI switch costing less than $300 (but we'll look at any others), having HDMI or DVI port-switching capable of (a) resolutions above 1920x1200 and (b) refresh rate specs allowing for 100 to 144 Hz.
Oh. Forgot to mention Display Port. Yes -- I'd like to see a KVM for Display-Port so that the combination provides HDCP-compliance and all the other things. Truth be told, I saw a recent article at PC World or some tech site that suggested DisplayPort will become both common and more powerful, or consequently a preferred advantage.
Obviously, some gamers with a three-monitor setup may already have managed a daisy-chain or hub configuration for their displayport-ready monitors. But gamers don't represent all the needs in the enthusiast community. Some of us want it all at once; some of us have other interests and usage patterns. Some folks think a KVM switch is essential to their computing needs, whether or not somebody else questions their need for two or more computers under the desk. Other folks have low-resolution display needs; others want their Ultra and eat it too.
So . . . there you are . . . . . There -- you -- ARE.
It is not so clear that the existing KVM switches work with 4K monitors, KVM DVI/USB switches I've looked at cap the resolution at 1920x1200.
Further, although 4K seems to be nominally available for only 60 Hz refresh rates, you may want a KVM for a regular full-HD monitor to run at above 60 Hz -- 120 -- even 144 Hz. The makers of DVI/USB KVMs I'm looking at advise through tech-support that "we advise running our KVM for refresh rates of 60 Hz," and they don't give any additional information toward what is actually possible.
What do you do in the interim?
You can supplement some old analog-VGA KVMs with USB patch, "Y-" cables or converter plugs (green or purple, but the wiring is different for mouse or keyboard, so use the right color for the proper device).
Generally, I've found that any "quirks" with this USB-klooge are minor. You may have to press R & L CTRL-ALT-SHIFT (6-fingers) if you ever lose any functionality on some computer, and you'll want to press and hold down the left mouse button after switching to the current machine, or you'll see mouse activity that opens windows or even changes the desktop at random. Through Y-cables connecting a single USB to both mouse and keyboard, this takes no more than a second and you'll see the lights on the keyboard flash when "all is clear -- all is safe."
I've used the converter plugs between kybd/mouse and the PS/2 input of the old KVM; I've used the splitters for at least two computers connected to the same 4-port KVM.
So you CAN get extended use out of your old KVM. Heck! Mine are pushing 21 years! But the caveat: You still have to deal with video switching.
You can use an HDMI switch (an extra button to push) to supplement the kybd/mouse usage of the KVM. There is at least a minor drawback.
Even a $35 bi-directional HDMI switch, though HDCP-compliant, will "lose" the signal on the computer from which you are switching, although it should re-establish the EDID handshake on the return switching. You may hear an audio report similar to the familiar sound when you unplug a USB device.
This sort of problem with HDMI switching can be annoying if you have another monitor or HDTV DIRECTLY connected to the computer while using the KVM-connected monitor as a second display -- particularly with your windows desktop. The desktop will re-establish itself on the directly-connected display or HDTV.
But the HDMI switch seems to work. It should be HDCP compliant. You can switch your KVM from the keyboard and then hit the button on the HDMI switch, if the switch is located nearby.
There is a second possibility -- alternative to an HDMI switch. It depends on how "modern" is the monitor you are using, and its OSD or on-screen (configuration) display. The monitor needs to have multiple input ports of various types (except analog -- which we wish to exclude), and it must handle the switching between inputs through the OSD.
OSD menus are often clumsy, and the OSD contacts or buttons on the display are tedious. You'll have to learn how to use them.
I can report as a positive example that my new BenQ monitor comes with a mouse-like device with scroll-wheel. The device has three programmable buttons, so you can elevate any feature at the bottom of the OSD menu tree, to make it a "pre-menu" option. So switching between inputs may only require one or two "mouse" (S Switch) wheel-clicks, scrolling a line or two, and an execution or exit click.
This also has quirks. Can you get to the OSD if the currently selected computer goes to sleep or hibernates? In my case, I can choose "Auto-HDMI" selection for the monitor's sleep state. It will change the default input to the first HDMI input that is still active. With older models, I'd think this is likely to be automatic and cannot be turned off.
If you only have one input on your monitor, then not only are your KVM prospects limited in your selection choices, but you can't avail yourself of using the monitor's own circuitry to switch between active inputs.
I suppose that's all I have to "report" -- to "advise" -- to . . . . communicate.
KVM users on this forum need a few good "Wise Men" [persons, girls] to watch for the Star. The star I mean would be an HDMI switch costing less than $300 (but we'll look at any others), having HDMI or DVI port-switching capable of (a) resolutions above 1920x1200 and (b) refresh rate specs allowing for 100 to 144 Hz.
Oh. Forgot to mention Display Port. Yes -- I'd like to see a KVM for Display-Port so that the combination provides HDCP-compliance and all the other things. Truth be told, I saw a recent article at PC World or some tech site that suggested DisplayPort will become both common and more powerful, or consequently a preferred advantage.
Obviously, some gamers with a three-monitor setup may already have managed a daisy-chain or hub configuration for their displayport-ready monitors. But gamers don't represent all the needs in the enthusiast community. Some of us want it all at once; some of us have other interests and usage patterns. Some folks think a KVM switch is essential to their computing needs, whether or not somebody else questions their need for two or more computers under the desk. Other folks have low-resolution display needs; others want their Ultra and eat it too.
So . . . there you are . . . . . There -- you -- ARE.
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