KVM switch with USB

[Ed Coolidge]

I'm looking for a good KVM switch and I have a few questions and concerns.
First, I really need one that can support a hi-res monitor. Is there any
noticeable degradation of the video quality? I'm also wondering about what kind
of USB devices do they usually support? It's not crucial, but I would like to
be able to switch USB peripherals without having to move them back and forth.
Something else I'm curious about is sound support. Is it really necessary or
will a simple splitter do? I really can't afford to damage any of my equipment
so I'm not sure if that's good idea or not.

 

[Thomas Wendell]

KVM swithes comes in many flavors.. Either PS/2 or USB

Video quality depends on the cables, so shell out some more money and buy HQ
shielded cables.
I don't think you can switch peripherals like you can switch mouse and
keyboard with a KVM....


--
Tumppi
Reply to group
=================================================
Most learned on nntp://news.mircosoft.com
Helsinki, Finland (remove _NOSPAM)
(translations from FI/SE not always accurate)
=================================================

 

[spodosaurus]

I'm looking for a good KVM switch and I have a few questions and
concerns. First, I really need one that can support a hi-res monitor.

What resolution and refresh are you looking for support for? The specs
of the KVM should answer this question for you.

Is there any noticeable degradation of the video quality?

That depends on who you ask. If you're used to using a DVI input on an
LCD monitor and you switch to VGA via the KVM then I've heard that a
real connoisseur might notice some degredation.

I'm also
wondering about what kind of USB devices do they usually support?

Keyboard and mouse...?

It's
not crucial, but I would like to be able to switch USB peripherals
without having to move them back and forth.

You'll have to check the specs of the KVM, I'm not aware of any offhand
that do this.

Something else I'm curious
about is sound support. Is it really necessary or will a simple
splitter do?

What exactly do you mean? Are you thinking about reversing the splitter
and having both computers input into it and then having the splitter
output to the speakers? You may find, as I did, that this does not work.

I really can't afford to damage any of my equipment so I'm
not sure if that's good idea or not.

I doubt you'll damage anything unless you start throwing things around
in frustration.

Cheers,

Ari


--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Ed Coolidge]

That depends on who you ask. If you're used to using a DVI input on an
LCD monitor and you switch to VGA via the KVM then I've heard that a
real connoisseur might notice some degredation.

OK, so I'll at least try to find something with monitor jacks that support a
bandwidth higher than what max res I plan to use would require and hope for the
best.

You'll have to check the specs of the KVM, I'm not aware of any offhand
that do this.

Well, I'm sure that was wishful thinking.

What exactly do you mean? Are you thinking about reversing the splitter
and having both computers input into it and then having the splitter
output to the speakers? You may find, as I did, that this does not work.

Right now I have two sound cards, SBLive and AWE32, in my PC with both hooked up
to my speakers using a splitter, but the AWE32 is only used in DOS when the Live
doesn't always work, so only one is actually active at any given time. I just
wasn't sure how it would work out with two active sources. It would be nice to
be able to hear both at the same time so that when on one you can hear the
windows "ding" sound when an error occurs or an app is finished on the other,
but I guess that is just more wishful thinking.

OK, so could anyone recommend any models or at least quality brands to look for,
because there is a lot of junk listed online.

I doubt you'll damage anything unless you start throwing things around
in frustration.

Haven't done that, at least not in a while. My mouse luckily survived the trip
though.

Thanks!

 

[spodosaurus]

Right now I have two sound cards, SBLive and AWE32, in my PC with both
hooked up to my speakers using a splitter, but the AWE32 is only used in
DOS when the Live doesn't always work, so only one is actually active at
any given time. I just wasn't sure how it would work out with two
active sources. It would be nice to be able to hear both at the same
time so that when on one you can hear the windows "ding" sound when an
error occurs or an app is finished on the other, but I guess that is
just more wishful thinking.

Some models have audio jacks, some don't. You pay for the priveledge. If
you've got a working setup now, it should work fine with the KVM.

OK, so could anyone recommend any models or at least quality brands to
look for, because there is a lot of junk listed online.

I've been using an older linksys one for more'n two years now (PS/2 and
serial compatible, no usb and no sound, VGA only, no DVI) and I love it.
I bought a cheapo SiteCom one second hand about a year ago, and it works
great too (makes things nice and easy when combined with a crossover
cable when helping people transfer files from their old computer to
their new computer). I haven't been in the market for one for years now,
so I'm afraid I can't make any brand or model recommendations. I find
the lack of sound in my KVM both a blessing and a curse at times: it
means I have to manually switch the speakers to the audio extension
leads I bought to go in front of my keyboard sometimes, but it also
enables me to hear when an online game is starting while I'm using
usenet on this computer

Cheers,

Ari


--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo

I'm going to die rather sooner than I'd like. I tried to protect my
neighbours from crime, and became the victim of it. To jump to the end
of the story, as a result of this I need a bone marrow transplant. Many
people around the world are waiting for a marrow transplant, too. Please
volunteer to be a marrow donor:
http://www.abmdr.org.au/
http://www.marrow.org/

 

[Robert B. Clark]

I'm looking for a good KVM switch and I have a few questions and concerns.
First, I really need one that can support a hi-res monitor. Is there any
noticeable degradation of the video quality? I'm also wondering about what kind
of USB devices do they usually support? It's not crucial, but I would like to
be able to switch USB peripherals without having to move them back and forth.

I'm not aware of any models that support USB peripheral sharing--with
the obvious exception of the keyboard and mouse, of course.

Which USB peripherals are you interested in sharing between your
computers?

Something else I'm curious about is sound support. Is it really necessary or
will a simple splitter do? I really can't afford to damage any of my equipment
so I'm not sure if that's good idea or not.

Belkin's SOHO KVM series includes models that share audio as well as
keyboard, video and mouse. These come in both USB and PS/2
configurations:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=200305

I'm using the F1DS104P (PS/2 model) on this very computer. I've noticed
no appreciable video degradation on a 19" CRT @ 1280x1024.

 

[Ed Coolidge]

Which USB peripherals are you interested in sharing between your
computers?

I was just curious, that's all.

Belkin's SOHO KVM series includes models that share audio as well as
keyboard, video and mouse. These come in both USB and PS/2
configurations:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatSectionView.process?IWAction=Load&Merchant_Id=&Section_Id=200305

I'm using the F1DS104P (PS/2 model) on this very computer. I've noticed
no appreciable video degradation on a 19" CRT @ 1280x1024.

Well, right now I'm using a hires 17" running 1280x960 at 75Hz, which is by the
way correct dimensions for a 4:3 aspect ratio display. How they screwed that on
up is beyond me! Anyway, I was considering a future upgrade to something that
could handle the HDTV 1920 resolution.