KVM swithches....

[stevo1210]

Hello Everyone,

I am looking around to buy a KVM switch to connect my 4 PCs to my monitor, keyboard and mouse.
So far I've found some on eBay which look pretty OK.... not too bad. I don't know about thier quality but I can't afford the really expensive Aten ones at about $120 for a 4 port switch.

Here's the switch which I am looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PC-IT-4-PORT-...QQcmdZViewItem

On eBay it costs about $40AUD shipped, which is in my range that I can actually afford. It also comes with four cables.
I know it's generic but It's what I can afford for now....
I also saw the exact same switch at a local electronics store for $100AUD. so $40AUD on eBay is a good price.

I have also seen the exact same KVM switch mentioned here on badcaps in one of kc8adu's threads.... except the one he mentioned was not working.... which kinda worries me a bit about this type of KVM.

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2675

The thing I worry most about these KVM switches is the video quality. I've seen some in the past with blurry/fuzzy video.... I think it may have been because of the wires?.

I've also heard that sometimes the keyboards and mouses plugged into KVMs respond slower than if plugged directly into a PC??

Would that KVM be OK for use with my PCs for doing homework and watching a few movies every now and then?? I'm very new to KVMs so I don't know what to look for....

Right now I have no KVM and I have to plug and unplug a bunch of cables if I want to use my gaming PC or servers.... and it's getting really annoying, also I think I might wear out my VGA and PS/2 ports soon.

Thanks.

[willawake]

Re: KVM swithches....

The thing I worry most about these KVM switches is the video quality. I've seen some in the past with blurry/fuzzy video.... I think it may have been because of the wires?.

cable quality is a factor, length also. but the unit can also affect video quality
with half decent unit and short cables it should not be an issue at all but ymmv

I've also heard that sometimes the keyboards and mouses plugged into KVMs respond slower than if plugged directly into a PC??

never experienced that

why not use some remote desktop software for your servers though?

[stretch0069]

Re: KVM swithches....

I have a Belkin USB KVM. I had a 19" CRT that wouldn't work with it. No video. Then there is the issue with the keyboard. When playing games, if you hold down a key (like for running) it will stop after so many characters.

I have another Belkin USB KVM that doesn't have sound and is a more expensive 8 port model, but it doesn't have the keyboard problem.

I was looking at another brand KVM and when I asked them about the above keyboard issue, the rep had never heard of it. $200 is too much to experiment with.


oh...the above two KVMs are all VGA. The one I was looking at is DVI.

[pentium]

Re: KVM swithches....

Personally, I find that the really try to gouge you when you try to look at the easily found selection on ebay. There are a few auctions thought that fall under the radar every so often. Black box's Servswitch KVM's and Rose electronics's Serveview KVM's usually require you to make your own cables (I can supply a really nice pinout page) but the equipment is dead cheap. I bought a 16 port Serveview for $80 last week and that included shipping (to canada).
The larger KVM switches they make (like the one I bought) also have support for not only pc's and mac's but also sun's, sgi's and other unix systems like the RS/6000.

[Topcat]

Re: KVM swithches....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Cybex-Autoview-C...QQcmdZViewItem

I have one of these. Video quality is great, even through 8 foot cables. Never had a single issue with it.

[Tom41]

Re: KVM swithches....

I have a 2-port KVM switch that I use for my Windows file server. Both the server and one of my main Athlon PCs are connected to the same keyboard, mouse and monitor through the KVM switch.

I've found that the video quality is pretty good considering it was a fairly cheap unit. The only thing that bugs me slightly is that the video coming through port 1 is slightly yellow. I think the blue RGB wire is loose, since when I wiggle the connector the blue flickers on and off. I've therefore used port 1 for the server (only needed rarely), and the working port 2 for the main Athlon PC (in regular use).

I've seen another 8-port KVM switch used at my college to run the render farm PCs. You had to use the KVM to start up and log in all the rendering PCs, then start your job from the master PC. In this case, there was an OSD to show which port was currently in use (in addition to the LEDs on the unit), as well as diagnostic information. However, the image quality was much worse than if you had a direct connection to the computer.

[stevo1210]

Re: KVM swithches....

I had a think about the generic KVM today, and I'm not going to buy it. Instead I'm going to stretch my budget to $70 and get a Uniclass brand KVM.
I'm looking at the 4 port model with inbuilt audio switching.
This one: http://www.uniclass.com.tw/eng/products/UKV-SP04A.htm

The unit went down in price today at the store that I am looking at. Yesterday it was $70AUD, today it's $65AUD.
This Uniclass branded unit comes with 1.8M cables which I guess is probably long enough for where I am going to put it.
I will still search around on the net for some other units that may be equal in price and quality also.

I didn't want to go with the generic unit because it's probably low quality from the price that it costs.
On the other hand, the other unit is made by Uniclass and the Uniclass company is a Taiwanese company that only specialises in KVMs, like ATEN, so I think they should be OK.

Anyone got any opinions on the Uniclass brand KVM switching unit??

why not use some remote desktop software for your servers though?

Oh, I forgot about remote desktop software. I think I should look more into that. My server uses Windows 2000 Pro, so I have to figure out a way to get it to work. I know XP has it and I have got it to work before on another PC.

Thanks.

[Per Hansson]

Re: KVM swithches....

Terminal Server for Windows Server (it's for mutiple sessions/many user on same server)

VLC; freeware, I prefer Tight-VNC. Gives access to the console...

Remote Administrator: same as above but costs money, is my favorite. I use it for CAD at work... Works allot better than Terminal Server (but of course only I can use it, the rest have to use Terminal Server if multiple users need to use the computer at the same time)

Dameware Mini Remote Control; allows remote installation of it's software if you have admin access to the PC you want to install it on... Really nice for those cases...

[stevo1210]

Re: KVM switches....

Hello Everyone,

I am looking around to buy a KVM switch to connect my 4 PCs to my monitor, keyboard and mouse.
So far I've found some on eBay which look pretty OK.... not too bad. I don't know about thier quality but I can't afford the really expensive Aten ones at about $120 for a 4 port switch.

Here's the switch which I am looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/PC-IT-4-PORT-...QQcmdZViewItem

On eBay it costs about $40AUD shipped, which is in my range that I can actually afford. It also comes with four cables.
I know it's generic but It's what I can afford for now....

I was browsing around the Uniclass website today and I just found out that the generic KVM on eBay looks very similar to a different model made by Uniclass.

The UKV-104 model looks exactly the same as the ones being sold on eBay....
Here's the UKV-104 4 port KVM at the Uniclass site: http://www.uniclass.com.tw/eng/produ...S2/UKV-104.htm

I also had a look at the Belkin 'Flip' series which looks stylish and uses USB instead of PS/2.... except $99AUD for a 2 port KVM isn't what I am looking for....

[willawake]

Re: KVM swithches....

VLC; freeware, I prefer Tight-VNC. Gives access to the console...

ultra vnc

[stevo1210]

Re: KVM swithches....

ultra vnc

That's just what i need for my server. Thanks Will.


.... Now back to the KVM switches.

I went to the PC store today and had a browse around for different types of KVM switches.

I noticed this on many KVM switches but.... for some reason most of them use some cable that on the output to the PC, uses only one cable.... instead of 3 different cables for VGA, Mouse and Keyboard.
Most of the KVMs I saw today use some form of '3 -in-1' cable that integrates Mouse, keyboard and monitor into the one cable.... and the output to the keyboard and mouse is somehow shared within the VGA port.

I just don't know how they can force 3 different types of cables into the VGA port of the KVM....

Thanks.

[willawake]

Re: KVM swithches....

well i got this one http://www.techmati.com/reviews/kvm0405/index.htm

has the 3 in 1 cables like you said and no probs

[stretch0069]

Re: KVM swithches....

not all the pins are used on a VGA connector. They just use the unused pins for keyboard and mouse and the signals get split inside the KVM.

I would imagine that they all share a ground and maybe the keyboard and mouse share the clock....but I don't know for sure.....

[Tom41]

Re: KVM swithches....

Is that so? Well, that would explain why video quality is often impaired by using a KVM switch - the keyboard and mouse signals are causing interference!

However, most professional KVM switches I've seen have separate ports on the back for each VGA and PS/2 mouse and keyboard. A single cable connects each video port with the KVM switch, and the switch just puts through the relevant signals.

Or are you talking about the kind of KVMs that just have one cable per port coming out of the KVM? Often the cable will split up into the three components at the end, sending all signals down it.
I suppose it could be done by frequency modulation, so that several video signals could be sent down one VGA lead - rather like analogue TV through an antenna. But I've yet to see anything like that work in practice

[bgavin]

Re: KVM swithches....

I have placed multiple Belkin KVM switches in client locations, and my own office. I have zero problems with them. My office KVM is a 6-channel AT/RS232 type that has been running for years.

[stretch0069]

Re: KVM swithches....

The cables I'm talking about have three connectors on the PC end; Keyboard(P/S2), Mouse(P/S2), and Video(DB15). On the end that connects to the KVM is a single DB15 connector.

(EDIT: I have not seen a USB KVM that does this. From my experience, USB KVMs have two separate cables; one video (DB15) and one USB)

To save money with connectors on the KVM side, they run the keyboard and mouse through unused pins in the DB15 (VGA) connector. On the PCB inside the KVM, those pins are routed to the appropriate controller circuits.

What I do not know is what pins are used and what circuits (ground, clock, etc) are shared. I have seen a couple of these KVMs and I seem to remember they were limited on their VGA resolution....but don't quote me on that one.

For me....three separate and distinct cables and connectors are the only way to go........but again, thats me.

[bgavin]

Re: KVM swithches....

I just installed two Belkin F1DK102P two-port switches in two different client sites. This box is self-powered (probably from the keyboard) and works as it should. Switching is keyboard only, ScrollLock + ScrolLock (hit it twice) then Up or Down arrow.

Price was $29.95 USD at Fry's. 3 year warranty. Box is PS2/PS2 switching. No USB.

[stevo1210]

Re: KVM swithches....

The Belkin one looks quite good.... but I need a 4 port KVM switch. I will have to check if Belkin has a 4 port KVM model similar to that one. 3 years warranty does sound quite good....

[mutant]

Re: KVM swithches....

I use the IoGear MiniView Compact KVM Switch. It's been working for 5 years straight. No degradation in video either. It supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1440.

The only disadvantage is the cables. They are spread out everywhere. Plan on making room for all those cables.

http://www.iogear.com/main.php?loc=product&Item=GCS14

[stevo1210]

Re: KVM swithches....

It's been a while since i've been back to this thread about my journey of buying a KVM. So I finally finished the quest last week except I wasn't too happy with my purchase and I can't return the KVM I bought.

I bought a KVM similar to this one: https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2675
On the box it was listed as $45AUD, in the end after some bargaining I got it for $39AUD.
By the way, I went out to Sydney CBD by travelling for about an hour on a train just for a KVM. I went to about 8 different stores and all them offered the same brand of KVM and had no other stocks of other brands of KVM. They ahd some demo units running on thier personal monitors which output good video quality. But I did notice thier cables were more thicker than mine which is strange.

It was branded as an Inki1 product. I uses a lot of Inki1 products in the past without any problems so I didn't expect any issues with the one I bought except once it came home, I wasn't too happy with it.

This is a direct link to the product that I bought. http://www.inki1.com/product_view.as...mes=KVM-MT471S

The video quality is very ordinary.... keyboard and mouse inputs are fine.... nothing wrong with them.

As I said previously about ordinary video quality.... the video I get on my screen has this shadow to the right. It is very noticeable with text and it makes me get headaches as I read things online.... not good.

I think the issue may be because of the cables that came with the KVM. The video cable looks a bit thinnish compared to the ferrite core shielded VGA cables that I usually get with my monitors. I would like to solve the problem with the video issues, but I don't know where to even start looking. Should I go buy new cables?

Thanks.