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I'm currently working on a variation of this, specifically for accessing/controlling smartphones. My hunch is that even though a hardware-based KVM approach was meant for remote manual control, it could also be extremely useful for automation (and specifically test automation). But the big question is if anyone would agree with me about that. Hope to find out soon enough...
I like this project but the hardware seems quite overpriced at $300+. Similar for tinypilotkvm.com. In the past I've considered making and selling a cheaper version. Aside from lack of time (or motivation), one thing which discouraged me is that I would feel bad "undercutting" someone selling open hardware.
It may seem overpriced when compared to collecting all of the pieces and putting them together for yourself, but the person trying to do this as a business has to make a big investment in up front purchasing as well as labor to get them all together and shipped out. It quickly reaches a point where doing it for an “undercutting” level price doesn’t justify the risk and effort.
I like this project but the hardware seems quite overpriced at $300+. Similar for tinypilotkvm.com. In the past I've considered making and selling a cheaper version. Aside from lack of time (or motivation), one thing which discouraged me is that I would feel bad "undercutting" someone selling open hardware.
I understand the feedback about the price. When I created the original TinyPilot,[0] I wanted a low-priced alternative to the $600 KVM over IP options I was seeing, and now I sell my devices for $400-500/unit.
The thing that's tough about selling hardware is that it seems easy to produce a few units cheaply, but creating a sustainable business for it, the costs add up. You have to fulfill orders, provide support when there are delivery issues, provide support when the customer has trouble understanding how to connect to a device on their local network. And there's certification, stockpiling components so you don't run out of stock, managing inventory from many different vendors.
TinyPilot became profitable in 2023, but for the first 2.5 years, we were operating at a loss. [1]
Also, small correction: no KVM over IP vendor is really selling open hardware. The part that's open is the software. I haven't seen any vendors publish their hardware schematics. It's expensive to create PCBs, and it's not like open-source software where you can hope to get useful external contributions.
[0] https://tinypilotkvm.com/blog/build-a-kvm-over-ip-under-100
[1] https://mtlynch.io/retrospectives/2023/10/#tinypilothttpstin...
Used Raritans are pretty cheap on ebay. The dongles are even cheaper.
Can you explain what all would be needed to make a similar setup? I see the dongles for ~30 but does it need to be in a location with another piece of hardware or what?
For each connected device you need a dongle, which is what will plug into the display and usb ports of the server.
I like this project but the hardware seems quite overpriced at $300+. Similar for tinypilotkvm.com. In the past I've considered making and selling a cheaper version. Aside from lack of time (or motivation), one thing which discouraged me is that I would feel bad "undercutting" someone selling open hardware.
usb splitter $9 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C5FWQND
usb power blocker $7 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094FYL9QT
hdmi-csi2 adapter $32 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GY9M9BX
atx power control looks less off-the-shelf
I like this project but the hardware seems quite overpriced at $300+. Similar for tinypilotkvm.com. In the past I've considered making and selling a cheaper version. Aside from lack of time (or motivation), one thing which discouraged me is that I would feel bad "undercutting" someone selling open hardware.
They don't seem to directly support the upstream project, and I believe they may have even forked some of the software from PiKVM and TinyPilot both and may or may not have provided proper attribution/recognition... so take that as you may.
I like this project but the hardware seems quite overpriced at $300+. Similar for tinypilotkvm.com. In the past I've considered making and selling a cheaper version. Aside from lack of time (or motivation), one thing which discouraged me is that I would feel bad "undercutting" someone selling open hardware.
TinyPilot founder here. I understand the feedback about the price. When I created the original TinyPilot,[0] I wanted a low-priced alternative to the $600 KVM over IP options I was seeing, and now I sell my devices for $400-500/unit. The thing that's tough about selling hardware is that it seems easy to produce a few units cheaply, but creating a sustainable business for it, the costs add up. You have to fulfill orde…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
TinyPilot founder here. I understand the feedback about the price. When I created the original TinyPilot,[0] I wanted a low-priced alternative to the $600 KVM over IP options I was seeing, and now I sell my devices for $400-500/unit. The thing that's tough about selling hardware is that it seems easy to produce a few units cheaply, but creating a sustainable business for it, the costs add up. You have to fulfill orde…
Fan of your work, your blog and your openness. Thank you.