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The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

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Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#11

Post by blauditore »

beojan wrote: post #7
xg15 wrote: post #6

I'd guess the comment about HDCP is onto something. To build a KVM switch that works with modern displays without weird errors, it probably has to be an active HDMI/HDCP endpoint on its own - which means a vendor would either need to get its own sets of keys and do additional work to enforce all DRM restrictions - or they'd have to use leaked keys and prepare to get sued in an instant. Even without HDCP, I remember a…

What if it physically unplugged the HDMI connection, and reconnected it to the other device? It wouldn't be quite as seamless since the initialization process would be repeated, but it would work .

Not even physically, but just redirecting the raw signal to another device should work. Maybe artificially break it for a second or so to better simulate plugging out and back in. I can't see how the actual endpoints could tell a difference between that and manually un- and re-plugging into a different device.

Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#13

Post by blauditore »

keypusher wrote: post #5

The rise of more powerful graphics cards with the ports and ability to run multiple monitors made this something that ever fewer desktop users need that did before. You can still get good KVMs in the enterprise/hardware market, they are common in server rooms, but even then less so than the old days as most firmware allows remote management.

I don't understand what this has to do with graphics cards. One is about connecting multiple monitors to one computer, the other about connection one monitor to multiple computers.

Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#15

Post by paol »

daemin wrote: post #9

The main thing that has pissed me off with technologies like DisplayPort and HDMI is that I cannot actually turn my monitors off when I'm not using my computer. With DVI I could turn the monitors off and the desktop and applications would stay where they were. With HDMI/Displayport it considers the monitor disconnected, hence re-adjusts the desktop and moves everything around. I would love an option that I could swit…

You must have some dodgy hardware. This is definitely not normal, at least with HDMI.

I just tried it with the monitor right in front of me, even unplugging it from the wall didn't cause the laptop to drop the monitor like it would if I had disconnected the HDMI cable.

Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#16

Post by StreamBright »

Kurtz79 wrote: post #3

PSA: It's about this "KVM": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch Not this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel-based_Virtual_Machine

I opened the link because I was wondering what is it talking about when KVM (the virtual machine) is more popular today than ever. :)

Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#17

Post by 88 »

paol wrote: post #15
daemin wrote: post #9

The main thing that has pissed me off with technologies like DisplayPort and HDMI is that I cannot actually turn my monitors off when I'm not using my computer. With DVI I could turn the monitors off and the desktop and applications would stay where they were. With HDMI/Displayport it considers the monitor disconnected, hence re-adjusts the desktop and moves everything around. I would love an option that I could swit…

You must have some dodgy hardware. This is definitely not normal, at least with HDMI. I just tried it with the monitor right in front of me, even unplugging it from the wall didn't cause the laptop to drop the monitor like it would if I had disconnected the HDMI cable.

Sounds perfectly normal to me. I’ve only ever seen the behavior daemin describes.

Re: The Peculiarly Quiet Decline and Fall of the KVM

#20

Post by chha »

blibble wrote: post #14

I use two machines as part of normal operation, my monitors have multiple inputs which can be switched with one button and with synergy the mouse/keyboard can move across no need for a KVM

This! I was a big user of KVMs for many years, but haven't used one for the past ten(ish) years after discovering Synergy. I don't switch monitor inputs, but have had a bunch of them connected to various computers, and being able to switch with no effort at all is great.
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