Wait why not just buy a usb switch? I switch between 4 computers using the same monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
81–90 of 153 posts
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#82I solved the multi-computer-to-multi-monitor problem with a Level1Techs KVM[1]. The price (~$500 for the variant I purchased) initially gave me pause, but the longer I've had it, the happier I am with my decision. It handles all the switching at the hardware level and thus has no perceptible lag for video or anything else. I'm able to connect a single set of peripherals, in my case, two monitors, a keyboard, a trackb…
I’m looking for a setup like this. I currently have a simple usb-c splitter that I use to switch my keyboard between the two. I bought a similar one for display ports but it doesn’t work super well, so I ditched it and just manually move the display port from my desktop to my caldigit. They were both $20. The keyboard one works fine. I’d love to have a kvm like this but the price certainly gets gives me pause when I…
There is an actual KVM that does both (display and usb) for 25 eurobucks sold on the communist ecommerce website.
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#83I'm going to have to look into this. I've got two machines using the same monitor (indeed work macbook and home linux). It's a curved 4K Samsung Oddyssey of some sort, and I can either switch through the monitor's menu, or set it to switch to the machine that gave the most recent input. The latter sounds perfect, but unfortunately both options suck. The monitor is incredibly slow to respond to anything: turning on, opening the menu, switching input, whatever. It always takes a couple of seconds, sometimes forgets to turn on at all, and often when I do something on one machine, the other suddenly wakes up, presumably by the monitor. The setup is unpredictable, and I blame the monitor.
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#84I have a Samsung Ultrawide monitor. It allows for two simultaneous video input displayed on the screen at once, in either 50/50 or 66/33 split. Combined with Barrier for mouse-keyboard switching and keyboard integration and I can use both devices simultaneously on the same monitor, almost as though they were a single device.
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#85[dead]
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#86I did something similar last year with a monitor without built-in KVM but with good DCC support (Ultrasharp U3417W) and Synergy [0]. I use Synergy as part of my desk setup already, but needed a way to view the UI of a normally headless machine. The solution I built was a small shell script that terminated the active Synergy session and started a new one with a different config file (so keyboard/mouse input would map…
I loved synergy back in 2005 when it was _actually_ open source! It was probably my first open source contribution! But then it was enshittified and made impossible to build from source in order to support the commercial dreams.
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#87I sometimes use a Raspberry Pi at work, and found the miniKVM to be a useful tool for controlling it:
https://www.crowdsupply.com/techxartisan/openterface-mini-kv...
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#88I'm using Apple Studio Displays and have been on the lookout for a solution like this for quite a while. My grail is a Thunderbolt KVM; there are a couple on the market, but they cost a fortune and have terrible reviews. I guess the use case is so narrow that nobody is investing in it.
An alternative could be a good 5K/6K monitor with a KVM, but this is a unicorn as well...
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#89Wait why not just buy a usb switch? I switch between 4 computers using the same monitor, keyboard and mouse.
Why buy a switch when almost all monitors have multiple video inputs and they can switch them internally.
The only difficulty is that as said in TFA, the DDC commands are typically very poorly documented by the monitor manufacturers, so most computer users are not aware of them.
Re: Two computers, one monitor, zero fiddling (2025)
#90Like many in this thread, I have a similar setup. I used to use I separate KVM, which did work but had a lot of cabling.
Eventually, I decided on just a simple USB SPDT switch that I designed [0], a USB hub, and manual input switching on the monitor. Even though it takes two actions instead of one, it's a simpler setup and has been quite reliable for years now.