Posts Tagged ‘kvm’

For about a year and a half I struggled with a Belkin KVM switch to allow me to have instant access to my Mac Mini and Dell computers. It was extremely buggy: it would often switch on its own from one computer to the other; monitor quality using one computer was very good, and on the other it had a greenish tint; sometimes the switch would not allow me access at all to one or the other computers. Another problem with the Belkin was that wires came out of both ends of it making it difficult to position physically. Belkin tech support was helpful, but after hearing about the Starview switch, I had to give it a try.

As other reviewers have noted, you simply plug everything in, and it works! What could be better. I’ve been using it now for about a month and have had no problem. I have a very large 24″ wide-screen Dell monitor, and both the Mac and PC look beautiful on it. I am also using a wireless keyboard and mouse with no problem. The USB printer I hooked up to the KVM switch also works flawlessly on both machines. All the wires come out the back, so if you want to position this on your desk, you can do so in a way that the wires don’t show.

Its only minor downside is its appearance – it’s a very utilitarian metal box. But I hide mine just within reach under my desk, so no one sees it anyway.

In a nutshell, if you need a KVM switch, this is the one!
Starview 2 Port KVM

This was easy to set up. I attached two MAC computers (Mac Mini and MacBook) and the switcher worked very well. I only attached my keyboard to the switcher’s USB port because I could attach my mouse to the keyboard, so I used only one USB port on the switcher. The video for the MacBook came up instantly but the video on the Mac Mini came on for an instant and then immediately went into screen saver mode. However, just pushing a key brought up the video and it stayed on. I had trouble with line noise with the audio. The audio was O.K. for one of the computers (Mac Mini), but there was an irritating hum with the MacBook. I decided to detach the audio from the switcher and use each computer’s own audio. I’m not wild about the mess of cables that this set-up creates, but I think I can solve that problem by placing the switcher on my keyboard shelf – to the left and back – and the cables won’t show. However, I’ll need to find an extenstion cable for the monitor’s DVI – if such a thing exists.
2X1 Dvi KVM Switcher

i loved this book to pieces. its a book that you will laugh and cry with. it will be interesting to see the movie when it comes out.
KVM Switch with 8