Showing posts with label dvi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dvi. Show all posts

10/26/2011

IOGEAR 2-Port USB DVI-D Cable KVM with Audio and Mic GCS932UB (Black) Review

IOGEAR 2-Port USB DVI-D Cable KVM with Audio and Mic GCS932UB (Black)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I just bought this KVM. Here are a few thoughts after using it for a few days:
REASON I BOUGHT THIS ONE: It had two USB 2.0 ports, and no PS2 ports. IOGear has had some great customer reviews for this, and other KVM products. I liked the fact that I plugged my own DVI cable into the switch to my monitor making cable length irrelevant. And finally, the one negative review I did see here was answered directly by an IOGEAR representative attempting to address the problem.
PACKAGING: Nice cardboard box, foam wrap around all internal components, manuals were in color and in plastic bags, the manual content is complete but concise in English.
QUALITY: Everything seems to be made of sturdy high quality components. The cables are thick, well insulated, and are generous length. You would only need to be concerned with cable length if your two machines are over 10 feet away from each other. There are plastic caps that cover the stereo cables if not in use and the cables themselves are color-coded. The cables plug into the switch ports firm and secure.
HOOK-UP: Couldn't be easier. There was no need to look at the manual, everything is intuitive enough. There is a mini stereo jack cable for your left/right speakers and then one for your microphone. I have a 4.1 surround setup and I don't have a need for a microphone. Well, good news for those like me... just use the microphone stereo port for your rear left/right and you will have full 4.1 surround through the KVM. This was a great surprise, and it works.
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: One problem I ran into was that my Logitech MX510 mouse has 5 additional buttons. When run through the KVM it only detects a standard three button scroll wheel mouse. I never really used these buttons anyway, but it required me to reconfigure the mouse driver to speed up the cursor movement again.
I hid the KVM switch behind my desk and only see the slim remote button. The bottom of the button has a no-slip rubber pad, so you can lay it on your desk flat and it won't really slide anywhere. The button itself is easy to find and press without having to look at it.
Everything else worked great right out of the box. Since this is a digital KVM switch, you don't have to worry about quality of the signal. Either the signal arrives or it doesn't. You get perfect clarity or nothing at all. In my case, it's perfect. There is absolutely no difference in display quality when compared to directly connected the computer to the display.
MY SPECS: Computer #1 is an older XP machine with a ATI 9800 graphics card. The other machine is an HP running 64-bit Windows 7 with a GeForce 260. The mouse is a Logitech MX510. The keyboard is an older Microsoft split ergonomic PS /2 keyboard. I used a USB adapter without any issues at all. I hooked up a PC Works FourPointSurround (with subwoofer) through the two mini-stereo ports. Like I mentioned earlier, you can use any equipment that uses two mini-stereo ports, it doesn't have to be a microphone.
FINAL THOUGHTS: I am completely satisfied and this product has met my expectations. My opinion of IOGear has increased a few notches. When looking for future hardware, I'll certainly give IOGear a favorable consideration.

Click Here to see more reviews about: IOGEAR 2-Port USB DVI-D Cable KVM with Audio and Mic GCS932UB (Black)

2Port USB DVID CABLE KVM W/CABLAUDIO & MIC DVI RESOLTION 1920X1200

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Click here for more information about IOGEAR 2-Port USB DVI-D Cable KVM with Audio and Mic GCS932UB (Black)

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10/11/2011

Kensington Universal Notebook Docking Station with VGA/DVI - sd300v Review

Kensington Universal Notebook Docking Station with VGA/DVI - sd300v
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
If you have a MacBook Pro, you can connect a monitor to the notebook via an inexpensive adapter. This Kensington dock product allows you to connect a second monitor to the notebook so that you have a total of three screens including the notebook screen.
If you follow these instructions, then this device works fine with the latest (April 2010 refresh) MacBook Pro notebooks running 10.6.3.
1. Buy and set up the dock but DO NOT INSTALL THE SOFTWARE THAT COMES WITH IT
2. Download the 64-bit driver (currently a beta) from DisplayLink and install it:
[...]
The 32-bit driver (which is not a beta) will work fine on Snow Leopard unless you need a portrait mode (screen rotation). The 64-bit driver fixes that. I'm running 1200x1920 (the max resolution) in portrait mode with no problems.
Previous to this, I was using ScreenRecycler, which is a lot slower. The video speed of this dock isn't "native", but it's acceptable for browsing and word processing, and it even runs YouTube fine in windowed mode (but NOT in full-screen mode -- you can see the lag).

Click Here to see more reviews about: Kensington Universal Notebook Docking Station with VGA/DVI - sd300v

Universal USB Docking Station

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8/07/2011

StarTech 2 Port Dual DVI USB KVM Switch with Audio & USB 2.0 Hub (SV231DD2DUA) Review

StarTech 2 Port Dual DVI USB KVM Switch with Audio and USB 2.0 Hub (SV231DD2DUA)
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
I purchased this KVM as it supposedly was one of the few that would work with a wireless keyboard/mouse (one that uses a USB "receiver") and I could find only positive comments across the web.
Unfortunately, BUYER BEWARE!
The only positive comment I could say about this product is that it arrived quickly. Too bad, though, as I wasted additional money and time to try and get it to work properly.
My setup:
DELL desktop with add-on high-end dual DVI graphics card.
Very high-end notebook with a high end DVI + HDMI dual monitor graphics card. (This required one HDMI to DVI-I cable)
Wireless mouse/keyboard combination using a single USB receiver.
Here is a partial list of the problems with this unit.
GENERAL ISSUES / FEATURE DEFICIENCIES
1. Difficult to work with, as the back panel connectors are very close together. Since DVI cables tend to be thick, it is extremely difficult to plug everything in and/or move connectors once you get cables in the right place.
2. Manual states that it is for the 2 and 4 port version, however only describes buttons and setup that is accurate for the 4 port version.
3. Front panel LEDs have no markings and are unintuitive as to what they mean.
4. No way to have the Audio stay with a particular PC - it always follows the selected computer.
5. All special functions (like turning scanning on/off) require keyboard sequences, which is useless if you have to put your keyboard USB receiver into the general USB ports (instead of the keyboard port) - which must be done if you want your keyboard driver to be able to integrate with the keyboard (or mouse) driver.
BUGS
1. The most fundamental KVM requirement is that the KVM must make the PC think that monitors are always attached. However, when I pressed the front panel switch to move "focus" to my laptop, my desktop computer thought its monitors were disconnected. This caused the desktop to automatically reconfigure its video to use one monitor, moving all my opened apps to a single screen. When I used the KVM to switch back to my desktop, I had to reset my graphics controller to dual monitor mode and move the apps back to where I wanted them.
2. Using the regular USB keyboard port, occasionally pressing a key auto-repeats a dozen or so of the same character.
3. Using the regular USB mouse port, occasionally the mouse stops working and requires the USB receiver to be removed and reinserted - which only works some of the time.
The manufacturer claimed that part of the problem was that I needed to use DVI-I cables instead of DVI-D cables (although digital monitors usually do not even allow DVI-I cables to plug into their DVI connector) and should not need the additional analog pins available on DVI-I cables. I purchased 4 high quality DVI-I cables to use to connect the unit to my PCs and tried again. However, it made ZERO difference and every problem still existed.
The bottom line is that this unit DOES NOT WORK properly!


Click Here to see more reviews about: StarTech 2 Port Dual DVI USB KVM Switch with Audio & USB 2.0 Hub (SV231DD2DUA)

The SV231DD2DUA 2-port Dual DVI USB KVM Switch allows two PCs, each with dual DVI video outputs, to share two monitors, one microphone and set of speakers, one keyboard and one mouse as well as two other USB peripherals. An ideal solution for graphic designers, CAD/CAM designers or educational and financial institutions, the dual view KVM Switch allows you to instantly switch back and forth between dual DVI display PCs at the touch of a button, while maintaining professional level video quality on both monitors. The dual DVI switch also features an integrated USB hub port that allows USB 2.0 peripherals such as thumb drives, external hard drives or web cams to be shared between attached systems - eliminating duplicate peripheral costs. Please Note: While both DVI-I (analog mode) and DVI-D (digital only) are supported by the KVM, both source PCs should output the same signal type for proper switching. It is recommended wherever possible to use DVI-D cables across all PC to KVM and KVM to Console connections. Please contact technical support if you require assistance identifying your source. Backed by a StarTech.com 3 year warranty and free lifetime technical support.

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Click here for more information about StarTech 2 Port Dual DVI USB KVM Switch with Audio & USB 2.0 Hub (SV231DD2DUA)

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