Iogear 4-Port DVI KVMP Switch

Average customer rating: 3.0

Did not work
Functional, but ...
Excellent product, but you may run into this easily-solved problem...
Doesn't work with all systems
Works well

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Iogear 4-Port DVI KVMP Switch

Manufacturer: IOGEAR
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B0009UFOTS

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Product Description

The IOGEAR DVI KVMP Switch GCS1764 charts a revolutionary new direction in KVM switch functionality by providing an interface for today's digital monitors while integrating a 4-port USB KVM switch with USB peripheral sharing capabilities. As a KVM switch, the unit allows the user to access four computers from a single USB keyboard, USB mouse, and monitor, and also share among the computers peripherals such as external hard drives, printers and scanners.

The GCS1764's independent (asynchronous) switching feature allows the KVM focus to be on one computer while the USB peripheral focus is on another. The user can switch from one computer to another without interrupting print jobs, downloads or other functions being handled by connected peripherlas. This eliminates the need to purchase a separate USB hub as well as the need to purchase separate stand-alone peripheral sharers - such as printer servers, modem splitters, etc. It further improves on previous designs with DVI (Digital Video Interface) connectors, and the transfer of keyboard and mouse data to the computers via a fast, reliable USB connection. DVI supports both digital input (flat panel displays, data projectors, plasma displays, digital TVs and set-top boxes) and analog video input (traditional monitors and TVs). Fully compliant with the USB 1.1 specification - supports transfer rates of up to 12 Mbps DVI digital and analog monitor support - fully compliant with the DVI specifications Computer selection via front panel switches and hotkeys LED display for easy status monitoring Auto Scan Mode for monitoring all computers Complete keyboard emulation for error free booting Superior Video quality - 1600 x 1200; DDC2B Hot pluggable - add or remove computers for maintenance

Customer Reviews:

Did not work.......2007-06-03

Had to be returned, which ended up being a painless process, but I wish it had worked.

Functional, but ..........2007-05-15

I bought the Iogear 4-port DVI switch to use with 3 Macs and a PC. I was excited about the potential to use all of my DVI-based computers with my nice 20" Apple display. Unfortunately, because of a bone-headed decision on the part of Iogear, the switch doesn't work as well as I would have liked.

When you have DVI connections, the display sends a special ID to the computer, so that the computer knows exactly what it is connected to. That's cool, and it's a standard feature of DVI displays. When this switch switches to another computer, however, the ID that the switch sends to the "inactive" computers is NOT the ID of the display which is still connected to the console port of the switch! The "inactive" computers all get a new ID that they think is a VGA display. This is the bone-headed move.

The fact that the display changes every time you switch away from a computer causes the computer to reconfigure for the new display, and in short, it's a hassle. Considering that this switch has only DVI connections , I would have expected Iogear to have done a better job handling DVI.

If you connect a PC with Windows XP, it will work fine. If you connect Mac laptops, it will work ok, but the 2nd screen will keep switching as described above. If you connect a Mac Pro tower, you're hosed.

I was able to get my Mac Pro tower to play nice with the switch by inserting a Gefen DVI Detective between the Mac and the switch. If you're having trouble, you could look into that. But, if you haven't bought yet, you should look into the Gefen KVM switch as an alternative.

Excellent product, but you may run into this easily-solved problem..........2006-10-22

I have a Dell Dimension 4550, a QuickSilver 2002 PowerMac G4 and a PowerMac G5 Quad I needed to share a 23" 1920x1200 LCD DVI display. After reading the reviews here, I gave it a go, and I like the product a lot. I like that it comes with all the cables you need, whereas some of the more expensive units don't. I had to dig to find that out, and that it adds about $100 to their cost to buy four cable sets separately.

There was one major problem: when the Dell Dimension 4550 was turned on, the keyboard would lag badly or sometimes spit out 20 copies of the last character, regardless of which computer I was using. And when using the Dell, the optical wheel mouse would go dead every minute or two, requiring an unplug & replug (or switching to a Mac, then back to the Dell).

IOGear tech support was very helpful, and it turns out there's an issue with motherboards using nForce4 chipsets and their USB implementation. After a few back-and-forth emails with quick turnaround, IOGear support pointed me to a discussion in an nVidia forum. A lot of people were having the exact same symptoms as I. One quick answer is to buy an inexpensive Micro Innovations USB210P hub and put it between the Dell and the KVM. Amazon sells the hub as of this writing. I originally had links to the support forum and to the hub on Amazon, but review guidelines do not allow URLs. Sorry!

Everyone in the forum who has tried this hub reports success, and it doesn't even need to be powered. Mine will be here in two days. In the meantime I tried two other hubs and a USB card, and they didn't help, which also mirrored other people's experiences. Only a few products are known to fix the problem, and the Micro Innovations USB210P was the easiest to find. The iRocks IR-4300 hub also works.

Doesn't work with all systems.......2006-10-18

This switch, while good in theory, simply does not work with some systems.

Iogear admits that it's incompatible with Asus motherboards with the nvidea 3 chipset. It is also not compatible with a GigaByte GA-K8U-939 with the ULi M 1689 chipset. With those set ups the computers don't recognize the mouse or the keyboard.

The switch works fine with MSI motherboards with the VIA 8237 chipset.

I've also noticed that while booting any machine in the system that machine must be switched to the monitor or screen sizing and frequency will not come out correctly.

Works well.......2006-06-06

Setup:
Apple Cinema HD Display (1920x1200) with ADC (Apple Device Connector)
Apple ADC to DVI Adapter
IOGear 4-port DVI KVM Switch
Apple PowerPC Dual G5
Apple Intel Duo Mac mini
Apple Intel Solo Mac mini
Keyboard and Mouse are connected to designated USB ports on the front of the KVM switch.
Epson Perfection scanner is connected to peripheral USB port on the display. The USB cable from the ADC adapter is connected to the peripheral USB port on the back of the KVM switch.

The switch works fine with this set up. No major problems have been encountered. Typically a sleeping computer wakes up when the KVM switch is switched to it, but occassionally one must tap the Shift (or other) key. The scanner is detected successfully when one uses the KVM switch to change the peripheral USB port from one computer to another.

Regarding the dual G5 fan occasionally switching into high gear, I had this problem with my dual G5 before I purchased the switch. I don't think the switch has aggravated the problem.

Occasionally a computer will lose communication with the keyboard/mouse, but this problem also sometimes occurred before I added the switch.

I do not use the KVM switch audio ports because they are minijack analog ports and tend to pick up hum and other noise. Too bad they do not provide optical ports.

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