Isn’t the answer buy a kvm switch? If yes this could have been really short

applfanboysbgon 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Conclusion

> And there you have it. A KVM solution that doesn’t require an external KVM device to pass inputs through, and a switch that can be triggered using a keyboard alone.

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swiftcoder 6 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Depends on what class of monitor you want to run it with. A KVM that can handle 4K 144hz VRR is... not cheap, if available at all.

	▲	giobox 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> A KVM that can handle 4K 144hz VRR is... not cheap, if available at all It's supported by the relatively old HDMI 2.1/DisplayPort 1.4 standards - it shouldn't be that hard to find a KVM that can do this.
	▲	duskwuff 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		"8K" KVMs are available on Amazon for under $100; they'll handle 4K@144 no problem.

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rcoveson 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No, the worst part of a KVM switch is the video signal switching. You want as few switches in the video signal path as possible and the higher bandwidth you need them to be the more expensive they're going to be. You're already paying for the one in your monitor, so taking advantage of that is the right solution.

IME even high-end KVM switches experience occasional signal interruption or, more often, failure to synchronize at all on output switch.

Do what OP did.

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Vvector 7 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

He bought a $900 monitor that has a KVM built in

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topspin 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

~$900, and it takes ~3 seconds to switch...

I'll pursue this when "they" decide to get real and make this not suck. Until then, I have sufficient alternatives.

I appreciate the writeup. It convinces me that integrated KVM stuff ~~ except for fewer wires ~~ isn't much better than the mess that's prevailed for years now, and I'm not missing much.

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EvanAnderson 5 hours ago | parent [-]

The ~3 second switch would definitely derail me.

Why does video input source switching suck so much?

Back in the old analog CRT days I could forgive the switching latency. With today's all-digital signal paths I feel like video input switching should be pretty close to instant.

Is the technology in a broadcast switcher really so exotic and expensive?

	▲	topspin 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> Is the technology in a broadcast switcher really so exotic and expensive? No. My characterization of the problem was precision flippancy; the demand for this is niche enough that optimizing for it is a low priority, so "they" simply don't. That failure is stack-wide; the specifications around display negotiation would need extension to manage the additional state necessary for the "agile" KVM use case, and then the hardware+firmware would need to exist and become cheap, somehow despite Imaginary Property laws, so that one could hope to find it in real products. There is regulatory friction here as well: it would complicate power management. Not infeasibly so, but enough that unless a need appears of such import that it motivates people to dare to disturb that writhing ball of copulating tapeworms, it simply won't happen. So don't hold your breath. Unless you're relatively young, you won't live to see it. More likely, some other paradigm will obviate the problem first.

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csomar 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Yeah, I read the whole article looking for any meat in there and there is none. I played with different setups as I, too, use both macos and linux. I remember doing a two screen setup where if you move the mouse to the edge of the linux screen, it appears on the macos one.

I guess everything old is new again?

	▲	applfanboysbgon 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		A two screen setup is not a one screen setup. I have a two screen mouse-edge setup and I was still interested to learn about being able to use a keyboard shortcut to control a monitor with a built-in KVM to switch between two computers on the same screen. That is, in fact, new to me.

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dfxm12 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Depends on your threshold for "fiddling". The author's is quite inclusive.