TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio (Includes 2x KVM Cables) TK-209K (Blue)
by TRENDnet
|
List Price: Our Price: $22.55 You Save: $18.44 (45%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.99 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of TRENDnet 2-Port USB KVM Switch Kit with Audio (Includes 2x KVM Cables) TK-209K (Blue)
Customer Review: Working great!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this nifty device a couple of weeks ago and so far it's working great! I have a single cramped desk for my personal and work PC and two monitors and two keyboards and two mice. Now I'm able to share the monitor, keyboard, and mouse for one PC. The device is plug-and-play and it doesn't require its own power supply, which is a big help. You get special cables with the device that go to your PC. Through some dark magic, the monitor, mouse, and keyboard all end up feeding into one cable plug into the device, hence the special cable. Again, more efficiency and space-saving. (It's an old-style VGA plug and I think one of the pins is typically unused but is used in this device.)
One big concern I had was whether switching back and forth would screw up my dual monitor setup for my work PC. I have a laptop and the single monitor working as an extended laptop. Most of the time, undocking the laptop messes up the dual monitor setup and I have to reconfigure. The device doesn't interfere at all with the dual monitor setup, which is super. I wasn't expecting it.
The other issue I had was that one video cable only had the new-type plug on it - a rectangle interface. Your monitor MUST HAVE the VGA input on it (VGA looks like an old Atari 2600 controller plug but with more pins). You may need an adapter although examining my monitor I discovered a spare VGA port. You may want to examine your setup beforehand and order an adapter on Amazon.
The only complaint I have is that at first I thought the thing didn't work - I couldn't use my keyboard or mouse for a few minutes. It took the computer some time the first time to recognize the box I guess. So if it doesn't work at first, be patient. Be sure to select your PC on the device before powering up so it can recognize the setup.
Customer Review: Great KVM, Works with Wireless Mouse
Summary: 5 Stars
This little switch works almost perfectly with our Macintosh G4 Digital Audio tower and Intel Mac mini. Keyboard is the Apple USB keyboard provided with the G4; mouse is the wireless Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer, using the USB Overdrive X driver on both Macs. Monitor is an old Radius 15" LCD with VGA connector, which is connected to the Mac mini using the latter's included DVI-to-VGA adapter.
Once, after using the switch to go from the G4 to the mini, the mouse buttons weren't recognized correctly. The left button acted like a control-click, and the right button was non-responsive. The problem went away after I simply used the KVM's buttons to switch to the G4 and then back again to the mini. This was an isolated occurrence.
The only down side is that the wires sticking out of the KVM are a bit messy. Since the KVM itself is quite small and light, the stiffness of the video cables and their weight make it difficult to keep it sitting straight in our preferred location atop the G4 tower's case. This can make it tricky to remember where the buttons are when reaching under our desk, and to find them by feel. Given how well the switch works, it's a very minor inconvenience.
After reading about the difficulties of finding a good KVM switch, especially one that works with a wireless mouse, I was a little nervous about trying this inexpensive product. I bought it based on my father-in-law's good experience with a Trendnet wireless router, and reading the recommendations here and on Apple's discussion forums. This has left me with a good impression of Trendnet, and I'd readily consider their other products in the future.
Customer Review: Awesome product and solution! Highly recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed to use 2 older PC's to share a monitor, speakers, keyboard, and a wireless mouse. One is an older Pentium 3 Compaq, and the other a more recent 3 year old Dell Pentium Dual Core. I use one PC for my child's educational and fun programs, and the Dell as a backup unit for my programs (my main PC is my recent Toshiba notebook with an AMD Phenom triple core processor). Saving space (and money by not needing to buy) by using one set of peripherals was a priority, so I did some research by coming here to Amazon. This plug and play switch is quite compact (little bigger than a cigarette box), and hooking all the wires up was simple and intuitive. For those that don't think so, the instruction booklet that came with the switch is informative. It took me 10 minutes to hook everything up, and it all works great, with the exception of my keyboard. The keyboard, for some strange reason, works with the Win Vista Dell, but not with my kid's Win XP Compaq. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the older Compaq is USB-1, while the more modern Dell has USB-2 ports. In any case, this is really 'small potatos', as we use only one PC at a time, so we simply move the keyboard's USB connector between the Compaq or the TrendNet switch, depending upon which PC we are using. I don't think this is a reflection of any shortcoming with the product. This small issue/snafu aside, I love this switch solution, and I recommend it for those seeking a similar solution.Customer Review: Worked perfectly with Windows 7 and Mac mini - great deal
Summary: 5 Stars
I had previously purchased an IOGEAR GCS634U 4-port KVM switch for use with a Windows 7 PC and a Mac mini, using a Logitech Cordless Wave Pro keyboard/mouse combo. Unfortunately, I was unable to get it working properly, apparently due to known (though not to me before purchase) limitations with its support for wireless keyboards -- in particular, the keyboard-based switching did not work with the USB dongle in the mouse port, and neither mouse nor keyboard worked on the Windows 7 machine with the dongle in the keyboard port. The IOGEAR unit does not have hardware switching, so this was a fatal flaw for me.
Based on other reviews, I ordered this TRENDnet unit and had it delivered the next day. I unplugged the IOGEAR unit, plugged in the TRENDnet unit (without powering off any machines), and it worked perfectly right off the bat. I had to re-identify the keyboard on the Mac, while the Windows 7 machine recognized it immediately. The only functional problem is that keyboard-based switching does not work when switching from the Mac to the Windows machine, but the availability of the hardware switches on top of the unit make this a trivial annoyance at best.
The unit is quite small, less than 3"x2", and although its retro/clunky design and the fact that cables protrude from all four sides give it a somewhat ungainly appearance, it still takes up very little space and, so far, seems to perform perfectly as advertised. A great buy.
Customer Review: Best KVM I could ask for.
Summary: 5 Stars
This product is awesome! Let me describe my experience.
So the box arrives and I am thinking, "finally I have some more PC freedom." When I open the box and unpackage the device I am thinking, "Are you kidding? This is tiny!" But I take a look at it and all the cables and think, "Alright, let's do this!!"
I am a techy dork so instructions are like advertisements. I look at the device and say, "Ok, this goes like this ..." and I get it to work. So I spend a few minutes cleaning off my desk, and then a few, less, putting the product on my two computers.
Wazzaam!!
I turn on the computers expecting to be required to install some drivers ... nope. I worried that my Linux computers might not handled it ... they did. I was afraid my computers my just not like it and blue screen ... they don't.
I totally love this thing.
Some people did not like the setup of the cables. For me, they work great. I have the device right next to my monitor and I can switch back and forth with just a reach. Sound, keyboard, mouse, monitor ... it all works and the device works great.
I highly recommend this device if you have two computers that you want to connect. The added feature of sound is something I needed because I love my music. If you have greater needs then you should look at something bigger, but the name TRENDnet might be a good buy.