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Product Description
The 2-Port Compact USB KVM Switch with Audio is a 2-port Compact USB KVM Switch with optional audio and microphone switching function. It allows you to access, control, boot and reboot two USB-enabled computers from a single console (keyboard, monitor and mouse). The independent audio/mic switching function allows an uninterrupted audio experience – you can continue listening to audio even when you switch to the other computer…. More >>
Tripp Lite B004-VUA2-K-R 2 Port USB KVM Switch w Audio and Cables
December 14th, 2009 at 15:05
This product was easy to set up, works great, no hassle. Can be used with/without the driver disk, though you need the drivers to setup audio-lock (i.e., listen to audio on computer #1 while moving mouse/keyboard control to computer #2). I can’t speak to the video quality because I’m only using the K/M/A components.
Even though this is a great product in the end, setup was a little scary. I wasn’t going to give it less than 5 stars because it does what it’s supposed to and is priced great too. However, there’s a couple things you need to be aware of:
1. The keyboard/mouse USB ports to not go as deep as most, leaving one with the impression that the connection is not solid. However, I have had NO PROBLEM with my connections. It was just the initial impression that the connection *might* not be very good.
2. The audio pass-through is subject to some noise interference. When I first plugged everything in, the noise was so bad that I thought I was going to end up returning the device. I was able to fix the problem by turning down my speaker volume and turning up my Windows volume control settings.
BTW, I use a wireless mouse, and my keyboad is actually plugged into the USB hub of a separate number pad, which in turn is plugged into the keyboard port of the KVM. I have no problems with any of my input devices.
Last thought: Like any other KVM switch, every time you switch control you’ll hear 42,000 bell sounds as your machines detect USB device connections/disconnections. You’ll want to customize your Windows audio scheme to shut that off. It took me about 2 switch-overs to realize how annoying that is!
Rating: 5 / 5
December 14th, 2009 at 15:36
Don’t let the pictures confuse you as to how this hooks up to all your stuff. The mouse and keyboard that hook up to the device are sent to both systems via the VGA output on the device. The VGA cord actually splits into a VGA and USB once it reaches your computer. Also, what look like mini-USB connectors on the device actually turn into headphone and mic jacks once they reach your computer.
2 issues.
1) The documentation says it works with Linux in the sense that you can still use ScrollLock-ScrollLock to switch between systems. That is not working for me. If you run Windows, it may work just fine, or work with the special software they make for Windows. Don’t know. I have to manually switch systems with the buttons on the device, which isn’t THAT much of a pain, but it is a minor pain.
2) Slight VGA issues. When the screen is black (not off, just totally black background), there are very faint lines that are scrolling down on it. You will not see these under normal conditions, but you can when it is totally black. Also, there is some very slight ghosting of things. Like, a very faint image of the mouse cursor will appear to the right of the cursor on a very dark background. Once again, it is very faint and only the most picky of people would notice it. VGA suffers from these issues anyway, so it may be that, but it is possibly exaggerated with the device.
Other than that, it does the job, and it’s relatively inexpensive as far as these things go.
Rating: 4 / 5