Hello! I am considering purchasing an L1 KVM. But I have some questions.
I have 2 computers, with these outputs:
Computer 1:
1 HDMI
1 Mini DisplayPort
Computer 2:
1 HDMI
1 DisplayPort (via USBC hub)
And I have 2 monitors, both with HDMI and DVI inputs; both run at 1080p 60Hz.
Obviously I have a lot of adapting to do.
DP to DVI cables seem to be less expensive than DP to HDMI, so I was planning to go with two of those between the KVM and monitors (I don’t need audio to the monitors), and get the needed cables and/or adapters for the connection between the computers and the KVM.
So my questions are:
With all of these adapters, are there any additional restrictions on cable length? Is it less of an issue since I’m only running 1080p 60Hz?
Do I need to specifically get active adapters for any of these connections?
Any reason why I should use a DP to HDMI cable instead of DP to DVI?
Single or Dual Link? That part is pretty important lol DP to Dual Link DVI is like $50.
For the HDMI → DisplayPort, yes. If you have Dual Link DVI instead of Single Link, yes.
Cable length/signal integrity would be a general concern if you’re trying to do 4K or something. Having many adaptive cables can lead to some sketchy times, but get quality ones and you should be fine. Lower resolutions like1080p can help the bandwidth and things that can be constrained from adapters and whatnot.
I’m assuming it’s powered?
Since you have 2 PCs and 2 Monitors, you’re going to have to use all 4 of those output connections. This is because each monitor has it’s own independent connection to the PC. Here’s a reference pic of the DP kvm you’d be buying. See how you’d need all 4?
We have HDMI 2.1 KVMs now. You wouldn’t need to buy the HDMI active adapters if you went this route. You’d need to buy a DisplayPort to HDMI cable and mini DP to HDMI cable/adapter instead.:
I have a dual link DVI monitor (QX2710 with a fixed EDID written to it) that I currently have connected through a currently working long DVI cable that I am looking to replace with a 3 ft. one to a DVI to DisplayPort adapter hooked up to that model of KVM. The long cable works but every short DVI cable I have bought makes lots of flashing lines on the screen and generally makes it unusable. Is there a better way to hook this type of setup up, maybe with a cable that does the adapting or a particular brand of DVI cable? Why does this particular combo of cable and adapter seem to work but a shorter cable of the same gauge which should have a better signal look like it has lots of signal interference? If the solution does turn out to be that club3d active DVI adapter do you have any info about how to select HDCP on vs off?
Thanks
Hm, I’m not sure about the short connection giving you trouble. I have a dual link dvi monitor at home and the club3d is the adapter I use. I would just look up the monitor model/serial# and see if it supports hdcp. For mine, I plugged it into a gpu with a dual link connection and checked what the Nvidia drivers said about it being hdcp.
I got the HDCP off adapter since I think the QX2710 is a display without a scaler but “A repeater is connected to your system, Some video applications do not support HDCP when a repeater is present.” shows up in the Nvidia control panel when the monitor is working in the existing setup. I assumed that it said HDCP on because of the existing adapter which I also assumed was the aforementioned “repeater” was this wrong? When I connect the club3d adapter I get alternating color test patterns then I briefly get a working display output with green snow like pixel interference, I recognize this test pattern from when I tried to get the EDID working on Linux before I rewrote the EDID on the monitor itself. I think I am going to give up on this since the adapter ended up taking up nearly as much space as the long cable and adapter combo that magically works but I wanted to document for any future forum searchers.
