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Comment by gambiting | Hacker News Reader

The easiest solution is to just buy an HDMI switch(there's loads of them, even ones which work with 4K signal, and they don't disrupt DHCP) and a USB switch. Total solution should fit in about 40-50 dollars.

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Are there any that don't suck bogwater? We've tried a handful for our conference rooms, and they are all universally flaky, with signal dropping randomly all the time.

I found that HDMI switches lose signal because the output device doesn't provide enough power for the switch to leach off. I've had a few of Aukey switches: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Switcher-Output-Splitter-Control-Bl...

And once you plug in a dedicated 5V power supply they are rock solid.

That one doesn't meat the (IMO ridiculous) requirements of TFA, which is 4k@60Hz

I have a passive switch that works fine. It's pretty much equivalent to unplugging the cable and plugging it in to a different source/output.

http://www.cablechick.com.au/cables/4-port-hdmi-switcher.htm...

(I have also tried a simple powered switch with an IR remote control, but it caused signal degradation & glitches.)

But, that's more than one button to push! /s

Seriously though, I am a regular user of DVI and VGA KVMs, which have served me well over the years, but now as I migrate to HDMI or DisplayPort connectors and higher resolutions, I'm finding myself having to re-think how I hook everything together.

My windows laptop has only VGA out, so I hook up a second monitor via displaylink (usb -> DVI).

I tried plugging the cable into my KVM switch and it worked okay on the Windows 10 side but there was some hot-plugging kernel panic when switching to Linux (must file a bug report!)

So perhaps the future of KVM switches doesn't need video connectors such as VGA/DVI/DP if USB-C -> HDMI (as smartphones are adopting) becomes universal.

About 25 total actually (I use these both for my 4k setup)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071CJWSPF/

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-One-Button-Swapping-Between-...

4k 60fps 4/4/4 color no problem

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