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Comment by pxc | Hacker News Reader

The Level1Techs KVM switches are rebranded Startech switches with 'dumber' firmwares whose dumbness affords better compatibility with niche DisplayPort features.

I have a bunch of them and I like them pretty well, but getting a bunch of computers all plugged in turns out to be a bit of a nightmare, especially when you need some long-ish cable runs or you are daisy-chaining devices (e.g., multiple KVM switches, adding USB hubs or Thunderbolt docks, etc.).

The Level1Techs KVM switches don't meet GP's criterion for hotplugging behavior, unfortunately. Switching between devices is just an unplug and replug for them.

Like you, I've found that macOS and Windows don't handle hotplugging monitors well, but Linux desktops (in my case, KDE Plasma) consistently do the right thing and don't require a repeater to lie to them about monitors always being plugged in.

FWIW, I don't get the 'Apple computers just refuse to work' issue with any of my L1T KVMs.

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> The Level1Techs KVM switches are rebranded Startech switches with 'dumber' firmwares whose dumbness affords better compatibility with niche DisplayPort features.

Rextron [1] is the actual ODM. They don't do any direct to consumer sales, though. That's why L1 / Startech / other "brands" sell them on amazon and the like.

Last I spoke with the L1 guy, they were still having some issues with the high speed USB-C switching chips on the 1x4 "all USB-C" model that he's got a wait-list for.

[1] https://www.rextron.com/KVM-Switches.html

Ah! Great info. Thanks :)

> FWIW, I don't get the 'Apple computers just refuse to work' issue with any of my L1T KVMs.

My work intel macbook worked great on it for like a year once I got a high quality usb-c -> displayport cable, but an os update borked it... though it's definitely the mac that's the problem as it also has problems sometimes with just strait to the monitor too (on the other hand 49" ultrawide is pushing the bandwidth near it's limits).

My personal arm macbook has always worked great on it with even a crappy usb-c -> displayport

my windows desktop also always worked great on it.

> on the other hand 49" ultrawide is pushing the bandwidth near it's limits

One of the things I've learned too late is that using DisplayPort (and maybe HDMI, idk) anywhere near its bandwidth limits is not worth it for me. Having to think about cable run lengths as well as cable quality and peripheral quirks and internal Thunderbolt dock bandwidth allocation and so on and so on just fucking sucks.

It'll probably take until the next/latest (2.1) generation of DisplayPort propagates before using multiple monitors with specs similar to my current ones (high refresh rate and HDR, but not even HiDPI) isn't painful, cumbersome, and finicky.

I probably won't be able to use them by then anyway. Ugh.

> The Level1Techs KVM switches are rebranded Startech switches.

Another commenter posted that the L1Techs KVM are Rextron devices. The Startech switches are rebranded ConnectPro KVMs.

Huh. I just matched them based on visual similarity ages ago and was apparently very wrong. I'm sorry, and I wish I could edit my earlier comment. :(

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