Review on 🔁 TESmart 8X1 HDMI KVM Switch: 8 Ports, 4K@60Hz Ultra HD, RS232, LAN & IP Control, Auto Scan, Rackmount - Control 8 PCs with 1 Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse by Mark Kolipano

First of all I would like to acknowledge that such products are likely to be blamed for problems that could actually be a fault with the monitor, source device, cables or software issues. So I sympathize with the manufacturer, and maybe that's why I'm willing to ignore a few minor issues and still give it a 5-star rating, especially given the attractive price and advanced features. I chose this product for 3 main reasons. First, I have a Kinesis keyboard that won't work with my old KVM switch. I posted a question in the FAQ and the vendor assured me it would work via the USB pass-through feature and I can confirm that it works! Second, I needed support for at least 1440p at 60Hz (that's the maximum I've tested so far), but I needed some future capabilities for possible monitor upgrades. Third, the price is much lower than more established KVM manufacturers, even for lower-spec switches. What I tested: I tried all 8 ports and all 4 cables that came with it. As mentioned above, the highest resolution I tried was 2560 x 1440 at 60Hz (but no audio or built-in ethernet). I also tested with a 1600 x 1200 @ 60Hz DVI monitor using an HDMI -> DVI cable. Devices I've tried include an older Intel integrated graphics (Windows), two Nvidia GPUs (Windows and Linux), an older AMD GPU (Linux), a Raspberry Pi v3, and an ODROID-N2. The longest cables I tried were 15 feet. I mentioned my keyboard earlier, but my pointing device is a Logitech Wireless, which seems perfectly powered. I haven't tried network control or OSD. I tried the IR remote but mostly used the buttons on the front. Everything worked almost flawlessly, with the exception of ODROID, which (with an open source driver in a recent install of Ubuntu 20.04 arm64) failed to autonegotiate. with a 1440p monitor through a switch, but it worked with a direct connection. After a quick look at the logs, I think the problem is related to audio negotiation since the monitor supports audio. Interestingly I can boot it with a direct connection and then plug it into the switch and it works. So the problem might even be related to the graphical login screen. Anyway, I don't use it with this monitor anymore, otherwise I'd try updating it to use Mali's proprietary GPU driver. because I actually only use 3 of them. They are about 1.5m long which is enough to reach only 3 of my cars. I'm actually glad the kit didn't come with 8 as that would have increased the price of 4 more cables that I can't use! Cons: * I find the blue digital LED too bright. There's no way to dim it, but you can only show two dashes, which helps. I'll probably tape some mostly opaque material to it (probably a square cut out of an anti-static bag). I wish it had multiple brightness settings or was just a little dimmer*. Rubber feet were not included. It's actually the same as my last KVM switch. I had big chunky legs and was able to rip them off and attach them to this unit.* The power cord is too short. I had to use an extension cord.* Apparently there is no way to update the firmware. I can imagine that network updates are a security issue, but would it be nice to be able to update via USB?* Speaking of the network port, it would be nice if a control log was published.* Is the port selected somehow active either way. I know the switch can detect liveness because it can automatically switch to computers when they're on (which I think might be important for display auto-negotiation?). Overall, this switch may appeal to many. I like all the different control methods. I like the ability to disable shift noise. The Switch is fanless and stays cool in the limited number of my tests. The rackmount option is good, but I'm not using it at the moment. The front panel power button seems useful, although I didn't really need it. I've spent a lot of time searching for the perfect KVM switch and I'm happy to report that it comes very close. Thank you!