Review on 🖥️ TESmart 2 PCs Dual Monitor KVM Switch 4K @60Hz - HDCP 2.2 Support by Aaron Johnson

After living with speaker problems for 5 months I discovered today that this KVM is swapping my left and right audio output. Yes, when I connect my speakers to this KVM, the left and right are on opposite sides when I connect them directly to my PC tower. Do not buy this device. It looks good, but there are many problems beneath the surface. --- Pre-Written Review Follows --- TLDR: Good: Hardware seems pretty good, happy with bundled cables and device size (fits under my monitors). It remains to be seen how it will hold up over time and with prolonged use. Bad: The firmware is not very good. Switching between monitors isn't as fast, and additional modes for using 1 monitor on a PC also increase screen switching time when switching keyboard and mouse without a good reason. When I try to use my mouse to change Chrome tabs (I have my mouse wheel set to Shift + Tab), the computer acts up like the "Tab" key is being held down and it's impossible to troubleshoot without disconnecting and reconnecting. . The good news is that the workaround is to plug the mouse into a generic USB port instead of the mouse port. 2 stars: -1 for features that don't work properly -3 for consuming mouse input and basically rendering it useless +2 for a workaround (just don't use the mouse port) -1 for being so expensive, which means that I expect better. - details - I've only had it for a day so far, so I can't say anything about long-term stability. Of course I would be very disappointed if this breaks anytime soon, but I have no indications that this might be the case yet. Otherwise, the product makes a very high-quality impression. Works great with my 4k TV and 1080p monitor (after initial fears that my computer would not let me set to 60Hz on my 4k display at first, it seems to be working now). There are 4 cables included in the box including a good HDMI+USB connection cable which is great for cable management. It's nice to have 4 clearly labeled HDMI cables in the box, otherwise it's hard to tell which of my old cables will be 4K compatible, which can make troubleshooting a lot more difficult. Disadvantage: The firmware is not very good. #1: The device reports that it is emulating a display for a disconnected computer, this is intended to speed up switching between computers and prevent windows from moving. It doesn't seem to do anything - the response speed when switching between Computer 1 and Computer 2 is about the same as regular KVM switches (about 5 seconds delay between pressing a button and a new computer appearing on the monitor) and the computer still plays the default "hardware connection" sound, so it also appears transparent to the computer. #2: The device listens for keyboard and mouse input. This is supposed to allow you to use the keyboard to switch displays (you can double-tap the scroll lock and number key to switch display modes), but unfortunately this introduces new problems. For example, I'm using a mouse with extra buttons and have a mapping where I have a mouse button to switch Chrome tabs (this emulates the Shift+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab keys). When I use this with KVM, KVM garbles typing and keeps the 'Tab' key pressed, meaning I can't use my computer until I turn the mouse off and on again. This alone would make me want to return the device, but the good news is that I found a workaround by plugging the mouse into the Switch's universal "USB" socket instead of the mouse into the socket for connect keyboard and mouse. (My other concern about this feature, which I haven't tested, is that it may increase keyboard or mouse input latency, potentially making this device poorly suited for gaming.) #3: This device has a feature , which allows you to choose Use 2 monitors per computer or 1 monitor per computer. In theory this is great, but in practice the mode isn't implemented very well. I imagine how this feature would work: computer #1 would be displayed on monitor #1, computer #2 would be displayed on monitor #2, and I could use KVM to quickly switch keyboard and mouse between computer #1 and computer #2. 1 and computer switch . #2. Instead the way it works is that your keyboard and mouse always work on monitor #1 and changing the mode toggles which computer is displayed on monitor #1 and which one is displayed on monitor #2 badly except for the fact that I have a 4k display and a 1080p display, which means that if I want to switch keyboard and mouse, both computers have to change screen resolutions, move windows, and reinitialize the connection. for a different display, adding a lot of friction and extra time staring at black screens in what should have been a quick and easy operation.