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Review on πŸš€ Enhance Your Productivity with the VisionTek VT4900 KVM USB-C Docking Station - Dual Host 100W Charging, Triple 4K Display, USB-C, USB, Ethernet, and Audio Support for Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS (901406) by Brennan Buckley

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Breaking point for WFH with 2 USB-C computers

Best purchase I've made this year for WFH. After considering a bigger desk, more monitors and other options, I stumbled upon the VT4900 after asking "doesn't anyone make a device to connect 2 USB-C enabled PCs to one monitor?" Absolute game changer , albeit with a few twists. My setup includes a Mac Mini M1 and a 13-inch Macbook Pro, LG 4K monitor, webcam, speakers, Logitech MX dongles/mouse and an ethernet line. now everything is connected to the VT4900 and each PC sees the monitor, ethernet, speakers and database without problems The Logi mouse and keyboard work with the same Logi USB dongle, so when switching between PCs on the VT4900 the response is instantaneous. No more pressing buttons on the KB or mouse. There is a slight delay in detecting the ethernet line, but that's to be expected. The only problems I've encountered are: 1) Install the drivers and boot both Reboot PCs before expecting everything to work A graceful restart fixed any device detection issues. 2) The DisplayLink driver/application does not recognize the monitor when connected, which is strange as Macs recognize the monitor perfectly. 3) There is no way to disable (and the device isn't smart enough) to customize the button. The VT4900 clicks to switch between PC/monitor outputs with just 1 click each. So 2 clicks to take full control of PC 2 and then 2 more to go back to PC 1. Or use the software controls in the VT app to switch this way with confidence. 4) It looks like the VT4900 doesn't go through the ethernet without capturing the IP itself. This or my Macs always randomly intercept the same IP. Does nothing, but might look weird in your logs. 5) Some applications strangely refuse to display the monitor at its full 4K resolution despite using a rated HDMI cable and Macs with 4K output. Macs don't have problems, but apps happen to have them. ----UPDATE ----- I've been using the VT4900 for a few months now and here are some pros and cons: Pros: Still a game. -Changers, but some flaws may put some off. 99.9% of the time the device works without any problems. Disadvantages: push of a button! In most cases SW does not work. It is intermittent when successfully communicating with KVM, so software switches or keyboard commands are pressed and skipped to toggle. The device can be a little smart to know if additional monitors are connected. In other words, I don't have to press the button multiple times to toggle between connection options. The VT4900 has its own network card that collects an IP address when connected to a device. Most of the time this isn't a problem, but sometimes I need to toggle the switch on or off for the computer to recognize the network connection. Sometimes KVM just stops working and you have to turn it on and off. I was having video flickering or audio issues and a simple toggle on/off fixed the issue.

Pros
  • Easily switch between systems with dock toggle or hotkey using included software
Cons
  • alt