This USB KVM Console is Awesome! - Openterface by TechxArtisan
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 май 2024
- In this video we'll be taking a look at a new USB KVM console that is being developed by a group named TechxArtisan which promises to be a low cost, feature packed way to use a laptop as a monitor, keyboard and mouse for accessing servers and other computers. This product is currently still in development but they were kind enough to send over an early version to try out and gain feedback on!
Openterface Website: openterface.com/
Openterface Subreddit: / openterface_minikvm
TechxArtisan Website: techxartisan.com/en/
www.camerongray.me/
/ camerongray1515
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:28 - What is it?
05:01 - Looking at the hardware
11:00 - Why not use [other solution] instead?
15:18 - Testing it out!
21:40 - "Pasting" text to the target machine!
24:53 - Some bugs
28:12 - Testing out VGA adapter
30:33 - Testing on a server
31:47 - Conclusion
AFFILIATE LINKS NOTICE:
Product links under this video marked “(Affiliate)” are affiliate links where I may receive a small commission on qualifying sales. Affiliate programs that I am a member of include, but are not limited to: Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network and AliExpress Affiliates.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Purchasing through these affiliate links will not cost you any more money, however the commission earned significantly helps fund the production of videos on my channel. 
Наука
We are absolutely thrilled and grateful to see our product featured on Cameron Gray’s channel! 🌟 Huge thanks to Cameron for the detailed review that demonstrated and articulated insightful points about this little gadget. And a massive shoutout to the folks who have shared their thoughts below - you are awesome! 👏 We'll be diving into each comment to answer questions 🤔 and take note of your suggestions 📝. Your engagement makes this community truly amazing! 💫
@@asksearchknock Thanks a ton for your great suggestions and support! It really boosts our team's spirit!
About the storage, we've thought a lot about this. Right now, we're using a switchable USB port so you can plug in your own flash drive. This means you can choose the amount of storage yourself, depending on the drive you use.
We're definitely considering adding storage emulation too. It would be cool to have it work at the same time to share storage between the host and the target computer, but that means we'd need a fancier chipset, which could complicate things a bit.
Right now, we've got a manual toggle switch to change the use of the usb 2.0 port, and we know it could be better. We're thinking about making it software-controlled in the future, but again, that would need a more complex chip. I love your idea about enabling WiFi hotspot too! For this version, we're sticking with what we've got to keep it affordable, but we're totally planning to upgrade this in the next model.
We also get that some folks still need PS/2 connections for older servers and computers. We're on the hunt for a good adapter solution, but haven't found the perfect one yet. We'll keep you posted! Whether we go for a built-in PS/2 option or design a special accessory will depend on how much demand there is. If anyone has any suggestions on this matter, we're all ears.
To get a better idea of what everyone wants, we're going to set up a poll on our website where you can vote for your most-wanted features. Stay tuned and make sure to let us know what you think!
Make the back of the unit magnetic, so you can stick it on the rack or something like that and relieve the tension on the cables and ports
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤯 You are in my head!!!!!! I'm also working on it...
Hey! Loved your idea about the magnetic back for the mini-KVM. I’ve just posted an update on our subreddit Openterface_miniKVM about testing it out (can't post a link here). Check it out when you have a moment and let me know what you think or if you've got any more cool suggestions. Cheers! 😃
Great idea, I used to Velcro serial consoles to the frame back in day. Never thought to using magnets. 😅
Me reacting:
USB KVM: That's neat
Targeted to be priced under $99: Wow!
It has a switchable USB port: Nice! Very useful
It includes a HDMI VGA cable: 🤯
I want it, now please. Take my money!
We’re on it, working hard to bring it right to you! We really need your support to make this happen 🚀
@@techxartisanstudioHave you considered making this a kickstarter project? If funding is a major roadblock this is an ideal solution to that...
@@sirtra Hi! Its crowdfunding campaign has pre-launched on Crowd Supply now. Need your support to make it happen! Cheers!
@@sirtra Yes, we're launching it on Crowd Supply! The official campaign will be live soon. Looking forward to your support & Stay tuned! 👏🏻
@@techxartisanstudio The VGA cable seems to be unavailable to ship to Europe, do you have an alternative link just for this cable?
To expand on your idea of "Pressing the Delete key to get into BIOS" - A macro function would be amazing. If i'm setting up a handful of servers, that are all specced identically, it would be lovely to "train" a macro on what buttons to press, the delays, etc, and then have it run through and configure something automatically. So that it for example, automatically made a virtual disk on a RAID card with All of the disks in it. We Use older servers that don't have the ability to configure them from a file like modern servers, so i'd be interested in that. And obviously that feature would also be able to do the delete button pressing you want too.
Hey, thanks a ton for that awesome suggestion! Absolutely, you've hit the nail on the head with that idea! Adding a macro function is actually on our roadmap.
Right now, though, our team's a bit stretched thin. We're laser-focused on getting the basics right and ensuring everything runs smoothly for our crowdfunding campaign. Our goal is to get this gadget into your hands as soon as we can!
As for the code, once we've got it polished a bit for your eyes, we're planning to go open source. Stay tuned!
Plus, we're totally open to having developers join the party, especially those who might run into a bug or two (yep, they're bound to pop up). Let's make some cool stuff happen! Cheers! 🙌
@@techxartisanstudiothat's an easy feature to add ill recommended to look into rubberducky style of devices, they should be easy to integrate with an smt32 and a sd card by taking inspiration of existing open hardware devices.
@@subjekt_9142 Thanks for your suggestion! We'll explore how we can make improvements. Stay tuned for updates!
This is fantastic, i've been looking for something like this that doesn't come with StarTech costs
I definitely need Linux and Windows host support - I don't do Macs. As someone else mentioned in the comments, a virtual keyboard would be one way to overcome funky keymap problems. If they can reach a $100 or so price tag, I'd buy one.
we are working on building the app for Linux and Windows too. Stay tuned!
@@techxartisanstudio could you build something that could run in a web browser/HTML5/JavaScript? (Have it emulate maybe a CDROM or ready only USB drive so the JavaScript payload is on device presented over the USB connection). Web interface could be updated with the firmware. The other option is to emulate a web server and ethernet connection, because browsers can get finicky about running JavaScript on a device locally thru file:// (Google Chrome is this, I have to host a portable GO web-server in the local directory and the local copy works, using file:.// with Chrome results in things greyed out, video as a grey block, etc) - even fi you don't implement full network connectivity, this would allow the techsavvy to open routes if they want to get closer to that PiKVM like experience.
Major equipment is going the way of HTML5/javascript as it nearly eliminates most host OS issues (Windows 11 is a dumpster fire, an app might work one week and an update takes it out due to some new kernel restriction) and easily extends to eventually allowing mobile devices to access via USB OTG. I have a SAUNA Qb radioxenon detector coming my way ($500,000 unit) and despite its complexity, the interface is a very lightweight web browser HTML5/javascript, and debugging is performed over SSH/SCP. with Debian images.
I personally have no use for this, but can see how it might be handy. Most technicians I know won't necessarily carry spare monitors around, but they will probably have a laptop of some description...
I am using a PIKVM for this purpose. I got it setup to start a Wifi AP on boot.
I then connect tot that AP with my laptop and I essentially got a wireless KVM that works with every device that got wifi and a webbrowser.
PiKVM V4+ fully assembled is over $500 in Canada, I have one (and no time to mess with assembly, so I bought the turn key model). This being a whole heck of a lot cheaper definitely has use cases where a PiKVM isn't needed, and they do have latency. Easily could rig this up to a laptop that itself has a remote desktop server put on it to get to about 80% of what a PiKVM could do. I currently have a mobile multi-laptop setup where I have one of the two laptops, thru a web browser's using a javascript HTML5 player, show a UVC HDMI capture card, to act as a second monitor - because Spacedesk as of late chokes on 1080p video. If the primary laptop goes down or has a gltich, I can flip the roles around as both have the same image and keep downtime to
@dkannegi I am using the V3 kit from amazon for €85 and a pi 4 2gb of €40 for a total of €125.
For €500 I would not use pikvm either. That's a lot of money!
I've still got a couple of old 1990's KVMs here , with PS2 keyboard, VGA, and mouse ports and a big A-B-C on front ... which worked really well. Great to see a updated / modern version of this.
Thank you very much for the spotlight, sir!
Very cool, impressive how easy it is and responds the second you plug it in. Will be keeping an eye on this release, certainly beats using serial if you want to manage a machine without bouncing between two keyboards/monitors.
Epic. Thanks for sharing this. Exactly what I needed.
these would handy in the cybersec market, i can see quite few uses for a device like this. one suggestion, add some magnets to the back to it can be stuck to a rack or server case
With something like a portable network KVM, you could directly connect the Ethernet cable from the KVM to the laptop. You'd have to use the self-assigned network addresses, but that shouldn't be an issue.
I still see the value of a local KVM, however. Fortunately, I don't have to deal directly with racked servers anymore.
Obviously they're going to need windows and Linux support for this to go anywhere. I'm sure they are working on it.
I'd also like to see maybe a slightly more expensive model with LAN and maybe a built in usb to serial adapter.
Yes, we are working on it! thanks for your extra comment!
The IPMI remote console of many servers has a virtual keyboard you can enable in case your browser doesn't want to forward a hotkey properly.
I think that would be a useful solution for the F11 / F12 problem.
The "special purpose PC" seems to be an HP of some kind, meant for POS usage :)
The teal/red ports are USB with 12/24V power exposed on an additional part of the connector (sort of like USB 3.0 type B). Next to the red one is another port (RJ11?), probably for sending pulses to open the cash drawer, although this is often implemented through an RJ11 on the printer instead.
Yep, exactly! HP Engage Flex Pro. Ultimately I picked it up just because it was really cheap (£80 or so) for an i5 8500 machine that's small form factor but also had a decent range of PCIe slots (x16, x4 and some x2) with the ability to fit full height cards (with some sort of riser cable) so that I could test high speed network cards in it. Needed a cheap machine to basically use as a test bench.
@@camerongray1515 I'd watch a video about it. Good deal.
Looks like great product thanks for sharing
What I have always wanted for desktop systems is a modular KVM.
i.e. I have 1 monitors and 2 PC's and I can get a simple system like this, but if I add a second (or 3rd) monitor I can just add in more monitor switches that can link to the base system.
If I want Display Port rather than HDMI I can just swap out the video module and keep the keyboard & mouse unit.
If I add a 3rd PC I could add a second (always connected) monitor but change the base system to swap 3 keyboards and mice.
Eventually maybe add a USB C module to the system.
If the individual components have a serial (or some other) open interface I can see we could build our own complex set-ups using an Arduino/Pi to set up the routing.
WOW. This is going to change a lot for mobile techs like me. Absolutely want this kit, even if the software isn't done yet. I WANT IT NOW!
Thanks for you support! Its campaign is live on Crowd Supply now!
Much appreciated video. Thanks.
babe wake up, new cameron gray video just dropped
This is a really nice, simple, neat idea. as long as it's not too expensive, I think it will do very well.
We're all about keeping it quality yet wallet-friendly! Your support is key. The more folks jump on board, the better we can manage production costs. Need your support to make it happen! 🚀
love it, is best than trying to find a monitor mouse and kb in a new office. Great stuff let us know when is ready!!!
I'd have killed to have something like this in my bag back when I was doing sysadmin style work. The switchable USB port is nice - so many times I ran into machines with only a single working / free / accessible USB port, I was forever hanging USB hubs off things.
There are servers that are using USB-C (the brand new ones). On the storage side we are dumping the auful USB mini for Serial connections. USB mirco is the other one in use but with the wide adoption of C some new gen systems are switching to C instead of Micro and everybody is ditching Mini.
Coverters like that will be needed as the Enterprise market lags a lot behind the consumer. Servers , especially storage gets replaced every 7 to 15 years. We still support museum exibits from the mid 2000s as clients keep using them as backup.
Absolutely, you're spot on! We've noticed the shift towards USB-C in laptops and PCs too, which is why we're throwing in this handy USB-C adapter with our cable.
I’ve got an AURGA which works ok but can be a bit flaky. This looks like it could be the perfect solution for me to access the embedded PC in the machines I service.
I haven't been able to get my AURGA to reliably work - and at that not be so laggy it's frustrating.
This would be perfict for security techs for all in one device for direct connect nvr and dvr direct connection. The limitation of mac only is a slight deterrent but not a deal breaker for me.
We're working hard on building the app for Win and Linux too :) Stay tuned!
Startech has a virtual hdd feature, might be good to implement. Handy for installing from ISO files.
Thx for the idea! 🧐
I see that some computer monitor makers have this function built in. Plug in your KB and Mouse and the 2 computer's display ports to the monitor and there you go.
This is very impressive, especially the price!
27:50 it could be USB keyboard emulation in the bios some do not handle it very well.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention! We've designed USB hubs for both the host and target sides. It seems like the computer's BIOS might not be recognising this embedded USB hub properly, which could be why our emulated keyboard and mouse aren't working right at this fundamental level. We're definitely keeping a close watch on this issue.
It looks interesting, but Sipeed are releasing a $20 PiKVM compatible board, so I think the price of network/USB KVMs is about to plummet.
Nice video, looking forward to them adding Windows/Linux support as a non-Mac user. At present I use, the classic crash cart (monitor/keyboard on a cart), the StarTech KVM Console to USB2 Adapter with a laptop, the PiKVM v4 for having a networkable KVM for longer sessions where I do not want to sit in the data center. Not all work for all cases so hopefully this new device will maybe replace the StarTech as it is much smaller and cheaper. I don't see not having more than one as a trip to the data center is not without its random issues and having options is key.
We're working hard on building the app for Win and Linux too :) Stay tuned!
25:38 F11 is a key that is coded for show desktop which is overriding the application. maybe the application can suggest keyboard capture. I've had this with other Software as well. I have had some that was able to capture keystrokes I've had others that will capture the keystroke and both actions happen and I've had others that had no idea a key was pressed. I believe that key might be able to be reassigned / disabled in the keyboard settings at least it used to be I believe.
Thanks for sharing. We're still working around this issue as we speak. I will update you guys later!
@4:02 -you called a lot of your audience "old-fashioned". Thank you. It worked longer time than you live, sir.
Novell Netware 3.x were my green years.
edit - a lot of 360s were there, PDPs too.
That's what I cared of.
Me too. Now I feel old. I remember cursing Microsoft for their ipx stack, and having to install the NetWare version for 4.11 on windows.
I like it. Perfect for visiting clients who have been too cheap to provision out-of-band access infrastructure.
Cool, future suggestion. The application window should have some idea of its host systems resolution / window size. if the Software could suggest the next size down that's 16x9 wide screen to the device for the target system would be handy. I've had occasions using VNC and virtual box where systems default resolution cough Linux is at like maximum and everything super teeny tiny and it's really hard to find the resolution menu. if it could suggest the next size down resolution to the host and the host actually excepted that it would be very helpful. Maybe even some thing in the application settings to set a preferred resolution. I don't know if this is possible it wouldn't it would require communicating a EDID over USB to the capture device.
Cheers for pointing that out! So, our gadget’s got a little quirk - the video-capture chip in it isn’t great at figuring out the exact resolution of what it's capturing. This means everything gets stretched out to fit a 16:9 screen. Not a good thing... We're thinking of chatting with the chip folks to see if there’s a clever way to fix this. And if that doesn’t pan out, we’re looking into letting users pick the resolution manually, so everything looks just as it should. Keep those fingers crossed!
I need this device like yesterday, haha. This would be perfect for when I'm at work. I often run around to different server rooms and only some of them have monitors already. They are also pretty limited on space so having to add a keyboard and monitor just sucks. I also hate lugging monitors around from room to room since they are so far apart from each other.
Thanks for sharing! We totally get it - been there, felt that frustration 😤, and that's exactly why we built it! 🤓💫
i think a hdmi monitor + usb hub works best for me (running a mixer for front of house audio, plus multitrack recording) but i would love to know where to get a usb cable of that quality, especially if i can get one that's longer
At the proposed price point, with the right software and a Pi, it would work out cheaper than a PiKVM. This is close to the price of just the VGA to HDMI adapter you'd need to make the PiKVM work with a server with VGA rather than HDMI output.
Seems interesting and I have thought about this idea for some time. Any idea what protocols does it use with the host? My point is that enterpise laptops would have restrictive policies regarding drivers. So my approach would be a classic UVC camera for the HDMI input (like the cheap HDMI capture sticks) and an emulated USB serial port for transmitting keyboard and mouse to the device (which would convert them to USB K/M, or even PS/2 in future). This would be stealthly working in most enterprises and the application could be a simple runnable with no admin requirements (even not needing installation).
PS: If, by any chance, you try to associate my serial emulation idea with the old RS-232 serial mice, just keep in mind those used 1200/2400bps, and the most conservative USB-serial devices can handle 115Kbps (i.e. 50x-100x more bandwith).
In terms of driver support, it does seem pretty standardised. At a hardware level this is essentially just a USB HDMI capture card and the keyboard/mouse emulation is handled via a HID to UART chip connected to a USB to UART chip so it presents itself to the OS as a serial port. These are then connected to pretty standard USB 2.0 hub chips, so nothing particularly complicated from a driver perspective.
Absolutely nailed it! And cheers for the extra insights. We're also working on PS/2 support - it's on our roadmap!
Check in the Bios of that HP if restrict USB devices is enabled. To only Keyboard and mouse. It might be seing the hub in the openterface and ignoring every other device on that hub
Because it's connect through a single usb cable, it has to be a compound device, which usually is just a usb hub on the host side.
Wow!!!!! We're definitely thinking along the same lines as you, we're not sure why just yet. We have built usb hubs for both host and target's side. We suspect that the computer's BIOS is unable to recognise this embedded USB hub, leading to its malfunction at this lower level and thus preventing our emulated keyboard and mouse from working properly at this level. We will keep our eyes on this issue.
I hope that host/target switch can be controlled in software. I could see myself leaving a USB thumb drive in there for firmware updates / OS rescue and toggling it back and forth whenever I need to update or reimage it.
Absolutely see your point!!! Flipping it back and forth could get a bit tedious... Ideally, switching it through software would be brilliant. But, due to costs and the way we've designed it this time around, we're sticking with the manual switch for this version. We're definitely keen on enhancing this feature in the next release, though! Thanks for your support & stay tuned!
PiKVM does have an identical text pasting feature, as well as client->host text copying using OCR, and customizable macros for saving strings of text or button combos and playing them back on demand
It's EDID profiles can be customized as well, allowing you to specify custom resolution/refresh rate profile for your specific UEFI/BIOS. Most support 720p/1080p 30hz/60hz, but the PiKVM v3 and below being limited to 1080p50 creates some scenarios where the UEFI BIOS detects a 1080p display and assumes 1080p60 to be valid, causing the PiKVM to be unable to capture anything
WOW. this is exactly what ive been trying to find for ages. this is perfect for work from home when you have a separate work laptop. i tried KVM switches to use my main monitors but they really suck for anything high refresh rate and more than HD. secondly they time to switch is slow and due to corp network VPN websites are just so slow to load so i want to use my main PC to search.
i ended up with two sets of monitors and a USB switch. but this would be perfect Pi KVM fps would have been too low to be usable. personally i would have preferred displayport and either dp daisy chain or two ports.
I wonder if they could add an emulation of a USB-to-Ethernet adapter on the target side? I don't always want to connect an unknown device to a network initially - it may have malware running on it, be running a DHCP server, or perhaps doesn't have a working network interface. Being able to 'net boot' from an emulated TFTP server on my laptop, without giving it 'real' network access, would be very valuable to me. Or anyone wanting to bring up untrusted hardware 'safely' e.g. to run forensic tools on it.
From the opposite direction, if the host side emulated a USB-to-ethernet adaptor 'connected' to an internal VNC server, you wouldn't need proprietary software on the host. Any host with a VNC client could work. You could still provide additional UI elements for out-of-band control by having the VNC server add additional UI elements outside the area displaying the captured video image.
Thanks for the awesome input! I'll definitely dive into your suggestions and see how they might fit into our plans. It might not be on the cards right away, but maybe for a future pro version. Stay tuned!
Thanx for the video. I can see a use for this but all KVMs I came across over the years are one control PC and multiple slave devices.
You're thinking specifically of a "KVM Switch" - KVM itself stands for "Keyboard, Video, Mouse" so a "KVM Console" such as this is generally a device that provides keyboard, monitor and mouse access to a system, an "IP KVM" provides access over a network and a "Rack KVM" is a pull out monitor, keyboard and touchpad that can be installed in a rack.
Curious about the VGA-target to HDMI bits. Is there not a way to power that signal from the host PC's USB-C cable instead of using an additional USB port for 5V power?
Would be intressting to know what vga adapter they use, most "new" vga adapter does not support 320x200/640x400 and 80x25/720x400 which few bioses uses
Good video, thanks Cameron. Glad they're going to broaden the software from being Mac-only - I don't have one myself and I think their keyboard would drive me potty, esp the lack of a normal delete key 😂
We're working hard on building the app for Win and Linux too :) Stay tuned!
I would like to see this hook up to another laptop. Think: executive laptop, with damaged keyboard / screen.
Many laptop user now use an external hub, which allows external keyboard AND screen. So, in theory, this device need only translate master / slave status between your machine, and the target PC.
Should work with tablets, too !
We're on it, sir👋-working on making our little gadget compatible with macOS, Windows, Linux, and maybe even Android and web extension. It’s a bit of a challenge juggling all these different OS, but we're making progress. Your support really helps keep us going. Stay tuned!
@@techxartisanstudio❤❤❤🎉My happiest moment in ages!!! Such a problem solver for me!!!
@@hoperules8874 It's so rewarding to hear that! Your feedback really boosts our team's morale! 💪🏻
We want wireless. Given that the current host-client connection is limited to USB 2 speeds, that should be do-able.
Gotcha! Thinking of bringing the control features to life as serving a VNC on the host computer. This way, you can go wireless and control the target from anywhere via the host. Would it sounds good to you? This is on our dev roadmap. It will take some time for building this feature though. Stay tuned!
Looks great. Can i use it to control 2 laptops via a docking station? I like a full keyboard, mouse and (multiple) monitors and would love something to switch between 2 laptops via it
Thanks for the great idea! I haven’t tested it thoroughly yet, but I definitely plan to demo using two mini-KVMs to control two computers at the same time and see if it works smoothly. Technically speaking, it should work. Let’s see how it goes. I’ll keep you updated!
I like this tool, I look forward to it being on the PC, I do carry an iPad and this would be great for it as weel.
Thanks for the enthusiasm! We're working hard to make our device work with macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android. As for iOS, it's a bit tricky due to its restrictions on external devices. We're still figuring out the best way to support iPads. If any iOS developers out there have tips or advice, we'd love to hear! And I will keep you updated too! Thanks a lot! 😃
@@techxartisanstudioI wonder if they'd allow you to extend the "sidecar" option that already exists?
Where can I get that VGA to HDMI cable? I've been looking for one of those.
This product does look really good though - I've been following it for some time, as the creators are fairly active on some of the various subreddits I frequent, but you can never be sure if a product is vaporware or not.
I'll definitely be interested in picking one up, once they have a Windows client. Though I do wonder how possible a PWA would be for an application like this? If the capture card pretended to be a webcam, I think it could be used entirely via web.
But thanks for making this video, will definitely be adding it to my wishlist!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm whipping up some docs as we speak, and I'll be sharing all the juicy details about our development and roadmap soon, for your review 🔍 Stay tuned!
I would love to see a version with DisplayPort instead of hdmi. It is simply a better standard and allowed to be open sourced
Thank you for your feedback! Currently, with the help of a video adapter, this mini-KVM can support other video sources such as DisplayPort, VGA, etc.
Very useful device! However, I dont really like the idea of installing an extra program just for this. I think it would be nice if the usb on the computer were a usb to ethernet adapter, which would essentially create an ad-hoc connection to the pc in order to use a web ui instead.
Absolutely, appreciate your input! Totally get that installing extra software can be a bit of a drag for some. How about we switch things up and introduce a web app for the device, so you won't have to bother with any local installs? Would it make things smoother for you?
This looks like a solution for those who work from home, have an existing home desktop PC and limited space for a further monitor, keyboard and mouse for the laptop provided by their employer. I previously used a USB-C laptop hub and the secondary input(s) on my monitor(s) but still had to have separate keyboard and mouse for each, and fiddle around switching the monitor inputs to swap between PC and work laptop.
The only possible feature, if not already supported, is where the desktop in this scenario has two or three* monitors connected in extended desktop mode where it would be preferable for the laptop to recognise these multiple monitors. From your video it looks like the laptop output from it's single screen would simply appear in a window on one of the desktop monitors.
Currently, the only other solution for this use case would be a 2-in, 3*-out switchable KVM, if such a device exists.
I also wonder whether screen sharing over Zoom or Teams on the work laptop would be affected while viewing via the desktop.
For that use case you'd be better off with a regular "KVM Switch" or even just use multiple monitor inputs as you did but with an inexpensive USB switch box for keyboard and mouse - A "KVM console" such as this is more designed for managing/setting up servers and wouldn't really be ideal for day to day use - there's a very slight delay to the keyboard and mouse inputs that would potentially get annoying after some time.
I made a pi zero2 one with its own wifi access point. basically a crash cart for server farms. way better than having a usb cable
It sounds like I am watching this in 1.5x speed
2x thanks
WiFi or Bluetooth connection to the laptop, battery powered. iDRAC access via the USB?
It something i wanted too but probably too expensive for my once in a while use, i used to just use the 3$ usb hdmi capture card from aliexpress and plug in wireless keyboard and mouse (maybe a combo would be better)
Totally get where you're coming from! Everyone's got their own take on what's worth the spend, and we're really trying to keep it as budget-friendly as we can. No worries though, your setup's a lot like our initial proof of concept! We're planning to drop a post on how you can DIY this gear and still make the most of our host app for the same vibe. Just bear with us a bit longer-we're all hands on deck getting this project ready for crowdfunding. Stay tuned!
couldn't you remap or disable the keyboard shortcut that triggers the show desktop expose function?
Thank you for your comment! We're currently looking into a solution for fixing this bug.
Getting keyboard mapping right is very important. Because otherwise some chars are impossible to make. This is a big issue with VMware's console, if you have a non-US keyboard on either the client or host side.
Definitely agree! Even something as simple as a drop-down within the client to pick the target machine's configured keyboard layout would be a decent solution.
Absolutely hear you on that one! We're totally on the same page about how crucial keyboard mapping is, especially when it comes to avoiding those pesky character issues. That’s why we’re gathering a group of beta testers from different countries with different keyboard layouts to hunt down bugs! Would love it if anyone's up for testing! Cheers!
Some servers still rely on ps2 keyboards, could an adapter be made for that. i realize that's it's a obsolete but I still occasionally find them.
I know there are still a bunch of older headless computers out there that use PS/2 for the keyboard and mouse. I don't think there's a simple way to split USB HID signals into PS/2 ones yet. I'm still on it, figuring out how we might add PS/2 support to our Mini-KVM. Got any ideas or know something that might work smoothly with our setup? Hit me up. Thanks!
does the USB-c do display?
What HP was this? Has lots of interesting ports on the back!
i feel stupid for having bought a portable monitor a few months ago. will be a buy once linux app is out
The text being soft is a big turn off as is the switchable USB being 2.0 as I can't use my web cam with that. I use a separate USB switcher and a regular HDMI capture card for near exactly the same functionality (i have to press a button to switch mouse/keyboard) but with crystal clear text.
Nice video, thanks!
I like the look of the kit, will be better (& cheaper) than what I carry in my grab bag now to get local server access at 3am. ILOs are good but only if the server has one AND it is configured.
Only issues I foresee, in my use case, is how corporate PCs might handle the USB KVM device and installing its software.....oh for admin rights....
I carry a Ventoy drive with many ISOs, I wonder if the device can emulate a USB drive so I could "share" an iso from the host PC to boot a broken server from via USB2? Not a show stopper but might be nice to have. USB could do HID and a memory stick.
Thanks for the feedback!
We know how tricky it can be with the tight software rules on work PCs. What if we used a web app for this device instead of needing a local install? Think that might help?
Love your idea about sharing the drive for both host and target at the same time - super handy, right? Sadly, it's not in the cards for this version. But, we may built it for a future pro model.
@@techxartisanstudio Thanks for the feedback. I thought about a web app too. The problem, as you know, is that corporate PC permissions differ greatly between companies. I've been in server rooms were no WiFi is allowed, meaning any solution needs to be stand alone. I think, sadly, the best solution is to offer a few solutions to give the end user options. Getting a "low run" application through the IT approval process can be impossible. In my case, for work, I carry a corporate Wintel PC, an Android industrial tablet and a non-corporate Linux laptop. I use Wintel for SAP, Android for email and Linux to do real work ;-). To use the KVM I'd try a thick Windows client on my corporate PC first and see how far it got. I'd then try the Linux laptop and finally Android. Some customers can also get concerned when connecting any non-company device to their equipment, so I still might be forced to use "their" crash cart, which might mean "borrowing" a screen & keyboard from an office desk to get into the server (and then finding a VGA monitor can be a challenge). I don't think there will be a one size fits all solution, sadly. Apple devices are pretty rare in my world so a Windows thick client would be my starting point, followed by a Linux thick client. The issues I mention are not specific to your product, I encounter them every day.
One thing I would recommend testing well on the Windows thick client is RDP. I can see scenarios where a computer dies and remote support will ask for another Windows PC to be connected up to the failed computer and your product. Remote support could then RDP into the Windows PC to gain access to the failed computer. This relates to my comment on remote mounting of ISOs on your product and the host Windows PC, it could be very useful on a future Pro version for remote support.
I will definitely buy a KVM device when it comes to market. I can buy from Amazon for work so it would be great if that could be a purchase option.
Your product reminds me of the Airconsole, which I also carry, which I use when working on Ciscos.
Any ideas when the product will be available in the UK?
@@andyc9921 Massive thanks for sharing your insights and how you manage things at work! We're on it, currently working to get CE and UKCA marks so we can ship our product to Europe and the UK. We're hoping to sort this out before the end of our crowdfunding campaign. We're aiming to kick off the campaign before May and are working hard to make it happen. The campaign should last between 6 to 10 weeks. Stay tuned! Really appreciate your support - thanks a bunch!
I got something like this rcently- USBC/3 cables and connections- i utilize mine to connect into 2 laptops where you have the abillity to switch between the 2 and then i connect a mouse, mass storage device, another usb hub + whattever else I connect into it.... this provides me with the abillity to switch back and forth between laptops sharring the peripherls etc.....a side use has popped up where randomly my laptop stops recognizing my mouse- switching it out and back resolves this till next time the issue occurs..
Couple things...that device needs a large/er button...and 1 that is easilly accessable- better yet, a feature I wish i went for is an external button..so Ican have the unit in the background or hidden away, then provide a button that i can have close by to switch things up...otherwise your left with this blob of cables starring at you on your desk....
Thanks for your feedback! We'll look into how to improve it. Looking forward to your support on our crowdfunding too! Thanks!
wireless version of this would be just perfect
Thanks for your thoughts! We've definitely considered going wireless, but it can get a bit tricky-especially if the wireless network isn't stable. You might end up spending more time trying to connect than actually working on the target computer. We want to keep things simple and fast, which is why we've opted for a wired approach for now. It’s all about plug and play efficiency that fits right into the IT workflow. However, we’re still exploring the latest in reliable wireless tech, and we'll definitely build a wireless version if our experiments prove successful. I’ll keep you posted on our progress!
The Linux client will be critical for me. Hopefully it'll stay up-to-date over time.
Thanks for sharing! we're working on it!
Much cheaper and more flexible than the Startech, whose software is quite ancient and grody anyway. The USB power is not too much trouble, sometimes you end up with a bunch of small power banks from vendor swag.
About the price - considering this is a combo of a USB HDMI capture dongle (goes for ~$8 retail), a micro controller for USB mouse&keyboard emulation (
Things cost what people are willing to pay, not what they cost to produce. Considering this product could be target enterprises. The price could be 299 USD + tax. At that price, an enterprise could still buy one for every person with access to their datacenters.
You also need to factor in the development time and effort, software development costs, hardware storage and distribution costs, even moreso when it's being made at a very small scale such as this. There is also a level of building in a reasonable profit margin to cover future development work on the software or other products. Those other devices you mentioned are so cheap because they are commodity products that are incredibly mass produced, this on the other hand is a small scale, niche product that can't benefit from economies of scale. When you buy a hardware device, you're paying for a lot more than just the cost of the components in the product!
I know this is a niché usecase, but what does it do with legacy resolutions like what old-school BIOS and MS-DOS uses? 720x400@70Hz (the VGA 80x25 character mode) Most low-end USB HDMI capture cards cannot sync to that.
Thank you for your comment! I've noted your suggestion and will definitely look into this specific use case. I'll keep you updated once we have done this test. Cheers!
Working in hospital IT i hear crash cart and think medical crash carts :D
This is fantastic tho, it way better than lugging a monitor around a datacentre and looking everywhere for a power socket for the monitor. Be more than happy to order one once the linux app is available .
We're working on it! Need your support to make it happen! Cheers!
It's a nice idea, but I think it's too late, small details like the cable being A first then C after adapter, the big push on VGA, the no linux support,
New servers are coming with HDMI now, they've also almost always got network KVM onboard, and where they don't, I find pikvm more convenient, I've built a pikvm into a small box with LTE I can just plug in and walk away and know I've got access from my phone or laptop over tailscail.
I can see how this has its merits and you've got a point, but any USB HDMI capture for $10 + a keyboard/mouse combo for another $10 makes this seem very much more expensive...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 😊 Totally hear you - our gadget isn't a one-size-fits-all. We're aiming for something lightweight, easy to use, and quick for sorting out issues with headless devices. Appreciate you pointing out the alternatives and where we stand in the mix!
Save $$. Get a HDMI-USB dongle (
One suggestion I'd make is to ensure the USB changeover switch is available remotely in software. So many KVMs make the mistake of putting only a hardware switch on the same box as all the cables have to go to. This means you simultaneously have to put that box in reach and route all those cables to it. But gotta say I lost interest when I learned it was USB2 only meaning the obvious data recovery scenario (connecting a USB HD) would be painfully slow. Also weird to start with Mac only (and annoying we had to watch 20 minutes in before finding that out!). I would guess that for the SysAdmin target audience, Macs are a distant third behind Linux and Windows.
Thanks for your straight-up feedback and suggestion about the device! Having the USB switch controlled remotely through software would definitely make life easier. Though due to cost and design bits, we're sticking with the current setup for this model. But, we're all in for improving it in the next version! And you nailed it about SysAdmin preferences. We're on it, working hard on Windows and Linux support as we speak. Stay tuned! Look forwarding to having your support! Thx!
But can you also modify it to be a kvm-over-ip device for these low amounts?
That would be a very different product, this is intended for use purely as a USB KVM for people who want local access to a device. For an IP KVM you'd be best to look at something like the PiKVM project.
@@camerongray1515 maybe you can bridge it over to WiFi with something like a Pi Zero put in front. Of course that way it will not be this compact.
I wonder if this can be used for retro servers (I know its niche), perhaps a PS/2 adapter. (Just a suggestion).
I work at a DC as an intern, we have tight spaces within the racks, with makes it hard to maneuver the crashcart, very real problems.
What Cameron said makes sense, as most servers/switches already have Out-of-band management, HPE has iLOs, Dell's have iDRACs, why would we need a PiKVM, plugged into our management VLAN for a basically redundant solution. This I gotta say, super handy tool, for the initial config of a server, before the out-of-band management is configured.
thanks for your feedback! Supporting PS/2 is on our roadmap. Stay tuned!
That pasting feature has piqued my interest in this. I am a little worried about the software, being Mac only I really hope they follow through with Linux/Windows versions. I also hope they open source the software, it would suck if the company went defunct and the software broke with no way to use the device. This gave me an idea actually, can you view the capture card output as a standard camera device? Ie, in something like OBS. That would be a neat feature so you could at least view the screen without the software installed (obviously wouldn't pass keyboard/mouse input)
We're on it with the Linux and Windows versions, and we plan to make our host app open source too. And yep, you can totally view the capture card output as a standard camera device, so it's all good for OBS and the like. We're all in on making this happen and really appreciate your support! Cheers!
Quickly setup a PiKVM and laptop/phone/tablet using a portable hotspot or phone hotspot
🧐What about os patch updates? How will they be handled?
Not sure what you mean, I imagine the client software will receive updates much like any other application. As for the device itself, it doesn't really run any sort of operating system - at a hardware level it's essentially an HDMI capture cart, some USB hub ICs, a USB to UART IC and a UART to UART HID device controller.
@@camerongray1515 ok-just nervous! I've had recent mis-match issues after an update.
This one will be even more useful if it have Android tablet support with external keyboard and mouse support
And also can use as a display in for any tablet/phone device When is not required as a kvm
Sometimes When go to the server room a really doesn't want to bring a whole monitor in for some basic staff
And talking about people knowing about Why not network kvm in corporate environment
Sometimes when you are doing a small job good luck to get all the required network approval when you need to do some last minu minutes troubleshoot in the weekend When You cannot get anyone to do any approval
Thanks for the feedback! 😊 We totally hear you on the Android tablet support-It's on our roadmap! Our team is already diving into some Android app development as we speak. Stay tuned!
Temu sells a 7 inch VGA/hdmi monitor for about $30 (or a 10 inch version), add a $10 wireless micro keyboard and you have a 100% compatable (any OS and any BIOS) monitor and keyboard that can fit in 1 hand and weighs less than 1/2 pound.
No need for a USB kvm combined with a laptop.
Then maybe this product isn't for you, if your solution works for you then great but it's not really equivalent to this. While small, a portable monitor and keyboard is still a larger setup and sure, it doesn't need a laptop, but do people working in places like datacentres really not have laptops with them? Being USB based also gives other functionality such as being able to "paste" text to connected devices or take screenshots of the output of a machine. This device is small enough to keep in a rucksack/toolbag at all times so that it's always available if needed.
@@camerongray1515 I brought up another solution which, by the way is available NOW, for under $50. You discussed having to go in tight spaces, which I had to do in the past.
My solution is about the same size as the USB KVM and weighs less than a pound even with a long video cable. It is OS independant.
You are hoping the USB KVM comes in at under $100 at some point in the future. You are hoping that it will work with Linux, at some point in the future. What about routers and other network devices or embedded systems?
Yes, the USB kvm and laptop is nicer if you only need to connect to windows machines and there is room for the laptop; when the device becomes available.
The USB KVM will work to control any machine as long as it supports an HDMI video output (or something that can be converted to HDMI such as VGA) and a USB keyboard. It works fine to control machines irrespective of their OS, I just happened to use a Windows machine here to demonstrate. I even demonstrated it with a Linux server at the end of this video. The only time the OS matters is for the machine you're using to run the client application, this is currently MacOS only but that's because this product is still in development and Windows/Linux clients are due to released soon.
@@camerongray1515ok-did I miss it-? Bluetooth keyboard and mouse are a no-go, rn?
Linux host support and I'm very very interested
That looks like a nice device but I can't help feeling that it should be able to be used without special software. After all it is just a keyboard, mouse, and display over USB. Regarding the copy and paste it would be nice to be able to 'upload' files over this connection. Are you old enough to have used Kermit? 😂
just reminds me of a pikvm (and variants) minus the pi and the remote aspect 🤔
Well... You can put it in this way 🤔
I like the pricing, but the reliance on native software instead of a web UI seems like a huge step backwards to me. It seems to be basically just a worse PiKVM. Which is fine, Pi-based KVMs get pretty expensive, but I can't wrap my head around why they'd go with the option that takes way more effort compared to Web UI if they're trying to keep things lean
The point of this is that it doesn't require any sort of network connection. The PiKVM is great but you're reliant on some sort of network connection between the Pi and your laptop whereas a USB setup is truly plug and play. Realistically the native app is pretty lightweight and I can't see this really requiring any significant driver installation - the video just acts like a webcam and the keyboard/mouse emulation shows up on the host machine as a serial port device.
Everything is probably still using VGA because well it's standardized and cheap and more importantly don't have to pay HDMI tax and HDCP.
It's really too bad we haven't moved on to display port, but again I think it falls under the same problem as above.
You ever seen her? The movie? With the AI girlfriend? That's what i want this to do. Kvm and a girlfriend. Now that's a good product.
Oh!!!!!!!! Sounds like you've stumbled onto our sneaky plans... Ever heard of "OthersideAI/self-operating-computer" on GitHub? Imagine mixing that magic into our little device. Think about it - not only getting your chats but handling all the techie stuff for your devices just by plugging this little gadget in. How cool would that be?
If this supported Linux this would be perfect for the Linux Mac windows combo laptops on forensic jobs in the field. Very cool idea
Thx! We're working on the Linux version too!
If you view a YT video in full screen and press Fn+F11, it doesn't perform the normal action, this might be a useful hack for them to exploit
Thanks for the tip!!! We will try this trick!
i had a need for something like this i ended up just getting a 15$ HDMI to USB capture device that with an HDMI to dvi adapter covers everything i need. you still have to use a keyboard and mouse. for those who want to get to the meat of this video jump to 15 min in defiantly a cool device at 100$ still way cheaper then standard adapters. would like to see a usb3 type A the usbc make me think its gonna be aimed at macs and will never see a Linux version.
Thanks for your feedback! We are working on building support for Win and linux as well! USB 3 support will be on our next - Pro version! Stay tuned!
I've worked in the KVM market for a massive OEM that produced all sorts like this. Based on frame rates and the comments about the competing products essentially being rubbish I have to ask, 1 - why 30fps cap? 2 - why is this "new tech"? and 3, if this is new tech, why is it lacking compared to some of the others? At the proposed price point I am sure it'll be great but some of the comparative points/comments are wildly subjective. Also, software to run where? Most of these other products that are insinuated to be old and expensive have one thing going for them, self hosted auto instance inbuilt software so no need for crap on the PC. That in its self is worth the extra money.
I imagine the 30fps cap is a limitation of the particular chipset they're using, although it's also a USB 2.0 only device so capping at 30fps probably helps keep bandwidth down while allowing reasonably high resolutions. When I said that it's new, I'm not meaning that this is brand new, never seen before technology, I'm just meaning that this is a new to market product. As for lacking features, what sort of features are you referring to? This is still a very much in-development product and the software is currently essentially at the MVP stage with a lot more features to be added. As for the built in software, how does this work? Do those other devices present some sort of storage device to the host containing the software? That's a pretty nice feature although not really a huge dealbreaker personally.
I'm going to call this tool a splice tool. This would be great for cyber security and or hacking uses.
Absolutely! We can't wait to get this product into your hands, and currently working hard to launch its crowdfunding campaign. Looking forward to having your support to make it happen! Once you have this gadget, we’d love to hear how you’re using it-especially in cybersecurity or hacking scenarios. Stay tuned! 😃