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Buy a KVM that takes PS/2 inputs and spits out USB signals then. I plan to do that if I need a KVM, since my keyboard of choice (IBM M-Series) isn't made with a USB connector.

I avoid those bastards' products at all costs, and if you're a Mac user, you should, too. They're overpriced and, like the parent poster discovered, not as flexible as one would expect-- and of course they don't give a fuck once they've gotten your money. They left a bad taste in my mouth years ago, back in the ADB days-- their KVM solutions for connecting a PS/2 PC and an ADB Mac were a mess of cables and boxes that was impossible to arrange neatly, and the Mac-specific parts featured extortionate pricing.

I've found that the higher-end KVMs are all designed for server rooms, and they were designed with the assumptions that nobody will ever do something like remap their mouse buttons or use a keyboard with special features, because hey, it's for controlling servers. I once bought an IOGear with all kinds of nifty features, but it ignored the media keys on my Microsoft keyboard, defaulted my mouse buttons to left-click, right-context ( a travesty when you're a lefty) and ignored the scroll wheel completely. I immediately returned it.

The KVM I settled on was a manual Dr. Bott VGA & USB switch. No hotkeys, no OSD, nothing fancy at all. It doesn't emulate shit, just acts as a dumb pass-thru for the attached devices. When I switch to my PC, I just have to wait a couple seconds for Windows to detect the mouse and keyboard. OS X seems to notice the peripherals much quicker when I switch back.

I've also bought StarTech KVMs from time to time for clients, and those work okay as well. StarTech does appear to make a DVI KVM that supports 1920x1440, but only analog. The digital max resolution is 1600x1200.

Not if your computer reboots and you need to get into the BIOS screen remotely. We're looking for some solutions ourselves for just that reason. For just recording the VGA output, there are better solutions for that too if you are in control of the hardware/software (Fraps for movies on the PC for instance). For DOS base systems you could write a TSR that polls the text screen buffer. I'm sure you could hack the Linux kernel to do something similar, or write your own program for a Windows system (start out with VNC source code). If you want to write a program to automatically do these things without changing the computer that is doing the output at all, I think zulux's idea would work.

They do make boosters that send a VGA signal long distances over standard ethernet-type cabling (its not over ethernet, per se, it just uses the same Cat5 cable stock). a Google search found many examples such as these ( I have no connections or experience with any of these companies, only a similar interest in connecting a monitor to a server in the other part of my house). A KVM (or hierarchical ganged bank of KVMs) at the monitoring end would let you select the display. The only downside is price, probably $200-$300 per monitored device (depending on distance, quantity, etc.)

They do make KVM's with multi-monitor support. I use them at work with our linux servers as our NT4 servers are not setup for multi monitors. look this site for more info

OmniView(TM) ENTERPRISE Series Remote IP Console
Belkin Part Number: F1DE101N

The Belkin Enterprise Series Remote IP Console (the Console) allows users to control, view, and administrate a server or multiple servers connected to a KVM switch remotely over a TCP/IP network. The Console enables the administrator to access the information stored on the servers, as well as to reset the hardware, access BIOS, and reset power. Unlike other KVM-over-IP solutions, the Console works with all PS/2-based servers and does not require additional software to support multiple operating systems. The Console uses the banking industry's 128-bit SSL encryption to prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing the server. Offering the easiest installation and setup in the industry, the Console monitors server activities and notifies administrators if and when problems arise. Its advanced capabilities far surpass current methods of remote server administration.

The Belkin Advantage:

• Remote control of a server or KVM switch over a TCP/IP network
• VGA Video Emulation (even with power off)
• Remote power on/off or server-reset capability
• Standard web browser remote viewing
• Support for VNC (Virtual Network Computing) remote display
• 128-bit SSL encryption with three security levels and three security modes: Relaxed, Stealth, and Turtle
• Support for up to 10 users

Features:

• Serial port monitoring and switching capability for serial devices
• Flash-Upgradeability
• PS/2 keyboard and mouse support
• One local port for direct KVM access to your server
• Automatic server monitoring and notification

See also http://www.kvmswitchoverip.com/ and http://www.kvm-switches-online.com/remote-access-s ervers.html for other solutions. I think these guys both have Raritans which haven't been mentioned yet.

Nothing low-end, though, you'll have to roll your own with a PC Weasel ($250-$250/server) and a remote machine you can SSL to and then use as a serial terminal for the PC Weasels. You'd need a multi-port COM card for the SSL box as well, and you'll have to disable any onboard video to let the weasel control the servers.

What about one of those Cat5 KVM extenders? See here for some examples...

Be careful!

All the units besides the IOView degrade the video quality, I understand from long conversations with sales people. The IOView, with a Hitachi Elite 751 19 inch monitor and a Matrox G-450 video card at 1600 x 1200 and 75 Hz, actually gives slightly better quality. Odd result, I know, but I'm testing the IOGear MiniView SE 4-port as I type this.

The Tech Report article about 4-port units says, "The other units lack explicit video signal enhancement features, but their quality was the same on both a 17" Trinitron and a 19" NEC AccuSync 95F. Note that this does not mention the video card or the resolution or the refresh rate, indicating that the reviewer was probably not thinking that these were critical. Also, many people are just not good at seeing degradation.

The IOGear MiniView SE 4-port has a VERY funky way of switching between computers. One way, to press a control key twice, is okay, but only goes to next computer in line. The other is amazingly foolish:

[alt]+[ctr]+[shift]+[1 or 2 or 3 or 4]+[Enter]

(See page 14 of the MiniView SE 4-port manual (NOTE: .PDF file)

According to Samantha Martinez of KVM Switches Online (Samantha@kvm-switches-online.com Phone: 303-604-0237 Fax: 303-604-0724), "The only manufacturers that hold that resolution at that refresh rate are Aten/IOGear and Avocent." (They don't sell the Belkin unit, apparently. Aten makes IOGear. You can buy Aten units directly, but they are a worse buy.)

Note that you get 2 4-foot cables and 2 6-foot cables with the MiniView, not 4 6-foot cables.