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Does a DVI KVM Solution Exist?

Posted by Cliff on from the for-those-who-have-$$$-for-more-than-one-LCD dept.

clichekiller asks: "I'm looking for a way to share my Apple 23" LCD between my Dual-G4 and my Athlon PC. I know that I'll need to upgrade my PC video card to one that has a DVI connector on it, but I haven't found a DVI Switch yet. Is there a simple way to share an LCD between two computers? Has anyone managed this between a Mac and a PC? I'd really like to ditch my behemoth 70 lbs. 19" monitor."

5 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Some Suggestions may be missing the point... by IAmAMacOSXAddict · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Hi

    Well, I might as well post a comment at the root level, as aposed to replying to other peoples comments.

    1> this person has a $2000 dollar APPLE High Definition LCD Screen. The NATIVE resolution is 1920x1200. It goes without saying that his PeeCee probably has a graphic card capable of the resolution, if not I'm sure he has enough money to get one (they start at about $100).

    2> for all you Google searchers... There are no KVM switches on your search that support anything higher than 1600x1200. I'm sure if he wanted to downgrade to that resolution, he would have never asked this question.

    3> for the Suggestions involving VNC, or Remote Desktop, they are good suggestions however they have been found to be a known security issue. UNLESS you run your own home network behind a firewall these should NEVER be used. If you use them without blocking internet connectivity to those ports, you will have every script kiddy in the known universe tapdancing all over your precious machine. IF you are behind a firewall they would be OK provided you secure the LAN and "trust" all the other machines on that LAN.

    With all that being said, I have looked into the issue also, I own a Dual 2Gig G5 with a 23" also, along with an alienware and laptop, the VNC/RemoteDesktop works for everything except when I want to play FPS games (or other high refresh rate applications) on the Alienware.

    Bob

    --
    MacOSX, because making *NIX better is a lot better than waiting for Micro$loth to fix Windows
    1. Re:Some Suggestions may be missing the point... by Daemonik · · Score: 3, Insightful
      3> for the Suggestions involving VNC, or Remote Desktop, they are good suggestions however they have been found to be a known security issue. UNLESS you run your own home network behind a firewall these should NEVER be used. If you use them without blocking internet connectivity to those ports, you will have every script kiddy in the known universe tapdancing all over your precious machine. IF you are behind a firewall they would be OK provided you secure the LAN and "trust" all the other machines on that LAN.

      1) If you use a Windows PC and it's connected to the internet it should be behind a firewall. Period, end of discussion.

      2) You can safely tunnel a VNC connection through SSH to connect over the internet.
  2. Re:Get a dual input monitor by dbirchall · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Getting a whole new monitor after one's already blown a none-too-small wad of cash on a Cinema 23HD is... expensive. Especially given that the logical candidate for such things is the Sony SDM-P232W/B, which uses the same panel as the Cinema 23HD (though apparently with a different anti-glare coating), has dual DVI inputs... and costs more than the Cinema 23HD.

    A dual-input Cinema would be... wonderful.

  3. Re:VNC not a great solution by Specialist2k · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I've found that VNC, at least the "official" release, can have major performance issues on the server machine. It eats CPU like crazy

    While still not being an ideal solution, Ultr@VNC should solve the resource usage problem as it ships with a ring 0 based display driver removing the requirement to continuously poll for modified screen contents as it gets notified when a portion of the screen changes.

  4. Re:Did you even.... by Sembiance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Who the heck approved this story to be posted?

    ARe the mods really so lazy and uninterested in slashdot they just approve anything?

    Geez. My respect for slashdot mods just went WAY down.