- AV Access 8K KVM Switch 2 Monitors 2 Computers DisplayPort 8K@60Hz 4K@165hz/144hz, DP KVM Switch Dual Monitors with USB 3.0 Ports, Audio, Fast Hotkey or IR Remote Switch, with 6 DP Cables

EDIT 1 YEAR LATER The flickering issue is completely gone after a year! I extend my gratitude to Kevin Pan of Technical Support for his invaluable assistance in updating the firmware and supplying new cables, which successfully resolved the problem. --- OMFG, I finally got this KVM working with my Alienware AW3420DW (the notorious flicker monster) and my Dell S2716DG monitor. Both have G-SYNC. No, I’m not a Vine Customer here to review this, though I wish I had gotten it for free considering all the hassle I've gone through to make this work. I was battling some serious flickering issues and spent two weeks juggling various 8k DisplayPort 1.4 and 1.2 cables, on the brink of returning this KVM and throwing in the towel. Just when I was about to give up and possibly set up a shrine to cables past, I stumbled upon 16k DisplayPort cables on Amazon. Naturally, I had to try them. I got two “uni DP Cable 2.1 16k” cables. One goes from the KVM to Monitor 1, and the other from the KVM to Monitor 2. I'm still using my old DP cables (which worked perfectly fine before the KVM), and they are now plugged into the KVM. Checked Refresh rate on both monitors and they are both good, 120hz and 144hz. Switching between my work laptop and gaming rig is straightforward with just the push of a button. No issues at all. It even remembers my window positions when switching back and forth. Now I am typing this review with no flicker in sight! I hope this helps anyone else trying to get this expensive machine to work with their setup!

This KVM works fairly well, switching between my gaming rig to my work laptop without messing with my peripherals is a dream, only issue I wish I could solve is that I am unable to connect my display (output) from my HP docking station. Unless I hook up the KVM to my docking station to my monitor. So I have the DP port connect to my kvm to docking station, connecting my hdmi to the docking station to the monitor. This work around isn’t bad but just a weird of advice for people in my unique situation.

Update 9/27/2205 == After putting up with this device for nearly a year now, I've found a better solution (via software remoting) with performance that works for daily use. This KVM does technically operate but it's issues (drop outs, scrambled screens, compatibility, etc.) make it unsuitable for daily 8hr work day use. Their support staff was trying to be helpful and were responsive but the hardware ultimately isn't worth it. If your looking for something to share KVM devices between systems in a low use situation (where tolerating the quirks and issues is feasible) then this could work (although so might manually swapping cables...). If your looking for a device to use all day every day - this isn't it. Update 11/13/2024 == Since my last update I have now confirmed the keyboard issue remains in some form. It no longer appears to redirect input to the wrong computer but instead simply doesn't send input anywhere. The KVM does respond to the Tab + 1/2 to switch between computers so the quick fix remains the same - just toggle the computers and they keyboard starts working again. I do consider this an improvement over the prior keyboard issue (especially since it mostly only seems to happen if the computers have been idle for a while - so greatly reduced frequency of occurrence) but alas this KVM remains in my barely tolerable category likely to be replaced with another brand when I feel like taking a chance again (or I get too annoyed with the issues of this one in daily use). Update 11/9/2024 == After my review AV Access's tech support reached out to me. Turns out there was a possible firmware update but the isn't any way to know what version you have until they send you a link to their tool. My KVM shipped with version 1.0.1 and they had 1.0.2 ready so I updated my KVM to that version. Note that the KVM is picky about USB cables - I had to try 3 before I found one that allowed their update tool to detect the KVM. Not sure why as those same cables work just fine with various other devices. Now on version 1.0.2 I saw no change in the screen sleeping issue (still stays awake with a blank screen - tech support said they would reach out to the engineering team, no response as of yet). However, the keyboard issue is at least partially fixed (possibly fully resolved). They keyboard issue is not reliably repeatable (which is part of why I waited to update this review - I wanted to allow for a reasonable testing period). On version 1.0.1 I saw the keyboard issue at least once ever few days or so. On version 1.0.2 I don't know that I have seen it at all - once I did observe what I think was the keyboard reconnecting but since I wasn't actively typing and I was already on computer 1 (where it likes to swap back to) I can't be certain of what actually happened. Even still, if that was the keyboard issue I've only seen it that once and it even then it wasn't as bad so version 1.0.2 certainly helped the keyboard at least. My rating of the product hasn't changed in light of this - the keyboard issue is significant but also making customers contact support (which was a rough process) just to find out if there even is a firmware patch isn't a good flow. At least publish a tool that can show what version is installed and as well what the current version is so that users can know if a firmware fix is even worth trying. At this point I am still left with having to manually power off either the KVM or the affected display any time I plan to leave my desk for a meaningful period of time - not a good user experience for systems that are supposed to sleep when unused and be ready to use on-demand. (This matters for me since the KVM is located away from the desk itself and not readily accessible and the affected screen takes a while to boot from fully powered off - so the screen sleep issue really is big deal for me. And yes, I have tried every possible combination of cables, ports, drivers, and screen settings - this KVM does not like the one screen for some reason.) Original Review == I have two main issues with this device and some design choice annoyances. The first is that they keyboard randomly loses connection and/or sends input to the other computer while leaving the screens on the current one (e.g. displays are on computer 1 but keyboard is now on computer 2) - the mouse and other USB ports don't have this issue - it's unique the the keyboard port. The second is that one of my displays will not enter sleep mode when the computer tells it to while another does. In effect I end up with one sleeping display and one showing a blank image at full power. Both displays work as expected when connected directly to the computer. This happens regardless of which computer puts the displays to sleep - so it's definitely a problem this KVM introduced. As for the annoyances, the remote is effectively useless. Only the back/next and 1/2 buttons work (on/off/3/4 do nothing). About the only utility in the remote would be to power the KVM on/off (which I wouldn't need to do if the display sleep function was working as it should...). Swapping between computer 1/2 is easily done via the keyboard so the remote isn't needed in that capacity. The second annoyance is an artifact of the KVM's design - the USB ports are on the front but for cable management I want to route them to the back, this requires a pair of 90 degree "up angle" USB adapters per port (I have a keyboard, mouse, and 2 USB cables running to the desk so 4 ports = 8 adapters). I could use a single 180 degree adapter except that they are too short to reach over the top, the two 90 degree adapters add just enough clearance to reach over the top of the KVM. The KVM doesn't need to sit on the desk (and in fact can't due to a sit/stand desk) so using the KVM directly as a USB hub makes the front facing ports useless (this also seems to be a common trend in KVMs - most put the USB out connection on the front instead of the back with the rest of cables...). I will buy another brand in the future due to the first two issues and I'm debating if these flaws are bad enough to justify buying a different brand even now (I use this daily for work)...

It just can't maintain the advertised DP 144 refresh rate at 4K using the provided cables or premium 8K cables - it just keeps on blinking. Everything works fine without the KVM switch! EDIT: I updated my rating from 1 star to 5 because: a) Their customer service is excellent b) The device now works as expected (well, almost, see below) The problem was the cables. It would not maintain 4K @ 144Hz using the DP1.4 cables provided. You have to buy DP2.0 cables if you want the high refresh rates at that resolution. They even mention this in the description! The only remaining issue is that my M32UC monitors will not display the image until you reset them, but that is a minor inconvenience that I have accepted to live with: there's a reset button on these monitors I can press. There are not that many high-end KVM switches on the market, and this one, albeit not perfect, is probably as good as it gets. Also, this company is actively working on improving their product which I support.

Other than one flaw, this is an excellent KVM switch. Nice and solid, easy to set up, accessible buttons, and even a wireless remote. The picture is crystal clear on both monitors. However, the flaw is the keyboard activated switching. It seems impossible to turn off permanently, and when it's on, it keeps switching monitors when I don't want it to. The only way to prevent it is to take my keyboard-mouse wireless receiver out of the keyboard USB port and put it in the mouse port. (I don't think the manufacturer even thought about combined keyboard-mouse receivers on one USB port.

It works well and picture quality is good. 4 stars for what it is and would give it a 5 stars however it dose cause the computers to disconnect and re-connect to the monitors when I switch between the two systems so can cause some inconvenience when all the applications switch to the primary display on the laptops when I go between the two. Other than that they are very nice and no other issues at all.

I spent a lot of time setting up this KVM switch so that I could toggle between two different work laptops, connecting my keyboard, mouse, webcam, and dual monitors via display port. For about 80-90% of my day, things work well. But when I am in a meeting using my webcam and external microphone and things suddenly reconnect, my audio and/or video is dropped and people can no longer see or hear me. This is a significant issue when I am in an important meeting or presenting something live on a call. For this reason alone, I cannot recommend this product to anyone who needs 100% reliability. There is also a serious issue that will occur while I am typing and whatever key I last pressed gets 'stuck' and gets repeated indefinitely, forcing me to full disconnect the USB port to stop it from happening. This has also been extremely disruptive during calls when I am presenting my screen.

I'm extremely satisfied with this KVM switch docking station. Setup was straightforward, and it seamlessly supports two monitors and two computers. Switching between my 2 desktops is smooth and fast, and the 8K output delivers crystal-clear visuals.