Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM Switch with Audio, USB Platform Review
Date : Tuesday, 24 December 2002
By : Stygian
Provided By : Belkin Corporation

Introduction

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for many of us to have more than one computer, or even more than two. As we constantly upgrade our main PC, older components that still work great are used to form another PC, and soon new systems are born. If you're like me, this constantly happens, as I never throw anything out, unless I know for a fact it doesn't work. And even then, I may still keep it!

However, while parts like motherboards and CPUs are upgraded on a relatively quick basis, it is rare that we buy new monitors or keyboards as long as our current peripherals are working. So, we quickly run into the problem of having more systems than can be controlled by our input peripherals. True, there are programs that will allow remote control of a computer over the network, but these programs cannot offer the same degree of control as offered by a KVM switch. A KVM switch will allow you to use one keyboard, one mouse and one monitor with many computers, depending on how many "ports" the KVM has.

The advantages of a KVM go beyond saving money on an extra mouse, keyboard and monitor. Having three sets of keyboards and mice would be confusing and weird, and would surely take up too much space. That's why large banks of servers are inevitably controlled by KVMs. However, these KVMs can get expensive, and not many a home user would want to invest such a large sum of money in one, and that is why companies have begun to make SOHO KVMs designed for 2-4 computers. Today, we have a KVM from Belkin that is not only SOHO-oriented, but offers only USB-support in addition to speaker and microphone switching. How does it work?

Specifications

Unlike the Belkin KVM I reviewed last year, this KVM is USB-only. This means you must make sure all of the computers you want to attach to this KVM properly support USB, which shouldn't matter with most people. Your keyboard and mouse must also be USB-compatible.

In all honesty, I don't know why Belkin opted to make a USB-only KVM when the one I reviewed last year had both USB and PS/2 connectivity. The list price of this one is only $10USD less than the other one, but it does come with an AC Adapter to power the switch, something that was optional with the other switch but not included. Just like the switch I reviewed earlier, this KVM has inputs for a microphone and speakers, so that you can switch these between your computers as well. This is an addition that signals that this KVM is surely designed for the SOHO environment.

The look of this KVM is pretty much identical to the one reviewed before. The case is a dark grey with silver highlights and should look well on any desk, should you choose to put it there. The look of this KVM is certainly untraditional, and you may have many people asking you what exactly "that thing" is. The KVM comes with a quick installation guide, and a manual. The KVM is said to be flash-upgradeable, and a parallel-port cable is included to connect your computer to the KVM for flashing, however, little information is provided in the manual about the procedure. I had to go to Belkin's website in order to obtain any pertinent information about the procedure.


The Box.
Opened.
The KVM stand, KVM, Parallel-Port Flash cable, and AC adapter.

The back of the KVM is where differences between it and the KVM reviewed earlier begin. There are no PS/2 ports or inputs anywhere, and all of the control is through USB. The console, or the keyboard and mouse you will be using, must support USB, as the KVM does not have PS/2 inputs. Each PC hooks up to the KVM via ONE USB cable, so mouse and keyboard commands are sent over just that one USB cable. That will at least cut down on the number of cables you have to connect, making things a little easier. In the first picture below, you'll notice two USB ports above and slightly to the right of the console VGA connector. These are ports for USB devices, so you could plug a printer or USB headset into one of them and share the device amongst your PCs. The RJ-45 jack connects to the flash-upgrade cable whose other end attaches to the parallel port of your computer.


The back with connectors.
Front view with the switching buttons.
Another view.

One thing that I immediately liked about this KVM was the inclusion of an AC adapter to power the unit. In fact, this KVM needs the AC adapter to work. This should ensure better operation of the KVM as it won't have to rely on power drawn from the connected PCs' USB ports to function. I much prefer this design over that of the previous Belkin KVM I reviewed, which did have to rely on the power from the PCs' ports. Looking at the front of the unit, we see a column of four buttons flanked by four LEDs. The buttons allow you to quickly switch between computers, as you just need to press the 1-dot button to switch to PC #1. The LED beside the button of the numbered computer you are controlling will be lit up when you are switched to it. If you choose to put the KVM out of sight, don't worry: You can also switch between computers using keyboard hot-key commands.


Side view.
The cover snaps on then slides into place.
Another view.

The KVM cover snaps on, and then slides into place, and its purpose is to neatly organize all of the cables coming out of the KVM so that they are not in one big mess. The opening at the back is not that big, and I have a feeling that with four computers hooked up you'd have a hard time getting the cover properly into place. Luckily, it's not necessary to have the cover on.


The stand is made to balance the weight of the cables coming out of the rear.
The KVM won't take up a lot of desk space.

The stand sticks out backward to balance the weight of the cables, which also come out the back. The stand does an okay job of keeping the KVM in place but because it doesn't have any grips on it, it's prone to slippage if the cables coming out of the KVM are bent in a weird way. I wouldn't put the KVM too near the edges of a desk, and instead I'd put it on the ground, and because of its small size and vertical orientation it should be able to fit in lots of places.

Installation

Installation is as easy as plugging in cables. You should first make sure that USB is enabled and supported on all of the computers you wish to connect to the KVM switch. Then, plug in your monitor, keyboard and mouse into the console connections. The monitor cable plug should go into the port labeled "Console VGA", and your mouse and keyboard should go into the USB ports with the mouse and keyboard pictures under them, respectively. Optionally, your speakers and microphone can also be plugged into the respective console audio ports as well. There can be some chance for confusion, as the VGA 1 connector, that's supposed to go to the videocard of the first computer is intermingled with the console connectors. However, the quick-start guide has everything labeled and well defined.


KVM Cables.
Audio, USB and Video cables.
Not a lot to plug in if you don't use the audio switching.
The cover nicely shrouds the cables as they come out.

After the console has been connected, you have to hook up each computer. Each KVM cable set comes with everything you'll need to hook up one computer to the KVM switch, but the cables are NOT included with this KVM. They must be purchased separately, with a 10ft cable set having a MSRP of $30 USD. There are four connectors you'll have to hookup: The VGA cable, the USB cable (which is for both the mouse and keyboard), and the speaker and the microphone audio cables. The other end of the USB cable plugs into a single USB port on your computer; both the mouse and keyboard signals are sent to this one port.

Upon bootup, Windows XP recognized the KVM connection as two HID (Human Interface Devices), a standard keyboard and mouse. Because of this, the special functions of your mouse and/or keyboard may be lost. Specifically, if you have a keyboard that has multimedia or extra keys, or a mouse with extra buttons, these may not function properly with this KVM. This is a problem that has plagued many KVMs, but I have seen a few PS/2 ones that allowed for the use and proper function of special buttons on keyboards and mice. There are two ways to switch between computers: You can just press the button corresponding to the computer on the KVM (direct) or use the keyboard hotkeys. The hotkeys consist of pressing Scroll-Lock twice (the KVM will beep then), and then pressing the number (1 to 4) of the KVM port you wish to switch to. You can also switch the next or previous active port by pressing Scroll-Lock twice, then pressing the Up-Arrow or Down-Arrow. A feature called AutoScan mode, where the KVM automatically cycles through the ports in 10 second intervals, can be enabled by double-tapping Scroll-Lock, then pressing '0'. To stop Autoscanning, the spacebar is used.

Obviously, the hotkey feature is very useful should the KVM be out of reach where you positioned it. Additionally, pressing Scroll-Lock twice accidentally is very unlikely, in my opinion. The only place I could think of would be in Milkdrop (a plugin for Winamp) where Scroll-Lock is used to toggle whether or not a visualization preset is locked. No matter which way you switch between ports on the KVM, an audible beep is heard when switching.

Testing

The major thing I did not like about this KVM is that because the keyboard and mouse were treated as a composite USB device, special features and additional buttons on the mouse were lost. This could have been remedied by keeping them on separate connections, or perhaps by including the support for PS/2 devices. Switching between ports was flawless, either by the direct method or using hotkeys. However, video performance was a little degraded, to the point where a slight "ghosting" effect was barely visible from white objects on dark backgrounds. This was hardly noticeable until one looked very closely at the screen, but nonetheless may be annoying. The keyboard support was a little quirky at times. For example, when holding down the CTRL key for more than a few seconds, the KVM would sometimes "forget" that this key was being held down, so when doing a paste (CTRL-V), sometimes just a 'v' would show up. The mouse response was unaffected by the KVM, though.

Conclusion

I was disappointed by this KVM. The USB-only support may be something to wonder at, but in my opinion it was not implemented all too well. The fact that your brand-new mouse with buttons galore may be reduced to just a "HID-compatible" mouse is compounded by the fact that some USB keyboards don't work well with this KVM. With Belkin selling another KVM, just like this one, but with PS/2 AND USB support for only $10 more, I don't really see any reason to go with this unit. I've had no problems with the PS/2 support of the other KVM like I've had with the USB support of this KVM. PS/2 keyboards worked well, without problems, and special buttons on PS/2 mice maintained their functionality with the use of the slightly more-expensive Belkin unit. If you're looking to get a Belkin KVM, save an extra $10 and get the one with PS/2 as well as USB support.

Pros

Cons

Lastly, I want to hand out a big thanks to Belkin for providing this KVM to review. Although I didn't like it too much, they have other KVMs that have different features. And keep in mind, the other KVM I reviewed last year is still working great!

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