Description
From the brand
Product Description
TESmart 2 Port Dual Monitor HDMI KVM Switch (HDMI+HDMI)
2 computers / PCs share one set of keyboard, mouse and 2 monitors
1.Dual monitors output support up to 3840×2160@60Hz RGB 4:4:4 for extended, mirrored or respective display.
2. Support Unix/Windows/Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/Mac OS X/Raspbian/Ubuntu for Raspberry Pi and other Linux basic system.
3.Support hot plug, disconnect or connect devices to the KVM at any time without turning off PCs.
4. With EDID emulators in the extended display mode, keep PCs always have correct information, prevent displays setting change while switching inputs.
5.Include all cables except cable for monitor.
Key Features
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True Ultra HD 4k Visual EnjoymentThis 4K HDMI KVM switch dual monitor max supports 3840×2160 RGB 4:4:4 downward compatible. You can enjoy the most luxurious video with this HDMI KVM dual monitor Switch. |
2 PCs Share 3 USB DevicesThis Dual Monitor KVM has dedicated mouse and keyboard ports. An extra standard USB 2.0 port works with printers, jump drives, USB headsets or webcams for teleconferencing. Meet more demands at work. |
Audio OutputKVM Switch comes with a 3.5mm Audio Jack port with a DAC chip inside, which can be inserted into a 3-segment 3.5mm earpiece device. |
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Keyboard and Mouse Seamless SwitchingAvailable to use keyboard and mouse without any delayafter switching input sources. No delay, zero delay, no need to reinstall the driver. Use it smoothly and improve your work efficiency or gaming experience. |
3 Convenient Switch Modes1. Button Switching: Switch 2 signal sources in the extended mode by the panel button. 2. Hotkey Switching:Press scroll lock+ scroll lock+… or the right ctrl+ the right ctrl+… 3. IR Remote Control( without AAA battery). |
A Higher Level of Keyboard and Mouse CompatibilityKeyboard and mouse pass-through mode (Semi-DDM USB) makes it compatible with more keyboard and mouse devices. Supports wired, wireless, mechanical, multimedia, and gaming K&M (not support wireless bluetooth keyboard and mouse). |
Upgrade
Support
Choice
Audio
mofsoft –
Works with Mac Mini 2018 and MacBook Pro 2016Works like a champ save for one issue. The older wired Apple Numeric Keyboard (model A1243) does not work in the keyboard port.The unit comes with a keyboard usb port, a mouse usb port and a separate usb 2.0 port. If you must use the Apple Numeric (A1243) keyboard, you’ll have to plug it into the usb 2.0 port and not the keyboard port. However, the ‘hot keys’ feature only works for keyboards plugged into the keyboard port… so if you use an Apple Keyboard, you won’t have any hot keys. Perhaps my Apple keyboard is just too old… I have not tried the newer Apple Magic Numeric Keyboards. YMMVMy Setup: – A cheap 104-key generic numeric keyboard plugged into the keyboard port. – An old USB 2.0 powered hub plugged into the usb 2.0 port – An Apple Magic Trackpad 2 (model A1535) plugged into the powered usb 2.0 hub – Mac Mini 2018 running macOS 12.5.1 (Monterey) – HDMI port to TESmart HDMI – USB-C to HDMI dongle to TESmart HDMI port – USB-A to TESmart USB-B (the port that looks like a “D”) – MacBook Pro 2016 running macOS 12.5.1 (Monterey) – USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter HDMI to TESmart HDMI – USB-C to HDMI dongle to TESmart HDMI port – USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter USB-A to TESmart USB-B (the port that looks like a “D”) – Samsung U28E510 – 4K 60Hz HDMI #2 port – Samsung U28E590 – 4K 60Hz HDMI #2 portThe TESmart drives both monitors at 4K 60Hz flawlessly. The hotkeys are awesome. I knew you could switch both monitors/keyboard/mouse from system A to system B, but I had no idea you could split the system. Here’s how it works using a compatible 104-key keyboard plugged into the TESmart “keyboard” port: – scroll-lock scroll-lock 1 = will switch everything to system A – scroll-lock scroll-lock 2 = will switch everything to system B – scroll-lock scroll-lock 3 = will put monitor A to system A and monitor B to system B, leaving keyboard and mouse with system A… and here comes the coolest part… Press right-alt right-alt and the keyboard/mouse switch to system B.So you can easily have a dual monitor setup per system or with a couple of hotkeys switch it to a single monitor system showing both systems (one on each monitor) and then easily toggle the keyboard/mouse between the two systems. Got something you need to keep an eye on that’s running on system A but you want to work on system B? scroll-lock scroll-lock 3 followed by right-alt right-alt. Boom! You can see A while working on B. Need to control system A for just a bit? right-alt right alt = now you are controlling system A while still seeing A and B at the same time.What could be better? – Wish the wired Apple Keyboard would work in the keyboard port. You can still use the Apple Keyboard, just not in the keyboard port which means you don’t get to use the hotkeys (which is the biggest selling point of the system in my opinion). – Wish they would add ONE feature to the included remote. If they would do this, then I would ditch the cheap 104-key keyboard and go back to the Apple keyboard. Program one of the unused buttons (there are 8 buttons on the remote and only 4 of them are used) to mimic the right-alt right-alt. With the remote, you can switch to system A dual monitor (press M or 1), system B dual monitor (press M or 2) and even split one monitor per system (press P). But you cannot toggle the keyboard/mouse with the remote when you are in split mode. If TESmart is reading this, please add that feature to the remote as a firmware update which will make the remote mimic all of the hotkeys.
Daniel Spiewak –
Very solid, does its job, not perfectI’m currently using this with a pair of 4K 60Hz monitors, both of which support HDR and FreeSync (more on this in a moment). A USB keyboard and mouse, both gaming hardware, are connected to the KVM. As for devices, I have an iVANKY dual USB C dock for an Intel MacBook Pro, which is producing dual HDMI outputs which feed the KVM. The secondary device is a traditional desktop computer, where the dual HDMI outputs are connected to an Nvidia RTX 3080. There are no other USB devices connected to the KVM.On the positive side, this setup almost always works perfectly. I did need to disable the low-latency mode on the keyboard in order to connect it to the keyboard port on the KVM, and this in turn is required if you want to use the keyboard shortcut to swap between inputs (which I do). This is unfortunate and noticeable, but otherwise not a big deal. Both the mouse and the keyboard appear to the connected computers as generic USB input devices, so I lose out on most of the gaming features of the mouse, but this isn’t noticeable for the most part. The only annoying bit was bouncing back and forth between computers during initial setup, attempting to normalize the mouse acceleration between two different operating systems.Swapping time between inputs is right around 2-3 seconds, during which time the monitors go dark but inputs are respected. In practice, this is generally fine.Unfortunately, the experience is not *perfect*. The most common complaint that I have is infrequent instabilities which seem to stem from the switch. This has manifested as input device issues (e.g. mouse input being ignored), or even display issues (e.g. the left display being black, though still recognized as a display, and only on one of the input computers). In all cases, restarting the KVM resolves the issue, but it’s an annoying step to have to take.Additionally, FreeSync doesn’t work through HDMI. It’s *possible* that I could do something tricky with HDMI-to-DisplayPort cables, but I haven’t tried and I doubt that it would work. In general, if you’re looking for a variable refresh rate solution, you’re going to need a DP KVM rather than an HDMI solution. This is probably my only regret with this device.As a final complaint, I do wish that the low latency keyboard mode were supported. From the keyboard side, what this does is it cause the keyboard to emulate a USB hub with multiple connected keyboards, which in turn allows it to bypass the limitations on the USB Keyboard protocol. In theory, the KVM could respect this, but it would be challenging and I understand why it does not.Overall, I do recommend this device, but expect to have a certain number of annoying and random technical issues, usually resolved with power reset.
Pinecones –
Best KVM on the market.I really had a hard time rating this 4 starts, since I think it is the best KVM available and it’s honestly reasonably priced.The main advantage is that they included EDID emulation on the HDMI ports. On most KVMs, when you switch devices, the inactive device sees the monitors as disconnected. This can cause all sorts of weird issues, but least of which, on Windows 10 it will cause your application windows to shuffle to one monitor, which can really interrupt workflow. (HOT TIP: there are pass-thru HDMI EDID emulation devices you can buy to use with other KVM switches if you want the same functionality, but they cost $10-20 each and require one for each HDMI port on each computer you’re running to. In this case, that would require purchasing 4 of them, running you ~$60 extra)The device also comes with the ability to cross-display so that you have one monitor display device A and the other monitor display device B. This is really handy feature that only a handful of KVM manufacturers currently offer.It supports up to 60Hz 4k (or higher framerates at lower resolutions), includes a push-button switch on the front of the device, a remote (IR) controller, and the ability to device switch by hotkey.The only things that are really holding this device back are the ability to display higher framerates as higher resolutions & some general clunkiness that could have easily been rounded out.It can take a couple seconds (5-10s) for the screens to fully wake up when waking a device from sleep or switching devices. I don’t think this is a deal breaker, but if you needed extremely fast switching between devices, this KVM is probably a pass.The switch only has 3 USB 2.0 ports (but does support a hub). Not a huge issue, but most of the competitors are offering 4 USB 3.0 ports.Audio-out options kind of suck outside of HDMI. Any high-definition audio out would be a huge improvement.Keyboard hotkey switching needs improvement. It’s nice that it is there, but defaulting to scroll-lock as the trigger key is annoying (can be switched to right-ctrl), and the keyboard combinations for switching devices is clunky. For some reason it is designed to force you to use the number keys to select your device, even though there are only two devices. It could really benefit from a “double-tap to switch devices” option.The case is bad. It is awkwardly shaped with no right-angles and it is way too wide. It’s not nice looking enough for you to want to keep it on a desk and it takes up too much space, so you will want to hide it somewhere. But, with no mounting points on the case anywhere, actually mounting this under a desk, behind a desk, or behind a monitor will be a pain.If TESmart made a newer revision that addressed the minor issues, this would easily be a 5-star review… and it’s a shame, because I do believe this is the best option on the market.
Michael –
Works really wellMy wife recently began working from home with her new job. She needed a simpler way of switching between work and home computers, so we bought and installed this KVM switch (after spending hours poring over multiple websites and dozens of switches to find the perceived best option). This switch makes her life so much easier, merely having to push one button on a remote to swap between the two computers. She has 2 PCs (one is a laptop with an HDMI port and a USB-C port with a USB-C-to-HDMI adapter, and the other is her gaming/home PC with multiple HDMI ports). Even the IR on the remote and switch work well, allowing the user to not directly point the remote at the sensor on the switch. We’ve had other IR devices that were picky about the angles, but this one works well. The pictures on the website make this item look like it’s made of cheap plastic, but the case is mostly made of metal. The quality is a lot better than I was expecting (thankfully). The blue LEDs on the front are harsh on the eyes, but thankfully they’re small, not ultra-bright, and nearly unnecessary to look at since you have a remote.Setup is pretty basic. Plug the cables into the correct ports, keeping tracking of which cables go to PC1 and PC2 and Display1 and Display2. The instructions for using the remote were cohesive enough for my wife to quickly figure out how to use the various switching methods (including the feature that allows you to simultaneously display the main monitor from each PC). The remote included with ours has buttons that aren’t used for this model, so that’s a little odd, but not a big deal.Because we’re in a tiny apartment, we need to use our vertical space somewhat efficiently. We mounted this switch to the bottom of a shelf, above where her computers sit. However, there is no mounting hardware included (this seems like a major over-sight), so we had to buy some brackets for the switch to rest on/in. There are no holes in the case where you could secure brackets to, either, so we’re relying on gravity to do its job here (mostly). The HDMI and USB cables included are very useful, coming in at roughly 5ft long each. That’s really about 2 feet longer than what we need, but more expensive switches don’t even include cables! The bad part about the cabling is that the power supply cord is kind of short and somewhat limiting. We put an extension cord on top of the desk, behind the monitors, for the wall plug, and then we ran the power cord (and other cables) up through a notch on the back of a shelf.The USB hub built into the switch is another really great feature. Many switches only offer the keyboard and mouse USB ports, but this switch allows us to plug a USB hub into the switch, and so all of the peripherals switch with the monitors also. That means only one giant gaming keyboard, one headset dongle, one printer cable, one webcam cable, etc. It only takes a few seconds for everything to swap over, and you can do that simply with the remote! I have not yet tested keyboard macro passthrough on the keyboard port, and I very likely may never since everything is plugged into my wife’s hub anyway.My only big complaint is that this thing is using USB 2.0 instead of USB 3.x. This means all of the file transfers via USB (think flash drives or when you plug your phone or camera into the hub) are incredibly slow, using the old standards. They also don’t seem to have a newer version of this item that includes HDMI 2.1 and USB 3.x or even USB-C. I would have purchased a nicer model if one existed.When I get some spare change, I might buy another of these with some HDMI splitters so I can swap between my home PC and my wife’s home PC for when she’s working at her desk but wants me to do things on her computer.Overall, my wife and I are well pleased with this purchase so far. Thanks for the great product!
Greg Crawford –
Well worth the cost on Day 1I’m not going to hold it against Amazon for shipping me the wrong item originally, and will give them credit for a price adjustment after the item cost went up during the return process. I am not using this for anything exotic, I just needed to be able to run the same two 27″ monitors from two different computers on the same keyboard & mouse. Both monitors are running 1920 x 1080 @ 75Hz. One is an HP EliteBook x360 1040 G6 (single HDMI output) connected to an HP Docking cube via USB-C. The HP Cube has 2 Display Ports for the video output so I am using a Display Port to HDMI cable for both those connections. The other is a MiniPC (single HDMI output) connected to an inexpensive USB-C docking station (Linlux USB C Hub, 11-in-1 Type-C Adapter Hub with Gigabit Ethernet Port). That is using two HDMI to HDMI cables. I have to say, it’s working way better than expected. Getting the monitors up and running was a snap. The Logitech keyboard and mouse combo was a bit more tricky. It would work on the HP laptop but not the MiniPC. After a bit I realized that the laptop had previously had that same keyboard/mouse dongle on it. So i removed the dongle from the TESmart KVM, plugged it into the MiniPC and it started working. Then I plugged it back into the KVM and it worked on both. I also have a Logitech USB camera connected. For that to work you must put it in the one USB port on the back of the TESmart KVM labeled “USB 2.0”. It will not work in the USB ports on the KVM w/ the mouse/keyboard pictured. Switching between the two PC’s is moderate speed, when you hit the button it takes about 4 seconds for the displays on the other computer to come up. All keyboard and mouse functions seem to work as expected.There are 2 “modes” on the KVM. Mode 1 uses both displays for 1 computer. Mode 2 splits the displays, one for each computer. You have to toggle the keyboard/mouse with a hotkey to switch focus between the two displays. Going back from Mode 2 to Mode 1 also causes some glitches with which display on the computer is 1 or 2. The displays will frequently flip sides/primary role in an extended display setup. It’s a minor annoyance as i don’t intend to use them split much anyway. I also could not get the Mode 2 (split mode) to work with the button on the KVM or by hotkey, I could only get it via the included remote.At this point I’m giving it 5 stars although I’d probably say it’s a 4.5. Overally very functional and good.
Citydrummer –
Should have started with TESmart in the first placeI started with the CKL which is a few bucks cheaper and provides “more” USB ports at the front. Boy I really hope that thing works. Other than a lesser sound quality, I found the CKL one very unstable in my case. Especially when I connect my Logitech webcam to the USB port, I have to reboot my PC for it to recover and behave normally again. As you switching between PCs, the mouse and keyboard responsiveness deteriorates. You just need another reboot. Oh well, after wasting a lot of troubleshooting time, I thought I will give this TESmart a try… I had it for 2 days and I can’t wait to leave a review for this. Here we go.PROS:- This unit comes with less cables due to the fact that the design is well thought out. Very clean.- Build quality is excellent. Nothing looks cheap here.- Every peripherals connected via the USB works. No mouse stuttering, no sticky keys issue. Just rock solid. This is what I have been looking for.- I thought I got a sound issue and I was willing to live with it while everything works. Turns out you need to go to Windows Sound Settings and pick the right “Output”. Once you got that taken care, this thing works perfectly as described. I am bloody impressed.- I don’t see any loss in video and sound quality.CONS:- I really can’t find anything that I don’t like.Overall, if I can make one suggestion, may be one more USB port to share a printer. But this is not one bit a deal breaker at all. There are other workarounds. The bottom line is, it is rock solid for what it is supposed to do. I don’t know about the durability here. But if you don’t see me updating this review, then it is still kicking ass.
Dan –
Perfect for my dual monitor, dual PC setup! (Updated w/ Customer Service experience)I love this thing! I does everything I need it to do, connecting both my personal and my work computer (here in the days of COVID work from home) to my dual monitor setup. My Microsoft keyboard and even my wireless Logitech mouse (with it’s own USB dongle) connected flawlessly. I love the keyboard shortcuts for switching between computers. And I love that you can configure the “trigger” key (I changed it to use Ctrl+[1 or 2] because I find that much more convenient). I used some hook & loop tape to mount this to the wall behind my monitors, keeping the cords out of the way. With the keyboard shortcuts to change computers, this works great. This is the perfect solution to connect two computers to a dual HDMI monitor setup!UPDATE: I did have a failure of my original unit, related to the keyboard and mouse USB ports. Normally, this would be enough for me to say “do not buy!”, but I have to say, Tesmart customer support was AWESOME! I contacted them via email and described the issue. They sent back some troubleshooting questions. We exchanged info and they agreed that it was a product failure and had a new unit sent out immediately. From first contact to new unit in my hands was under a week. I was very impressed and pleased with how their team handled this issue.
Bernard –
Pretty Darn good KVMMy goal was to setup a 2 monitor setup using both a laptop and a desktop. I had to go out and purchase different cables to get my system working but it is great. My laptop is able to drive its own screen plus 2 monitors without delay, flicker, while maintaining full resolution. The desktop drives both monitors and maintains FPS in games and full resolution. Oh and keyboard, mouse, and audio is supported on both as well. It also has a USB port which extends to things like webcams etc.I was worried, but now I am pleased. Awesome product. Why no 5 star rating? It was close but having to spend the money on HDMI to USB-C, and USB to Digital cables to support my monitors became costly. Having some adapters in the package would have been nice.
joseph gallegos –
Good EnoughI’ve been using it for a month now and its just good enough. If you are looking for a dual monitor kvm switch this one will get the job done. In my time using it there has been a few glitches here and there. A few that pop into mind are:It doesn’t like when you switch between both computers really fast, sometimes it just doesn’t switch correctly and will end up with keyboard and mouse on one computer and displays on another.Sometimes when you switch your mouse will jump around for the first 2 – 3 seconds.Sometimes it will continue jumping. To solve turn it off for 10 seconds and turn it on again.Sometimes it will continue registering key presses or not register key and mouse presses.If you connect a computer to the switch through a usb type c to hdmi it back feeds into the switch and makes a popping noise. This one was the most concerning so I just avoid it. It could be just my computer.Other than those I can’t think of anything else that has been a problem with this switch. It gets the job done. I have a microphone, camara, headphones, keyboard, mouse, and two monitors connected to it with a powered usb hub and the only 2 that give me problems are the mouse and keyboard.The thing that would make this a 5 star product would be if it did not have those issues, and if it supported the other type of gaming keyboards. I own a corsair k70 and it just doesn’t work with the keyboard port so I use the powered usb hub instead. They are minor nuisances that can be resolved most of the time by just turning it off and on again.For the solution it is providing I think it is good enough.
Mauricio –
Didn’t work for me but support did try their best–Final Update–Ultimately, the device didn’t work for me. Although I still need a working KVM, I’m not able to get this one to work with me. The support did give it their best but it takes time for them to reach out to you and get the troubleshooting started. Once you get over the hurdle with contacting them and the initial troubleshooting steps, they absolutely get more involved in trying to help.This KVM is raved to be the best and thus far, I’m quite anxious about giving any other product a chance but I need it for work.–Original–Using a wireless dongle for keyboard and mouse gets obstructed by the metal frame. I think it’s better to have the dongle in front of the device as an option.–UPDATE–I would seriously consider that you try a different device. The connectivity on this is so bad with a wireless keyboard. My keyboard absolutely has to be less than a foot away from the TESmart device. Before I bought this I made sure my peripherals worked with all other devices directly. They did. Also checked that my keyboard is from the brands listed on compatibility as well. It’s definitely the TESmart with issues.The intention of the device is perfect but without a functioning plug and play for the keyboard, it makes it almost useless. I suspect it’s the bulky metal plate interfering. With so many cables coming from the back, it makes it impossible to turn it around. They need to add the dongle connected to the front if this is an ongoing issue.–UPDATE–The manufacturer sent me another KVM and the problems persist. Their website claims it should work for the Logitec MX and Microsoft Ergonomic but I’m not getting the results they claimed. I’ve gone through the troubleshooting and still, nothing has changed. I used an online typing test that averaged 2 character errors per line because the device won’t read the keyboard correctly. I now believe the device isn’t compatible with both the keyboard and mouse even though it’s posted on their website as compatible. I guess at this point I am kind of just losing faith in this product’s ability.If you need this product, make sure you put time into testing it before keeping it.