Re: [gentoo-user] {OT} Wireless KVM, but just V?

[Stroller]

I haven't used them, but I'm somewhat sceptical of Avocent as a brand.

Their network KVMs (all that I've seen advertised, I think) use proprietary viewer software. I don't think they even allow you to view using a web-based viewer applet (as do many other network KVMs), and I think they may even charge for upgrades of the viewer software (when you've paid £1000+ for their hardware!).

The company that OEM's my Blackbox network KVM [1] also make "Digital Signage" AV extenders [2] - I would guess that these are doing essentially the same thing as a network KVM, but without the part that transmits the keyboard and mouse back. The important part is that they're a frame-grabber, taking as input the VGA or DVI from a computer's video card - that can then be transmitted across the network digitally. I would doubt that this kind of "AV extender" is much cheaper than a network KVM, which you can get in single-channel versions [3], but the performance may be better that I've seen on network KVMs.

You can get great deals on network KVMs secondhand (expect to pay £100 - £200 on eBay) but at least with that generation (i.e. typically 5 - 8 years old) the resolution and refresh rate is a bit limiting, and there's no way you could use them for video. But a good network KVM (like the Blackbox) will allow you to control the remote computer using a standard VNC client.

Dale needs to give us more info about *what he's trying to do*. It might well be, from his apparent lack of need to control the remote PC, that a $100 STB "network streaming media player", such as the Western Digital TV+, would do that job. That allows you to play video files across the network, and does so at high quality.

Stroller.



[1] http://www.kvms.com/ID/34040.aspx
[2] http://dmtz.com/avx/
[3] http://dmtz.com/dmt-320/


On 7 July 2011, at 05:03, William Kenworthy wrote:

> Like http://www.connectivity.avocent.com/solutions/wirelessav.asp?
>
> Google!
>
> BillK
>
>
> On Wed, 2011-07-06 at 20:08 -0700, Grant wrote:
>> Does a device exist that will allow you to send the video signal from
>> a Gentoo system wirelessly across the room to a monitor?  Should I
>> just get a wireless KVM unit and not use the KM?