CKL-922HUA

At home, I have had a multi monitor switch box in play for a LONG time. Started out with a 3 monitor DVI by StarTech, which could switch 3 monitors, keyboard, mouse, and sound across 4 different computers. I loved it for a long time, but then I made the mistake of plugging a powered device to the USB bus and lost the K part of the KVM. So then I added in a separate switch box just for USB switching. Worked well for a number of years. Then I ended up traveling to a different state and had to function there for about 6 weeks remotely. I had monitors there to use, but no extra KVM. In addition the monitors I had were only HDMI. So I decided to buy this little KVM, and boy was I pleased! Having the ability to switch a keyboard and mouse directly again was great. I also am generally switching between a PC and a Mac, so it was nice to know this was compatible on both sides. One item of guidance that the directions had that was ESPECIALLY useful was the idea that it would be better to use an HDMI to VGA or DVI adapter rather than getting specialty cables with HDMI on one end and the alternative connection on the other. I have a ton of those cables laying around because of my old KVM which was all DVI. When I tried one, I found the switch box didn't work so well. But when I used their original HDMI cables with one of those little DVI adapters at the monitor, it worked great. I also find their remote switcher to be very nice, because I have a sit/stand desk, and in order to use the original HDMI cables, they were only 6 feet, and my devices needed to be close to the box. So I mounted it under the desk in a box where the cable run gave me the ability to raise the desk to standing without affecting anything. Once I did this, the switching device was super handy to put just under the edge of the desk near my chair. Now that I am back home, I have ripped out the old DVI, and actually upgraded two of my monitors so that I could get rid of the old DVI connectors and go pure HDMI. The weight reduction alone on my desk was huge getting rid of those old heavy DVI cables. Now it is all nice, clean, and no heavy clunky connectors to deal with.

Switch generally works well with a couple issues. Sometimes the mouse and keyboard don't work after a switch and I have to hit the button a second time. My gaming mouse will not register when plugged into the back as a mouse, it only works as a generic mouse, but plugging into the hub in front seems to work a bit better. Issue with that is DPI causes cursor speed issues after the switch, so I have to use at normal dpi. I actually have 3 monitors, with one on DVI and when switched to the other machine, the DVI monitor flashes and blinks, and I get a video link error on the machine. Other than the flashing it doesnt really cause issue though. Better than many others I've tried, but still not the KVM I am hoping to find one day.

Works as advertised, except for a bad cable which took a while to diagnose. But after some use with a known good cable it worked as it should, very smooth and nothing out of the ordinary. Update1: The KVM switch continues to work flawlessly, only needed some changes in the cabling, with updated DisplayPort to HDMI converters. 2 of my three computers are up to full 4K the last one waiting on two new converters and hopefully will get up to max resolution when they are installed. Update 2: In the process of doing a permanent install of this KVM switch. I suddenly started having problems wth one PC on one of the dual displays. No matter what I did I could not get it to be detected by the PC. After a lots of substitution of known good cables and display port adapters. It came down to a bad 9 foot special HDMI/usb cable that I bought special for my KVM project. This is the second cable to go bad. I am reviewing this cable here, because people are using the cable reviews to review the KVM switch. So in fact the 2 display 4 PC CKL KVM is. 5 stars and excellent when used with cables that are not defective. It switches consistently and quickly with good cables. Update3: wonderful KVM, work’s reliably and without complaint. But there is one thing that I discovered. The USB power supply was marginal and would cause occasional problems. Solution is to replace the one supplied with one that can give at least 2 amps of current. More current is more power. If you hang additional devices off the USB port of the KVM it will demand more current then then can be supplied by the supplied USB power supply. The one provided with the KVM just supplies enough current for the KVM it’s self.

I purchased this product about 8 months ago and some of the things it did with the resolution required setup, that's fine. The loud beep it makes could be turned off which was great, it's really an annoying beep. After a few months it started to "randomly" disconnect my USB peripherals attached to it, I'd have to turn it completely off and back on (forcing me to re-setup my resolution on my screens) in order to get the USB devices (keyboard/mouse) to be recognized again. While that is happening, a short time later, one or both of the monitors would just turn off for a second or two and the back on. That would do that for hours if left unattended, turning it off and back on didn't always correct it. It would go away by itself...eventually, so I just put up with it. Now, the icing on the cake, the 2nd HDMI output no longer works at all. I've restated it, unplugged everything, let it sit overnight without power to make sure caps were drained. Tried cleaning it out like a 1990s Nintendo cartridge (q-tip and alcohol). Plugged it into entirely different monitors and replaced the cables with brand new cables but nothing will do. I'd classify it as broken now, even tho it still works for 1 monitor, as it's supposed to work with 2 for the price I paid. I'd give it a 0 star if I could since it's overpriced for the type of head-ache I have had with it and to eventually not work anymore. I've had old KVMs that have been working since year 2000...there is no excuse...

This switch worked well for a few weeks. However, one of the monitors started showing artifacting around the edges, which eventually turned into a blurry screen. Swapping HDMI cables had no effect. After powering the KVM down, it wouldn't turn back on. In a panic, I purchased another KVM thinking this one was dead. 5 minutes later, it turned back on when plugging it back in again. This became a normal pattern where if I ever needed to turn it off (due to rearranging my office), I wouldn't be able to power it back on again for another 5 mins. Additionally, one monitor wouldn't recognize the other PC when switching over. I would have to switch over exactly 3 times before the monitor would recognize the signal. Having a USB hard drive plugged in to this switch never worked. It simply wouldn't show up on either PC. Ended up purchasing another KVM switch that also had a 3.5mm audio jack to plug in my speakers, which this one doesn't have.

Originally ordered in March of 2020... had to replace it in December of 2020. Overall, this was a pretty good KVM switch. Initially, it was perfect and did everything I expected it to do. No issues... but over time, I started to see some weird glitches. Nothing that prevented me from using the switch, but the indicator lights (indicating which machine I was using) became unreliable... sometimes they would work, sometimes the wouldn't. Not a big deal, as I was still able to switch systems without any problems, but... Then, in the last two days, the switch suddenly stopped powering my keyboard and mouse when on machine 1. No warning, nothing. Just... no longer worked. Currently, I have both devices connected directly to the PC in order to write this review. I've ordered a new switch that should be delivered later today, as I really need that functionality for work, and since everything is already set up to use this device, this just seemed easier... but I would have expected a longer use-life out of this equipment than just 9 months. If the second one lasts longer, than I'll just write this first one off as a lemon and move on, but if the new one also dies in less than a year, I will NOT recommend this device.

I have used various KVM switch boxes over the years, some that were really cheap manual boxes to very expensive and high quality KVM’s. One product kept breaking the audio/mic ability and I had to keep getting replacements for the device. Another brand worked really well, but the company is lagging on the latest technology, like DataPort connections and dual monitor / dual computer KVM's. The CKL CKL-622DP model was easy to setup and pretty much hit the ground running, but I did have an issue that was not portrayed in the web site or manual, but was corrected by customer support. So, if you have any issues with setting up the KVM, I encourage you to contact their technical support staff. Several things I like about the box are it was built well, though putting all input ports in the back would be my preference, but that is not the norm. I also think the power supply could hold the USB cable in better as it is pretty lose and if in an area of traffic, could become easily unplugged. It has a power switch in the back that during troubleshooting was a blessing. My other KVM’s require I remove all connections and then put them all back in. Having a dual monitor / dual computer KVM Means I no longer have to change my monitor settings from one computer to another as I did with my single monitor, dual computer KVM. The product is easy to setup and easy to use manually and comes already setup for KVM control from the mouse. I also liked that I have 4 data ports to use and audio / video jacks for both computers to play through one set of speakers. One of the issues I came across is my keyboard display lights either stay on, no matter the selection or are not on at all, like my Caps lock light. I will contact tech support about that. One other thing I am tolerating and not used to is the delay time between switching. The aforementioned expensive KVM boasted of DDM technology which does make switching between computers almost instantaneous. But, you do pay for that convenience. So, if you don't mind waiting 10 seconds for screens to show up and the keyboard and mouse to work, it is a great KVM box and I recommend it.

First I am happy with the weight of this switcher. That's important for it to stay in place with so many large and heavy cables attached to it. It also has "sticky" feet that help keep it from sliding around. I am using the wired switch remote at this time and it works nicely. I have attempted briefly to try using the keyboard to make the switch change hosts, but it didn't work. My main computer is a Linux workstation so I'm not real hopeful it will work. I'm going to attempt changing the keys used to do the switching to something that would work, but this is not high on my priorities since the wired remote works great. It's nice having this out of sight. I attached a USB hub to it so I can have my webcam follow the switch. I like how the audio is connected has well so I can connect speaker to the switch and the audio follows the switch too. While it is very nice they supplied all the cables, they are on the cheap end of the quality spectrum. The main cable is such that the audio goes through the HDMI connection and splits out on the computer side. This is very helpful in 2 ways: 1) it cuts down on the number of separate cables running all around the desk, and 2) Most computers send audio out the HDMI by default when an HDMI cable is connected so you are not having to go into settings and direct the audio out the audio interface. This is critical when making switches between hosts because switching off and then back on again would likely reset the audio settings. The one thing that I don't like is the loud beep that occurs when switching. It's not only loud, but an annoying frequency. If I can't disable it (don't know if this is possible yet), I will likely open it and either remove the speaker or cover it so it's not as loud. I would definitely buy this again if needed and would recommend to friends. Now I'm kind of wishing I had the money to afford a 4-host switch. I hope the switch holds up over time and use.