UD Series Kit USB DVI KVM Switch w/DDM & Multi-hotkey (8 Port, 10 ft)

I've always looked at a KVM switch as an unnecessary luxury. In typical guy fashion I was perfectly content with having keyboards and mice strung everywhere similar to the table full of remote controls for the various electronics connected to my television. My realization of the need for a KVM occurred after spending 20 minutes searching the stack of wireless keyboards to find the one connected to the server I was working on. In that moment of frustration I decided it was the perfect time to buy new toys and a KVM switch was something I could not live without. After doing research on what was important in a switch I concluded the ConnectPRO DVI switch was the way to go. At first I was focused strictly on the types of video connections thinking all switches were the same. That is definitely not the case. Having a keyboard switch with Dynamic Device Mappng (DDM) was extremely important. DDM allows for better emulation of USB devices especially keyboards which have a tendency to be somewhat temperamental when shared. The ConnectPRO arrived quickly and was well packaged with great instructions. In a deviation that put my man-card into jeopardy I actually read the instructions. They were clear and concise. In hindsight I am not exactly sure why I felt it necessary to read the instructions on a 2-port KVM switch. I mean I had a 50/50 chance of plugging things in correctly. But it was still a red-letter day for the male species that I actually found the instructions and did not discard them as part of the packaging. The switch itself has worked well with the exception of the Microsoft Entertainment 7000 Wireless Mouse and Keyboard. This device caused nothing but grief with the KVM and after a quick check with ConnectPRO they confirmed that keyboard/mouse combination was troublesome for their switches (and pretty much every switch on the market which leads me to believe it is more a Microsoft problem than a KVM manufacturer problem). After replacing the keyboard and mouse with a more standards based interface my problems went away. Switching between the two computers are simple and easy with the pre-lit buttons. A nice touch is the multi-colored lights that let you know if things are connected correctly. If a computer does not have power or is not connected via the DVI connector the light will show as red so you are not left wondering whether it is a cable problem or a switch problem. A green button shows the switch thinks everything is connected appropriately. There are two colors of green to differentiate between the active port and the other so you aren't left guessing which one is currently selected. Overall the ConnectPro has worked flawlessly. My only regret is that I didn't get one of these sooner. The pile of keyboards and mice is slowly dwindling being replaced by a handful of ConnectPro switches thereby eliminating the possibility that my wife will nominate me to be featured on a new reality show for keyboard/mouse hoarders.

Buyers beware. I have bought and used many Connectpro kvms...so why not upgrade to DVI monitor support. Well this is NOT the KVM you want. Listing show that it is MAC comp..but only if you have an OLD mac keyboard. It worked fine for about 6 months and now...$200 paper weight. I have contacted SUPPORT and was told we will send you an update via email. 3 weeks later and 3 calls later....nothing. If i only wanted to use for Windows or Linux this may be a great KVM...but for MAC....RUN as FAST as YOU can.

I'm writing this to inform not only of the incompatibility but the company's wherewithal in finding a solution that works. First the compatibility issue. The G15 reportedly does work with this and the direct device mapping. I cannot confirm this but that is what the company says. Both the G15 and the G510 use Logitech's Gaming Software suite which is currently version 8.20. Knowing how close these were I expected that the G510 should have very few issues. LCD issues perhaps but mapping and basic keyboard functionality should be fine. I was in for a surprise. First, there is a serious issue with loss of response which can happen from either the mouse or the keyboard, or both. I have to press the reset button on front of the KVM whenever this happens and I have to say it happens at least three times a day. Another issue which only happens with the keyboard is that when I see this pause, where the keyboard stops responding and I don't press reset right away, the last key I pressed will start spamming the computer currently linked on the KVM. It will not respond to anything but a KVM reset at this point leading me to believe the problem is the KVM itself not the keyboard. It as a matter of fact happened as I was writing this review. Nothing Gkey responds on this thing. It is advertised as direct device mapping which should not matter which device is actually being mapped. Whether it has 0 Gkeys, 5 Gkeys or 18 Gkeys should be irrelevant. Direct Device Mapping does not appear to actually happen here. What happens is the very short list of compatible devices they have tested are very likely the only ones that work. The DVI/USB combo cables that come shipped with this device are not DVI-I (both DVI/VGA cables) but DVI-D which will NOT work if you are trying to map a VGA out to a DVI monitor. I have to buy a separate set of cables to get the desired video mapping. In short, this kit has completely failed my expectations. I could have gone with a 30 dollar solution for what I get from this. Now, lets talk about customer service. First, ConnectPRO was extremely outgoing in talking this over, finding my current firmware is up to date and sharing personal takes/opinions. It has been 3 days since we've last talked but it seems to me nothing they can do in the short term will make this solution work. Their real QA is in Taiwan and the device is made in Taiwan. The guy who I talked to doesn't even live in the same timezone and responds once an awhile with rather helpless information such as forwarding on my concerns to the QA team. After two days he responds back that they currently don't have the G510 in their test department. The keyboard model is about 3 years old. I have no idea what goes on in Taiwan to prohibit the accessibility of a popular 3 year old keyboard but what do I know? Maybe there is something to that. In any event this is not something I'd recommend. I know DDR is the rave with this company and in some respects the customer support has been as good as they can be but the company as a whole leaves me wanting. It seems that a company could not be small enough to warrant such a small list of supported devices. Much less on a $200 device.