Home > Consumer Reviews > IOGear 4-Port MiniView Micro PS/2 Audio KVM Switch with 4 Cables GCS614A

This is the second KVM switch I've owned. I was excited to have audio support. However, upon setup I found that audio response was very poor ~ next to no response from my subwoofer, and all low-end sound seemed to be filtered out. I emailed IOGEAR's support department and received the following response:
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Greetings,

Thank you for contacting us.

Subwoolfers are not supported by this KVM. It will only support a powered two speaker setup. We are changing the packaging to reflect this.

I apologize for any inconvenience.
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...very disappointing, as this not-so-minor detail is not mentioned anywhere on IOGEAR's website, not in the product brochure.

Aside from this drawback, the switch works as you'd expect. One minor gripe I have is that the hotkey sequence 'ctrl-alt-shift-#', where '#' corresponds to the computer you'd like to access, is kind of a pain. My previous KVM switch used a double-tap of the scroll lock key...which became second nature after using it for a while. I'm not sure why such a long hotkey combination is necessary. Granted, this is only a minor drawback. On the possitive side, setup was a no-brainer, and my Logitech wireless keyboards works perfectly (despite IOGEAR's warning that wireless keyboard and mice aren't fully supported).

Bottom line? If audio is important to you and you have more than two speakers, you'll definitely want to consider other options. If audio's not important, you may still be able to find a cheaper 4-port KVM swich which does not have audio integration.

Terrible product and poor design! I tried everything to make this switch to work with no success. I then called technical support and they couldn't get it to work either. As for design at the connector hub, inputs are to close causing fittings to be cramped and bent. I had to force all connectors: video,keyboard,mouse,& audio to fit properly.

This will be going back!

Update!
Got my replacement and finally got it to work. After going back checking all the cables and spending time playing with it. The trick to make it work is to press all four keys CTrL,ALT,SHIFT then the computer # (1,2,3,or 4) rapid & exactly in order. Try doing this a few times to get a feel for it. This worked for me.

I give it a low rating for the trouble and poor intructions by the manual and tech support.

Upgrade to 3 STARS for the design flaw.

Out of the box, on the 3 PCs, didn't work. Called 24x7 tech support, got through quickly and was told I had to start PC 1, when it was booted start PC 2, etc. Didn't work. Called tech support back, rebooted all 3 machines (you can only see one so you just power them off) he said it didn't matter what order the PCs were started in. Tried two other keyboards. My device worked on whichever PC started first, and only that one. It would not switch between them.

High quality and value based on my experience in the PC industry - however, this is my first kvm switch. Excellent 4-port value relative to the competition, cables included, tiny size. Paid about $90. Model GCS614A received 12-30-06.

Switching speed: usually fully 2-3 seconds of a 'black monitor screen' while switching. Can be a little off putting. Is this switching lag typical for electronically switched peripherals? If so I just don't know. Sometimes switching is instant... more often though it is not.

Video compatility: if PC 1 is rebooted while the kvm is switched to PC 2,3, or 4 the video image on PC 1 will not come up - I get a "signal out of range" message on the monitor but no video card output. Work around (as noted by others) is to leave the kvm on PC 1 during at least part of the reboot.

Audio support: works well with my Monsoon subwoofer -- Unlike the other user I had no issue and get good bass response through the switched audio connection (However, mine is ONLY a 2 channel system).

Hub connectors: fairly tight spacing for the jacks. My usb to mini-din mouse connector requred trimming with a razor blade to fit next to the monitor plug. (Dell peripherals from 2001 and later.)

Hot key sequence: the "ctrl-alt-shift-#" keypress sequence works exactly as listed in manual. A bit clumsy using this sequence. In practice I would prefer a combination with fewer keys.

Mode confirmation: unlike the other reviewer I find no need for an audible `mode' confirmation. The visual LEDs do confirm the exact PC getting input but in practice I would never see the LEDs, nor need to amongst the wiring bundle on the floor.

User manual: acceptable. "getting started guide" lacks hot key sequence info.

Support: can't comment, I haven't needed support.

First off, I'm a techie, and not afraid to experiment with *any* computer device. So, when I couldn't get this to work (yes, I read the directions!), I had to scour the web and discovered that the hot key sequence as described in the documentation (Ctrl-Alt-Shift) does NOT tell you that you need to hit AND RELEASE all keys in sequence. From the other reviews, I'm not the only user who had trouble discovering this anomaly, but now that I have it working, I suggest that you approach the key sequence as follows: tap and release the ctrl key, then the alt key, and finally the shift key, and you should see the Caps Lock and Scroll Lock lights alternate. Then, tap the number key for the computer you wish to access.

So, while this works well, the documentation needs to be fixed.