Customer Reviews

Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM Switch with Audio

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I'm extremely unhappy with the Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM DVI Switch with Audio. I'm sure most of this applies for the VGA version

1) It is nearly impossible to connect a cable to the console DVI Connector. Belkin had to overnight a special extender to connect the monitor DVI cable to the KVM.
2) Connecting the Power Adapter to the KVM blocks one of the peripheral USB ports.
3) It's absolutely impossible to put on the cover (i.e. cable management cover) if you connect the four (Belkin) cables to it.
4) Connecting only two PCs with a resolution of 1600x1200 to the KVM resulted in green shadows for one connection. (both NVidia cards GeForce 4 (4200 series) and a Geforce 5 (5200 series)
5) The Microsoft Wireless Keyboard doesn't work as stated in the manual. I did manage to plug in the wireless dongle connector to the USB mouse port on the KVM but now I can't use the hotkeys to switch between computers. Belkin has also indicated that wireless keyboards don't always work as stated in the manual

6) There isn't a FAQ or software/firmware upgrade listed for this device. I would recommend checking out the belkin support pages or lack there of.

In my search to find one adequate KVM switch to work with Windows and Linux, I now own five KVM switches (around $450 worth). The Belkin Omniview is the worst of the lot. I have one Omnicube which gets by O.K. A two port IOGear all-in-the-cable model works great, but IOGear's four port models have intrusive keyboard shortcuts that interfere with applications and games. However, the 4 port IOGear model came with a full set of cables. Ultimately, the Linksys SVIEW04 was the grand solution. The SVIEW04 provides all the quality of the IOGear models and also allows the keyboard shortcuts to be disabled.

Unfortunately, the magazines that have been recommending these products haven't been doing their research. You must investigate all the specifications, and you must also read the entire manual before buying. Someone might have noticed that the firmware update feature on the Omniview isn't well documented. Then, there must be testing of all the features with multiple operating systems; and clearly, those recomending these products have failed to do this.

Linksys (the best) and IOGear are clearly better products than this one.

I'm done using Belkin. I have two of these "SOHO USB" units, and they both display similar problems: Certain machines won't boot past POST when attached, keyboard and mouse randomly fail to work on boot, video loads in wrong resolution unless you set KVM focus on the booting machine clear through to when your OS boots into the GUI. One of my configurations requires me to keep mice attached to the machines directly -- if I attach them to the KVM the machines lock on boot. I just picked up the 4-port Belkin "Pro2" (thinking I'm getting what I pay for with the SOHO model), and it's even worse! I can boot successfully (on three different systems) perhaps one out of every 8 tries.

Finally, on a recommendation from our IT dept., I tried the IOGear Ultra. I attached three different machines (including one Sun box), and everything booted up without a hitch! I'm done tearing my hair out over Belkin's quirks. If you run into similar problems once you pick up a Belkin model, I'd suggest you give IOGear a try. It opened my eyes.

My first impression of the Belkin OmniView SOHO Series 4-Port KVM Switch was that it was HUGE! The futuristic design takes up unnecessary amount of space for a KVM switch with only 4 ports. That said, it looks COOL enough to have on your desk, but the problem is, it quickly becomes uncool when you attach four sets of cables to the unit. The cable "management" cover (which only hides the cables) will not fit back on the unit with 4 sets of cables bulging out from the unit.

Like the other reviewers, I also had problems with unrecognized PS/2 and USB devices during startup. This is because the OmniView SOHO has crumby mouse emulation. A more professional KVM switch will emulate a mouse/keyboard signal when the computer searches for attached devices during startup. So, any kind of Windows or Linux machine is out of luck. Only Macs will rescan the ports when the KVM is switched to its port... so that means, if you only have Macs, you won't have this problem. Other's will just have to sit in front of the computers and switch the ports while they startup one computer at a time.

So let's say you have 4 Macs connected to the unit. Once you press a button to switch between computers, it takes a few seconds for the new screen to appear. This is more of a electric issue than anything. Your monitor and computer must sync refresh rates and resolutions because your computer thinks there's a new monitor. You'd see this issue with a lot of other entry level KVM switches.

BTW, YES the cables ARE sold separately. But that's because they have USB and PS/2 versions. IoGear's MiniView (cables included) is a much better (albeit vanilla box) alternative for an entry level 4 port KVM.

Besides the fact you have to buy the cables separately as others have mentioned, Belkin support is horrible. The automated system consistenly disconnects the call, requiring going through their operator. My 4-port KVM stopped functioning after six months. There's no information on the web to help either. It's as if there IS no way to fix a KVM that doesn't work. Flash upgrading is a joke. I followed the procedure directly from Belkin's website. So I had to RMA replace it. Trust me, Belkin doesn't care about its customers and arrogance will be their downfall. Go with IOGEAR - they include all the cables with the KVM switch for the price of Belkin's without cables.

I have an older Omnicube and had attached two linux boxes, one solaris box and one windows box. I needed another KVM and liked the audio component on this device. I also had good results with my old Omnicube, so I decided to get this one. Unfortunately, this device does not work correctly with linux! With one RH linux box and one windows box, everything is peachy; however as soon as you add the second linux box onto this KVM, the mouse goes haywire. I have tried changing mice, switching ports, going between USB and PS/2, and different cables. I finally called Belkin and was told there was one TID for linux and it involved changing the XF86Config to use the PS/2 protocol instead of IMPS/2. Well I tried that and as soon as I restarted X, the mouse went haywire again. I have never returned anything mail order because of the hassle, but this device is useless to me so it is going back!

I have used this KVM switch for a couple of months, and it has great features, especially the switching of mic and audio out. It does have one nasty habit, though. It will sometimes just forget what it is and what it's connected to. At these times, one of the connection lights will flash, but none of the four buttons to select any of the machines will work, and any machines booted during this period will not "see" the keyboard or mouse. I don't have a standard method for correcting the problem, but if you randomly unplug and replug various keyboard and mouse connectors, it will re-sync and continue to work until the next time. Note: This only happens when all four machines are not in use and then one or more are started up.

cable won't fit

Power supply cable covers other connectors

mouse does not not work

includes flash update cable but web site has no flash images

If you don't plug a keyboard into it sits there and just beeps

What idiot designed this trash.

I bought this over a year ago, and am very pleased with it.

It was easy to set up, and works well with all my Windows XP Pro boxes. Switching between PCs is fast enough, with only about a second delay (typical of KVMs in general) to restore the mouse pointer. Once locked to a particular PC, the KVM is very stable. I've had no problems with either the video display or keyboard/mouse functionality on any of my Windows-based systems and can play games as well as perform all normal office-type tasks with no noticable performance degradation.

The only issue I have is with losing mouse control when switching to my Red Hat 9.0 server running X (not a big deal since I primarily access the terminal from the command line on remote anyway). There is no issue when I boot up the Linux box and use the KVM without switching to another workstation. I suspect the problem may be fixable, but it has never been enough of an issue for me to pursue it, given my needs.

The unit has the unique ability to support stereo audio as well as firmware upgrades. In addition, the cable management is cleverly built in to the sleek housing as opposed to completely exposed as in most square footprint KVMs, thus saving a small amount of desktop space.

Overall, in my experience, the Omniview has been a good KVM for the money.

Pros:

Supports Audio switching
Unique cable management design
Supports most common and higher-end video resolutions
No noticable performance loss with games or everyday tasks
Upgradable firmware

Cons:

Sketchy support for non-Windows OSes (though I haven't yet upgraded the firmware)
Does not support 5.1 channel audio
Requires specific type of KVM cable (male male)
cable management design can be limiting

My job requires a KVM switch for QA purposes to test different OS/browser combinations. In building the lab I decided to go with Belkin after researching various switches. I'm configuring a lab with a Mac G4, Mac mini, NC6000 laptop and HP DC5100 mini tower. I'm using the HP supplied keyboard and mouse, and a ViewSonic 19 LCD flatscreen.

The first KVM worked well for right at 30 days. At that point the mouse began to act erratic, followed shortly by the switch only working in the #1 slot (laptop). I ordered a second switch and the same thing happened within 30 days again.

I'm going to return the switch and try the well rated IOGear MiniView 4 Port USB KVW.