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U4919DW, two PC, share one keyboard and mouse
I just got this monitor and I want to have 2 PCs connected and share one keyboard and mouse and not have to hit a button on the monitor to switch between the 2. Here is a review from PC mag that says it can be done, I don’t have a usb c source on either of my PCs but want to make sure this is possible before buying a new pc
“The U4919DW's USB Type-C connection also allows for a further trick: a virtual keyboard/video/mouse (KVM) switch. You can easily control two different PCs connected to the U4919DW, so long as one is connected to the monitor's USB-C port. That would let you share the ample screen real estate, while employing a single keyboard and mouse. You can even allocate part of the screen to one PC's display input and part to another's (what Dell calls "picture by picture," here) and show both windows onscreen at the same time. That's a nifty perk.”
jphughan
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January 23rd, 2021 23:00
@Dfurdon It's not true that one of the sources has to be on USB-C. Here's what you have to do:
Use the display's on-screen menu to assign each upstream USB port to the corresponding video input. So for example if you have one PC connected to DisplayPort and Upstream USB #1 and your other PC connected to HDMI and USB #2, then assign Upstream #1 to DisplayPort and Upstream #2 to HDMI. (For USB-C, you don't have to do this because video and USB data both run over that single cable.)
From there, when you switch the display to one of those video inputs, the display will send allow that system to see those USB peripherals. If you use PBP mode, you'll have to choose which source can see your USB peripherals.
If you need more info about the setup I just described, I'd suggest reading the U4919DW's manual, which you can find on support.dell.com. It goes through how to set up this KVM functionality.
Note: If you're expecting to use PBP mode and be able to seamlessly move your mouse cursor across PCs, that is NOT going to work. The display doesn't have a way to know where the mouse cursor is and therefore won't dynamically switch between having your mouse connected to one PC vs. the other. You have to make that switch manually. If you want to be able to use a single keyboard and mouse to automatically and seamlessly move across multiple PCs, you'll need software on each PC for that, such as Mouse Without Borders or Synergy.
Dfurdon
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January 24th, 2021 06:00
@jphughan Thanks for the info, Here is the real question, is the only way to switch between inputs to use a keyboard and mouse by hitting a button on the monitor? Using Dell Display Manager it looked like I could use a keyboard shortcut key to switch between inputs. When I use the keyboard shortcut to switch from input 1 to input 2 The keyboard and mouse work fine, when I use a keyboard shortcut to go back to input 1 the keyboard and mouse do not switch back over. I do realize in PBP mode I cant seamlessly move the cursor between input screens but I thought Id able to have both inputs up on the screen side by side and use a Keyboard shortcut key to select between the two. I have Input 1 using DP and USB 1, Input 2 is HDMI 1 and USB 2.
Thanks!
Dfurdon
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January 24th, 2021 07:00
@jphughan Yeah I tried it without PBP and the it still doesn't work. I think you are right this is some kind of software bug. One thing I was going to try but not sure if my work will allow it or not is to install the Dell Display Manager on my work laptop,where kind of locked down on what can be installed but i can't see that that would be a security issue it's just a display program.Appreciate all the insight!!
jphughan
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January 24th, 2021 07:00
@Dfurdon I haven’t used Dell Display Manager with that display, unfortunately. But knowing that you can switch inputs with a keyboard shortcut, I would have expected that you could switch the active USB upstream interface as well. As a test, what happens if you are NOT using PBP? Can you still toggle inputs and does the USB interface switch back and forth as expected that way? If so, I suspect this is a software or firmware bug/oversight. Technically in PBP mode you aren’t really “switching” video inputs since they’re both displayed simultaneously, which is why you have to choose in the onscreen menu which USB upstream interface is active in PBP. So what’s probably needed is a “PBP USB Switch” function that toggles the USB upstream interface between the two inputs that are already up on PBP. But I don’t know if that exists in Dell Display Manager.
Dfurdon
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January 24th, 2021 14:00
jphughan
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January 24th, 2021 14:00
@Dfurdon Well the last test would be to disable PBP and then see if switching the video input using the buttons on the display correctly switches the active USB upstream path as well. If that works but switching video input through DDM doesn't switch USB upstream paths along with video input, then yes this does seem like either a bug in DDM or a firmware glitch in the display itself. Sorry!