P3421W, two Macs, KVM functionality?

Question

How can you use the P3421W KVM functionality if you are running two Macs?

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@coolasian You don't need DDM.  The onscreen menu of the display allows you to assign the upstream USB interface to a specific video input, so when you switch to that video input, you activate that upstream USB interface.  I believe with USB-C, the upstream USB data interface on that port is active whenever you're using that as a video interface.  This should be addressed in the user guide for this display available on support.dell.com.  But if you plan on using PBP on a regular basis rather than switching the entire display between systems, you might really want to consider a 'super-ultrawide' display like the U4919DW, which runs 5120x1440 (32:9 aspect ratio).  That way in PBP mode each source gets a 2560x1440 'tile', which is regular QHD resolution typical for a 27' display.  With a 'regular' ultrawide like 3440x1440 (21:9 aspect ratio), you either end up with a tile that is taller than it is wide, i.e. the opposite of widescreen, or on some displays each source system sees a 16:9 display and the display shows both sources as 16:9, but achieves that by showing them with black bars above and below.

jphughan · Answer

@coolasian  In general when asking questions like this, it helps to identify specific equipment, in this case the models of the Mac devices you're using.  But assuming one of your Macs has USB-C, you could connect one via the display's USB-C input and then connect the other using something like a USB-C to DisplayPort cable plus a USB-C 'printer cable' (technically USB-B to USB-C cable), like this one -- or if your Mac has a USB-A 'regular USB' port, you could get a typical USB 3.0 cable (USB-B to USB-A).  Of course in the latter setup, the display won't be providing power to that system since it only has one USB-C port that provides power.

lightning

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