> I haven't used them, but I'm somewhat sceptical of Avocent as a brand. > > Their network KVMs (all that I've seen advertised, I think) use proprietary > viewer software. I don't think they even allow you to view using a web-based > viewer applet (as do many other network KVMs), and I think they may even > charge for upgrades of the viewer software (when you've paid £1000+ for their > hardware!). > > The company that OEM's my Blackbox network KVM [1] also make "Digital > Signage" AV extenders [2] - I would guess that these are doing essentially > the same thing as a network KVM, but without the part that transmits the > keyboard and mouse back. The important part is that they're a frame-grabber, > taking as input the VGA or DVI from a computer's video card - that can then > be transmitted across the network digitally. I would doubt that this kind of > "AV extender" is much cheaper than a network KVM, which you can get in > single-channel versions [3], but the performance may be better that I've seen > on network KVMs. > > You can get great deals on network KVMs secondhand (expect to pay £100 - £200 > on eBay) but at least with that generation (i.e. typically 5 - 8 years old) > the resolution and refresh rate is a bit limiting, and there's no way you > could use them for video. But a good network KVM (like the Blackbox) will > allow you to control the remote computer using a standard VNC client. > > Dale needs to give us more info about *what he's trying to do*. It might well > be, from his apparent lack of need to control the remote PC, that a $100 STB > "network streaming media player", such as the Western Digital TV+, would do > that job. That allows you to play video files across the network, and does so > at high quality.
Thanks Stroller. The idea was to put my Gentoo HTPC somewhere other than nearby my TV. I don't want to run a long HDMI cable so I was wondering if there was a device that would allow me to send the video signal from the computer to the TV wirelessly. It sounds like it's not such a good idea. - Grant >>> Does a device exist that will allow you to send the video signal from >>> a Gentoo system wirelessly across the room to a monitor? Should I >>> just get a wireless KVM unit and not use the KM?
