1 PC, 2 sets of peripherals

[xXDracoXx]

Hi forums,

I would like some input about how to best setup my computer to be used in two adjacent rooms: in the office using monitors and in the living room using the TV. The computer would be in the office.

I've thought of two solutions so far, but each one seems to have issues.

1. Kludge split
- Keyboard/Mouse: Run a USB cable to the living room with a USB hub to connect a second set.
- Audio: Use a mini jack splitter and run an audio cable to the TV in the living room.
- Video: Run a DVI cable to the TV in living room.

PROS: Cheap
CONS: Not elegant. I need to manually switch the DVI on the PC to use it from the living room.


2. Reverse KVM
- Self explanatory

PROS: Elegant. One button press to switch setup from office to living room.
CONS: Very expensive and almost impossible to find a reverse KVM switch that fully supports DVI-D, audio and USB.



Does anyone have a similar setup? How would you go about doing it?

Thanks.

 

[ssddx]

the keyboard/mouse problem can be solved by using a logitech wireless keyboard. i tested the range on my old one and it was somewhere around 65 feet, even through a few walls!

as far as audio/video goes if your tv accepts hdmi you could always use that one cable to run the audio and video straight to the tv to save on cables. you might have to set both the tv and the computer speakers as the devices to use and just keep one of them powered off at all times. even if you decide to run both via a mini-jack splitter you'd have to keep one powered off at all times or you'd get sound from the other room.

also, given the distance the cable has to travel you might need a signal booster. i know hdmi has a maximum of about 50ft before such is needed. i'm not sure about dvi (does your tv even accept dvi?).

Whichever setup you choose you can get two wall plates (one for each room) that have the connection you need. you can run all the cables through the wall and under the floor so that you only have to look at wires coming from said plate.

keep this in mind: if you are planning on using your monitor and tv for the same system make absolutely sure that your monitor and your tv run at the exact same resolution. if they do not you are only asking for a headache because every single time windows starts you will have to adjust the settings to fit. this also goes for any applications (games) that have set resolution settings as well.

 

[xXDracoXx]

the keyboard/mouse problem can be solved by using a logitech wireless keyboard. i tested the range on my old one and it was somewhere around 65 feet, even through a few walls!

as far as audio/video goes if your tv accepts hdmi you could always use that one cable to run the audio and video straight to the tv to save on cables. you might have to set both the tv and the computer speakers as the devices to use and just keep one of them powered off at all times. even if you decide to run both via a mini-jack splitter you'd have to keep one powered off at all times or you'd get sound from the other room.

also, given the distance the cable has to travel you might need a signal booster. i know hdmi has a maximum of about 50ft before such is needed. i'm not sure about dvi (does your tv even accept dvi?).

Whichever setup you choose you can get two wall plates (one for each room) that have the connection you need. you can run all the cables through the wall and under the floor so that you only have to look at wires coming from said plate.

keep this in mind: if you are planning on using your monitor and tv for the same system make absolutely sure that your monitor and your tv run at the exact same resolution. if they do not you are only asking for a headache because every single time windows starts you will have to adjust the settings to fit. this also goes for any applications (games) that have set resolution settings as well.

Thanks for the reply.

I have to look into wireless keyboards/mice (I didn't think they would work through walls!). I guess running a cable for a USB hub isn't necessary in this case. That leaves me with audio/video cables.

I would prefer to use a DVI connection instead of HDMI in this case because my TV supports it. I have a dual-monitor setup on my PC at the moment and I know that the video card doesn't support using both the DVI and the HDMI concurrently. I'm not sure how much of an issue it is to switch from one to the other through software/drivers. (I've also heard that getting the sound through the HDMI port on nVidia cards can be a load of trouble.) Both my main monitor and my TV run at 1920x1080 so resolution shouldn't be an issue.

I do like the wall plate idea (it's fancy) but it still has the manual plugging/unplugging problem that doesn't make it worth the trouble of installing it IMO.

 

[ssddx]

they make a dvi-->hdmi cable and it works perfect for carrying both audio and visual data. i use one every day.

perhaps you could use something like this:
http://www.pcconnectionexpress.com/1/1/569917-connectgear-inc-connectgear-hdmi-matrix-switcher-4-2-out-remote-control-hxsw42.html

you would have to place it in either one of the rooms. the only thing you would need to do to switch sources would be to press a button or use the remote control. the nice thing is if you go dvi->hdmi[box]hdmi->dvi+component you could probably get away with just this one box and a few different cables/adapters.

that being said, going from 2 monitors at to a single tv might screw with your resolution settings alot. be prepared for icons, etc to always be shifted when windows re-adjusts automatically!