GIGABYTE Outs M28U 4K Gaming Monitor with Integrated KVM

[btarunr]

GIGABYTE released the M28U, a unique 28-inch 4K Ultra HD gaming monitor that comes with an integrated KVM feature. This lets you effectively switch between two PCs. Simply plug the PCs to the monitor's multiple display inputs; plug your keyboard, mouse, and USB headset to the monitor's downstream USB ports, and the monitor's two upstream USB connections to the two PCs (one of these is a USB-C). Switching between the two is as easy as pressing a button on the monitor. This will prove particularly useful if you have a personal desktop and a company laptop to use in your home office, and don't want to clutter the place or waste time plugging things in and out.

As a display, the M28U is no slouch, its 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) IPS panel supports refresh rates of up to 144 Hz, 178°/178° viewing-angles, 300 cd/m² maximum brightness, DisplayHDR 400, and 1000:1 static contrast ratio. Display inputs include two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4, and USB-C. From these, the USB-C input supports not just USB for the second PC's input, but also DisplayPort passthrough. If your second PC lacks an all-powerful USB-C, simply use any other display input, the USB-C will only take in upstream USB (which you can adapt to a type-A USB 3.0 port). The downstream USB hub puts out three 5 Gbps USB 3.0 ports. The company didn't reveal pricing.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[joemama]

It's actually a IPS panel from the official website

 

[Sabishii Hito]

It's actually a IPS panel from the official website

It makes me wonder if the panel isn't actually AHVA, which for all intents and purposes is IPS but not made by LG, so can't be called IPS.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It's about $860 in Taiwan. Some of that is due to the poor exchange rate at the moment.

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[Valantar]

This doesn't look half bad. I'm looking for a 32" monitor, but this would be a nice fallback if that doesn't work out. It's also great to see more monitor makers integrating KVM functionality - with USB-C connection of laptops being the de facto standard these days it's really a no-brainer. And I can't imagine the BOM or firmware development cost to be noticeable whatsoever.

 

[ADB1979]

I have been wanting something like this for sometime now., the problem is that this falls short for me.

I really need a 32" screen and 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks and switching them at the same time. That would be awesome, especially if the KVM part was one button.!

As it is currently, I have to hit a few buttons on the screen, press one button for the keyboard/mouse (KVM switch with no video), unplug my headphones (on extension and plug them into another extension to go to my second PC).

This is a good start, but not quite there yet.

 

[Valantar]

I have been wanting something like this for sometime now., the problem is that this falls short for me.

I really need a 32" screen and 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks and switching them at the same time. That would be awesome, especially if the KVM part was one button.!

As it is currently, I have to hit a few buttons on the screen, press one button for the keyboard/mouse (KVM switch with no video), unplug my headphones (on extension and plug them into another extension to go to my second PC).

This is a good start, but not quite there yet.

Use an USB sound card connected to the monitor? Should solve your problems. Integrated audio in monitors is garbage anyhow.

 

[ADB1979]

Use an USB sound card connected to the monitor? Should solve your problems. Integrated audio in monitors is garbage anyhow.

I think that you missed my point, I want to use a headset attached to my PC's via 3.5mm jacks not via USB, (if the KVM switch built into the screen was a KVMA switch I would be awaiting the 32" version so I could buy it).

KVMA switches have been around for some time that use 1x 3.5mm jack for headphones/speakers, it would not be difficult (or costly) for them to add in a pair of 3.5mm jacks and make it into a KVMAM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse, Audio, Microphone) switch, and if they have already built in the functionality of this being a KVMA switch via USB headphones/headset this would round out the package for virtually all potential users interested in this, which I am, apart from this missing (simple) functionality and that this screen is too small for my liking, but I expect them to offer this in other screen sizes.

Either Gigabyte or another manufacturer will come to market with something that fills this gap in the market as not everyone wants to use USB headsets / speakers / microphones, or wants to spend the money on replacing their existing ones.

 

[Valantar]

I think that you missed my point, I want to use a headset attached to my PC's via 3.5mm jacks not via USB, (if the KVM switch built into the screen was a KVMA switch I would be awaiting the 32" version so I could buy it).

KVMA switches have been around for some time that use 1x 3.5mm jack for headphones/speakers, it would not be difficult (or costly) for them to add in a pair of 3.5mm jacks and make it into a KVMAM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse, Audio, Microphone) switch, and if they have already built in the functionality of this being a KVMA switch via USB headphones/headset this would round out the package for virtually all potential users interested in this, which I am, apart from this missing (simple) functionality and that this screen is too small for my liking, but I expect them to offer this in other screen sizes.

Either Gigabyte or another manufacturer will come to market with something that fills this gap in the market as not everyone wants to use USB headsets / speakers / microphones, or wants to spend the money on replacing their existing ones.

Very few potential users are likely to care about whether there's a USB DAC involved or a pass-through of integrated audio, and besides, it would be an utter mess in terms of cabling. If a major part of the point is the single-cable docking of laptops (which indeed is a major part of the point), needing to add an audio cable to that makes no sense, as USB-C, DP and HDMI already transmit audio. Add to that the need for different cables for different PCs (separate for desktops, combo TRRS for laptops) and the fact that very few people connect their headphones to their monitors and you have a feature that's far more hassle than it's worth.

As for KVMA already being there, this is not really true. It has usb switching. Anything usb will (likely, I'm assuming this isn't the old-school KVM that only supported keyboards and mice) switch, as it all runs over a single uplink, regardless of what the device on the end is. Passing through and switching analog audio would require at the very least two more switchable input pairs on the controller chip plus an extra output pair, as well as engineering to ensure that those lines don't get hammered with interference. That's anything but trivial.

 

[ADB1979]

and the fact that very few people connect their headphones to their monitors and you have a feature that's far more hassle than it's worth.

The entire point of this monitor is that it has a built in KVM switch, which very few people would ever use anyway... This is a niche product to begin with, which is why I do not see the value in it for Gigabyte to ignore part of that niche, and if you think that this is only for "laptop users", then where is the sound and microphone input for the second computer.? Either way, it looks to me as though you cannot understand why some people want this product at all, or how they use their computing equipment, or even what type of computer equipment they have, for example, I have several computers and none of them are portable.

As for KVMA already being there, this is not really true. It has usb switching. Anything usb will (likely, I'm assuming this isn't the old-school KVM that only supported keyboards and mice) switch

It is in the name, "Keyboard, Video, Mouse, Audio Switch", that is not the same as a USB Hub, and most USB KVM Switches do not operate as a "hub", and if they do, the hub component is usually on a additional ports for USB drives for example.

As for the "Audio" switch, many KVMA switches (when they were all PS/2 / VGA) essentially threw in the Audio switch component for free, if this is overly complex or expensive to do in 2021, then manufacturing technology has taken a step back.

 

[Valantar]

The entire point of this monitor is that it has a built in KVM switch, which very few people would ever use anyway... This is a niche product to begin with, which is why I do not see the value in it for Gigabyte to ignore part of that niche, and if you think that this is only for "laptop users", then where is the sound and microphone input for the second computer.? Either way, it looks to me as though you cannot understand why some people want this product at all, or how they use their computing equipment, or even what type of computer equipment they have, for example, I have several computers and none of them are portable.


It is in the name, "Keyboard, Video, Mouse, Audio Switch", that is not the same as a USB Hub, and most USB KVM Switches do not operate as a "hub", and if they do, the hub component is usually on a additional ports for USB drives for example.

As for the "Audio" switch, many KVMA switches (when they were all PS/2 / VGA) essentially threw in the Audio switch component for free, if this is overly complex or expensive to do in 2021, then manufacturing technology has taken a step back.

... sigh. You're clearly missing the point here. The use case for this is WFH/laptop docking alongside a (gaming, though obviously not only that) desktop, not using it with multiple desktops. It's clearly marketed for using the USB-C as a single cable laptop docking solution with the additional bonus of KVM functionality allowing use of the keyboard and mouse you've already got for your desktop. It's clearly not meant - nor marketed - as a replacement for a professional KVM(A) switch. It's a convenience feature for people with multiple devices who might want to also connect their laptop to their monitor with less hassle than before.

You also clearly misunderstood what I meant by "USB switching". This is a monitor with a built-in USB hub. It also is advertised with KVM functionality. That likely means that the USB hub - in its totality, not just for keyboard/mouse functions - is muxed between different host devices through the USB-C and USB-B connectors. This is different from traditional KVM, which typically only supports keyboard and mouse signals through any USB ports present. It would be really weird if this supported old-school KVM with only the connected keyboards and mice switching over. If it supports switching of any connected USB device, then it's a USB switch, not just a KVM switch.

As for audio, the monitor has a headphone output. This is derived from a DAC getting a signal from the DP and HDMI connections. It has no connection to the motherboard's audio jacks whatsoever. So, for it to gain the functionality you're asking for would require at least two new inputs (though ideally four, for audio + mic across two devices), as well as the switching chip to not just be a mux of two separate USB uplinks, but also switching between two sets of audio lanes. I never said it was overly complex or expensive, I said it was an unnecessary expense targeting a tiny niche among the already small niche of people interested in a gaming monitor with KVM functionality, and that it would add complexity to the design and featureset of the monitor. It would also make for a hellishly messy I/O. And, again, it would likely add a ton of noise to the audio signals, as they would need to pass through some very RF-dense areas.

Regarding old KVM switches throwing in audio for free - sure, but those were already a mess of cables already, and not at all targeting a market like this. They were the furthest thing from single-cable docking you'd find, pretty much. (In my experience they were also terrible in terms of adding hum and buzzing to your audio.) Again, you're seeing this from the angle of what you want, not what it's targeted at. Of course you can complain that it doesn't fit your needs, but your needs are clearly quite specialized in this case. That's life, sadly.

And, again, what you're asking for is fundamentally incompatible with the core concept here, which is single-cable USB-C docking of secondary devices. If you're not fine with DP/HDMI-transmitted audio (or using a separate solution for this), then this clearly isn't the product for you.

 

[ADB1979]

... sigh. You're clearly missing the point here. The use case for this is WFH/laptop docking alongside a (gaming, though obviously not only that) desktop, not using it with multiple desktops. It's clearly marketed for using the USB-C as a single cable laptop docking solution with the additional bonus of KVM functionality allowing use of the keyboard and mouse you've already got for your desktop. It's clearly not meant - nor marketed - as a replacement for a professional KVM(A) switch. It's a convenience feature for people with multiple devices who might want to also connect their laptop to their monitor with less hassle than before.

Yeah whatever you say

 

[Valantar]

Yeah whatever you say

Yeah, 'cause with a large portion of the world working from home these days, it's completely unthinkable that these people might want to connect their work laptops to their gaming PC's monitor ...

 

[ADB1979]

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