A USB KVM for your IT Tool Bag

Today I'm taking a look at the Openterface USB KVM. It's a simple little device that bridges HDMI and USB HID emulation to your laptop, acting as a keyboard/video/mouse display in a tiny package.

TechxArtisan sent me this kit for review, no money changed hands.

Overall I think the hardware is great. The kit I have includes the full bundle + the optional VGA cable (VGA really needs to disappear someday...). The software could use some work, it's functional but lacks niceties like pasting blocks of text. The lack of ISO emulation might be a dealbreaker, but you can plug a flash drive into the USB 2 port of the device to pass it through (or just directly into the device).

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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:30 - Unboxing
02:29 - Software
05:17 - Thoughts

[apalrdsadventures]

Answers to viewer questions:
- The VGA to HDMI adapter works fine with USB power
- You can access the UEFI/BIOS (including hitting function keys) over both HDMI and VGA
- Paste works from the menu, but not from the hotkey, on the current build (for macOS). For Windows/Linux it's in development.
- It works over USB 2.0 using a Type A to C cable just fine

[techxartisan]

Hey! 👋 Huge thanks for reviewing our Openterface Mini-KVM! Our dev team is hard at work making improvements to the KVM control as we speak. Also, a massive shoutout to everyone dropping questions and sharing thoughts in the comments below. 🙌 We're diving into each one to chat with you and take your awesome suggestions on board. Your engagement is what makes this community absolutely amazing! Cheers!

[FamiliaPM-oisy]

This channel is a great discovery. Quick, simple yet technical, no fluff. Keep it on

[ArronLorenz]

You know.

I stopped at 33 seconds because the intro was so simple and clean. The quality of your presentation has continued to improve. Keep it up.

[TheMongolPrime]

As a data center manager, this is a perfect tool for my bag.

[Mama_esta_presa]

Dang, I had to immediately purchase it, I don't even know when will it ship but I guess it's a surprise gift for future me. Thanks for the great content!

[TrTai]

I'm both happy and sad about the fact that it doesn't have file pass through (ISO mounting, file sharing etc) because on the one hand, super convenient for new setups, on the other, not passing Data traffic means that in a pinch, I can use it to check out a compromised device without exposing the host device, even if I should just not connect anything to it at all that isn't set aside for it.

[happyarch]

It does seem fairly neat for its size, I could see it being useful on the go when interfacing with embedded machines in tight places that I can only get to with a laptop.

[Yandarval]

It appears that "PASTE" is in the "EDIT" menu in the program toolbar. You skipped passed it twice.

[Dorff_Meister]

Looks pretty nice. I built a PiKVM a couple years ago. It has served my minor needs well.

[vaidkun]

if you work on servers (not consumer hardware), vga native is better (have worked with various vga to hdmi adapters and they generally bad) even latest servers use VGA.

[diabeticnomad]

I think being able to pass copy paste is a must passing through iso and files would be neat too

[ngbizvn]

I am eagerly waiting for mine to deliver in Sept. Original backer. Hope it work as well as all the reviews. Very useful for headless servers even as close-by as down the basements. Only need to carry a laptop without lugging monitor, keyboard and mouse.

[Cynyr]

Looks like it would be a very nice tool if i often had to deal with headless servers.

[OneSpaceyBoy]

6 views in after 1 minute of posting and 6 likes, damn bro! very nice!

[Soupie]

If your (networked) raspberry pi is playing up, this is a great alternative for logging in and fault finding.

[JessicaFEREM]

Certainly beats buying a Nexdock (or similar) and will def be a lot cheaper. massive space saving potential. plus if you want you can screen record in OBS so win/win. this looks to be a keeper to me.

[diogomild]

Where in the F did you find that WEG flashdrive?? It is a electric engines factory from very near my hometown in Brazil, shocked to see it referenced by you!! Great content as always!

[bifferos]

This is interesting. One of my future projects was going to involve a HDMI to USB capture dongle and a PS/2 keyboard/mouse to USB converter. Both these items are pretty cheap these days. I was then going to write some Arduino software to twiddle the bits on the PS/2 mouse/KB serial lines converting codes from the Arduino virtual COM port into KB/mouse signals. It theoretically works out a very cheap solution, but you do need two USB ports, and I'd have to put some software together to control it all.

[lazerusmfh]

Ordered from this vid thanks for sharing