Using KVM over IP to Distribute HDMI USB over Your Home Network

AV over IP is a trending solution in the realm of AV installation. You’ll see its scalability and flexibility even in a household use case. Taking advantage of the KVM over IP technology, you will be able to integrate your PCs, laptops, consoles, and set-top boxes into your home network, and route to any of the media from any of your rooms with ease.

HDMI USB Distribution over Your House

A KVM extender extends not only video signals like HDMI but also USB signals so that you can control your computing devices remotely over the screen. KVM over IP connects through a network switch and makes everything more flexible.

Just assume that you have a gaming PC, a PS5, and a Nintendo Switch in your game room; a Blu-ray player and an Apple TV in your living room, and a work laptop or desktop in your study room.

Basically, you entertain in your game room, watch movies in the living room and work in your study room. However, sometimes you just wanna swap. You may have guests and any one of the rooms can be occupied. 

If you have your media all connected to the home network and you can reach any of the devices from any room, you don’t have to move the chunk of the machine or travel across spaces to get access.

How Does It Work?

Different KVM over IP solutions could vary a lot in practical use. One thing in common is that they all transform data into IP-based and the data can be transmitted and can travel freely in the network via a network switch. 

To make it more clear, let’s take two products as examples.

AV Access 4KIP100-KVM

Compared to point-to-point direct connection, using KVM over IP extenders could be more convenient for the AV installation in the house. The network switch becomes the hub to link your host devices and the KVMs (keyboard, mouse, and display) all in the same network.

Using 4KIP100-KVM, you can move all the host machines from your rooms to the equipment room with the switch, you can get rid of the bulk of heat and noise all at once.

This model supports plug-and-play and zero configuration is needed on the ethernet switch, which makes it extremely friendly to non-tech people.

AV Access 4KIPJ200

If you need to freely route the receiving console to any one of your hosts, the KVM over IP solution shall support the feature of matrix switching. 4KIPJ200 is designed for this purpose.

4KIPJ200 is the product model, and to set things up, you need a certain number of encoders and decoders. The former would be connected to your host machines and the latter is the receiver kit (with a video out and a USB hub) which shall be connected to your workstation.

This product is designed for business scenarios, for example, a control center or surveillance room. To make such a system works perfectly, a managed switch is required and you have to do configuration on the network switch.

It works with the AVA-IPC control box or a third-party control system for effortless visual control and management and the feature of mouse roaming makes the control more flexible.

Once the hardware is all well connected to the same network, signals can travel from the hosts to all control desks. Switch, control, and monitor all at once.

Conclusions

If you are looking for a KVM extension solution, there are a bunch – traditional balun extender, HDBaseT KVM extender kit, and maybe KVM extender over fiber. IP KVM extender stands out because of its convenience of installation, the flexibility to scale, and the really practical use of matrix switching.

More Resources

• KVM Extenders vs. KVM over IP?
• Controlling Remote Computers with Better Scalability: KVM over IP Solutions
• Various Applications and Benefits of KVM Switches
• 5 Tips to Fix Your Screen Tearing Issues