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Q&A Hardware for occasional direct control of personal server

I tend to use a keyboard and a video capture card - I run a ~5 dollar one off aliexpress that looks a little like this. HDMI goes into one end, you plug it into an available USB port, and it act...

posted 8mo ago by Journeymangeek ‭  ·  edited 8mo ago by Journeymangeek ‭

Answer
#2: Post edited by user avatar Journeymangeek ‭ · 2023-09-26T01:19:47Z (8 months ago)
  • I tend to use a keyboard and a video capture card - I run a ~5 dollar one off aliexpress that looks a little like this.
  • ![Video Capture Dongle. Has a USB plug on top, HDMI port at the bottom and is black. Has the words input at the bottom, output at the top and HDMI VIDEO CAPTURE printed across it](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/qej900pnds35zsumldgi907ivdre)
  • HDMI goes into one end, you plug it into an available USB port, and it acts as a 'webcam' streaming the output of the PC its plugged into. You can use suitable adaptors for VGA and such to HDMI if its an older machine.
  • Practically, it turns 'any' laptop into a monitor and
  • There's also 'passthrough' models for when you need both capture and to plug into a monitor - but other than cost, if its going to be permanently there, the pi kvm and clones suggested by Pogo is a better idea.
  • In theory there's devices that will plug in PC to PC that emulate a keyboard but I've never found a 'universal' one - the one I have only works on windows clients and installs its own driver to work, which is less than optimal.
  • I tend to use a keyboard and a video capture card - I run a ~5 dollar one off aliexpress that looks a little like this.
  • ![Video Capture Dongle. Has a USB plug on top, HDMI port at the bottom and is black. Has the words input at the bottom, output at the top and HDMI VIDEO CAPTURE printed across it](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/qej900pnds35zsumldgi907ivdre)
  • HDMI goes into one end, you plug it into an available USB port, and it acts as a 'webcam' streaming the output of the PC its plugged into. You can use suitable adaptors for VGA and such to HDMI if its an older machine.
  • Practically, it turns 'any' laptop into a monitor and
  • There's also 'passthrough' models for when you need both capture and to plug into a monitor - but other than cost, if its going to be permanently there, the pi kvm and clones suggested by Pogo is a better idea.
  • In theory there's devices that will plug in PC to PC that emulate a keyboard as well but I've never found a 'universal' one - the one I have only works on windows clients and installs its own driver to work, which is less than optimal.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Journeymangeek ‭ · 2023-09-26T01:19:11Z (8 months ago)
I tend to use a keyboard and a video capture card - I run a ~5 dollar one off aliexpress that looks a little like this.

![Video Capture Dongle. Has a USB plug on top, HDMI port at the bottom and is black. Has the words input at the bottom, output at the top and HDMI VIDEO CAPTURE printed across it](https://powerusers.codidact.com/uploads/qej900pnds35zsumldgi907ivdre)

HDMI goes into one end, you plug it into an available USB port, and it acts as a 'webcam' streaming the output of the PC its plugged into. You can use suitable adaptors for VGA and such to HDMI if its an older machine. 

Practically, it turns 'any' laptop into a monitor and 

There's also 'passthrough' models for when you need both capture and to plug into a monitor - but other than cost, if its going to be permanently there, the pi kvm and clones suggested by Pogo is a better idea. 

In theory there's devices that will plug in PC to PC that emulate a keyboard but I've never found a 'universal' one - the one I have only works on windows clients and installs its own driver to work, which is less than optimal.