I just received the Rm1 and connected it to a Dell laptop that has Intel and Nvidia graphics.
When connected remotely, the keyboard and mouse appears to be connected (icon status), but no hdmi video signal is detected. Once windows loads, then I can see the Device B's screen, no problem. Can't see BIOS at all.
I've read until my eyes were blurry. Nothing I've tried so far has worked. Kind of a deal breaker to not see bios. That is the biggest selling point of the device.
Is there anyone else having this BIOS display issue?
Many laptops do not have the HDMI interface available in the BIOS. Does your laptop's HDMI port have an output when connected to a regular monitor? For remote access issues, please export the log under the Help menu.
Real quick, I'm having success with seeing the boot menu by changing the display EDID from default to asus.
Restarting windows 11, tapping f12 as soon as video is lost. Then, I switch monitor type to asus as I mentioned, and I can see the external screen output with the boot menu visible. If I want to restart windows again and see the boot menu, I have to toggle the monitor back to default and then toggle it to asus, at which point I am able to see the boot menu.
Sorry for such a wordy statement. Trying to be accurate with details that might reveal the solution to this issue in Settings with a laptop as Device B.
I imagine the solution must reside in the monitor EDID configuration with asus that allows it to see the external hdmi output without having to physically tap Fn+f8 to force the display output to the hdmi (which appears to be impossible, btw).
One additional point that may be of interest to someone here which is I bought a vga to hdmi adapter with sound (instead of using the laptop hdmi port, thinking vga output would be mirrored there by default in the bios), which is what I would most likely have on a server. I'm interested in the Rm1 because I could put one on every customer machine - towers, laptops, all in ones, and servers. I believe the behavior mentioned above is the same with vga. If EDID is all that's needed to fix this, that seems like a quick fix actually. What do I know though... I'm not a programmer. Just a cheerleader for the success of the Rm1.
FYI - I have two laptops that I'm testing with the RM1.
Laptop1 (Device B) is 2019 Dell Precision 3520, hdmi and vga outputs appear to be mirrored - same image as the laptop's screen. This laptop does not seem to respond to the trick I mentioned in my earlier post - toggling between default monitor EDID and the Asus choice. Setting up a shortcut to press the Fn + F8 to toggle the display output to the hdmi out. But so far, this shortcut does not work. Shortcuts only seem to work in Windows. Laptop bios is configured to emulate Fn key by mapping it to the scroll lock key. This also did not work at changinge video output.
Laptop2 (Device B), is a 2013 Dell XPS 15, for testing purposes, does show the same output externally as the main screen. Accessing the BIOS using the EDID toggling trick mentioned above, does seem to work, though I cannot see the Dell logo screen. Video is lost upon restarting and unless I'm already tapping F12 during that time, it will just move on to load windows. So, the keyboard works before video is restored during a reboot. Dell logo screen being the point in time where you'd press the F12 key to go to the Boot Menu.
Desktop1 (DeviceB) with RM1 connected via hdmi to discreet video card. Monitor uses the DisplayPort on the video card. HDMI signal doesn't seem to come out of the hdmi port however. So far, I have not been able to make a connection of any kind to this desktop. No idea why - thought it would be a slam dunk setup with a regular desktop, but I guess something else is going on that I haven't discovered yet.
In any case, I hope maybe this sheds some additional light on what is happening.
If you have a DP interface, the graphics card will be output to the DP interface by default. Because the graphics card believes that DP is more advanced
So, I'm confused about how this is supposed to work.
Can a monitor be used if the video output is not going to Rm1? Or is this device only for headless servers?
Of the three systems I've been testing, I thought a desktop would be easier to get running. Desktop monitor is connected via displayport, and I connected the Rm1 to the hdmi out on the same card. I also tried the motherboard hdmi, but I found the issue is the same.
Seems like a pass through design would be a good way to go so you always get the active video output.
OK, configuring multiple monitors to mirror output is a unique behavior of os (win/macos/linux). Generally speaking, bios will only output bios screen on a certain highest priority monitor. So theoretically, if you want to display the screen on both the monitor and COMET, you may need to buy an HDMI one-to-two-digit adapter and connect the monitor to this. And it cannot be plugged into the monitor to the DP interface. I have mentioned the reason. The graphics card will think that the monitor on the DP interface has higher priority.
Displayport Splitter 3 Monitors Dual DP with HDMI Adapter 4K60Hz Extended Display 1 in 3 Out Displayport MST Hub for Multiple Monitors Compatible for PC, Graphics Card, Lenovo, HP and More.
'EDID adaptive mirror screen' sounds like the resolution is automatically adjusted for the second output?
I have a DP standard kvm switch and would like to continue using it with my 48" ultra wide monitor. I believe hdmi can display 3840x2160. But unless I buy a splitter like the above units that output DP and hdmi simultaneously, think my only option is to use a hdmi to DP adapter for the monitor, and see if plugging the Rm1 into it's hdmi out.
I don't know what 'adaptive mirror screen' does, but I think I'll buy both of them and see if I can go from the computer's DP, to splitter to pass through DP to the monitor, with the hdmi output going to the Rm1.
Mimmie, could you clarify this additional information I found while looking at various types of splitters? Is it required for the Rm1 to connect directly to the hdmi output of the computer, or would these splitters connect to the computer with DP and the Rm1 to the other side - hdmi?
In the BIOS, the DELL laptop only outputs on the built-in display, and you need to press Fn+F8 to switch to the external display. At this time, RM1 can normally obtain the BIOS image. This action can only be completed on the controlled DELL laptop and will not be saved, which means that each startup needs to be re-operated on the controlled computer. I know this goes against the original intention of remote control, but there is no way at present, and we are also trying our best to find possible solutions.
So do I understand correctly that RM1 works on computers that output duplicate video to two ports? I’ve given my laptops a rest, in favor of trying to get RM1 to work on a desktop. Only way it works is if no monitor is plugged in. The RM1 hdmi cable must occupy the discreet video card port without the monitor being plugged into the DP.
I’ll admit I’m scratching the surface of this new product and how it is intended to operate. One thing seems clear to me, which is that RM1 is good for machines that do not have a monitor – servers. I could not get my desktop to work since RM1’s hdmi has to occupy the hdmi output that the monitor normally plugs into. What makes more sense to me would be a pass-through device. I have two different brands of splitters to see if on desktops/servers, I could still retain use of the monitor. I must be missing some key concepts.
I bought two splitters yesterday to try that method. If it works as expected, at least I can recommend the combo to my customers. Part of new system on-boarding perhaps.
Anyway, laptops remain a different challenge since a splitter can't split what it can't see. Ie. No external output.
My work is done remotely for people all over the country, mainly in the off hours, so having someone there onsite to press FN +F8 isn't an option in most situations.
tried two different splitters connected to my discrete video card, nvidia 750ti, but the basic problem that I can see is the RM1 takes over control of the resolution, then disconnects video. The monitor is capable of resolutions up to 3840x2160.
When I try to connect to the Device B machine (a desktop), it's resolution changes to 2560x1440 when I select that EDID from the preconfigured list in the app.
I have not found a working scenario where the RM1 works as described. I've tried every cable connection configuration - bios selected Intel internal video as the primary (and vice versa - switching bios to use Nvidia card only). Monitor is connected via DisplayPort to DP1 port on tower. RM1 is connected to Intel internal HDMI port. Can't see bios screen this way, and video disconnects more times than it connects. Another config I tried was connecting the monitor with HDMI, and the RM1 connected to DVI (using an adapter plug). The video card prioritizes DVI first, then HDMI, then DP. The desktop uses the DVI to connect the RM1 as mentioned, which is #1 in the priority order. This was working, sort of, but it looks like I can't run the monitor at full resolution. HDMI resolution for some reason is capped at 2560x1440. I don't know if this is a hardware limitation, but my video card is rated to handle the full resolution using HDMI. So, does that mean the RM1's max HDMI resolution is 2560x1440? I tried to figure out how to make a custom EDID, but could not get from the list of monitors to the hex code shown in the documentation. No explanation how to get that info, but this is the only other thing I can think of that might solve this resolution confusion. I hate to think that all this troubleshooting would be necessary on 670 remote workstations.
I think if some good information comes out of this post, I might succeed with the RM1, but I'm not holding my breath. I think this may be a dud product - so many strange issues, I could not keep an accurate log of what happened with each setting change or cable reconfiguration. Too many to count.
Even this description, as long as it is, doesn't begin to cover all the combinations of cabling, bios, windows settings. app setting EDID. Crazy.
The splitters by the way are two designs. One is DP to 2xDP and 1xHDMI. The other is HDMI to 2xHDMI. Video signal should pass through from DP out to the splitter's DP in, and then onto the monitor. Nope. The HDMI RM1 drags the resolution down from full 3840 resolution to a narrow 2560 resolution. Splitter idea failed.
To be honest, up to now, I still haven't fully understood your application requirements. The information is somewhat fragmented. I have a few questions.
Is the controlled computer a laptop or a desktop? Could you provide the specific model?
Does the BIOS interface need to display simultaneously on the local and remote sides?
Regarding the video connection issue you mentioned, does it only occur in the BIOS or does it happen all the time?
If possible, please provide as many pictures or even videos as possible so that we can better understand.
I have a dual connection setup and working on a desktop, with the solution being both are connected to a PCIe display card that has multiple monitor ports. Both get the same video on startup and I have them duplicated in Windows so the RM1 and the attached monitor both have the same resolution (1920x1080) and view the same thing.
PC hardware by default treats onboard video and PCIe video separately, so, if it is an option, the cleanest recommendation is using a desktop with a video card with more than one output (most do these days), and leveraging those connections.
In my case, I'm using a GTX 1650 (Gigabyte Gv-N1650OC-4GD) with connecting both outputs via HDMI.
Depending on the system, some BIOS' have multi-monitor specific options for supporting onboard and card based graphics that might be helpful.
That is a good read. Thank you for sharing it with me.
Isn't the issue when Rm1 is on hdmi, first in line, before displayport, that the monitor used during bios is the Rm1 that shows a black screen while viewing through the app upon rebooting? And sometimes changes the monitor to black as well. Other times, I tell windows to reboot, and the app shows 'no video'. Stuck, never successfully reconnects.
I have not confirmed if video is output is going to dp and hdmi. I don't think so because at least in the app, the highest hdmi res is 2560, which cuts off either side of the screen. So that's a mystery - why isn't hdmi functioning at the full 3840 x 1600 (windows recommended), or 3840 x 2160, the highest setting. I've been thinking about adding a custom EDID, but as mentioned above, I could not figure out where the hex code comes from, or generated.
Some pictures that might tell you more than I can. No changes to cables - dp and hdmi. Bios set for Nvidia only. Trying all preset CDID 's. Resetting the Rm1 when doing cable changes. I don't know if CDID info is stored in memory on the Rm1. However, resetting the Rm1 at times has helped.
Right now, I can see the Device B computer remotely, and the mouse pointer tracks under my mouse. Some CDID presets cause the pointer to lag behind around the edges of the screen. I cannot see the bios screen, but can get to the boot menu by blindly tapping F12. There's just no way go see the bios.
Questions, suggestions, EDID for my particular monitor resolution?
