# Solved: How to Play Xbox 360 on Laptop Monitor



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

Hello. I'm about to move into a little box of a dorm room soon and was wondering if it would be possible, or financially credible, to use my laptop as a monitor to play my xbox 360 on. I know this has been addressed before, but I keep seeing a number of different options. My computer is a Toshiba Satellite L645 with Windows 7 Home Premium operating system. My xbox is one of those newer ones, black and thinner than the original ones, and it has a built in wireless...um...receiver? Anyway, I don't mind spending a little money on a certain cord or even a capture card, but my budget is very tight, and I don't want to spend more than $30-$50 if I can. Thank you for your time.


----------



## ajkane (Dec 8, 2011)

I don't believe this is possible. You laptop monitor connects to your computer part of your laptop via metal contacts. It may be possible only if there is some cable (vga, dvi, ect.) that has the same amount of contacts. But anyway you would have take the monitor off of your laptop, and then make hardware modifications. So it is either not possible or not feasible.


----------



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

So... There's nothing I can just plug into the computer for it to work? My computer is made in a way that keeps me from doing it? You would think that a console made by Microsoft would be more compatible with computers...


----------



## ajkane (Dec 8, 2011)

There is no monitor input on your computer like the is on a normal monitor. All laptops have are video out ports, there are no video in. You can get a cheap TV, or by a external monitor that you can connect your laptop to, as long as it has an HDMI port. But that will be over $50. I did just look that up real quick and it is possible through the computer not a direct connection to the monitor, but you would need USB 3.0, or a eSATA port. Do you have either?


----------



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

I just looked real quick, and it looks like I have an eSATA port. It says "eSATA/(symbol for USB)". Does that help any?


----------



## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

You need to understand some basics of video inputs and outputs. A game console doesn't have a screen. That means it needs to *output* the video to some kind of display device that accepts the console's outputs. The display device needs to have corresponding *inputs*.

TV's are designed to display video and audio from multiple different sources such as consoles, DVD players, and even computers.

Laptops are designed to display video from their own internal parts. Laptops don't have video inputs.

eSATA is a storage interface. It allows you to connect a SATA drive externally rather than internally. It has nothing to do with audio or video.


----------



## Couriant (Mar 26, 2002)

eSATA are genrally for exernal hard drives.

What you are looking for is something to capture the video feed. Most likely solution is to get a USB video capture box/cable like this one however I haven't used anything like this before so I am unable to confirm if it works the way you need it to.


----------



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

@DoubleHelix I was seeing that on other threads and sites. I just didn't know if it would be different for different kinds of computers. If what you're saying is true, then I should probably abandon this "project".

@Couriant I also saw this option. If it works, then that might work out. However, DoubleHelix's advice seems to say differently...

@ajkane What is the importance of an eSATA port? Are you thinking, like Couriant, that I could use it for a capture card?

Thank you for your time and patience, guys. I know very little about computer hardware...


----------



## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

You don't use an eSATA port to connect to a capture card. It's strictly for hard drives. You'd connect a capture card to a USB port. 

I doubt a capture card will work. I suspect you'd experience poor video quality and lag. Look for more info in Xbox-specific forums or sites.


----------



## ajkane (Dec 8, 2011)

Sorry about the eSATA thing, I read the wrong post on a different forum.


----------



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

It's alright. I think I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and bring a tv with me. All of this is just more technical than I was wanting to deal with right now. Thank you all for your help!


----------



## vscopess (Dec 31, 2011)

you need to get a HD/VGA cable, one end goes to the xbox and the other goes to your laptop, they cost about $20, not much for what it gives you, it shows the screen in HD, just like a tv really.


----------



## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

vscopess said:


> you need to get a HD/VGA cable, one end goes to the xbox and the other goes to your laptop, they cost about $20, not much for what it gives you, it shows the screen in HD, just like a tv really.


I don't think so. You can't connect the output port from an XBox to the output port on a laptop.


----------



## vscopess (Dec 31, 2011)

yes, one end of the lead goes directly into the xbox and the other end goes directly into the laptop.


----------



## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

vscopess said:


> yes, one end of the lead goes directly into the xbox and the other end goes directly into the laptop.


How do you get video *output* from the Xbox to the laptop by connecting to the video *output* port on the laptop?


----------



## vscopess (Dec 31, 2011)

its like connecting a laptop to a projector, it would be fn and one of the 'f' buttons, for example on my computer it is fn and f2


----------



## DoubleHelix (Dec 10, 2004)

No, it's not like connecting a laptop to a projector. The projector has an *INPUT* port.

You're not understanding the difference between input ports and output ports.


----------



## vscopess (Dec 31, 2011)

well it worked for me:L


----------



## afrayedknot13 (Jan 10, 2012)

It's okay guys. I'll mark this as solved since I ended up bringing a tv anyway. Again, thanks for your advice!


----------

