# Use laptop as display?



## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Is there any way to couple up a desktop PC to
display on a laptop?

That would be to operate a PC without a monitor.
I know that the display on laptops has different
drivers, if it could be done, i would put the
appropriate driver onto the desktop PC,
if that was necessary.


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## Dan O (Feb 13, 1999)

I don't it is possible. You need a monitor, which are really cheap now days.


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

Found this:

" If you put a PCMCIA (If you have a Zoom PCMCIA slot) or USB capture device (If the laptop has Windows 98 or above and USB ports) on the laptop and then installed a video card in the desktop that will output to a tv monitor with good resolution. Would be cheaper to purchase a 15" monitor. "

"


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Thank you Dan O, and Deke,

Dan, i would guess that it is possible for the output
from a desktop PC to be processed by a laptop to
produce the display, as all the information is there.
But the chances that i will find a way are very slim.

Deke, thank you for that paragraph. I'm afraid i didnt
understand it though. I know that the right card can
output to a telly, but i didnt grasp that bit about
USB ports on the laptop.

I have in mind to check a friends computer setup.
But my friend has no monitor.
I dont fancy carrying a monitor across London,
but i would take my laptop when i visit.

I wondered if i could display the desktop PC on the
screen of the laptop.

Cheers, John


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

I'm trying to find info on the RGB signals,
where they are, can they be fed in etc.

I'm wondering if the RGB could be picked up
from the monitor plug hole on a desktop PC,
and fed to a laptop to make a display.

Not having much success.


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## Deke40 (Jun 27, 2002)

John-Found this. This might give you a little more understanding:

RGB Monitor Output
First thing to note here is that this is a TTL level output, which is not the analogue level signal that common PC monitors expect. TTL level monitors assume colour is either on or off, so TTL signals can be up to 5V. Analogue monitors expect about 0.7 or 1V analogue signals. Also, they expect seperate horizontal and vertical sync signals, while the BBC monitor output combines these into a composite sync signal.

Not having a BBC-specific monitor, I do have an Archimedes monitor. The Archimedes has a monitor output socket that is physically identical to PC monitor outputs (15-way high-density D-type) and has the RGB signals in similar positions, but uses a composite sync signal.

Having made a simple adapter to route the signals from the 6-pin DIN to the 15-way D-type connectors, I plugged it in and a picture appeared. However, the Archimedes monitor is optimised for its highest resolution (as are most monitors) and the fineness of the electron beam meant that the horizontal scan lines had small but noticeable gaps between them. So although I had one monitor that could service two machines, it wasn't quite the ideal solution.

TVs are optimised for their intended vertical resolution, so the beam is just the right size so that horizontal scan lines just touch each other. They are also brighter, generally bigger for the same price, and most homes already have one.

[


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi Deke,

Thanks for that last piece,
I managed to find it on the net,
and i have emailed the author.
Hopefully he may have some suggestions.

I thought of a better way to say
what it is i'm tryin to do,

I want to use a laptop as a monitor for a PC.

Now this may already be something that is done 
routinely, but if it is, i dont know about it.

John


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## Dan O (Feb 13, 1999)

John,

I understand what you want to do, but how does your friend use the PC without a monitor? As I stated you can get a monitor for cheap, I check my local used PC store and I found many monitors for $25. I also have seen free monitors and sometimes whole systems in the paper, as people don't know what to do with them. I personally donate my old PCs.


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## Jedi_Master (Mar 13, 2002)

Howdy there john1...

If there was someway to network the two of them, you could use PC Anywhere or Remote Administrator...


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

Hi Deke, Hi Jedi,

Deke,
She cannot use it without a monitor. I know that the
older 14 inch monitors are cheap and fairly easy to
find, i dont know about free around here, far away in
other lands there may be a surfeit of them.
She wont go and get a cheap one, she says that she's
saving up for a flat one, she says her apartment is
small, and she wants a thin one.

Jedi Master,
I dont know if this PC works or not. It has no monitor.
I dont visit very often, next time i do, i would like
to set it up for her. Her brother has given it to her,
apparently its very fast with a large memory.
I doubt if it would be possible to set up even a DCC
link without a monitor.
I dont even know if it has a modem.

Back to the point, the output to the monitor from a
desktop PC contains all the signals for a display
and could be fed to another computer, maybe as an
input to a program on the laptop.

I dont know of any such program, but i can accept the
feasibility of it.

It may even be possible to access the signals going
to the video card from one of the sockets at the back
and direct them to the video driver on the laptop.

These are things i dont know about.

It might be possible to instruct the PC to send the
video signals to a port.
It might be possible to instruct the laptop to send
signals from a port to its display driver.

Theres lots of stuff i dont know.

I would be happy to make up leads (cables) to couple
any of the points together, or even simple matching
circuits, but not too involved.

I'm having christmas pudding with lumpy custard.

Happy new year,
John


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## john1 (Nov 25, 2000)

The custard was not as lumpy as it looked,
it was ok.

Still looking for ways to use a laptop
as a monitor for another PC.


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