ANSWERS: 1
  • Well, yes and no... As far as I know, there is no laptop screen made with the ability to work as a monitor input. However, you can plug your system into a USB TV Tuner. A TV Tuner merely allows you to plug in either an antenna or a source such as a VCR or game console into your computer. You'll have to use software in order to watch TV/play games, and sometimes this software doesn't run too well on weak machines. I personally have an Adaptec Gamebridge 1410. The Gamebridge was made with the intent of making the USB conversion sync perfectly with the source to make sure that the player could play the game without lag. Most middle of the road computers of today can use the software without too many problems. (It's supposedly not Vista compatible, but it works fine after a little tweaking. I runs a little worse on Vista, I've found however, unless you turn the priority up to high.) There's also other 3rd Party software you could use (SageTV (not free), DScaler, Got All Media.) There are two versions of the GameBridge. The 1400 only comes with the ability to plug in a gaming console or VCR through composite cables. The 1410 allows you to not only plug in a game console, but you can plug in an antenna or cable to watch TV on your computer as well. The 1410 also comes with a remote, but I've found that it only works in the provided software. If you're looking for high quality, you may want to stay away from TV Tuners altogether unless you're willing to spend well over $100+. The picture is definitely good enough to play the game, but it's not going to do HDTV or anything like that. Also, if you have a widescreen monitor, the Gamebridge does not support it, so you will get black bars or a stretched screen, but you'll never be able to pick up a widescreen signal. If you don't have Windows, then there are other USB Tuners out there that are relatively cheap for multi-platform. You'll just have to look around a bit. When you're buying one, make sure that it doesn't add any lag to the picture or audio. Hope this helps!

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