I was wondering what devices or software would be necessary to use a Macbook Pro as a monitor for either the game cube or Playstation 3. My friend has a Macbook that's no more than two years old, and it does have an HDMI port.

So, for the PS3 could you just plug it right in? or is there some required software?

Secondly, the Gamecube has the red/yellow/white AV cables, so there would have to be some way to convert those into the thunder bolt port.

How do I use my iMac as a "monitor" for my Xbox 360 and my Wii? Says there's no good way to do it for an iMac, but I'm asking about a Macbook Pro.

2 Answers

Unfortunately the answer is going to be the same. Your Macbook may have an HDMI port, but it's an HDMI Output, not an Input. The monitor is connected internally, so you don't have direct access to the monitor's inputs.

This is the way laptops (and iMacs) are designed. The HDMI port you mentioned is for multi-monitor setups or for outputting to a projector - it is an HDMI Out. The computer can send a signal out through that port to another monitor, but it can't take an incoming signal and transfer it to the laptop monitor.

2

While the connector mechanically fits, they are both outputs. You will need what's called a grabber card, since the PS3 and the Gamecube has different outputs you'll need either two or a very advanced one.

The Gamecube doesn't support HD resolutions anyway so composite (the yellow/white/red connectors) will do just fine with a cheap video grabber. These can be as cheap as a few tens of US dollars, but I'm not sure about the Mac compatibility of the very cheapest ones.

For the PS3 it would probably be the most economical to just get a cheap low-end 1080p monitor, they are about as expensive as the decent quality HDMI grabbers anyway and will support HDCP (playing copyrighted material like BluRay). Once you have the monitor a composite to HDMI adapter is dirt cheap if you order it from China.