Connecting games to monitor/laptop-- what do I use?

[PigInTheMud]

I am going to be without a tv for a while to save space, but I still want to play my SNES games. I have been reading about tv tuner cards and what-not and other alternatives. Everyone keeps mentioning that there is lag and that connecting through the vga or hdmi port produces no lag. But then the people who connect through these ports complain of screen resolution issues. I haven't been able to find anyone come to a conclusion as to what is the best solution for connecting basic RCA/AV/Composite cable to my laptop for gaming. So I was hoping someone on these forums has found a solution.

[irixith]

On a laptop?

The VGA/HDMI ports on your laptop would be output ports only, they don't take video input. Your laptop would need an ExpressCard slot to take something like this for video input capability. An ExpressCard is the only way you're going to have the necessary bandwidth for lag free video that way.

[ChooChooBot]

You could always buy a portable DVD player that has RCA composite input. A few buddies of mine use these for monitors when we have huge gaming sessions at my house.

[BRIK]

I used my computer monitor to play my PS3 for a while and it worked well, that was via HDMI though.

[D.D.D.]

On the laptop, I do HDMI out onto the HDTV for watching videos and playing some games. I've never noticed any lag since it outputs 1080P no problem.
On the desktop, I output component to the HDCRT and again, no problems.
If it's a resolution issue, likely it's the emulator that doesn't support a certain resolution.

[irixith]

He wants to hook up a real console to his laptop folks, not output to a monitor via an emulator.

[deathsled]

just get a USB gamepad and run emulators.

If you have a real SNES and own the games you want to play then technically there is no issue with obtaining the roms and playing via an emulator.

Leave the extra hardware behind....

[CRTGAMER]

I am going to be without a tv for a while to save space, but I still want to play my SNES games. I have been reading about tv tuner cards and what-not and other alternatives. Everyone keeps mentioning that there is lag and that connecting through the vga or hdmi port produces no lag. But then the people who connect through these ports complain of screen resolution issues. I haven't been able to find anyone come to a conclusion as to what is the best solution for connecting basic RCA/AV/Composite cable to my laptop for gaming. So I was hoping someone on these forums has found a solution.

You can use a capture card to route your console to your PC. The result will probably be choppy video though. I would make room for a TV, a necessity for gaming and oh yeah sometimes watching TV too.

[D.D.D.]

He wants to hook up a real console to his laptop folks, not output to a monitor via an emulator.

B'oh... gotta stop posting when tired.

I had a friend connect his Gamecube to his LCD monitor via TV tuner but it really didn't look good (certainly didn't help only being composite).
I'd just emulate instead of bringing lots of extra hardware.

[PigInTheMud]

Thanks for the help guys. I just moved into a dorm in Japan and I didn't want to have to lug a monitor around, but it looks like buying one is the easiest option.