Question laptop used as a monitor for cameras question

[corvairbob]

ok i'm going to reinstalling my security system after our house burned down. i had for the security display on of those prison type tv's . and it was connected to the camera nvr thru the hdmi port so i could see the cameras on that tv.



what i'm thinking now is to get one of those hp laptops that the screen will fold back and then i think it converts into a touch screen? so i'm asking if anyone knows it i may be able to connect a camera nvr into one of those laptops thru the hdmi port and have it show the nvr on the screen and my guess would be i could manage the cameras using the touch screen and maybe using a mouse? kind of like using it only as a monitor. it seems 13" 14" and 17" tv's are hard to find or pricey and i can ebay or goodwill a laptop much cheaper to use just as a cameras system monitor.



so does anyone happen to know if that might work? i figure a small HD and a bit of memory would be plenty to just use one of them as a display for the nvr camera setup? thanks.

 

[rgd1101]

most laptop have only output port. not input.

 

[corvairbob]

ok thanks that kills that idea. that is why i asked before i got one and found it did not work.

 

[beszt95]

You could use a laptop like you said, you just need an HDMI input. There are USB devices made for this (capture cards), targeted at gamers but will certainly work for you too. If you are only handling 1080p30 or lower then you can get a really cheap USB capture card and it should work fine without dropping frames. I've got one of these: ebay itm 266772509655
I use it for capturing and streaming 1080p30 video and it works fine. I also have an Elgato HD60S which works great for game footage at 1080p60, if you want the higher framerate or don't mind spending a little extra. They are not that much more expensive now than the cheap one I got: ebay itm 376147292179 or ebay itm 156896668598
Just make sure whichever port and cable you use are both USB 3.0. Then you use OBS Studio or some other software to view the feed (and even record it directly to the laptop too if you'd want.)

If all you need is a monitor though, I always see those at Goodwill and other similar second hand stores, and can count on one hand how many times I've seen a computer there (always desktops) over the years. You could probably find a small computer monitor pretty easily on Facebook Marketplace too I'd think. I wouldn't think you can do any sort of controlling of the cameras from the laptop/touch screen if all it is is an HDMI feed, so the laptop would just be a monitor with extra steps anyway.

 

[corvairbob]

thanks. i found a laptop type monitor the is used next to a laptop to extend the screen and it should work nicely.