How To Use Laptop As Monitor For PS4

Who doesn’t like relaxing and enjoying after a hard day’s work? Gaming is a great way to ease your stress. 


And when you have a PS4 at hand, do you need an excuse to play? Nothing beats the adrenaline rush of leaping off buildings and hitting targets. It’s an experience every gaming fan lives for. 

Now imagine you’re in the middle of an intense game moment when your dad suddenly asks to watch the evening news.

use laptop as monitor

Unless you have another TV at home, it’s a mission abort or a fight with dad. In many households, a single TV is shared by all the members of the family. Frustrating as it is, you have to be the good guy and let your dad watch his news.


Let’s say you’re one of the lucky ones who has a console setup and a personal TV. What do you do when it’s damaged and gone for repair? Or maybe you’re just bored of playing at the usual spot and want to switch base to another part of the house?

Well, if you have a laptop, you don’t need the TV anymore. Yes! You read that right. This article will show you how to use your laptop as a monitor to play PS4 games.

Play PS4 on use laptop as monitor Remotely

If you get this process right, you can play PS4 on your laptop from a different country! The trick is to set it up while the TV is still available. Once done, we promise you won’t need that family screen again.

use laptop as monitor

  Things you’ll need:  

  • Laptop
  • PS4
  • PlayStation 4 Remote Play App
  • High-speed Wi-Fi

Steps to use laptop as monitor

  • Step 1: Before you proceed, make sure your PS4 is connected to your Wi-Fi. This is the part where you’ll need the TV for a few seconds.
  • Step 2: Next, download the Remote Play App from Sony’s PlayStation website on to your laptop. Choose between ‘Windows PC’ and ‘Mac,’ depending on your device's operating system.
  • Step 3: Run the setup and complete the installation process. 
  • Step 4: Now when you open the app, you’ll notice a ‘Start’ option.’ Before clicking that, check out the ‘Settings’ option (‘Open Preferences’ on Mac). Here, you need to sign in to your PlayStation account. 
    You can also modify the resolution and frame rate fields as per your system’s performance capacity and Internet speed.
  • Step 5: Now hit ‘Start’ and wait for the App to detect your Gaming device. 
  • Step 6: While Step 5 is underway, connect your game controller to the laptop using the USB charging cable provided with the PS4. You can also use a wireless USB adapter for a smoother experience to do away with all kinds of wires.

And that’s it! If you’ve followed all the steps correctly, you should be able to see the PS4 game screen on your laptop.

Stream Your PS4 Games Using Capture Cards

Capture cards are used by gamers who like to record and share their gameplay with an audience on the Internet. All the ‘cheats’ and ‘solved’ games that you see on YouTube, have been recorded using this handy device.

You may be wondering what use is a capture card when you have no intention of recording your play. Well, all laptops come with an HDMI out-port but no HDMI in-ports.


This means you can protect your laptop’s screen OUT on to another device, but you cannot stream IN external screens. In other words, you cannot use your laptop simply as a monitor. This is where the capture card comes in. 

What is the Function of a Capture Card?

Capture cards, also known as a video capture device, ‘capture’ or receive the device's incoming video signals to which it is connected. This could be a camera, a laptop, a PC, or a gaming console. I will be using this function to capture the video data from the PS4 and then transmit it to a laptop. Easy as it reads!

Of course, getting a capture card is an expensive affair, but if you’re aiming for seamless TV-like gameplay on your laptop, this is an excellent way to go. The bonus here is that you won’t need a Wi-Fi connection unless you’re playing multiplayer games. Now let’s get on with the setup process!

  Things you’ll need:  

  • Laptop
  • PS4
  • Capture Card
  • HDMI cable
  • 2 USB cables 

Steps to use laptop as monitor Using Capture Card

  • Step 1: Before you start setting up your console, go to the PS4 Settings menu, and uncheck the ‘Enable HDCP’ option. PS4 comes with an auto-encryption feature, which stops the device from streaming the data (the codes get encrypted) via HDMI. Disabling this function will allow your capture card to receive the data without any such interference. 
  • Step 2: Connect your PS4 to the capture card using the HDMI cable. Make sure you insert the cable in the IN-port of the capture card, not the out. 
  • Step 3: Next, connect the capture card to your laptop using the USB cable. If you’re using a different USB cable from the one provided with the capture card, make sure it’s compatible with the device.
  • Step 4: Install the software that is provided with the video capture device. The link for downloading will be provided on the box in which the device came. The software will act as the ‘screen’ where you can view and play your game.
  • Step 5: Now, connect your game controller to your laptop using the second USB cable. Again, make sure they are compatible. Alternately, if you have a wireless adapter, you can use that as well.

If you’ve followed all the steps mentioned above, you should be able to see the PS4 screen on your laptop.

Conclusion

As far as seamless playing is concerned, the capture card method wins by a long shot. In Remote Play, you will experience a degradation in picture quality and a lagging effect as well. Capture cards offer higher resolutions and frame rates, which results in better visual quality. However, if you’re in a pinch or don’t wish to spend extra money on another device, go ahead and use Remote Play by all means.

Whichever method you choose to use, make sure your laptop specs, software, cables, and devices are all compatible with each other. You don’t want to end up spending all that time setting up or purchasing items only to realize they aren’t working.


So, go ahead.! Try these methods to use laptop as a monitor for PS4 and enjoy playing PS4 on the laptop. You won’t be needing a TV again to play PS4!

Author

Hello, Myself is Antonio. I’m a full-time blogger, Interested in accessories like the camera and other tech accessories. In my meantime, I enjoy writing about it. On my self-testing, I shared many reviews on the tools and gadgets I used. My blog helps you to get your ideal products or accessories at the best quality.

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