catflap Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) Hi Everybody! New guy here. I'm not a gamer but I grew up with 70s and 80s arcade games. As a kid I once had a basic pong type console (can't remember the brand but it was orange and kind of flat with both player control knobs on the console). Anyway, my question is this: I just got a 2600 Flashback 8 Gold 40th Anniversary Edition. Can I connect it to my HDMI port on my laptop? I want to be able to screen record game play and/or play live online like on Twitch, etc. I don't know a thing about electric currents and I don't want to short out the console or my new laptop. Also, I'm looking for wired paddles and joysticks. Joysticks are easier to find on Amazon than paddles, but unfortunately most sellers don't send to my country Switzerland. Paddles are even harder to find although I've seen used ones on Ebay. Okay, that's all for now. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. Edited January 30, 2019 by catflap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Moss Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 You would have to check the specification for your Laptop but usually the HDMI ports are designed to be outputs so you can display the desktop on the HD TV or Monitor. Consequently, if your Laptops specification do not indicate your HDMI port can act as an input I would not try to use it as one as it is probably hardwired for output only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 I agree, HDMI on a laptop is usually output only. You should try the emulator "Stella" instead, it is awesome and you can capture your gameplay for streaming or whatever you want to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InfoMan Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Laptop HDMI ports are strictly for output. If you want to record your game, you need to get a game capture device, which will plug into the USB port on your laptop, and then you can plug into the HDMI connector on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edladdin Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 I'm happy to ship to you in Switzerland. All the 7800 controllers are backwards compatible with 2600, as well as a variety of 8-bit computers. Likewise, if you are ever considering dipping a toe into the world of the ColecoVision (including the upcoming Phoenix, which will have HDMI support AND a SD card slot), our Super CV is also compatible with the 2600. You can see these goodies here in the AtariAge store. https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_list&c=111 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetick1 Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 There are a very small number of laptops with HDMI input. They are usually ridiculously expensive gaming laptops and in my opinion not worth the cost. Either get a cheap HDMI monitor or a desktop with HDMI input. Anyway here are two older gaming laptops that have HDMI inputs: https://www.pcworld.com/article/197907/clevo_x8100_gaming_laptop.html https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-General-Read-Only/HDMI-INPUT-Alienware-M17X-R4/td-p/5511554 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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