Using my 24" iMac as a monitor for my work Wintel laptop

[zcfat20]

Hi all - first post for me! Need your expertise and experiences...

I have a 24" Imac 2.66 (which i love!), and want to connect my work 13" Dell Laptop to it, so I can use the larger monitor. I can't just use my Mac as I have corporate applications that I need to use.

As there is no video-in, I have tried Remote control, but this is too laggy. I hear Elgato eyeTV hybrid may work but I wanted to see if anyone has had success. I have been in email conversations with Elgato but they haven't actually grasped what I want to do yet!!

It sounds possible as you can connect PS3/Xbox etc through the Hybrid using the supplied s-video/composite cable. So could i just get a vga (pc video out) to s-video (Hybrid) cable to connect through the Hybrid?

And would the picture on my iMac fill the screen?

Cheers!
Jamie

 

[talmy]

Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection running on your iMac to run your Dell remotely. Free and requires XP Pro or later "Pro" or I guess "Ultimate" Windows versions. Some lag but perfectly fine for business applications.

 

[zcfat20]

talmy, thanks, that's what I tried...it was just too slow for me.

Any EyeTV experiences in this context anyone?

 

[thomanjones]

There is no way to use your 24" iMac as an external display without serious reassembly.

EyeTV is one way video - you might be able to watch the desktop of your PC, but you will not be able to interact with it (beyond pause/rewind, etc).

You need either:

CoRD - Free remote Desktop app (works with and Windows Pro/Enterprise/Ultimate- you should be ok since it's a work laptop), This is what I use @ work (Mac to Win).
Logmein - Free service works fine, This is what I use to connect to each of my various machines across firewalls (Mac to Win and Win to Mac).

Google each of terms for more info. There are other screen sharing apps out there: Microsoft Remote Desktop (app), Crossloop (free service).