How to use an iMac, MacBook, or iPad as a Mac display

Give an old iMac or MacBook a second use as a screen for a new Mac, also any iPad with USB-C can serve as a screen by following these simple steps

From 9to5Mac have devised a pretty ingenious way to use the screen of an old Macbe it iMac or MacBook, for give life to a new Mac such as the Mac mini. It could be used perfectly on a 27-inch iMac, since it is very difficult for Apple to re-release an updated model or on a Mac that you no longer use but the screen is intact and working. Find out below.

Use the screen of an older iMac or MacBook to connect a Mac mini or any functional Mac

Lately we have seen wonderful things working on older equipment. The most recurring and renewed practical case with the Mac mini has been done by Action Retro, placing the interior of Apple’s new small Mac inside the iconic iMac G4. On this occasion it is not very far from this concept of reviving old equipmenteven if it’s just the screen.

It will take 4 things to achieve it, which are:

• capture card HDMI a USB-C
• iMac or old MacBook running macOS Sonoma or later
• App HDMI Monitor
• Un cable HDMI

To get started, you’ll need to plug your Mac mini (or whatever Mac you want to use) into power, then do the same with your old Mac, and then turn them on.

HDMI to USB-C capture card. Photo: 9to5Mac

1. Download the HDMI Monitor app on your old Mac
2. Continue with the instructions and when you are ready, Connect one end of the HDMI cable to your recent Mac and the other end to the capture card
3. In turn, the capture card will need to be connected to the old Mac with the HDMI Monitor app

HDMI Monitor App on macOS

We have completed this procedure in a simple way. In case you have further questions, we leave you a video that we will explain below: how to use the iPad as a Mac screen.

Use the iPad screen to navigate with a Mac

You’ll need any iPad that has USB-C, an HDMI to USB-C capture card, an HDMI cable, and the HDMI Monitor – Orion app, in addition to the Mac you’ll be using.

1. Download and open the Orion app on iPad
2. Connect the HDMI cable to the HDMI capture card
3. Connect the USB-C port of the capture card to the iPad

Now you can turn on the Mac you will use and the iPad will now be your main screen. Just as in the previous procedure the capture card is the main engine of this experience, in this one it is also the same through the use of a specialized app.

Replicate this with other HDMI devices

Using an Xbox connected to an iPad screen. Photo: 9to5Mac

The best of all is that the screen of an old iMac or MacBookor failing that, the iPad, It can have a second use and you can use practically any device that has an HDMI port. If you have a video game console or even an Apple TV, you can project its content onto an Apple desktop or laptop screen.

Make sure you choose a capture card that gets good reviews online so you don’t have problems with image projection. If your old Mac does not accept USB-C, you will need to get an ideal capture card to achieve the procedure, for example, with a USB-A port.

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