Why don t laptops have HDMI input

I have an HDMI device that I want to watch on my laptop (which has no HDMI-in port). Is there a way to use some HDMI/USB converter? I've found converters that will allow me to capture the video, but it's unclear if they will allow me to watch it in real-time. I basically want to use the laptop like a TV.

You won't be able to use the display on your laptop as a screen. Even if you got a USB video capture device it won't be HDCP compliant so you can't connect any consumer devices to them. They are for video editing only.

Yes, here is an example: http/a.co/2ltKt2C

That device goes from USB to HDMI out. The OP wants to use his laptop screen as a monitor in effect.

The answer to the question is no (mostly), can you cast from the device that has the signal to your laptop? can you find a stream of what you want to watch?

Thanks. Actually, the device I want to connect to is one of these TV Box things that does the streaming for you. But I haven't seen one that can cast, and I haven't seen one that doesn't output in HDMI. They are designed to connect to a TV, but I want to use my laptop, and I don't have an HDMI-in port.

i've not seen a hdmi-in port anywhere, i'm sure some weird unbranded device from somewhere exotic might have one, but if you don't have one, then you are out of luck.

Alienware might be exoctic, but I don't think it is unbranded. HDMI-in is common in AW laptops.

So that's what you need them, an aw laptop

You won't be able to use the display on your laptop as a screen. Even if you got a USB video capture device it won't be HDCP compliant so you can't connect any consumer devices to them. They are for video editing only.