How To Connect PS4 to Laptop With or Without HDMI? A Comprehensive Guide

Having a PlayStation next to your TV or monitor makes it easier to connect your console to the setup for some serious gaming. With the MacBook, things are quite different. A little more hard work is required to enjoy games on the Mac. 

In this article, we will explain what all you need to do to connect your PS4 to your MacBook. These steps work for PS5 as well. 

What Happens When You Connect PS4 to MacBook with HDMI

Using your Mac computer beyond regular computing tasks is sometimes a challenge. Sometimes digital devices frustrate you when doing a simple task, while on the other hand, they can handle complicated tasks seamlessly. 

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself wondering how to fix copy and paste not working on Mac or trying to resolve how to connect PS4 to Mac. The first one is relatively simple, but the second one requires more detailed information.

You might be wondering if it’s even practical to use HDMI for connecting a PS4 to a laptop. No, you can’t do that directly. It is easy to connect a PS4 with a monitor, but a MacBook is a complex device and restrictive as well. 

On a monitor, the HDMI port recognizes incoming signals and then interprets them into images, but that’s not the case with laptops. The HDMI ports provided on the MacBook and other laptops do not recognize the incoming signals because they are video output ports. 

On connecting an HDMI cable, MacBooks assume that it needs to send out data via the cable. It then waits for the user’s commands so that it can process your instructions to give you the output you expect your Mac to display. 

You must have noticed that your Mac doesn’t react when you connect PlayStation 4 via an HDMI. It’s all because your laptop simply doesn’t understand and recognize the connection.

The PlayStation, on the other side, sends a video signal to the HDMI, which hits a dead end. Since there is no access to the MacBook on the other end, the HDMI fails to establish a connection between the two devices. 

As a result, when you connect your PS4’s HDMI cable to the MacBook’s HDMI port, nothing will happen. The reason is that the console sends data down the HDMI cable, and your laptop also wants to send data back via the cable. 

What’s the Possible Way to Connect PS4’s HDMI to MacBook?

The possible way to connect a PlayStation HDMI to a MacBook is by using a capture card. So, get a capture card compatible with Mac, such as an Elgato HD60S, as it integrates a USB 3.0 interface compatible with macOS Ventura and lower versions. 

If you already have a capture card, but it’s not compatible with your Mac, a USB C to USB A adapter can act as a bridge and help you to connect your PS4’s HDMI to your MacBook. Let’s take a look at the steps that you need to follow to connect to play PS4 games on MacBook. 

1. Download the macOS version of your video capture card on the MacBook.
2. Connect the HDMI cable to the HDMI out port of the PlayStation console.
3. Now, connect the HDMI cable to the video capture card’s HDMI port.
4. Connect the video capture card to your MacBook’s Thunderbolt port.
5. For incompatible video capture cards that don’t have the USB A port, first connect the USB C to the USB A adapter, then connect it to the MacBook. 

Most video capture cards come pre-installed with software, but you can also use other video capture software apps available in the market. To launch the video capture software, follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Go to Sources, and click the Plus (+) sign to get the controls. 
2. Click on Display Capture and click OK. You will see the capture device menu. 
3. Select a USB device. 

Now you can see your PlayStation home screen on the MacBook. Now, you can play PS4 games on the laptop the way you want. However, the sound output might be a challenge. 

PlayStation should output audio via HDMI, but the complexity of connections could be responsible for the sound hindrance. Other challenges could be the diminished video quality and unusual lags when gaming. 

How to Connect PS4 to A Mac Without HDMI?

Another method to connect PlayStation 4 to the MacBook is without using the HDMI. But how is it possible to connect PS4 to the Mac without an HDMI? Your PlayStation’s remote playback feature – Remote allows you to play games on the MacBook.  

1. Download the RemotePlay app from the App Store
2. On your PS4 home screen, go to the Function area. If you are not able to see the Function on the home screen, press the Up button. 
3. Navigate to Settings, go to Remote Play Connection Settings, and then click Enable Remote Play.
4. Now go back to Settings in the Function area. Click Account Management, select Active as your Primary PS4, and click Activate.
5. Again, go to Settings, click Power Save Settings, and click Set Features Available in Rest Mode. 
6. Click the checkboxes available with the Stay connected to the Internet and enable turning on PS4 from the network. 
7. Turn on your PlayStation console and connect the controller to the MacBook using a USB cable or pair them via BlueTooth. 
8. Launch the PlayStation RemotePlay app on your MacBook and click on Sign in to PSN. The sign-in credentials will be the same as those you used on PS4 Console. 
9. Next, select PS4, and the app will search for and connect to the console. 
10. Now your PlayStation screen will display on your MacBook. 

Conclusion

So to sum it all up, it should be pretty clear what you can expect when trying to connect a PS4 to a MacBook.

On the surface, the two devices seem pretty incompatible, especially given how Apple has this strict policy of encouraging its users to use only Apple peripherals together. Thankfully, though, some workarounds are available, which enable one to overcome the problem.