“HDMI ports are usually output only, so how can I use my Win8.1 laptop as an input display screen (preferably free)?”

It depends what you want to use as the HD source.

If the source is another PC or similar device (smartphone, tablet, laptop…), you can likely use any remote desktop, screen sharing, Twitch-type screen-streaming, or any similar type of app (that both devices support) to display whatever’s on the source screen on your Win8.1 PC’s screen. Many of these apps are free or have free versions, and their connections are made by WiFi, Bluetooth, or ethernet, completely bypassing the HDMI port and subsystem.

(And BTW, Win10 has more and better built-in, software-based, sharing tools than does Win8.1.)

But if the source is something like a PlayStation or DVD player, you’ll need a hardware interface and appropriate software on your PC to accept, process, and display HDMI input from an external source. If you’re PC didn’t come equipped that way, it will be neither free not easy to add it.

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