JUST FOR GAMES: STEAM LINK
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games, a few years ago. And while it didn’t make many waves, we were
impressed by its performance. You connected it to your TV and paired a
controller with it, and you could play games on your computer. Your PC
handled all of the graphical processing, and the Steam Link managed the audio/
video and input data. It was surprisingly responsive when you had a very good
wireless connection, or even better, could connect at least one of the two devices
in the chain to your router over Ethernet.
The Steam Link device was discontinued, but Valve has released apps that do
the same job with software on a variety of devices. You can install Steam Link
on Android TVs, Apple TVs, and Samsung TVs, or even on a Raspberry Pi, if you
want to build your own Steam Link box.
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do much general media streaming or screen mirroring with it. In fact, since it
depends on Steam’s Big Picture mode for an interface, you can’t actually access
any content not directly available on Steam. It isn’t a solution if you just want to
watch movies and TV shows (though some movies, such as John Wick, are
available on Steam and can be watched through Steam Link). You can work
through your PC’s desktop by minimizing Big Picture mode through Steam
Link, but it’s an awkward, unreliable solution.
Pros: Low latency for PC gaming.
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WHICH SOLUTION IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
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HDMI cable as the best short-range solution. When you can’t run a cable,
Google Cast and Plex are excellent options for streaming media, and the Steam
Link is great for gaming. Altogether, you have plenty of options, depending on
how you want to use your TV.
PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION (^) I SUBSCRIBE (^) I SEPTEMBER 2020