[TheVerge] RIP, SteamLink...

[VirtualLarry]

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/11/19/18103672/valve-discontinues-steam-link-streaming-set-top-box

 

[Feneant2]

Good riddance to one of the worst devices I've ever purchased. It may have worked for some people, especially those with wired internet but I was never once able to start a game on it over wifi.

 

[KMFJD]

Good riddance to one of the worst devices I've ever purchased. It may have worked for some people, especially those with wired internet but I was never once able to start a game on it over wifi.

Works great over ethernet though, but i hear you one the wireless

 

[GodisanAtheist]

Picked one up for a song in an older steam sale and I've never taken it out of the box.

It's something that sounds a lot more convenient than it really is, since you still have to fire your computer up somewhere and have a good way to pipe the content over by cable.

Sounds like it would make a good box if you had a beefy home server and built in wired networking however.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

We have two in our house and love them. We have a bunch of games in our library that aren't twitch shooters or anything. Especially with platformers, it's nice to just turn on the game, sit with the PS4 controller and enjoy it on the big screen. I've never used wireless with them though. Just Ethernet.

 

[EXCellR8]

Bought one for like $3.00 during the last summer sale and set it up downstairs. Tried it with my Xbox One elite controller but no dice. Haven't used it since lol

Wasn't aware it worked with the PS4 controller

 

[JTsyo]

Got one and it worked without issue. Reason they are getting rid of it is since they have apps now instead. So no need for the extra hardware.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Got one and it worked without issue. Reason they are getting rid of it is since they have apps now instead. So no need for the extra hardware.

Personally, I think there's still benefit to the hardware. In fact, I personally wouldn't use SteamLink if it didn't currently have hardware. I personally have no interest in playing my game collection on my phone or tablet, and I'm not going through the process of getting either of those awkwardly connected to the TV. For me, who uses SteamLink to get my games conveniently onto the big screen, the lack of hardware means I either get something like the Shield, or just don't use the tech at all. For the price, the little hardware puck was very convincing for me. For $30 (and way less than that on the yearly sale), it was very much an impulse buy that I ended up enjoying. Alternatively, the Shield doesn't offer nearly enough for me to pay the over $150 asking price for it.

 

[DeathReborn]

Got one and it worked without issue. Reason they are getting rid of it is since they have apps now instead. So no need for the extra hardware.

With Steam Link HW it works flawlessly, the App refuses to accept anything but a WiFi connection, even to a Android TV Box it claims no connection until I remove the Ethernet and plug in a WiFi dongle. I will stick to the box as the app is nowhere near ready.

 

[ArchAngel777]

I picked one up just a few days ago on the sale. I have an HTPC that I use for this purpose (stream from STEAM) anyway, but I figured for $10, I'd like to see how it compares. Curious to see if it is smoother and or better than my HTPC. For that matter, even if it is the same, it is probably easier to use than getting out my KB/M to launch the game.

 

[shortylickens]

it died the day it came out.
the thing was slow and expensive and now its just slow.
It makes 1080p video look like dog crap. Should have been a gigabit device. 100 megabit isnt fast enough for video.

 

[VirtualLarry]

it died the day it came out.
the thing was slow and expensive and now its just slow.
It makes 1080p video look like dog crap. Should have been a gigabit device. 100 megabit isnt fast enough for video.

It's not Gigabit Ethernet capable? How curious! (I've never owned one.)

If it would be usable as a "thin client" around the home, then maybe it could be usable as a small "kitchen or bathroom PC"?

 

[thecoolnessrune]

That's because it's not really needed. SteamLink is 100% H.264 for video encoding and Ogg Vorbis for audio encoding. It is rendered at no higher than 1080P, and audio is no more than 2 channels. That can all fit well under 10Mbps (and we've been streaming similar from Netflix for over a decade). Even when you count the overhead for Mouse and Keyboard input, 100Mbps Ethernet is more than enough. They could have put a Gigabit Port on it of course, but there's really no point.

 

[shortylickens]

ok then the friggen thing just sucks donkey balls. They have no excuse for video that looks like satans asshole. It just does.