Steam In-Home Streaming Now Available for All Users

[Jadak]

So I plop steam OS onto a machine that isn't nearly as big as my desktop, hook that up to my TV and now I have the power of my desktop on the 46" television with the speaker system. It seems like this is for the technology savvy but I like it.

You don't need Steam OS on the weak machine, just Steam, much less annoying.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

it seems you can also stream non-steam games, now i must admit, thats pretty damn cool

 

[Strazdas]

I don't think you understood what they're going for. In-Home Streaming is a way to play games in another place in your house, such as the living room. It's pulled off by streaming it to any PC with Windows/OS X/Linux/SteamOS. There's really none of that "social/connected" component to it. It's a convenience feature.

you know what does exactly same thing but much cheaper? frigging cables. It also resutls in better video quality and no extra taxation on your PC.

I approve this. Now I can stream Far Cry 3 to my craptop and play from the comfort of my toilet.

just how much do you spend in your toilet? i never understood how can people game on toilet. i tried it, i was done before the game even begun.
I do like the ability to watch a movie while taking a bath though.

So I plop steam OS onto a machine that isn't nearly as big as my desktop, hook that up to my TV and now I have the power of my desktop on the 46" television with the speaker system. It seems like this is for the technology savvy but I like it.

alternatively you can just plug a cable from your machine to your TV. Its cheaper, has better video quality, has less input lag and is easier to set up.

I think its one step towards replacement of the windows machine. Theres only one reason I don't use linux-- games. Windows is more than 100 bucks oem!!

who the hell buys OEM windows anyway? you can get windows 7 professional keys for as low as 15 dollars nowadays.

 

[Vegosiux]

Now, as a single, virgin, basement dwelling gamer I see no use in this.

On a more serious note, no. When I'm gaming, it's "me time". It's time I spend on my own, sometimes online with my online friends, but it's something that's mine. You know, my corner of the cave, staring at the fire for a while while the other human beings around me get filtered out.

I've been opposing this forced shift to gaming being "social" and "connected" from day one; not that I don't want that to be an option, but it seems the companies are trying to tell us that "social" and "connected" is "t3h futrez!" of gaming.

And to that, I call a big, fat NO.

Aha. And while you rant about the social aspect I took my shitty laptop I only use for university (that thing struggles with bloody 720p videos), sat on the terasse and streamed Dark Souls 2 perfect from my main rig to enjoy the good weather.

What is social about this?

There are people outside.

Now, I suppose you won't be happy with that answer, but I've not slept well and am a little cranky, so I'm suspecting the main point of your post was to point out how I'm just ranting for no good reason, and the question was more or less rhetorical. And you're right, I'm just a bitter old git who's so damn angry at the world that he simply doesn't want anyone to enjoy anything ^^

 

[Clovus]

I don't think you understood what they're going for. In-Home Streaming is a way to play games in another place in your house, such as the living room. It's pulled off by streaming it to any PC with Windows/OS X/Linux/SteamOS. There's really none of that "social/connected" component to it. It's a convenience feature.

you know what does exactly same thing but much cheaper? frigging cables. It also resutls in better video quality and no extra taxation on your PC.

No one is claiming this is the greatest thing ever invented but, come on, you have to concede that it could be useful, right? Sure, I could run wires all over my house, but why bother when I can now just click a couple of buttons and stream the game. I've read that the input lag isn't bad even in an action game, although that depends on your network. I can't see how it'd be a problem at all for a more turn-based game.

I was wondering if one of the other advantages was that the second PC was also acting as a controller extender. I have a wireless 360 pad, but I don't know how far from the dongle I can get. A lot of people use wired controllers (and keyboard and mice). So, how do you deal with that? I'm sure there's a reasonable way to do so, but that doesn't mean that Steam's home streaming thing isn't an ok solution too.

Not sure why anyone would need two separate devices to do that...?

The point isn't that someone "needs" two devices; it's just that many, many people have multiple TVs/monitors. It's cool if your PC setup is also your main big screen that you use, but a large number of PC gamers have their desktop at a ... umm ... desk. They have a different room in the house with their big TV. That doesn't require a "sprawling mansion". I actually prefer sitting at a desktop for the majority of gaming that I do, but I can definitely see wanting to sit on the couch and play something like The Walking Dead with my wireless controller. I can do that easily now by hooking up my laptop to my TV and streaming. That's a nice feature, but it's cool that you won't personally be needing it.

This was exactly the type of article I saw and though, "That's a nice, free feature. I wonder how people are going to find a way to dismiss it in the comments". Congrats.

 

[Clovus]

I think its one step towards replacement of the windows machine. Theres only one reason I don't use linux-- games. Windows is more than 100 bucks oem!!

who the hell buys OEM windows anyway? you can get windows 7 professional keys for as low as 15 dollars nowadays.

Serious question, that's completely legit? Some quick googling indicates that those $15 keys are, at the least, breaking some kind of contract/EULA agreement. Like, they were purchased in bulk - but those licenses are not meant to be transferable. I'm sure they work, and there's no chance MS is going after people who use them, but what's the point of paying someone money if you are still doing soemthing illegal? It's like paying for a counterfeit DVD.

I don't like paying the "Microsoft Tax", but they have the legitimate right to charge what they want for it.

 

[NLS]

I don't think you understood what they're going for. In-Home Streaming is a way to play games in another place in your house, such as the living room. It's pulled off by streaming it to any PC with Windows/OS X/Linux/SteamOS. There's really none of that "social/connected" component to it. It's a convenience feature.

you know what does exactly same thing but much cheaper? frigging cables. It also resutls in better video quality and no extra taxation on your PC.

No one is claiming this is the greatest thing ever invented but, come on, you have to concede that it could be useful, right? Sure, I could run wires all over my house, but why bother when I can now just click a couple of buttons and stream the game. I've read that the input lag isn't bad even in an action game, although that depends on your network. I can't see how it'd be a problem at all for a more turn-based game.

I was wondering if one of the other advantages was that the second PC was also acting as a controller extender. I have a wireless 360 pad, but I don't know how far from the dongle I can get. A lot of people use wired controllers (and keyboard and mice). So, how do you deal with that? I'm sure there's a reasonable way to do so, but that doesn't mean that Steam's home streaming thing isn't an ok solution too.

Not sure why anyone would need two separate devices to do that...?

The point isn't that someone "needs" two devices; it's just that many, many people have multiple TVs/monitors. It's cool if your PC setup is also your main big screen that you use, but a large number of PC gamers have their desktop at a ... umm ... desk. They have a different room in the house with their big TV. That doesn't require a "sprawling mansion". I actually prefer sitting at a desktop for the majority of gaming that I do, but I can definitely see wanting to sit on the couch and play something like The Walking Dead with my wireless controller. I can do that easily now by hooking up my laptop to my TV and streaming. That's a nice feature, but it's cool that you won't personally be needing it.

This was exactly the type of article I saw and though, "That's a nice, free feature. I wonder how people are going to find a way to dismiss it in the comments". Congrats.

Thanks for calling this out. The whole "just use HDMI-cable"-argument came up from naysayers when Big Picture mode was announced too, and it gets annoying.

HDMI-cables can at BEST reach 15 meters. And those are your premium grade ones, over that, and you'll most likely need a range extender. Buying meters upon meters of HDMI cabling gear is costly, and if you've already got Ethernet cables setup through your house, why cable double again? I already have cabled LAN and a HTPC that can play good old 2D platformer games and stream movies from my main gaming rig in another room. This was setup long before Big Picture and In-home streaming was announced, but it just works so flawlessly.
I've been in the closed beta for some time now, and it's great to be able to play some of the more "console like" games that really work better with a controller and a good couch in front of your TV. I still play my FPS and RTS games with a mouse and keyboard in front of my desktop gaming rig in my room, I still play some of the more fun 2D platformers on my weaker HTPC in my living room, and IF I want to, I can stream the latest 3D AAA games to my living room and just lean back and enjoy the experience.

But no, it's all bad apparently, because reason.

 

[Nowhere Man]

just how much do you spend in your toilet? i never understood how can people game on toilet. i tried it, i was done before the game even begun.
I do like the ability to watch a movie while taking a bath though.

Hehe. I was totally joking. I don't even keep or bring reading material into my bathroom. But I really dig this feature and have already been taking advantage of it all over the house. Game invites don't seem to work though, my steam overlay bugs out and shows a blank friends list and alt+tabbing doesn't help. Neither does sending the invite from my host computer. Maybe it's just Dead Island or something I'm missing. Also anything with DRM like UPlay is kind of iffy upon launch and/or exiting so the whole thing isn't exactly perfect.

 

[antidonkey]

Pretty neat but is it really that hard to have a machine capable of running various games at moderate settings? I certainly don't like the idea of all that streaming rapidly destroying my bandwidth cap....Stupid ATT. At best, I could see myself using it in a out of town hotel situation when using my laptop.....provided the hotel internet doesn't suck. Which it usually does.

 

[kaiserkreb]

Pretty neat but is it really that hard to have a machine capable of running various games at moderate settings? I certainly don't like the idea of all that streaming rapidly destroying my bandwidth cap....Stupid ATT. At best, I could see myself using it in a out of town hotel situation when using my laptop.....provided the hotel internet doesn't suck. Which it usually does.

You missed the "in home" part of that it sounds like. =P

 

[Nowhere Man]

Pretty neat but is it really that hard to have a machine capable of running various games at moderate settings? I certainly don't like the idea of all that streaming rapidly destroying my bandwidth cap....Stupid ATT. At best, I could see myself using it in a out of town hotel situation when using my laptop.....provided the hotel internet doesn't suck. Which it usually does.

I see what you mean. As cool as this is now, I can picture in a few years Tom Wheeler casually walking into my house, picking up my laptop mid game in the palm of his hand and smashing it against the far wall of my dining room American Beauty style, then quietly exiting.

 

[antidonkey]

Pretty neat but is it really that hard to have a machine capable of running various games at moderate settings? I certainly don't like the idea of all that streaming rapidly destroying my bandwidth cap....Stupid ATT. At best, I could see myself using it in a out of town hotel situation when using my laptop.....provided the hotel internet doesn't suck. Which it usually does.

You missed the "in home" part of that it sounds like. =P

You would be correct. I blame the cold medicine.
This feature seems very pointless to me. I'm not sure why I'd want to stream from my desktop to my laptop. Admittedly, my couch is pretty comfy but I could always just get a long DVI or HDMI cable if I wanted to hook the PC up to the TV.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

This feature seems very pointless to me. I'm not sure why I'd want to stream from my desktop to my laptop. Admittedly, my couch is pretty comfy but I could always just get a long DVI or HDMI cable if I wanted to hook the PC up to the TV.

You must have a rather small home. Some of us keep our computers an entire floor above or below the entertainment center and would have to run wires through the walls in order to do this with any efficiency. Being able to do it wirelessly would be handy.

I don't get why you need a $150 Steam Machine to do it, though. Just give the controller an insane Bluetooth range and offer a free Steam receiver app for "smart" TVs and various set-top devices that people already own like the Roku and the Kindle TV. It's not like Valve is making much money on the hardware either way, since there are going to be competing brands of Steam Machines out there.

 

[grigjd3]

So I plop steam OS onto a machine that isn't nearly as big as my desktop, hook that up to my TV and now I have the power of my desktop on the 46" television with the speaker system. It seems like this is for the technology savvy but I like it.

alternatively you can just plug a cable from your machine to your TV. Its cheaper, has better video quality, has less input lag and is easier to set up.

Except that I have my machine hooked up to the max two monitors as is and I'd have to run a 180' cord from the desktop to my television whereas my network easily streams 1080p video without issues. So, your option is not cheaper, has no advantage in video quality, is noticeably harder to set up and doesn't require me to rework how I have set up my home. I guess when you are determined to throw random hate around, however, its hard for you to see that not everyone wants to be just like you.

 

[grigjd3]

So I plop steam OS onto a machine that isn't nearly as big as my desktop, hook that up to my TV and now I have the power of my desktop on the 46" television with the speaker system. It seems like this is for the technology savvy but I like it.

You don't need Steam OS on the weak machine, just Steam, much less annoying.

I don't really want to buy another copy of windows and I am interested in seeing how Steam OS works for me. If it annoys me too much, I toss a *nix on it and be good to go.

 

[Strazdas]

No one is claiming this is the greatest thing ever invented but, come on, you have to concede that it could be useful, right? Sure, I could run wires all over my house, but why bother when I can now just click a couple of buttons and stream the game. I've read that the input lag isn't bad even in an action game, although that depends on your network. I can't see how it'd be a problem at all for a more turn-based game.

yes i can agree it can be useful to some gamers.

Why bother you ask.
well:
1. ITs cheaper
2. Better video quality
3. No response lag
4. less electricity consumtion
5. somone else can use second device while your gaming on primary
6. you need to setup a wifi network

For a turn based game input lag wont matter much unless your one of the people that really really hate floaty mouse. for action/shooter it will be noticable. Of course there are people that dont care about input lag much, but these people dont play types of games where it matters usually.

It's cool if your PC setup is also your main big screen that you use, but a large number of PC gamers have their desktop at a ... umm ... desk. They have a different room in the house with their big TV. That doesn't require a "sprawling mansion".

The problem is that most cases the monitors are actually far better than those "big TVs" unless you only bought the TV last year and our monitor is old. TVs have been catching up slowly and are now close to monitors, but still not an alternative to gaming. It wasnt so long ago that TVs couldnt even do true 60hz. and only like last year they finally got thier response times in order. Id rather game on my 27" monitor than on my 86" TV. Because the TV is a plasma one and its good for movies, awful for gaming.

Serious question, that's completely legit? Some quick googling indicates that those $15 keys are, at the least, breaking some kind of contract/EULA agreement. Like, they were purchased in bulk - but those licenses are not meant to be transferable. I'm sure they work, and there's no chance MS is going after people who use them, but what's the point of paying someone money if you are still doing soemthing illegal? It's like paying for a counterfeit DVD.

I don't like paying the "Microsoft Tax", but they have the legitimate right to charge what they want for it.

granted i havent investigated but as far as i know its legal to do this. the seller may be breaking some EULA, but EULAs are not legally binding. Its not comparable to buying a counterfeit DVD. a more accurate comparison would be if a shop ordered 1000 dvds in bulk and then resold them at lower prices than the actual manufacturer.

Even the direct microsoft taxed ones arent that expensive nowadays either anyway. i believe there was a sale recently where you could buy windows 8 for 50 dollars from microoft themselves.

You must have a rather small home. Some of us keep our computers an entire floor above or below the entertainment center and would have to run wires through the walls in order to do this with any efficiency. Being able to do it wirelessly would be handy.

if you have multiple floors your the one with extraordinary house (large) though. and runnig wres through walls is a good way to make cables go everywhere hidden and is getting more and more popular.even the latest protocol of wireless isnt going to replace cables in quality even if we limit ourselves to minimum 1080p.

Except that I have my machine hooked up to the max two monitors as is and I'd have to run a 180' cord from the desktop to my television whereas my network easily streams 1080p video without issues. So, your option is not cheaper, has no advantage in video quality, is noticeably harder to set up and doesn't require me to rework how I have set up my home. I guess when you are determined to throw random hate around, however, its hard for you to see that not everyone wants to be just like you.

so you managed to stream uncompressed 1080p over wifi? care to share this new protocol you invented? because the fastest comemrcially available wifi protocols reach 150mbps. the uncompressed 1080p video (the type that goes to your monitor via cables) is running at 240~ mbps. so your video is compressed if your running though wifi, hence you loose quality.