Steam Link: How it Works and What You Need to Play on TV

Steam Link: How it Works

Initially, Steam Link was a hardware device designed to connect to the living room TV and be able to play PC games (from Steam) on it, without having to connect the PC directly to the TV and without requiring anything else. However, Valve removed the device from its store and now Steam Link works merely as an app. In this article we will tell you how this system works and what you need to play Steam PC games on the living room TV .

According to Valve, with Steam Link we can play virtually any PC game that we have on Steam and that is compatible with the remote control on the living room TV, as long as it is compatible. We can also play on Android devices and even if we have a Raspberry Pi. Let’s see how this system works.

How does Steam Link work?

Steam Link

The basis of this system is a PC, and obviously it is necessary that you have your gaming PC turned on, running and with the Steam application open. Essentially, the game will run on your PC, and your computer’s hardware will be responsible for making it work, so the performance you get will depend on it. In other words, Steam Link simply consists of streaming from your PC to your TV or Android device, but with a fundamental modification compared to simple streaming: controller support.

Normally, when you stream from one device to another the communication is unidirectional, that is, you just see what happens on a computer elsewhere. However, Steam Link promises that you will be able to play on the living room TV, so you will necessarily need to be able to connect the gamepad to that other device, and there has to be a two-way communication, so that the actions of the controller are sent to the PC running Steam. for you to do them.

Steam Link diagrama

Thus, at the hardware level, Steam Link needs the receiving device (the TV, Raspberry, Android terminal, etc.) to be able not only to receive the transmission data, but also to be able to send it, either with the remote control connected or through the touch screen of mobile terminals. Of course, it also has to have network components as all transmission is done over your home’s local LAN.

What do you need to make it work?

As we said before, initially Steam Link was a hardware device in itself, but Valve decided to discontinue it and turn this system into a mere application. Therefore, the requirements you have are the following:

  • A PC with Steam running.
  • A TV or screen capable of operating at a minimum 720p resolution.
  • That both devices are connected to the same local network, be it wired or WiFi.
  • An input device, which can be a controller or an Android terminal with a touch screen.

According to Valve, Steam Link is natively compatible with many Samsung Smart TVs .

Regarding input devices, Valve’s official compatibility list is as follows:

  • Steam Controller.
  • Official Xbox One wired controller.
  • Official Xbox One S controller (wired or wireless using Bluetooth).
  • Official Xbox One Elite 2 controller (wired or wireless using Bluetooth).
  • Official Xbox 360 controller (wired or wireless using the wireless adapter).
  • SONY Dualshock 4 official remote (wired or wireless using Bluetooth).
  • Official Nintendo Switch Pro controller (wired only).
  • Logitech Wireless F310, F510 and F710.
  • Razer Kishi and Raiju.
  • SteelSeries Stratus Duo.
  • USB keyboard and mouse.

In essence, you will need to configure your PC to act as a Steam Link server (it is called Remote Play in Steam), and you will need a device compatible with the Steam Link App to connect your controller, keyboard or mouse to be able to play. If you want to know how to configure everything, we have a complete tutorial on Steam Link.