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[ashecitism]

People are getting their Links this week and they might use IHS for the first time, and since Valve revamped IHS to be better for wireless connections I decided to have a fresh start for the IHS thread and merge the Link into it. The OP has infos, so read it and as Valve updates the feature I'll the update it too. In this thread share your impression about IHS or the Link and ask for tips, troubleshooting and such. I'm not going to post impressions in the OP to keep it clean and simple. There's a dedicated thread for press impressions.Previous IHS thread for reference.

In-Home Streaming

5-part series of posts introducing the feature
Linus Tech Tip's video from when the beta launched
Support page. Description, troubleshooting, known issues. Read it.
Steam Group. For stickied threads, bug reports, discussion. Valve devs do post occasionally.
PC Gamer put together a guide: How to set up Steam in-home streaming on your PC

Current stable client build -

Latest beta updates - Nov 22

Fixed audio stuttering and dropout when streaming games to a Mac
Implemented support for Steam Controller settings while streaming
Implemented support for PS4 configurator while streaming
Linux distributions need to update their udev rules for the new Steam Controller support as described here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/353370/discussions/0/490123197956024380/
SteamOS users need to update to the latest version of SteamOS, as described here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steamuniverse#announcements/detail/683814770823055580

Current Link stable firmware build - Nov 7

Added volume settings for external USB and Bluetooth headsets
Use ALSA instead of Pulseaudio for USB headsets, improving performance and reducing latency
Added support for the DS4 Slim controller, model CUH-ZCT2U
Fixed issue where the PS4 gyro would wake the Steam Link
Added support for pairing PS3 controllers for wireless use (must pair over USB cable by pressing the PS button)
Added an option to stream the desktop when connecting, in the advanced streaming settings (requires opting into the Steam client beta on the remote computer)
Added support for specifying a network proxy in the advanced network settings
Automatically configure the date and time, as well as timezone, when starting up
The Kodi SDK example now supports hardware accelerated video playback

Latest beta Link firmware build - Nov 24

Allow pairing with the XBox One S controller updated to the latest firmware version, 3.1.1221.0
Added support for full Steam Controller personalization when connected to the latest Steam beta client
Added support for full PS4 controller personalization when connected to the latest Steam beta client
Use HDMI audio output when the PS4 slim controller is plugged in
Fixed HDMI audio buzzing after waking the Steam Link with a USB headset connected
Fixed issue with some Bluetooth devices waking the Steam Link immediately after going to sleep
Updated VirtualHere with performance optimizations, feedback welcome!

To opt into the beta, go to system settings on the Steam Link.

Things that are important enough to get a separate mention:

• If it wasn't clear up to this point this is In-Home Streaming. A mistake I see is some people asking what internet speed is good. That doesn't matter here. Your local network connection and HW specs do (this feature can use HW encoding and decoding, if supported, otherwise it gets CPU heavy).
• Wired connection is recommended, if you can use that. If cou can't, expect wireless to vary or you can try powerline adapters.
• The way this feature works is your host gets locked. So when you stream from A to B and, say, your sibling wants to use A, the only way that's going to work if the stream gets shut down.
• HW acceleration is off by default. Supported HW encoding and decoding are:
  • Intel Quicksync: Ivy Bridge and above
  • Nvidia encoding/decoding: GTX 650 and above
  • AMD encoding: HD77** series and above
• When you enable HW encoding and decoding, make sure they're enabled on both the host and the client. For example if you have the Link you can set these thing there too, but people in this thread said they had to set them on the host too and that improved the experience.
• Not every game works well or at all. It's a software thing. Valve have added support or improved performance for several games over time.
• Audio is stereo only. This also goes for the Link. IHS doesn't support surround yet. Valve is working on it though. Edit: 5.1 Audio Support for In-Home Streaming
• You can stream non-Steam game and apps, you only have to add them to Steam. Streaming your desktop is not supported out of the box.
• The easiest way to stream your desktop is to launch something that can be minimized. For example FFVII boots a launcher, which then you can minimize (Thanks, Hasney!). Or apps like Notepad.
• However with the Link, if you click on the power button in the upper right and select "return to desktop" it'll stream your host desktop. You can return to BPM with the Steam Controller. (Thanks, deadfolk!)
• The latest update temporarily disabled support for streaming from OSX. You can stream from Win7 and onwards and Linux.
  
  

  Got an email from Valve saying due to delays with Mac streaming, they've added Valve complete pack to my account.

• It has Xinput emulation, as mentioned here and here.
• It has mouse emulation toggled with guide+A.
• You can display stats, either tick in the options, F6 or Start+Y. Here's a post about it.

Known bug(s):

Okay, so there's been a bug where your max bandwidth is going to be set to 30mbps no matter what. Here's a fix for that until it gets officially fixed: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/0/483367798501608669/#c483367798514203363 Reading that thread it might not work for the Link (probably because you can't edit the files on it).

for the Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam_Link/comments/3pj3ts/uncapping_the_30_megabit_bandwidth/cw7a30c

Steam Link

Trailer

Store page. Includes description, specs, what kind of controllers it supports.

Specifically about the controllers: It says

Supports Steam Controller (sold separately,) Xbox One or 360 Wired Controller, Xbox 360 Wireless Controller for Windows, Logitech Wireless Gamepad F710, or keyboard and mouse

But as mentioned earlier it has xinput emulation. One of the people who got it said he was using his DS3 and DS4 with it via USB. And another person managed to make a wireless DS4 work with it. WiiU Pro controller also works wired, wireless with it. It doesn't work with the XB1 dongle. edit:

I just got my Xbox One wireless controller dongle. I did some playing around with it and got it work with the Link. Sort of.

If you put the dongle in your Windows 10 pc, turn it on, then turn on your Link, you can use it.

It's definitely not ideal, but if the host pc is Windows 10 and nearby where you are playing, it works just fine.

It has internal wireless pairing capability with the Steam Controller, it just wasn't explained how it works, so initial impressions made it seem it's not there. A Valve dev chimed in:

You do not. The Link has its own internal receiver. You can grab the receiver you got with the Controller and use that on your PC instead.

Here's a hidden tip: If you have your controller paired to two different devices (say the Link and your PC), you can hold down the A button when you power the controller on and it'll rotate between them.

So you can play on your Link, turn the controller off, walk to your desktop, hold A and power it back on and continue your session there.

That is actually good feedback. While the screen is asking you to plug in an input device, do the guide+x chord.

If the latter doesn't work, plug in the controller via USB, go to controller settings and set add/find new. Unplug it.


It does not have an audio jack, if that's important to you. And one of the reviewers wrote USB headsets also don't work yet, but there is section: Voice -> Detect audio devices -> "coming soon!", so maybe.

Support page

Valve dev's post about it

For legal purposes and to help with approvals from regulatory agencies, we have to lock it down pretty tight; we do not support any kind of modding or custom software/firmware. It's best to think of it as a purpose-built streaming client, as opposed to a device with specific hardware specs. But if you're just curious, it's a smartphone-like ARMv7 processor with dedicated h.264 video decoding circuitry, running a custom Linux kernel and a Valve-developed software stack.

Gallery of the UI

Otherwise there's not much else to talk about. It's a dedicated streaming box running IHS. Hopefully it works great. Looking forward to impressions.

I think I have everything needed in the OP.

If you have a Link and want to give Valve feedback you can do that by emailing SteamHardwareFeedback@ValveSoftware.com

 

[abracadaver]

Can you stream your desktop?

 

[benny_a]

Can you stream your desktop?

From the first post in the thread:
* The easiest way to stream your desktop is to launch something that can be minimized. For example FFVII boots a launcher, which then you can minimize. (Thanks, Hasney!)

 

[ekim]

How is the performance when the PC and the Steam link are both wired? I suspect the input lag should be negliable?

 

[Visualante2]

Ridiculous that you have to own a game with a launcher to do that. Should be a feature.

 

[ashecitism]

How is the performance when the PC and the Steam link are both wired? I suspect the input lag should be negliable?

Hard wired impressions from the press are pretty good. There can be some hiccups here and there, depends on how you push the game on your host (max settings) which can affect IQ, if the game is acting up on the host which can cause freezing, and as I said not every game works well.

 

[Maneauleau]

I am shocked that we still don't know whether the Steam Link supports 5.1 audio or not. I know IHS only supports stereo.

 

[ashecitism]

It doesn't. It's stereo.

 

[Maneauleau]

It doesn't. It's stereo.

Oh that really sucks :/ I hope it can be fixed in an update :/

 

[MNC]

I'm missing a nice banner, but good OT!

 

[ashecitism]

Oh that really sucks :/ I hope it can be fixed in an update :/

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/0/540731690664538900/#c617320628024875902

This is something we plan to fix in Valve Time.

 

[robotrock]

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/0/540731690664538900/#c617320628024875902

Nearly a whole year ago

 

[Hasney]

Nearly a whole year ago

Yeah, that sounds about right.

The wireless performance update seems to work really well though, so they've at least not been sitting with their thumbs up their arse.

 

[smuf]

Ridiculous that you have to own a game with a launcher to do that. Should be a feature.

I added notepad as a steam app to accomplish this. A bit silly to do it this way but it does the job.

 

[dragonfart28]

Can you stream your desktop?

I use teamviewer.

It comes on handy if there is a crash or something you need to configure on the server.

 

[deadfolk]

I notice that some sites have mentioned that games which use a launcher still need you to plug in a mouse to progress. Is there really no workaround for this using the Steam Controller? Are they missing something?

 

[ashecitism]

I notice that some sites have mentioned that games which use a launcher still need you to plug in a mouse to progress. Is there really no workaround for this using the Steam Controller? Are they missing something?

Haven't read all the reviews, maybe they didn't try it with the Steam Controller. Also as I mention in the OP there's mouse emulation. Maybe they didn't know about that.

 

[deadfolk]

Haven't read all the reviews, maybe they didn't try it with the Steam Controller. Also as I mention in the OP there's mouse emulation. Maybe they didn't know about that.

They specifically mentioned the SC, so I dunno. Anyway, mine has since arrived, but I'm probably not going to be able to put it through its paces until tomorrow. I'll report back then, if noone else has addressed this.

 

[Waveset]

Relieved to see DualShocks are useable (even if it's wired).

Very curious as to whether anyone's working on a hack/ custom distro for this though I'm also wondering whether it would even be worth it. As long as Valve are providing media support and access to desktop maybe there's no point.

Alternatively, perhaps creating a program specifically for use with Steam (launched as an external) would help open this thing up.

 

[Spazznid]

Waiting on mine is probably comparable to child-birth...

 

[ashecitism]

They specifically mentioned the SC, so I dunno. Anyway, mine has since arrived, but I'm probably not going to be able to put it through its paces until tomorrow. I'll report back then, if noone else has addressed this.

Looking at impressions and vids by journos it seems like the software isn't stable enough. Even with testers in the last weeks sometimes the controller doesn't work, templates doesn't work etc. It's rough, because what you say should work with a controller. So, we'll see in November. And yeah, hopefully Gaffer impressions will clear these things up.

 

[deadfolk]

Looking at impressions and vids by journos it seems like the software isn't stable enough. Even with testers in the last weeks sometimes the controller doesn't work, templates doesn't work etc. It's rough, because what you say should work with a controller. So, we'll see in November. And yeah, hopefully Gaffer impressions will clear these things up.

So I just tried it very quickly with Arkham City. I was able to use the pad to select the option to play from within the launcher. Strangely, the launcher has not popped up again since.

 

[Pagusas]

Quick note about inhome streaming (and I bet steam link) as I've been using them alot lately:

SweetFX does not work with them, or any post processing software that hooks in. The game will still run fine, but all sweetfx settings will not show on the remote screen (as the frame is pulled, encoded and sent off before those settings are applied. I have yet to find a way around this. Funny enough you can walk to your PC and see the game being drawn on that screen with all the proper sweetfx settings displayed.

Also the lack of full surround sound really sucks for inhome streaming. Fine if you are on a laptop, but anyone thinking of using this to play games on your TV and enjoy 7.1 sound, you are SOL.

Overall, on a wired connection the video quality (at highest setting) is decent, its easy to see motion compression errors though (been playing a lot of skyrim this way).

Overall inhome streaming is decent if you are trying to play remotely on a laptop thats underpowered (surface), but its pretty terrible for Home theater use.

 

[deadfolk]

Okay, I noticed something cool that might be worth adding to the OP. If you select the power icon from the top right menu in the Link, there is a 'Return to Desktop' option.

If you select this, you get the desktop of your host machine streamed - no need to mess about with notepad or anything else to minimise. To get back, just hold the Steam button on your Steam Controller.

 

[ashecitism]

Nice!

Do you need the dongle for the Link or does it pick up the Steam controller without it?

 

[FrontalMonk]

Nice!

Do you need the dongle for the Link or does it pick up the Steam controller without it?

Still need the dongle, if the preview videos are anything to go by.

 

[fallout]

Do you need the dongle for the Link or does it pick up the Steam controller without it?

I'm reasonably certain that I saw this confirmed to be the case in the Ars review.

 

[ashecitism]

I know about the previews, I posted them, but curious if it is really the case or they made an oversight or it was a bug.

 

[deadfolk]

Yeah, you need the dongle.

To be honest, that's better for me, as I can just move the dongle between the Link and any PC, meaning I don't need to re-pair the controller each time.

 

[MizzouRah]

I am shocked that we still don't know whether the Steam Link supports 5.1 audio or not. I know IHS only supports stereo.

Ehhhhh... man. This could be a deal killer for me. I've my PC on a cart that I can roll over to my theater setup and I was looking forward to not needing to do that.

I hope Steam Link supports 5.1.

 

[ashecitism]

It doesn't. It runs IHS which currently only supports stereo and Valve themselves said that's going to get fixed....in Valve Time.

Yeah, you need the dongle.

To be honest, that's better for me, as I can just move the dongle between the Link and any PC, meaning I don't need to re-pair the controller each time.

I wonder if it's just not implemented then and will need an update, otherwise that's misleading by Valve.

 

[Gumbie]

Two questions

1. Does a 360 controller work with the wireless dongle plugged into the Steam Link?
2. Is the Link out at some Gamestop stores now or only if it was preordered?

 

[ashecitism]

1. Yes, wireless 360 is supported.
2. Should be the latter. Proper launch is Nov 10.

 

[Gumbie]

1. Yes, wireless 360 is supported.
2. Should be the latter. Proper launch is Nov 10.

Thanks!

 

[deadfolk]

It doesn't. It runs IHS which currently only supports stereo and Valve themselves said that's going to get fixed....in Valve Time.



I wonder if it's just not implemented then and will need an update, otherwise that's misleading by Valve.

When you turn the link on without a controller attached, it shows you a picture telling you to plugin a kb/m, gamepad or the Steam Controller dongle.

 

[Unicorn]

What's the best way to use this over the internet? Hamachi?

 

[Vinterbird]

Do we know whether the Steam Link support Full RGB for the HDMI output?

 

[Gumbie]

Is anyone using the Link with a Windows 10 host computer? The reason I'm asking is because I use steam in home streaming all the time to my laptop but when I upgraded my host computer to windows 10 performance went to shit. Frames were capped at 30, it was almost like my nvidia hardware encoding didn't work in windows 10 even though the box was checked in the Steam options. I reverted back to Windows 8.1 and everything was great again.

 

[ashecitism]

Oh, here's a guide how you can make wireless DS4 work: https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/3p07ua/psa_the_ps4_controller_works_great_with_the_steam/

 

[Exuro]

Just tried out the link for a bit hardwired. Seemed a lot worse than using my laptop. Input was delayed quite a bit and sound was around half a second off. Also for some reason the steam menus looked super blurry. I tried plugging in the controller to my pc and play like that but then button configs were broken and I couldn't access the overlay in game.

 

[ashecitism]

Did you turn on HW encoding?

 

[Exuro]

Client options did, but not host. I'll try it again later after playing around more with the controller.

 

[Gumbie]

Client options did, but not host. I'll try it again later after playing around more with the controller.

Host is where it matters the most.

 

[Exuro]

Tried it again with the changed host options. The sound is still very delayed. Controls felt a bit better though and I didn't see any blurriness in the steam menus.

 

[ashecitism]

lol Valve put out a TF2 themed video introducing the Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mraRO_BNQG4

 

[charpunk]

Really kicking myself I didn't preorder this when I preordered my controller.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update - oct. 16.

Enabled hardware encoding by default, please report issues on the bug forum: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream/discussions/1/
Fixed mouse cursor position when text scaling is enabled on the host computer
Fixed mouse clipping issue with fullscreen games

 

[paskowitz]

I still get improper scaling and bandwidth utilization. Us a result my IQ is terrible, even on to tier hardware.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

I'm really happy with my link. I've got a 30Mbps connection and it seems to stream perfectly fine on Wifi. I'll end up hooking it up directly via ethernet but for now, I could not be happier with the device.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I got mine today. I'm impressed by how many power adapters they sent out. If I didn't live in the US I would be pleased with what Valve has done. I remember having to buy an adapter years ago for a RC plane I bought.

I haven't set mine up. Edit: I meant the controller adapter previously.

I posted this pic earlier.