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[electroflame]

I just turned my Link on with a spare wireless DualShock 4 that I synced up with the Link a couple of days ago.

The catch now is that the controller seems to not stay synced after managing to turn the Link on. It will very briefly connect and get to the main menu then immediately go back to the "hey, connect a controller" screen. It is also very possible that I need to charge the controller itself since it was sitting unused for weeks.

I don't have a spare DS4 to test with, but that would seem to imply that it's a USB dongle issue with wireless 360 controllers, then.

I got it to work one time, but I've no idea what I did differently, and I haven't been able to repeat it.

So Bluetooth controllers are probably fine then. Does the DS4 work fairly well with it even without DS4Windows? I know that some games now have native support, and many read it as a 360 controller, but there are also games that simply refuse to work without something like DS4Windows.

 

[Starbuck2907]

I have a Steam link but I haven't tried it out yet. I was waiting to upgrade to wireless AC.

But, I see that some of you are running it with wireless N.

How is the performance with wireless N? Can it keep 1080p at at least 30fps?

Just curious to see how N performance is. I might give it a try later if it meets GAF's approval. I thought the link was AC only since I never saw any discussion of N on the spec page (even though i couldn't imagine it not supporting N at all).

 

[deadfolk]

Has anyone managed to get Mass Effect to stream?

It is one of very few games I have had no luck with at all - both Steam and Origin versions.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update

Constrain the mouse cursor in launcher windows so they don't lose focus when streaming

 

[Couchaddict]

So, does the Link just stay on and run all the time? Like the Roku or the Apple TV?

I turn it on & off with my Xbox 360 controller. Works fine.

If you have a Windows 10 host PC, it's important to make the guide button not turn on the windows 10 game overlay on it.

 

[The Elite]

Now that I have lost interest in the Steam Controller I am looking at the DualShock 4 as my go to controller for Steam Link. Sounds like it works fine despite some ON/OFF issues.

 

[pfkas]

Has anyone managed to get Fallout 4 working via in-home streaming? Just received my steam controller and went to give it a go. Button presses are not being recognised or even the keyboard. Other games work ok.

 

[theytookourjobz]

Really unfortunate that XB1 controllers won't work wirelessly. Too many divided opinions on the Steam controller for me to bite and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a dualshock. Bummed. :|

 

[SMattera]

Really unfortunate that XB1 controllers won't work wirelessly. Too many divided opinions on the Steam controller for me to bite and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a dualshock. Bummed. :|

I'm using mine.

My host PC is not too far away from my TV (up one floor, over one room), but the Xbox One wireless adapter reaches.

FWIW, I'm doing a partial wireless setup (host PC wireless, Steam Link wired) and it works flawlessly.

 

[MrCompletely]

Would 100 feet of Cat 6 work well enough for streaming? I don't mind spending the extra money for Cat 7 but if the performance is negligible than I won't waste the money.

Was doing some research for home networking and read that wired signal degrades after ~350 feet.

 

[The Elite]

I'm using mine.

My host PC is not too far away from my TV (up one floor, over one room), but the Xbox One wireless adapter reaches.

FWIW, I'm doing a partial wireless setup (host PC wireless, Steam Link wired) and it works flawlessly.

Hmm. Has anyone done tests on how far the reach is on that Xbox One wireless dongle?

 

[Sorcerer]

I just hooked mine up and this is impressive. I am using a 9-10 year old Apple router, over a powerline adapter, a pc that is not in any way shape or form meant for gaming.

Under Fast settings the gameplay is more than acceptable, not perfect, but I expected this to not work at all.

I am sure if I had the right equipment this could be flawless.

Is the Steam Link more powerful than in home streaming through a pc? I tried through through my Alienware Steam Machine and could not get it work. Will try again.

 

[jiggles]

Just unboxed mine and hooked it up. Powerline adapters, going up a floor and one room over.

The controller lag is horrendous. I was playing the Witcher and it was kind of noticeable, but when I switched to Rocket League I couldn't play it at all. We're talking like a half second until the game responds to inputs. In a game where a lot of the steering inputs are for less than that. If I was off-center at kick off I'd just be swerving left and right trying to keep going in the direction of the ball.

 

[deadfolk]

Has anyone managed to get Fallout 4 working via in-home streaming? Just received my steam controller and went to give it a go. Button presses are not being recognised or even the keyboard. Other games work ok.

I tried it briefly this morning. Didn't recognise any input at first, then it just started working.

 

[SMattera]

Here's my setup:

Router: Apple Airport Extreme 2013. It's well-positioned (in a bookshelf in the middle of my living room, not buried behind a TV, etc like some people do)

Steam Link hardwired to the router through a gigabit switch.

PC up one floor and over one room connected wirelessly. Using a TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter,2.4GHz 450Mbps/5Ghz 450Mbps paired with an aftermarket omnidirectional antenna.

Using hardware encoding. PC is equipped with a GTX 760 and an i5-4690S.

There was some slight stutter in a cutscene when I was playing Castlevania Lord of Shadow, but other than that, I honestly could not tell the difference (also tested Diablo 3 and Darksiders).

 

[slash3584]

Here's my setup:

Router: Apple Airport Extreme 2013. It's well-positioned (in a bookshelf in the middle of my living room, not buried behind a TV, etc like some people do)

Steam Link hardwired to the router through a gigabit switch.

PC up one floor and over one room connected wirelessly. Using a TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter,2.4GHz 450Mbps/5Ghz 450Mbps paired with an aftermarket omnidirectional antenna.

Using hardware encoding. PC is equipped with a GTX 760 and an i5-4690S.

There was some slight stutter in a cutscene when I was playing Castlevania Lord of Shadow, but other than that, I honestly could not tell the difference (also tested Diablo 3 and Darksiders).

Similar setup and results:

Link connected directly to router (Asus RT-66NU) and PC connected wirelessly with an TP-LINK TL-WN822N receiver at a ~20 feet distance with 2 thin walls between Router and receiver. Played with a wired Xbox 360 gamepad.

Pc Specs:

GTX 970
I5 2500k @ 4ghz
8GB DDR3 RAM

No issues whatsoever. Played some Fallout 4 for about 20 minutes in both "Balanced" and "Beautiful" streaming presets and didn't notice any input lag or stuttering.TBH I was kind of expecting the performance to be crappy, but it performed really nice in the small amount of time I tested it. Gonna update with further impressions once I can get more play time and maybe test some more input lag sensitive games.

Notes:

I thought it was going to be kind of difficult to stream other stuff beside Steam, but I only alt-tabbed to Chrome and watched some Youtube videos without much effort.

Bethesda games have a glaring issue if you're using a gamepad: the typical Bethesda menu pops up and you can't the options with the controller. When inside the game no problems though.

 

[The Elite]

Here's my setup:

Router: Apple Airport Extreme 2013. It's well-positioned (in a bookshelf in the middle of my living room, not buried behind a TV, etc like some people do)

Steam Link hardwired to the router through a gigabit switch.

PC up one floor and over one room connected wirelessly. Using a TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter,2.4GHz 450Mbps/5Ghz 450Mbps paired with an aftermarket omnidirectional antenna.

Using hardware encoding. PC is equipped with a GTX 760 and an i5-4690S.

There was some slight stutter in a cutscene when I was playing Castlevania Lord of Shadow, but other than that, I honestly could not tell the difference (also tested Diablo 3 and Darksiders).

Sounds close to my setup. Hope the results are just as good. Hardware encoding sounds like it's the only way to go.

 

[SMattera]

I would recommend picking up a FAVI Mini Bluetooth keyboard/touchpad or something similar for the times when you have to do PC things.

I'd also say it's not completely plug and play. You have to go into the other room, boot up your PC. In my case, plug in my Xbox One adapter and pair the controller. Then carry it into the other room, turn on the PC and switch inputs. Still, it's 90% of the way there.

 

[Chairhome]

I have to retry it, but launching PCSX2 from Emulationstation in Steam doesn't let me use my ps4 or xbox one controller properly on my steamlink. Works fine from my pc. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

[jakershaker]

Got mine today, my son tested it with some Sonic Generations and Lego games. Works pretty much flawlessly but with some tinkering.

Setup:
i7 with nVidia GTX 750Ti
Router Gigabit from internet provider, wired network
X360 controller wireless plugged in with dongle

The good:
- It works and is really easy, Lego games play as they do on WiiU except better, no more slowdown. Looks a bit better too, artefacting is a non issue on my setup for me.
- I can do pretty much anything steamrelated, install, settings and changing categories etc. At least those things I need.

The bad:
-Had some issues with the 360 controller, none after the Link updated though. Still can't start the Link with the controller. Buying a PS4 pad for this and connecting by bluetooth seems like a solution.
- Needs a "kid mode" with easier access and start for the little ones
- Sonic Generations bugged out but worked when I first started it on the computer, had just downloaded it

Verdict:
Does what I need and does it very good. Very interested in seeing how this progresses. Perfect combo for me who likes to build/upgrade computers and at the same time play some games on the tv with the rest of my family.

 

[The Elite]

I have to retry it, but launching PCSX2 from Emulationstation in Steam doesn't let me use my ps4 or xbox one controller properly on my steamlink. Works fine from my pc. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

How does it handle other console emulation? Simple stuff like SNES?

Edit: I need a USB stick for the updates still, right?

 

[Proc]

Steam link is amazing! I'm also fairly fond of the steam controller! I think I'll pair my extra ds4 for fps style games and use the steam controller for everything else.

I love owning valve physical products. Keep them coming gaben!

I'm using 5g wireless at beautiful settings and only noticing minor artifacts. Nothing to complain about. No buffering.

I also want to mention they handle the pop up settings launcher nicely in full screen format. Steam big picture mode has really come a long way.

 

[TheLetdown]

Just got my Steam Link and was able to mess with it a bit at lunch. I'm still looking for a good place to set it, which leads me to this:

Would it be a terrible idea to stack things on the Steam Link? In this case, it's a small speaker about the size of the Link itself and not very heavy.

I'm usually pretty cautious of stacking or crowding my electronics, but this has no fan, barely any ventilation, and doubtfully even provides that much heat.

On one hand, why risk it? But on the other, it would have the perfect visual impact (read: none) if it sat under the speaker. What do you think?

 

[SmoothRunningGun]

Mine isn't getting here until the 16th Sounds like it working well for the most part.

 

[The Shadow]

Really unfortunate that XB1 controllers won't work wirelessly. Too many divided opinions on the Steam controller for me to bite and I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a dualshock. Bummed. :|

Blame Microsoft. I can't use my Xbox One controller on my living room PC because I have to keep Win7. Making it Win10 only for wireless is such a stupid, stupid lock out.

 

[The Elite]

This thing is fantastic. Having small issues but the streaming has been great so far. I am having real trouble pairing my ds4 to the link though. It says it's paired but hitting the ps button still activated the ps4 and it doesn't work in the link.

Any tips?

Edit. Had to completely disconnect the power from my ps4.

 

[DoT2]

I think my steam link is having issues recognizing mouse, keyboard or my xbox one controller. I have no idea whats going on. I plug them in and at the select language screen it just moves up and down the different languages even when i'm not touching anything, can't seem to get past it either. Wtf....

 

[Tendo]

I am so confused. I have my xbone controller plugged into the link, navigate to call of duty, hit enter, and the game boots on my pc but the tv just shows the steam menu. what am i doing wrong?

 

[Glass Shark]

Well, I think the Link is going to be a bust on my current crappy G network. Fortunately, though, I should be upgrading to a newer router later this week. If things don't go any better I'll likely be returning it.

Oh well. It was more of a curiosity than anything. I wasn't really counting on it working that well.

 

[soldierblue]

So I have hardware acceleration enabled on both host and client, but some are saying disabling these is providing better IQ?

 

[Josh5890]

I'm really interested to see how this turns out. I'm moving out next year and I would love to be able to use this in my living room and keep my pc in the bedroom. That way I can use the PC for games where I really need the keyboard and mouse and use the steam link for the living room to play other games that could be just fine with a controler. Steam will be getting a lot more of my business if that is the case.

 

[The Bad Guy]

Working really well so far. Get 1 to 1.2 Msec latency with wired connection. Desktop mode working like a charm. Just have to figure out how to properly get the PS$ bluetooth working.

Will try out wireless later tomorrow. All in all i am very impressed. Streaming vidoe and music looks and sounds great.

 

[theytookourjobz]

I'm using mine.

My host PC is not too far away from my TV (up one floor, over one room), but the Xbox One wireless adapter reaches.

FWIW, I'm doing a partial wireless setup (host PC wireless, Steam Link wired) and it works flawlessly.

Whoa. I read all over yesterday that the wireless dongle wouldn't work with Steam Link because the dongle doesn't work with linux based OS (like SteamOS I guess). I will definitely pick one up if you're confirming I can use the dongle. Do you have the dongle connected to the PC or to the Steam Link? Maybe that's the problem. And you saying that it works great with that setup gives me hope because I'll be hard wiring the Steam Link and using a wireless host PC.

 

[Iorv3th]

So I have hardware acceleration enabled on both host and client, but some are saying disabling these is providing better IQ?

I think they initially changed it for AMD setups for some reason. It's going to depend on the card you have. I have it enabled with my 970 and haven't had a problem.

I'm really interested to see how this turns out. I'm moving out next year and I would love to be able to use this in my living room and keep my pc in the bedroom. That way I can use the PC for games where I really need the keyboard and mouse and use the steam link for the living room to play other games that could be just fine with a controler. Steam will be getting a lot more of my business if that is the case.

That is exactly how it works. I even use mine in my living room to watch videos in the browser, works with youtube, gametrailers, basically anything that will run on your pc.

Whoa. I read all over yesterday that the wireless dongle wouldn't work with Steam Link because the dongle doesn't work with linux based OS (like SteamOS I guess). I will definitely pick one up if you're confirming I can use the dongle. Do you have the dongle connected to the PC or to the Steam Link? Maybe that's the problem. And you saying that it works great with that setup gives me hope because I'll be hard wiring the Steam Link and using a wireless host PC.

He has it connected to his host PC, just that he is still close enough to it that it works over wireless. It won't work if you connect it to the steam link.

 

[Hasney]

So I have hardware acceleration enabled on both host and client, but some are saying disabling these is providing better IQ?

I don't know if it's been fixed because it was specific to Steam OS I believe, but having hardware acceleration on from the host reduced the bandwidth. I assume it's fixed by now, but like I said, I don't have the device to test.

 

[rpcdrag0n]

Steam link is amazing! I'm also fairly fond of the steam controller! I think I'll pair my extra ds4 for fps style games and use the steam controller for everything else.

SAME

 

[Beckx]

Got my Steam Link and two controllers yesterday. Some thoughts:

• Steam Link works flawlessly. Set up was easy and I love how easy they've made it to switch between different computers with different steam users.
• I'm using wired for the link, wireless for my PC and it works great, no noticeable lag.
• Not all games are working though, Terraria for example just shows a scrambled screen. Will need to play more with the settings.
• I am having a love/hate relationship with the controller right now.
• I love how customizable it is, and love how easy it is to customize the bindings, in or out of game.
• I hate how it works with FPS games right now. the "mouse joystick" setting for Fallout 4 (suggested by Bethesda) is abysmal. I've switched to just "Joystick Camera" but am still having trouble getting used to it. In particular, anything that requires fine movement - like picking up items or aiming at small enemies - is a chore.
• Hopefully that will improve as I adjust the settings and get more comfortable with it.
• I do love that it's wireless and simply works, and it really is great for other non-FPS games that are not controller compatible out of the box
• I really want to see how the controller will perform with emulating games on retroarch.

Does anyone know how to customize the back grip buttons? I want to customize those for Fallout 4 (where left grip can be the A button, it will make selecting things in the world easier) but can't figure that out.

 

[ashecitism]

Does anyone know how to customize the back grip buttons? I want to customize those for Fallout 4 (where left grip can be the A button, it will make selecting things in the world easier) but can't figure that out.

On this image, it's where "middle mouse" and "left control" are

I don't know if it's been fixed because it was specific to Steam OS I believe, but having hardware acceleration on from the host reduced the bandwidth. I assume it's fixed by now, but like I said, I don't have the device to test.

I haven't seen an update about this in the thread where they talked about it. No idea.

 

[slash3584]

Has anyone had any luck pairing a Wii U Pro controller with the Link?

I tried connecting the pad with an USB cable to the Link and then pressing the "Pair" button on the back of the controller but It still does not show on the Link device's list.

 

[Beckx]

On this image, it's where "middle mouse" and "left control" are

Fantastic, thank you.

 

[theytookourjobz]

Does anyone think the Xbox one wireless adapter will work through a wall?

 

[ashecitism]

Fantastic, thank you.

No prob. Also that middle section between "keyboard" and "F,R,E, Space" with the line coming down, but nothing assigned to it is the gyro. Since then Valve put in a symbol there to make it stick out, but not everyone knew what it was.

 

[Beckx]

No prob. Also that middle section between "keyboard" and "F,R,E, Space" with the line coming down, but nothing assigned to it is the gyro. Since then Valve put in a symbol there to make it stick out, but not everyone knew what it was.

aha! Had no idea. I thought at first maybe it would flip to the back grips but then the only option was mode switching. How does that work with the gyro?

 

[Russ T]

aha! Had no idea. I thought at first maybe it would flip to the back grips but then the only option was mode switching. How does that work with the gyro?

When you select mode-switching it will allow you to pick an input that will mode-shift the gyro to be on. From there I believe it opens up other options.

Most people use it for mouse movement so they can quickly and easily fine-tune their aiming (in an FPS for example!), in conjunction with the wider, less-accurate sweeps of the trackpad.

It works really well, in my (and others') opinion(s)!

 

[ashecitism]

aha! Had no idea. I thought at first maybe it would flip to the back grips but then the only option was mode switching. How does that work with the gyro?

Choose style of input and you'll get more options. Here and here and here are videos about the it and here's the Steam Controller thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1125470 There's info in the OP and you can ask around.

 

[Beckx]

When you select mode-switching it will allow you to pick an input that will mode-shift the gyro to be on. From there I believe it opens up other options.

Most people use it for mouse movement so they can quickly and easily fine-tune their aiming (in an FPS for example!), in conjunction with the wider, less-accurate sweeps of the trackpad.

It works really well, in my (and others') opinion(s)!

I apologize for being so dense about this, but could you give me a little bit more info on how this works in practice? Because the fine-tuning problem is huge for me right now. If there's a way to press a button and have that switch the right pad to a more finely controlled input in certain situations that might help a ton.

Choose style of input and you'll get more options. Here and here and here are videos about the it and here's the Steam Controller thread: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1125470 There's info in the OP and you can ask around.

okay, I'll check these out. edit: after that first video it's all clear. sorry for cluttering the thread about the Link with Controller Qs, didn't realize there were two threads.

 

[deadfolk]

Does anyone think the Xbox one wireless adapter will work through a wall?

I think that depends entirely on the thickness and make-up of the wall. The walls in my house, for example seem to make every room a virtual Faraday Cage.

 

[rpcdrag0n]

Has anyone had any luck pairing a Wii U Pro controller with the Link?

I tried connecting the pad with an USB cable to the Link and then pressing the "Pair" button on the back of the controller but It still does not show on the Link device's list.

I read it should work if you've updated the firmware of the steam link

 

[aw350]

Blame Microsoft. I can't use my Xbox One controller on my living room PC because I have to keep Win7. Making it Win10 only for wireless is such a stupid, stupid lock out.

FWIW, I can use Xbox One controller on Windows 7 just fine.

(At first I downloaded the wrong driver - for Xbox 360 or something - it didn't work, then I noticed that, downloaded the right driver, and it was working flawlessly ever since.)

I think that depends entirely on the thickness and make-up of the wall.

Exactly this. And the amount of wire / metal (support structures) in the wall.

 

[torpet]

FWIW, I can use Xbox One controller on Windows 7 just fine.

(At first I downloaded the wrong driver - for Xbox 360 or something - it didn't work, then I noticed that, downloaded the right driver, and it was working flawlessly ever since.)

Are you saying the Xbox One Wireless dongle is working fine with Windows 7?

Regarding IHS:
So I am getting very mixed results with WLAN and Powerline-Streaming.

In my house, I get extremely good results on my Debian laptop streaming via 2.4 GHz WLAN from my Windows Gaming PC. As in zero perceivable lag - except that once a minute I get this 3-5 second latency spike, but I think that's because of NetworkManager doing WLAN background scans, which makes sense.

In my flat in the city, where the 2.4GHz band is highly congested I have a higher latency, yet the connection is consistent (barring the 1min latency spike). I installed a 5GHz Access Point today (a professional grade one I could get for free) and the delay is the same compared to 2.4GHz, even though the 5GHz band is almost completely free. Is the switch in my router causing the delay? Or is the router in my flat slower at processing packages than the router in my house? I've also tried Powerline (Netgear 1200mbps), which are extremely reliable, but the delay is just too high compared to WLAN.

Anybody with the same kind of experience?