Back successful 2018 I managed to nab a carnal Steam Link erstwhile Valve was flogging them for £2.50 present successful the UK ($2.50 successful USD). I was really buying a Steam Controller for my then-partner and spotted the bargain portion browsing done the Steam website, truthful I purchased the gadget connected a whim. That small achromatic puck has since near specified a bully content connected maine that each alternate work has paled successful comparison.

The Steam Link is reasonably straightforward. It’s a wireless box-shaped dongle that plugs into your TV’s HDMI port, allowing you to watercourse games straight from your PC implicit your location net connection. I had large occurrence utilizing it implicit Wi-fi, seeing hardly immoderate detectable lag, but you could besides link the instrumentality straight to your web via ethernet for a much unchangeable connection. It adjacent has 3 USB 2.0 ports for you to hook up wired controllers, mice, keyboards, oregon headsets successful lawsuit you don’t person the luxury of owning a load of wireless peripherals.

I’ve had entree to some a machine and assorted gaming consoles implicit the years, truthful I’ve ne'er considered having an allegiance to either broadside of the PC vs console debate. But determination are immoderate titles that conscionable consciousness amended to play sitting connected a sofa with a controller. The carnal Steam Link gave maine the champion of some worlds: I could play The Witcher 3 oregon Skyrim with each of my mods enabled from the comfortableness of my surviving room, oregon locomotion implicit to my chamber to play World of Warcraft straight connected the aforesaid PC.

The aforementioned ex-partner got the Steam Link erstwhile we split, by which constituent Valve had discontinued the gadget and removed its listing from its Steam level for good. The Steam Link app was released connected Android arsenic its replacement successful 2018 (later followed by a mentation for iOS successful 2019,) and tin beryllium downloaded straight onto astir astute TVs. It functions likewise to the archetypal Steam Link and, connected paper, offers immoderate advantages implicit the present obsolete container (such arsenic regular bundle updates, and enactment for 4K streaming wherever the Steam Link was capped astatine 1080p). But I’ve inactive experienced galore connectivity issues and abysmal latency portion utilizing it – and present I’m yearning for the dongle again.

For example, connected the days erstwhile it does work, the watercourse randomly freezes oregon crashes (despite having a coagulated net connection) and the input lag is truthful unbearable that I usually wantonness efforts and begrudgingly play connected my PC directly. Some days the app randomly disconnects from my PC oregon refuses to load, forcing maine to delete and past re-install it connected my TV. These are each issues I ne'er experienced with the archetypal Steam Link hardware — it worked effortlessly each clip it was plugged in.

I person amended net speeds and a much unchangeable Wi-Fi transportation than I erstwhile did. My Philips OLED TV is little than 2 years old. My existent ethernet-connected gaming machine is much almighty and is adjacent person to some my router and tv than it was erstwhile I utilized the Steam Link hardware. I’ve checked each applicable parameter and connection, and by each accounts, the Steam Link app should work. And yet it doesn’t.

Other services haven’t lived up to my erstwhile streaming acquisition either. The GameStream diagnostic connected my Nvidia Shield TV (which works likewise to the Steam Link app) came beauteous darn close, but Nvidia precocious announced that it plans to discontinue the work successful February 2023. Nvidia now points users towards its unreality gaming level GeForce Now (with which I’ve personally experienced middling performance, contempt paying for the Priority tier) or, frustratingly, the Steam Link app. I’ve besides recovered different unreality streaming platforms similar Google Stadia to beryllium efficaciously unplayable owed to latency. While unreality gaming tech is neat, it’s not yet a viable replacement for hardware similar the Steam Link.

Outside of hunting for utilized Steam Link listings online, determination are 2 solutions left. One is to hook my TV straight to my router via an ethernet cable. That’s apt to lick astatine slightest immoderate of the connectivity problems, but it’s somewhat infuriating that I ne'er had to bash the aforesaid for the carnal Steam Link. It worked perfectly connected my then-slower Wi-Fi transportation implicit a overmuch greater distance, and I didn’t person to resistance cables astir my surviving room.

The different (more drastic) solution would beryllium to fork retired a stack of currency for a small, dedicated PC for my TV, specified arsenic an Intel NUC. I’m lone fractional considering that since that could outgo implicit a 1000 dollars, and I already person a perfectly serviceable gaming PC successful different room. At the extremity of the day, that’s an atrocious batch of wealth to walk successful bid to replicate an acquisition that erstwhile outgo maine little than a cupful of coffee.

Valve’s reasoning for discontinuing the dongle is dependable — its 1080p ceiling would person yet rendered it obsolete, and the bundle mentation tin beryllium utilized connected non-HDMI devices. Still, I’m acold from the lone idiosyncratic experiencing akin discontent with the app. Reddit threads inactive regularly petition help with troubleshooting issues, portion different users person compared their experiences utilizing the 2 Steam Link versions to spot which offered amended performance.

Despite the imminent shutdown of Google Stadia, galore companies person besides worked hard to propulsion unreality gaming to consumers this year. Gaming Chromebooks person been released that travel with Nvidia’s GeForce Now work preinstalled for example, and Xbox Cloud Gaming is yet making its mode onto Meta Quest VR headsets. Streaming games from the unreality is superb erstwhile it works, but for folks similar myself, it simply isn’t a viable alternate to LAN-based crippled streaming yet. Until unreality gaming genuinely becomes the breathtaking frontier these companies promise, thing volition apical that 1080p dongle.