Best "Steam Link" hardware replacement?

[Epsilons]

What is the best "Steam Link" hardware replacement ? I want to use Steam Link on my TV

What's the best solution :
NVIDIA Shield, Raspberry Pi, Amazon Fire Stick, anything else ?

[Xjph]

Originally posted by Epsilons:

What's the best solution :
Raspberry Pi, Amazon Fire Stick, anything else ?

Nvidia Shield TV

[_I_]

htpc > shield > android > pi3+ > tv app/fire stick

[Epsilons]

Originally posted by Xenophobe:

Originally posted by Xjph:

Originally posted by _I_:

So basically, my options to run Steam Link on a TV are (from most expensive to cheapest) :

1. Android SmartTV / Samsung SmartTV (with Steam Link app)
   
2. Home Theater PC (HTPC)
   
3. NVIDIA Shield TV
   
4. Raspberry Pi 4B
   
5. Raspberry Pi 3B
   
6. Android TV Box
   
7. Amazon Fire Stick TV (sideload Steam Link app)
   
8. Used Steam Link hardware on eBay, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, ect.

As I understand it, not all options will support USB mouse & keyboard.
But pretty much all of them will support Bluetooth mouse & keyboard, right?

Also i'd like to know, which options will not support the Steam Controller (i own one) and which options will not support Xbox One S/X Controller over Bluetooth ?

I'd love to have those set of features as a minimum :

• Gigabit Ethernet (wired network)
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11ac (5GHz)
  
• Bluetooth 5.0
  
• 2x USB port (mouse & keyboard)
  
• 1x Full-size HDMI port (no mini or micro)
  
• 1080p support (4K not important)

While spending the less possible amount of money.

[_I_]

the link hardware works good, but limited to 1080p
htpc over all others, since it only has the host stream the game not the desktop

shield next
then pi/android
then tv app sicee those have the worst controller compatibility

steam controller works best on host/htpc or link
android is mixed
dont get your hopes up on tv controller support, k/m may work best with them

[Xjph]

Originally posted by Epsilons:

Also i'd like to know, which options will not support the Steam Controller (i own one) and which options will not support Xbox One S/X Controller over Bluetooth ?

Anything that has bluetooth should support the xbox controller and steam controller, with the caveat that it's possible they will only work within the Steam Link app if the device doesn't have native support within the OS. E.g., on my Nvidia Shield the Xbox controller works everywhere for starting the shield and getting into the app, but my Steam controller will only work after the Steam Link app is running.

I'd love to have those set of features as a minimum :

• Gigabit Ethernet (wired network)
  
• Wi-Fi 802.11ac (5GHz)
  
• Bluetooth 5.0
  
• 2x USB port (mouse & keyboard)
  
• 1x Full-size HDMI port (no mini or micro)
  
• 1080p support (4K not important)

While spending the less possible amount of money.

The Shield absolutely ticks all of those boxes, and then some. If you have any other set-top media devices you can probably retire them if you get a Shield. The Pi3 meets your feature set pretty much exactly. The Pi4 uses micro-HDMI, so falls short there. Fire stick definitely falls short on both the wired network and USB ports. The rest of the options are categories rather than specific devices; can't really say what features any given smart TV (for example) will and will not have.

[_I_]

the tv os or android like to hijack some buttons and not pass them directly to the link app and host

[Epsilons]

Originally posted by Xjph:

Originally posted by _I_:

I live in Canada, and here our money isn't worth turd actually. The NVIDIA Shield sell for 199,99$ + 14,975% applicable taxes (in my province anyway) so that made this a 229,94$ options, which I find rather high considering the original Steam Link hardware sold for 49,99$ CAD (57,48$ with taxes) when it was being produced. I understand the Shield ship with a way more powerful GPU but I have no need for it really...

The Amazon Fire TV stick is not a real option because you need to unofficially sideload the steam link app on top of completely lacking USB port...the 1080p model sell for 49,99$ (57.48$ with taxes) here while the 4K variant sell for 69.99$ (80.47$ with taxes)

Regarding the Raspberry Pi 3B and 4B, while I find the concept of ARM mini-desktop PC very appealing and nice, it doesn't look as convenient as the original Steam Link Hardware. Could get a full kit with power supply, hdmi cable, microsd card loaded with the OS, case, basically a full kit with everything for 79,99$ (91.97$ with taxes) for the 3B tho.

TL:DR to sum it all up :

• NVIDIA Shield TV : 229.94$
  
• Raspberry Pi 4B : 126.46$ (complete kit)
  
• Raspberry Pi 3B : 91.97$ (complete kit)
  
• Fire TV Stick (4K) : 80.47$
  
• Fire TV Stick (1080p) : 57.48$
  
• Steam Link HW : 57.48$ (discontinued)
  
• Used Steam Link HW on my local marketplace : 40,00$ (negotiable)

It's a shame they discontinued the Steam Link HW. It was really good value for the price they sold it. They could have bumped the price to 59,99$ or even 69,99$ here in Canada and it would still be an excellent option in my opinion because it literally tick all the boxes while booting straight into Steam Link at startup with no tinkering needed.

Fortunatly for me, their is people out there who have no clue how to properly use a Steam Link HW (Kodi, Plex, Netflix, YouTube, Chrome, In-Home Streaming, Steam Remote Play) so i'll just pick one up on the used marketplace, i've seen quite a few listed at less than 30 minutes drive from where I live.

[_I_]

it takes a few minutes to make the sd card for the pi
32g sdhc/sdxc cards are under $10 shipped

unizip noobs/lite onto it and put it in the pi
turn it on and pick the os you wan to install

you dont even need a pi case or power adapter, if you just tape it to the back of the tv and power it from the tvs usb port

[Epsilons]

Originally posted by _I_:

you dont even need a pi case or power adapter, if you just tape it to the back of the tv and power it from the tvs usb port

your telling me that the 5V / 0.5 amp USB port at the back of my Samsung TV is enough to power the Pi board ? woah, amazing if true !

pricing in my country

Pi 3b+ :
https://www.buyapi.ca/product/raspberry-pi-3-model-b-plus/

Pi 4b :
https://www.buyapi.ca/product/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-1gb/

[Epsilons]

Originally posted by Xenophobe:

on the 3B+ you want 5.1 volts 2.5 amps to power the pi and the usb ports. 3 amps for the 4B. https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/power/README.md
at the bottom of that page is a warning about powering via usb.

Well then i'm outta luck, my TV USB port is clearly labeled as USB 5V 0.5 amps.

[_I_]

many tvs can output more current than the usb port is labeled for

if the tv has a dedicated power board i wouldnt worry about it
but if its an aio board (power+main+tcon) it most likely will not be strong enough

look up the model on ebay to see what its board looks like

ex. dedicated main board
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/8BkAAOSwTWZbhYQO/s-l1600.jpg

and aio
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4mMAAOSw6fle9PEK/s-l1600.jpg
* note the 110v input jack transformer coil, and large caps and diode bridge on the top left
also the hot/cold labels to divide the 220-440vdc side from the 5/12v side

most samsung, even the smaller and cheaper ones use a dedicated power board

[Rav8es]

Outside of my Steam Link hardware, the best hardware I have used as an alternative is Apple TV 4k / Apple TV 3rd gen. I have no problems with controllers connecting.

The only downfall is that Apple doesn't allow games to be purchased via the Steam Link application. I don't really care though because I have two alternatives. I can purchase via my PC directly, or using the Steam app on my iPhone (really Apple?).