Test Steam Streaming on Samsung TV

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monkeymagick

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For any of our users that have a 2016 or 2017 Samsung UHD TV, Samsung has begun the beta test for their upcoming integration of Valve's Steam Link into their current line of TVs. The App can be found on the Samsung Smart Hub in the TV's menu and will allow users to stream 1080p and 60fps from their TV, so no need for the box itself, but does require a Steam Controller.

RIght now, I use a Steam Link for my own living room hooked up to a Sony TV for casual games that don't require too quick of a response. I still feel it's not as mature for my liking. No word on how long the beta will last, a worldwide release is plan late summer including support for 4K streaming and more controllers.

Note: Streaming to the TV requires a Steam Controller and a high-quality network, at least 5GHz. A wired network is strongly recommended.
 
say what? WTF I just spent 20 bucks on steam link lol. But that is connected to my vizio though. About to try this out.
 
This isn't really for me considering how lackluster I find both the Steam Link and TV "smart" apps generally. But, I'm not gonna lie, if there were an app for my LG TV I'd install it to see how it goes.

And I agree: I bought a Steam Link and controller at launch and it definitely didn't feel ready for prime time, it's admittedly impressive they've managed to get games running as consistently as they have when you consider that none of them were designed for this sort of play.
 
I bought one to use as a simple Remote Desktop box, and to play World Of Warships. Not a whole lot of stress going on there.

I don't know how else to put it. Even at 1080p, it sucks. WoWs is unplayable. The desktop on a 60" Samsung Plasma @ 1080p is so fuzzy it's not feasible to use.

This is over a gigabit wired connection.
 
Yeah I'm not really impressed with my Steam link, even on gig wired. I need to try Civ out on it, but shooters were unplayable.
 
Wait I'm confused. Is the app going to be on the Samsung TVs so you don't need a Steam Link? Or is Steam Link still required and it'll work with the Samsung app? I have my gaming rig upstairs and TV downstairs, but TV is connected via wired connection. Would that work?
 
kidstechno3 said:
Wait I'm confused. Is the app going to be on the Samsung TVs so you don't need a Steam Link? Or is Steam Link still required and it'll work with the Samsung app? I have my gaming rig upstairs and TV downstairs, but TV is connected via wired connection. Would that work?
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The Samsung TV app replaces the Steam Link, it serves the same function. But you still need a Steam Controller.
 
I have a Steam Link (connected via gigabit LAN) and can agree to it not that out the gate it was not the best for games that require a fast response. However, I did find some ways to improve the responsiveness so that majority of my games play much better on it.

The first thing I did was enable Nvidia hardware encoding for the streaming (its an option in your Steam console). I never knew it existed until a few months ago when I was searching through the Steam forums for ways to improve responsiveness. That seemed to offer some improvements.

The second thing I did, for games that need quick response time, was use the Xbox One wireless controller I have connected directly to my desktop intead of the Steam controller that is connected to the Link. Using a longer USB cord to connect the wireless receiver to, I was able to get a strong enough signal to use the Xbox One controller in my living room. That made the biggest improvement in terms of responsiveness, especially with racing and fighting games. Granted, I still need to use the Steam controller to startup the Link, but its no big deal.
 
I just installed it and it can't find my computer. Anyone been able to get it to work?
 
TechLarry said:
I bought one to use as a simple Remote Desktop box, and to play World Of Warships. Not a whole lot of stress going on there.

I don't know how else to put it. Even at 1080p, it sucks. WoWs is unplayable. The desktop on a 60" Samsung Plasma @ 1080p is so fuzzy it's not feasible to use.

This is over a gigabit wired connection.
Click to expand...

VirtualMirage said:
I have a Steam Link (connected via gigabit LAN) and can agree to it not that out the gate it was not the best for games that require a fast response. However, I did find some ways to improve the responsiveness so that majority of my games play much better on it.

The first thing I did was enable Nvidia hardware encoding for the streaming (its an option in your Steam console). I never knew it existed until a few months ago when I was searching through the Steam forums for ways to improve responsiveness. That seemed to offer some improvements.

The second thing I did, for games that need quick response time, was use the Xbox One wireless controller I have connected directly to my desktop intead of the Steam controller that is connected to the Link. Using a longer USB cord to connect the wireless receiver to, I was able to get a strong enough signal to use the Xbox One controller in my living room. That made the biggest improvement in terms of responsiveness, especially with racing and fighting games. Granted, I still need to use the Steam controller to startup the Link, but its no big deal.
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The Steam Link only has a 10/100 wired ethernet port, so gigabit connections don't do much for it.

If you've got an nvidia card (660 and up I think?) and a device listed on the page, you could try using something like Moonlight instead: http://moonlight-stream.com/

It says it has support for embedded devices, so it'd be interesting to see if something like the odroid c2, with its HDMI 2 and gigabit networking, could handle something like this: http://moonlight-stream.com/
 
spydermonkey said:
The Steam Link only has a 10/100 wired ethernet port, so gigabit connections don't do much for it.

If you've got an nvidia card (660 and up I think?) and a device listed on the page, you could try using something like Moonlight instead: http://moonlight-stream.com/

It says it has support for embedded devices, so it'd be interesting to see if something like the odroid c2, with its HDMI 2 and gigabit networking, could handle something like this: http://moonlight-stream.com/
Click to expand...

Moonlight also works on iOS, I've used it on my iPad Air 2 a lot, its cool!
 
spydermonkey said:
The Steam Link only has a 10/100 wired ethernet port, so gigabit connections don't do much for it.

If you've got an nvidia card (660 and up I think?) and a device listed on the page, you could try using something like Moonlight instead: http://moonlight-stream.com/

It says it has support for embedded devices, so it'd be interesting to see if something like the odroid c2, with its HDMI 2 and gigabit networking, could handle something like this: http://moonlight-stream.com/
Click to expand...

Shit, your right. I was just spouting off the top of my head of what I thought I recalled and TechLarry's mention of gigabit cemented that misinformation. It's 10/100 ethernet connected to gigabit switch which connects to a gigabit connection on my router.

I know the ethernet connection isn't being saturated and the latency itself doesn't appear to be a problem for streaming highly quality 1080p and sound, it's certainly better than my WiFi connection. The problem appears to be the latency/responsiveness of controller input being sent to the desktop on top of the minor display latency. Providing you are not saturating a 10/100 and your latency is already very low, I don't think going to a gigabit connection is going to improve controller responsiveness by much. I think it is either the number of 'hops' the controller input has to make (controller->receiver->Link mainboard->switch->router->desktop->Steam software->game), with each adding just a little bit of latency to the journey, or its a Steam Link hardware/software issue that is adding the more noticeable portion of latency. My method cutting out much of the middle man (controller->receiver->desktop->game) leads me to think its one of those two theories. If so, I am hoping it is the latter of the two theories, since that could be easier to correct for most people, especially if something as simple as a firmware/software update could fix it. Though, not ideal, better hardware in an updated Link could be a possible solution too if that is the case.
 
I've had mixed results with Steam streaming. Some games like Tekken 7 look beautiful and are very smooth when I stream them from my Gaming PC to my 65" TV using either a HTPC or an nVidia Shield. Other games though like Nier Automata and Witcher 3 are just horrible via Steam. I can't get more than 50fps at any setting on Witcher 3 via Steam, but I can pretty much lock in 60fps via Shield.

All of my devices are wired on a gigabit network as well. I'd expect shitty results on a 5GHZ network unless both devices are within LOS of each other.
 
So when will Samsung actually make a good smart tv? I've only ever bought Samsung TVs in the past like 6 years (3 tvs total) and well. Their smart functions are usually ridiculously slow. I don't know if it's a problem of shit hardware or shit software. All I know is, I'd still buy a steam link over trying to use the smart tv functions.
 
krotch said:
So when will Samsung actually make a good smart tv? I've only ever bought Samsung TVs in the past like 6 years (3 tvs total) and well. Their smart functions are usually ridiculously slow. I don't know if it's a problem of shit hardware or shit software. All I know is, I'd still buy a steam link over trying to use the smart tv functions.
Click to expand...

So, I have the KS8000 from last year, and while its a phenomenal TV, the apps are relatively slow to respond - this doesnt bother me as I use other sources in that room, specifically the ps4 pro or my Oppo for UHD content.

I picked up the 2017 43" model (black bezel, looks hella like a office panel), and damned if the UI isnt great and fast this year; keyboard input is more advanced, the mic function actually works, and Steam streaming worked great for me yesterday (14ms latency according to the test) - I'm very happy about this because I can do everything i need and just one power cable is plugged in.

I haven't gone back to see if the KS8000 has gotten any quicker via firmware updates or anything, but the new years models they may have finally made Tizen not hot garbage.
 
krotch said:
So when will Samsung actually make a good smart tv? I've only ever bought Samsung TVs in the past like 6 years (3 tvs total) and well. Their smart functions are usually ridiculously slow. I don't know if it's a problem of shit hardware or shit software. All I know is, I'd still buy a steam link over trying to use the smart tv functions.
Click to expand...

My JS9500 is pretty good. Maybe doesn't compare to OLEDs now, but otherwise the picture quality is great and it has good blacks due to local dimming. The smart functions are still shit though.
 
windianrecords said:
So, I have the KS8000 from last year, and while its a phenomenal TV, the apps are relatively slow to respond - this doesnt bother me as I use other sources in that room, specifically the ps4 pro or my Oppo for UHD content.

I picked up the 2017 43" model (black bezel, looks hella like a office panel), and damned if the UI isnt great and fast this year; keyboard input is more advanced, the mic function actually works, and Steam streaming worked great for me yesterday (14ms latency according to the test) - I'm very happy about this because I can do everything i need and just one power cable is plugged in.

I haven't gone back to see if the KS8000 has gotten any quicker via firmware updates or anything, but the new years models they may have finally made Tizen not hot garbage.
Click to expand...

I have the KS8800 and the smart tv functions are still slow. If they're going to make it a smart tv, at least make it decently quick. Otherwise, take the crap out and sell it for less. I have other devices for media though, so it isn't a problem either and I kind of knew walking into it, that they'd be junk. I personally wanted to get a Sony tv, but apparently the input lag was junk for games. Decided to skip out on it. Maybe the next bunch of tvs they release will be better.

Sufu said:
My JS9500 is pretty good. Maybe doesn't compare to OLEDs now, but otherwise the picture quality is great and it has good blacks due to local dimming. The smart functions are still shit though.
Click to expand...

I don't have a problem with the picture quality. It's the smart tv capabilities. They advertise all these smart tv functions, yet they are all painfully slow to use.
 
krotch said:
I have the KS8800 and the smart tv functions are still slow. If they're going to make it a smart tv, at least make it decently quick. Otherwise, take the crap out and sell it for less. I have other devices for media though, so it isn't a problem either and I kind of knew walking into it, that they'd be junk. I personally wanted to get a Sony tv, but apparently the input lag was junk for games. Decided to skip out on it. Maybe the next bunch of tvs they release will be better.



I don't have a problem with the picture quality. It's the smart tv capabilities. They advertise all these smart tv functions, yet they are all painfully slow to use.
Click to expand...

Smart TV features are all shit in all TVs. You are better off with a dedicated platform.
 
Sufu said:
Smart TV features are all shit in all TVs. You are better off with a dedicated platform.
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I have a PS4 Pro and Xbox One S. I'd love to be able to just turn on the tv and nothing else, but just doesn't seem like an option. Which is sad, when all these tv makers put so much advertising junk out there about it being a smart tv.
 
krotch said:
I have a PS4 Pro and Xbox One S. I'd love to be able to just turn on the tv and nothing else, but just doesn't seem like an option. Which is sad, when all these tv makers put so much advertising junk out there about it being a smart tv.
Click to expand...

I hear you. That's why I got an nvidia shield tv - except some apps don't work on it or are broken. It's a constant battle. I might have to cave in and buy an Apple TV so I could watch Live TV from some apps that are less broken on that platform.
 
I love my steam link. Running through powerline adapter, i play GTA V, Fallout 4,and others, even racing games without any lag. I use xbox 360 wireless controller connected via steam link. Best $20 i have spent on my PC. I know many have had issues early on, but they have fixed them with updates.
 
Sufu said:
Smart TV features are all shit in all TVs. You are better off with a dedicated platform.
Click to expand...
The apps in the LG Smart TVs this year and last year have been pretty good. I forego set top boxes on that TV. Even the Plex app is solid.
 
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