Steam link vs hdmi
Steam link vs hdmi
The steam link costs $15 now. It's unclear whether buying it or an HDMI cable is better. You're weighing latency options—HDMI for a short 25ft connection versus a wireless adapter for Xbox controllers. Consider what matters most for your setup.
HDMI offers superior performance in terms of latency and picture clarity, provided the signal remains strong. The choice depends on the type of games; for competitive titles like Twitch shooters, streaming works but may introduce compression and visual issues. Ethernet provides a better balance of quality and low latency compared to Wi-Fi.
Steam link for $15 is a steal. HDMI cable is an easy solution if your TV is close and offers more flexibility such as extended desktop, being able to watch video on 1 screen while gaming on the other, which Steam Link can't do, but all your controls/peripherals go directly through the PC. Also, you can play ALL games through the cable, not only the ones in your Steam library, though Steam allows you to add non-steam games, however controller support might not be there. Steam Link is great if your TV is in a separate room where HDMI is not a great option. You can connect a good amount of wireless controllers directly to the Steam Link, some of them work natively, without the need of the USB dongle which often costs more than $15 and also keyboard/mouse and probably all wired controllers, which is one of the strong points for me. You are able to minimize Steam Big Picture mode and basically mirror your desktop, allowing you to browse, stream video and whatnot. If you think in the future you might move to a different place or move your TV to a different room, Steam Link is worth getting at this price. Otherwise at your current distance you should be OK with the HDMI. One more thing, make sure your TV is in 'Game Mode' or something similar when gaming on it, most TVs nowadays have this function. You will lose some image quality, since this disables any post-processing your TV does, but it reduces the input lag which is way more important. Hope this helps.
I connect the bedroom with a steam link and the living room with an HDMI cable. I adjusted the steam link to 720p since I’m far enough to overlook it. The input lag stayed consistent whether I used the steam link or the HDMI in the living room. Both TVs were set to game mode. The £15 price is excellent.
I downloaded the Steam Link for $15 and connected it about an hour ago. It works really well! My daughter is enjoying it in the living room, while I stream LEGO Worlds from my old laptop nearby. I tested both wired and wireless setups to compare latency. Everything seems fine so far.
I found a discounted link that cost around twenty dollars. It lets me connect roughly thirty to forty feet (over one room) and has worked well for me. Since my internet isn’t strong, it’s not perfect, but it functions fine with Ethernet if you don’t expect top speeds. I don’t play fast-paced or highly responsive games, so I wouldn’t comment on that.