I’m looking for a combination of gaming and streaming on a smart TV. Because I don’t want the smart TV to connect to the internet and show ads or use AI companions, I’m looking for alternatives. Since small PCs are a good alternative to streaming boxes, I’m wondering, whether SteamOS can also do that? Or is it better to have two separate devices?

  • BananaTrifleViolin@piefed.worldEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    Yes but I wouldn’t recommend a Deck for streaming. The interface is geared for “on the go”. It’s great for gaming on the TV but it is a little clunky for streaming. You can open a browser and use that for streaming but it’s best done in Desktop mode. You can actually add Chrome as a custom “game” in Gamescope mode and set it up to launch a website like Netflix but I find it a little unreliable on filling the screen in that mode.

    I do have a mini PC that I use for both gaming and streaming, and it works well. You can get something more powerful than the SteamDeck (as it doesn’t need a screen nor to be mobile), and put pretty much any desktop on there. I personally use KDE with a remote keyboard and mouse, but if you want prefer a full screen interface, then probably Kodi is your best bet. For streaming you can add a Browser Launcher plugin to launch Firefox or Chrome, so you can run Netflix etc. But a mouse & keyboard is still probably needed as an interface.

    HDR viewing is an issue on Linux devices currently though. It’s improving but can be hit and miss depending on hardware and software.

    There are also other TV interfaces coming - like KDE Plasma’s Bigscreen; but it’s got a way to go as it’s only recently been resurrected.