Use Steam to Stream From Your Desktop Instead of Playing Games
Avid gamers are most likely using the digital marketplace and multiplayer matchmaking app Steam to play their library of games on the big screen, even if it’s just PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a battle royale-style game . But Steam and its TV-friendly Steam Link streaming console (preferred by users who don’t play on their home computer or Steam Machine) aren’t only useful when it comes to streaming games to other devices in your home. They are ideal for remote desktop streaming, allowing you to view your gaming machine desktop on any compatible device in your home.
This way, you can open your web browser on your TV, or your copy of Photoshop CC, which is not on the Mac you are streaming from. It’s pretty easy to set up, and an incredibly useful trick to have in your arsenal when you want to quickly check your computer or find any guide you need to get through a challenging boss fight.
Big picture mode rushes to the rescue
Steam Big Picture Mode is what you need to start streaming locally from your desktop to Steam Link. You will need to connect a keyboard as well as a mouse (or Steam controller) to the Steam Link in order to exit Big Picture mode and navigate correctly around the Windows desktop. On the streaming host machine (in my case, the PC), launch Steam. Use the Steam Link to connect to your host computer.
Then, using the power icon in the upper right corner, select “Minimize Big Picture” using your controller or keyboard. You will then be able to use your Steam controller and keyboard to navigate Windows. Having problems? Your graphics card could be the culprit, so be sure to check if you have the latest drivers installed.
Just use notepad
Minimizing the Big Picture may not work in all situations (it only worked on my Steam Link, not my MacBook), but you can try a different method of accessing your desktop. To simply switch to Windows, you need to add a non-Steam app to your game library. You can use any application, but it makes sense to choose one that does not require a lot of processing power. It’s easy to do this in a regular Steam window or in Big Picture mode.
Adding a simple app like Notepad makes it faster than loading something like Chrome, which you can do after properly streaming from your desktop. From the Games tab at the top of the screen, select Add non-Steam game to my library and wait for the list of applications to populate the pop-up window. You can find an application such as Notepad yourself (located in C: \ Windows \ System32 \ notepad.exe) and add it manually. You can do the same in Big Picture mode by visiting the settings page and choosing Add Library Shortcut under System.
Then launch Steam on the Steam Link or other device (like laptop) and select the newly added Notepad. Once booted, you can press F1 on your keyboard (Mac users can press Fn + F1) to access the Windows desktop. You can do everything there, from browsing the web to writing articles and streaming everything stored on your host computer. It’s not the same as setting up a remote desktop where you can access your computer from anywhere, but it’s better than typing and remembering usernames and login passwords when you’re just trying to show someone an interesting video. which you downloaded to the computer in your office down the hall.