Michael J. Eckman点评道：
原文： Before anyone considers this product, I think it is more important to know what is ISN'T before you talk about what it is. There are tons of reviews online that go over exactly what the Steam Link is and what it can and cannot do. I'll try not to repeat too much of what is already widely described
out there, but the single most important thing that you must know about the Steam Link is:
The Steam Link is not a gaming console!
The Steam Link is also not an all-in-one solution to gaming on Windows. Many people do not like playing games on a Windows PC because the experience is not as streamlined as a console. You need to install apps, load updates, sometimes hardware doesn't always work correctly, sometimes Windows gets in the way and pops you out of your game. All of these scenarios can still happen with the Steam Link which can be annoying if the gaming PC is in another room to where you are using the Steam Link. You may need to get up, walk over to the PC and press ENTER for something to go away.
The Steam Link is an accessory to a gaming PC which allows you to stream your screen to a display device like a HDTV somewhere else on your network. There are a couple of prerequisites that you must already have before this device will be useful for you. They are:
A Gaming PC - You must already have a gaming PC that can play games at an acceptable frame rate. If your PC has an under powered CPU or GPU, the Steam Link will not improve upon it.
An Ethernet Network - Although some reviews say that this device will work with a wireless adapter, this is a very bad idea IMO. Anytime you stream anything, whether its a game, movie, or anything, you should never do it over wireless. The speeds simply can't support it properly. Yes, it will work, and it might even work "acceptably", but for the serious gamer who wants high frame rates and instant response, this is a no-go. If you cannot get wired ethernet to both where your gaming PC is and where you plan on using the Steam Link, I would not buy this product.
Console Gaming Pads - The Steam Link is often pictured with the Steam controller because Valve makes both products and of course they want to sell them to you. While the Steam controller has it's merits, I personally do not like it. There is a large list of controllers that the Steam Link is fully compatible with including the Xbox 360 wired and wireless controllers, Xbox One controller, and PS4 controllers. There are more, but if you want to see the whole list, you can find it online. For me, I used my 6 year old Xbox 360 controllers with a Microsoft USB wireless adapter and they work FLAWLESSLY.
Steam Games - It should probably go without staying that a product called the Steam Link, requires Steam. You must have Steam loaded and running on your Gaming PC before you can use this device as it needs to connect to your Steam library on the gaming PC. If you hate Steam and their DRM, then stay away from this product. If you have non-Steam games installed on the same PC, you must first manually add them to your Steam library first. Not every non-Steam game works smoothly when added into Steam, so be sure the game works properly on the PC itself before trying it with the Steam Link.
So, assuming you have an adequately powerful gaming PC, a wired ethernet network, one or more compatible gaming controllers, a Steam library, and a need to play your PC games on a television or display device that is far away from your PC, then this is the product for you!
What the Steam link does is actually quite simple. When launched, it puts your PC in "Big Picture" mode, which in essence changes the display on the PC so that things are larger and easier to use on a television in a living room. Everything the Steam Link shows is actually happening on the PC itself. The Steam Link basically "mirrors" whats on your PC screen onto your HDTV. It is important to understand that everything you "see" is actually happening on the PC which means that someone else cannot be working on the PC browsing the web while you are playing a game. When the Steam Link is working, the PC cannot be used for other tasks (background apps still work fine though).
Windows has come along way in terms of being game friendly, but the occasional Windows system update, or a random application notification can pull you out of the game which means you have to walk back to the PC to acknowledge whatever came up and go back to the game. Depending on your level of PC knowledge, you may want to disable Windows Updates or certain apps while playing. The Steam Link does an EXCELLENT job of mimicking a console in on a HDTV, but it still is not a console.
The device itself is very small. Its about the size of a USB external hard drive. It has absolutely no lights on it whatsoever. Valve was clearly going for a minimalist design, but I would have appreciated at least a tiny LED to let you know it's on.
There are 3 USB ports on the device for various controllers. I believe you can even connect a mouse and keyboard to the Steam Link, but I haven't actually tried it. Other than the USB ports, there is a HDMI port, an Ethernet port, and the power cord port and that's all. The device tucks in nicely behind your TV, so it can be completely out of sight.
The UI is pretty simple and straightforward. When powered on, it immediately searches your network for a PC running Steam. On mine, it found my gaming PC immediately. The first time it connected, it automatically updated it's firmware on it's own. It also detected the proper resolution of my Sony HDTV and my Xbox 360 controllers. There was literally no setup other than turning the device on and waiting for it to update.
Once everything was updated, I connected to my Steam library and was able to browse my library. The UI is designed to be readable from "couch distance". Everything is large and bright and easy to see. Valve did a great job with the UI as everything was intuitive and unobtrusive.
In terms of performance, I did not do any actual benchmarks, but I played a variety of racing and FPS shooters and I noticed no perceptible screen lag. My gaming experience was just as good as if I was sitting in front of the PC itself. Some reviews note a 10% loss in framerate, which may be true, but my PC is powerful enough that I couldn't see it.
I did notice some occasional artifacting in fast motion sequences, but it was no worse than the type of artifacting you see in some low bitrate fast motion video. It was barely noticeable and by no means compromised the gaming experience for me.
Simply, the experience was good enough that if you were to invite your friends over and just start playing a game and not told them what kind of device you were using, they would have no idea that you didn't have an actual console somewhere behind the TV.
Overall, I am extremely happy with the Steam Link. The fact that this thing costs only $50 is amazing to me. It would cost that much to get a very long HDMI cable and run it from a PC in another room to your TV. The fact that its a nicely designed piece of hardware with a great UI and it integrates seamlessly into your Steam library and is compatible with almost any modern gaming controller is one heck of a value!
As I said earlier in this review, it is very important to know what this device is not before you buy it. Assuming you meet all of the prerequisites to make it work, this is hands down, one of the best piece of consumer electronics I have ever used.
显示更多>>
译文： 在任何人考虑使用这个产品之前，应该知道它是什么，在网络上有关于这款产品的大量的评论，完全能描述Steam Link是什么，它可以做什么，不能做什么。 我不会重复太多相同的描述的内容，但是您必须了解关于Steam Link的唯一最重要的事情是：
Steam Link不是游戏机！
Steam Link也不是Windows上的游戏一体化解决方案。许多人不喜欢在Windows PC上玩游戏，因为体验不如控制台那样流畅。您需要安装应用程序，加载更新，有时硬件并不总是正常工作，有时Windows会阻止您的游戏。所有这些情况仍然可能发生在Steam Link上，如果游戏PC在另一个房间，您正在使用Steam Link，那么这可能会令人烦恼。您可能需要起身，走到PC边，然后按ENTER键才能离开。
Steam Link是游戏PC的附件，可让您将屏幕以媒体流的形式传输到本地网络上的其它地方的高清电视等显示设备里。有一些先决条件，您必须已经拥有这些设备。它们是：
游戏PC ： 您必须已经有一台可以接受的帧速率玩游戏的游戏PC。如果您的电脑有一个功率不足的CPU或GPU，Steam Link将不会改善。
以太网网络 ： 虽然有些评论说这款设备将使用无线适配器，但这是一个非常糟糕的主意。任何时候，无论是游戏，电影还是任何东西，您都不应该通过无线方式进行任何操作或传输。因为传输速度根本无法正常支持。是的，它会工作，甚至可能“可接受”，但是对于想要高帧速率和即时响应的高要求玩家来说，这是一个没法进行的事情。如果您无法将有线以太网连接到游戏机的两个位置以及您计划使用Steam Link的地方，我都不会购买此产品。
控制台游戏垫： Steam Link通常与Steam控制器一起显示，因为是Valve设计的两个产品，当然他们是想要将它们都出售给您。虽然Steam控制器有其优点，但我个人并不喜欢它。 Steam Link与Xbox 360有线和无线控制器、Xbox One控制器和PS4控制器完全兼容，还兼容其它大量控制器。还有更多，但如果你想看到整个列表，你可以在网上找。对于我来说，我使用了6年的Xbox 360控制器和一个Microsoft USB无线适配器，它们的工作原理是FLAWLESSLY。
Steam游戏：它应该不会停留一个名为Steam Link的产品，必须需要Steam。您必须在游戏PC上安装并运行Steam，然后才能使用此设备，因为它需要连接到游戏PC上的Steam库。如果您讨厌Steam及其DRM，请远离本产品。如果您在同一台PC上安装了非Steam游戏机，则必须首先手动将其添加到Steam库中。当Steam加入Steam时，并不是所有的非Steam游戏都能顺利运行，所以在使用Steam Link之前，请确保游戏在PC本身上正常工作。
因此，假设您拥有足够强大的游戏PC，有线以太网网络，一个或多个兼容游戏控制器，Steam，以及需要在远离PC的电视或显示设备上播放PC游戏，那么，这个产品属于你！
Steam Link 是什么实际上很简单。启动时，它将您的电脑放在“大图”模式，这实质上改变了PC上的显示，使得在客厅的电视机上更大更容易使用。 Steam Link显示的一切实际上都来自PC本身显示的内容。 Steam Link基本上将“PC”屏幕上的内容“镜像”到您的HDTV上。重要的是要明白，你所看到的一切事实上都是在PC上发生的，这意味着在玩游戏时，别人无法在PC上浏览网页以及工作。当Steam Link工作时，PC不能用于其它任务（后台应用仍然可以正常工作）。
Windows在游戏友好方面还可以，但偶尔在Windows系统更新或随机应用程序通知的时候可能会使您退出游戏，这意味着您必须回到PC上确认任何出现的内容，然后返回游戏。根据您的PC知识水平，您可能希望在播放时禁用Windows更新或某些应用程序。 Steam Link在高清电视上模仿一个控制台，但它仍然不是一个真的控制台。
设备本身很小。类似USB外置硬盘的大小。它没有指示灯。Valve显然是要进行极简设计，如果是让我设计的话，我会加一个LED小指示灯来提示您。
设备上有3个USB端口用于各种控制器。我相信你甚至可以将鼠标和键盘连接到Steam Link上，但是我还没有尝试过。除了USB端口，还有一个HDMI端口，以太网端口和电源线端口。该设备很好地折叠在您的电视机后面，所以它可以完全看不见。
Steam Link的UI非常简单直接。打开电源后，它会立即在网络上搜索运行Steam的PC。它立即找到我的游戏电脑。当第一次连接的时候，会自动更新它自己的固件。它还检测到我的Sony HDTV和我的Xbox 360控制器的正确分辨率。除了打开设备并等待更新之外，没有任何设置。
一旦所有的更新完成，我连接到我的Steam，并能够浏览我的游戏库。 UI设计为可以从“沙发距离”读取。一切都很大，明亮，容易看到。 Valve设计的UI做得很好，因为一切都直观且不复杂。
在表现方面，我没有做任何实际的测试，但是我打了各种赛车和FPS的游戏，我注意到没有明显的屏幕延迟。我的游戏体验就好像我坐在PC面前一样。一些评论中提到帧率会下降10％，这可能是正确的，但我的电脑足够强大，我感觉不到这种情况。
我确实注意到在快速运动序列中有些偶然的虚像，但它并不比您在某些低比特率快速运动视频中看到的虚像类型更糟。这几乎不明显，绝对不会损害我的游戏体验。
只要经验足够好，如果你邀请你的朋友，只需开始玩游戏，而不是告诉他们你正在使用什么样的设备，他们不知道你在电视后面还摆放了一个Steam Link。
总的来说，我对Steam Link非常满意。事实上，这款产品只需50美元，对我来说很惊讶。如果想要从另一个房间的电脑画面投射到电视机上，则需要获得非常长的HDMI电缆以及更多的花费。事实上，它精心设计的硬件与一个直观的UI，无缝集成到您的Steam Link，并且兼容几乎任何现代游戏控制器，的确非常值！
正如我在本评论中说过的，知道这款设备在购买之前是不是很重要。假设您符合所有先决条件并能正常工作，这是我使用过的最好的消费电子产品之一。
