You can also connect a general purpose computer to that TV?

something765478 · 2026-06-25T15:01:02 1782399662

Unlike consoles, general purpose computers are designed to be operated with a keyboard and mouse, not a controller. Yes, you can use steam in big picture mode, but you still have to launch it.

rightbyte · 2026-06-25T11:41:41 1782387701

Hmm ... yeah I guess I would feel the same with an always hooked up PC connected to the TV with some sort of nice splash screen.

I was too fixated on a classical gaming PC with mouse and keyboard.

theturtletalks · 2026-06-25T11:00:04 1782385204

Didn’t Valve spend a lot of time and money to get the Steam Machine to turn on by using the controller? They had to do some magic with HDMI CEC.

eviks · 2026-06-25T11:05:06 1782385506

Was that the important psychological factor the person mentioned?

theturtletalks · 2026-06-25T11:22:03 1782386523

Can’t think of anything else that would make connecting a console to a TV vs connecting a PC different

eviks · 2026-06-25T12:12:42 1782389562

Gladly you don't need to make anything else up, you can just refer to the experience of the person at the beginning of this conversation

InitialLastName · 2026-06-25T15:35:08 1782401708

I did that for a long time. It works, but it's very difficult to match the ease of using a console:

- Steam's Big Picture mode works, but there are lots of sharp edges (launcher support being the biggest).

- PC versions of games frequently have no way to switch to a couch-friendly UI (loading menus designed for PCs)

- The power management and hardware setup is not at all streamlined

- Controller management can be painful

- Streaming apps mostly need to work in a browser, which won't have controller support.