I'm interested in the Steam Machine's potential to be what the Xbox One wanted to be without the bullshit.

There are some Linux apps like Jellyfin (where I watch most stuff by far) but it seems like Waydroid can fill in a lot of the Android gaps that are missing. With a TV like remote.

This would need to have the family approval factor. No hoops to jump through for the wife, just launch apps and watch.

I'm sure there are some tradeoffs specifically in the DRM camp, but the only actual potential DRM app I use is Nebula so that might be fine. I currently watch YouTube via SmartTube to circumvent ads.

Ars there other tradeoffs I'm missing?

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[–] 7 points 2 days ago (1 child)

That is literally what it was made to be.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 hours ago*

    Nah, it was made to play videogames. It doesn't have a couch-first experience for media like Youtube or Jellyfin/Plex or insert paid streaming service here.

    You can install clients for that stuff as non-steam games or deal with the clunkiness of navigating a web browser (also installed as a non-steam game), but it'll be miles behind an Android/Apple TV box or even something like a PS5 with media apps installed when it comes to UX.

    If you're only looking for Jellyfin/Plex, doing the install process for the flatpak once to add it as a "game" should be good enough to match up to a console or TVOS. If you're looking for stuff like Youtube or Twitch or god forbid Netflix, using a browser with a remote/controller is way behind the experience of a dedicated app. Especially since SmartTube is the way you should be watching youtube in the living room and that's an Android app.

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