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Samsung TV Steam Link app - Blank Screen
Arehandoro Sep 27, 2021
Hiya,

I'm trying to use Remote Play to do some gaming in the living room. The Steam Link app on the TV sees my PC correctly, it asks for the pin for pairing and the network tests result on no issues.

However, after connecting to the PC, the screen goes blank and can't do anything but exiting the app. Big Picture mode starts on the PC, and I can control the UI with no issues and play a game, but nothing is displayed on the TV.

I'm using Wayland, but I believe with X also had the issue (can't test right now). I remember having the problem since at least fedora 33. There should be a steam link hardware somewhere in the flat too, but I'd like to avoid having more devices if with the TV can be done.

Has anyone experienced this issue before? Any ideas?

Thanks!
This topic has an answer marked - jump to answer.
Guppy Sep 28, 2021
Does audio go through?

I've had issues with some titles where I just get a blank screen and audio ( via the steam box, I've yet to try the dedicated app on my samsung TV )
Arehandoro Sep 28, 2021
Quoting: GuppyDoes audio go through?

I've had issues with some titles where I just get a blank screen and audio (via the steam box, I've yet to try the dedicated app on my Samsung TV)

Last time I tried, yesterday, I didn't pay attention, but other times audio did go through, only the video would not be sent out. Once a game is played, sometimes I can see the company's logo or the middleware used, and then immediately freezes. Although, the game continues to work on the PC and is playable.

With the Steam box I recall being flawless... Though at that time I had Arch Linux, I wonder if there is some package in fedora that causes the issue.
Guppy Sep 30, 2021
you could try the new steam beta it comes with pipewire, maybe that will be better video streaming
Arehandoro Sep 30, 2021
Quoting: Guppyyou could try the new steam beta it comes with pipewire, maybe that will be better video streaming

Doesn't the beta disable pipewire?

"Additionally for Linux the recently introduced PipeWire desktop capture for Remote Play has been disabled by default, instead you can launch Steam with "-pipewire" if you wish to use it."
Guppy Oct 1, 2021
Quoting: Arehandoro
Quoting: Guppyyou could try the new steam beta it comes with pipewire, maybe that will be better video streaming

Doesn't the beta disable pipewire?

"Additionally for Linux the recently introduced PipeWire desktop capture for Remote Play has been disabled by default, instead you can launch Steam with "-pipewire" if you wish to use it."

by default yes, but you can launch it with it enabled to test ;)
Arehandoro Oct 3, 2021
So, after some testing, this is what I've discovered:

Wayland: Audio is sent to TV, but not video. It doesn't matter whether I try with stable client, beta or starting Steam with '-pipewire'. I can control Big Picture mode with the controller.

Xorg: Audio and video is sent to TV, however if I set the mode to Big Picture, the app on the TV freezes and stops working. If I don't set Big Picture mode, the controller does not work, and the mouse is not visible in the TV whilst being on the desktop, but fully responsive/working when in-game. Same experience whether on Beta, stable, etc.

Any ideas where I could look for further troubleshooting?

Thanks!

Last edited by Arehandoro on 3 October 2021 at 9:55 am UTC
Guppy Oct 4, 2021
I am guessing that the app freezes because switching to big picture creates a new context, or does it also happen if you start steam in big picture mode eg "-pipewire -bigpicture" before you connect?
Arehandoro Oct 4, 2021
Quoting: GuppyI am guessing that the app freezes because switching to big picture creates a new context, or does it also happen if you start steam in big picture mode eg "-pipewire -bigpicture" before you connect?

Good question, I'll try that tonight :)
Arehandoro Oct 9, 2021
Quoting: GuppyI am guessing that the app freezes because switching to big picture creates a new context, or does it also happen if you start steam in big picture mode eg "-pipewire -bigpicture" before you connect?

That worked, thanks so much!
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