When it comes to playing games many of us want a good big screen to enjoy the latest modern graphics, unfortunately not all of us have the budget to go out and buy a dedicated gaming monitor. However, it won’t have escaped your notice that you most likely already have a big screen sitting in your living room – so how about playing PC games on your telly?
Will my TV work with my PC?
All modern TVs will come with an HDMI port making it easy to hook up your PC to your big screen for some sofa based game play. Your TV is not going to have any of the modern features that you have in a dedicated monitor though, you won’t get adaptive sync technologies or super fast refresh rates. But don’t worry, an HD television running at 60hz will still look good to the casual sofa gamer. I know PC gamers demand more from their hardware compared to the console crowd, but I regularly play multi player split screen games around my TV and it works great.
How can I plug in my PC?
You have a couple of options here.
- Plug your PC directly into the TV! Sounds simple enough but if your heavy PC is at the other end of the house you aren’t going to want to shift around every time you want a quick game of split screen Rocket League with your mates. This approach will work better if you have a laptop to power the game play.
- My preferred option is the Steam Link. This little box of tricks allows you to connect to your PC at the other end of the house and brings your games direct to the telly. www.hayamix.com You can connect three USB cabled controllers to the Link and additional wireless controllers. It works over WiFi but a wired network gives better results. I use a HomePlug solution to get a fast network connection. Keep your eye out for the regular Steam sales, the price of the Link has been known to drop to just £2 (plus postage)!
- There is also now a Steam Link App for smart TVs. This allows you to connect to your PC without additional hardware by downloading the app to your television, although I’m not sure how you then plug in a round of controllers!
So if you like the idea of some sofa based gaming in the comfort of your living room, the TV is going to do a good job. Sit back, plug in a couple of controllers and get to grips with your favourite local multi player games. I recommend Sonic Transformed, the Lego series, Table Top Racers, and don’t forget Stick Fight!
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