How sharing Steam games with in-home streaming will work

With a series of posts today published in the in-home streaming Steam Community group, Valve detailed how the computer-to-computer streaming component of its SteamOS and Steam Machines will work.

Valve describes in-home streaming as a way for "make sure that the existing catalog of games is also available to Steam users in the living room." The service allows a computer to run the game and stream it to another computer on the same local network. According to a Q&A, the computer running the game can't be used by anyone else at the time, and the service does not "currently" support internet streaming.

Valve wants to increase the responsiveness of the system, and although it is "working on ways to dynamically adapt to network conditions," the company admits that reducing a game's resolution or frames per second is sometimes the best way to improve the stream.

Valve discusses home networks in a lengthy section that tackles both wired and wireless networks. While describing wired networks "perfect for game streaming," the company also includes a series of charts to explain the finicky nature of wireless networks, explaining that "the quality of networks can vary widely and choosing a good in-home network configuration can significantly improve the streaming experience."

In-home streaming beta testing signups opened last week. Those interested in participating must join the Steam In-Home Streaming community group.