I want to play games like civ that are better played using mouse controls via the touch pads, so I want to use the steam deck as a controller. But the screen is a little too small and some games don’t have good ui scaling so I want to be able to play on the TV. What’s the best/easiest/cheapest way I can play on the TV while still using the steam deck as a controller? I have a Vizio tv that doesn’t support steam link but does support casting. Thanks!
I bought a cheap dock from aliexpress and a really long USB-C Male to USB-C Female Cable. My solution is not pretty or wireless but works.
Cheapest is just to buy a dock/usb-c to HDMI and use a long cable (either long usb-c or long HDMI) to plug into your tv.
There are wireless HDMI dongles and even USB type c ones that would let this happen wirelessly, but you’ll want to check reviews and make sure the latency isn’t that bad.
Alternative cheap option is to get an android based tv stream box/stick, install the steam link software, and try to stream to that.
Finally you could just get a wireless mouse or some other wireless control option for using a computer mouse wirelessly. Keyboard with a laptop touchpad, trackball mouse, etc.
If it’s about the touch pad controls you may want to check eBay for a Steam Controller.
I had mine in a drawer for years until the steam deck came out. Now I’m using it again quite a bit to play mouse-controlled games on my Steam Deck connected to the TV.
This seems to be the best option out of everything commented here so far, but it is really disappointing that there is not a way to use the Steam Deck as a Bluetooth controller for a different PC.
Thanks for the responses everyone! I ended up getting a long HDMI cable and using it with a usb-c hub I already had. The setup is pretty bulky so I might end up velcroing it per morgan’s comment to reduce the pressure on the connection. And having a cable run across the whole room is… less than ideal. I think if I end up using this a lot, I’d probably just opt for a Steam Controller
I’ve been using these usb-c extension cables. So I can leave the hub and charger behind the tv and have just one usb-c come to my steam deck. Highly recommend!
https://www.amazon.com/Extension-JSAUX-Female-Extender-MacBook/dp/B08DKH4CP9