Can you stream to steam link via different networks?

I recently got a steam link (thanks Black Friday), and I was wondering if you could run it on different networks. I thought at first you could port forward the router, but all of my research shows using two computers and hamachi, or nothing to do with the steam link. Any ideas?

Solution 1:

The Steam link is programmed to look for devices in it's local network. There is NO possible way it can connect to a device outside of your network unless you "cheat" the network making it believe that your PC is linked to some other network. That's exactly what Hamachi does, it tells the network that you have access to some other part of the network and makes your PC act as a "link" to that. If you use Hamachi (or similar software) to use Steam Link you'll have some noticeable delay, because this would have to happen:

1. Steam link sends data to your router
   
2. Your router sends that data to your PC
   
3. Your PC decripts the data, and the software Hamachi transforms that data to send it via Internet
   
4. Your PC sends that data to your router
   
5. Your router will send the data to the internet
   
6. On the other point of the internet, someone's router will recieve the data
   
7. That person's router will send the data to it's PC
   
8. Hamachi will recieve this data in that person's PC
   

And the whole process goes in reverse for that person's PC response.

That works fine when using Hamachi for gaming because you don't need to send that much data when gaming only a few coordinates and states, you don't need to send the whole "image".

If you use it with steam link, that's what is called "streaming", and instead of doing it directly, you're doubling your network load because of Hamachi. Have you ever streamed via Skype? have you noticed that there is always some delay? well, that delay would be already a nightmare if you were gaming. Now imagine doubling that delay.

So no, there is no way to use Steam outside your local network. Even if you hacked the firmware so it could independently make connections via Internet, the delay would make the game unplayable.