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Valve wants to expand enthusiast PC gaming beyond the desktop, bringing the Steam platform into the living room and beyond. We've already seen the initial line-up of Linux-driven Steam Machines, but the Valve initiative does not end there: imagine being able to stream gameplay from your PC to anywhere in the home, including a living room-based $99 Steam Machine. It's an exciting concept that's actually exceptionally well executed - and if you're one of the lucky ones, you may already have access to the technology.The recent release of the in-home streaming beta opened up the technology to thousands of Steam users. To see if you're already in, simply go to the settings area of your account and if you see an in-home streaming option, you're ready to go. Alternatively, you may need to opt into the Steam beta program to boost your chances of gaining access, while installing SteamOS onto one of your PCs may increase your likelihood of gaining access still further. Joining the beta group itself probably won't harm your chances either.
Set-up is remarkably straightforward. Simply have your Steam client open on your games PC, and then login to the same account on a second PC. In the in-home streaming tab, both systems should be able to see each other across the network, with the installed games on both computers perfectly mirrored. Simply click on the game and rather than seeing a "play" option, instead there's a "stream" selectable. Press the button and away you go.
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