Valve's Big Picture mode brings Steam to your living room Video

Valve's Big Picture mode brings Steam to your living room Video Transcript

-- -- rich brown from cnet.com they're gonna take a look at valve software's big picture mode for its steam PC gaming service. The big picture mode is still in beta from now but it's a brand new interface designed to let -- sort of play PC gains from your couch in your living. The test is all out we have an Alienware desktop here connect to this Samsung TV via HD -- -- -- We had a game pad now we have a mouse and keyboard. And a mouse and keyboard definitely work listener base but it is and replicate a home gaming console setup that's arena focused mostly -- -- game pad. So to get big picture mode you need to actually able to be eligibility within -- Steam but settings. And has been -- screen if it is -- partition section. -- here to -- and and then you restart -- off that. Once you've opted in. -- big picture mode icon here. Click your mouse a -- -- -- so here we are main interface for big picture voters to look familiar if you -- game console. Us that -- the story here it works just like those in regular steam interface. You can click -- titles. Go down to various sub sections -- of the day top sellers etc. And what's interesting about this section is that -- -- select title. In CL information about the game. But that valve also includes. -- detail section. Which shows you that it is in -- controller enabled which means it should be easy to play the game pad. And there are other games that civilization five it's a PC focused strategy games. That has no controller enabled icons so you're really gonna have a hard time but that playing -- -- that that's sad because he's masking -- from a -- Libraries section that's all the games he purchased via steam. It's and it's here let's begin -- familiar. One wrinkle here though is that you don't get that same team had compatibility -- Hopefully -- familiar enough for the games library to know what to expect the music control schemes. Civilization again not great for game had the -- X portal. All those games were pretty well. Service that -- -- if you speed bumps though. Here with about Max -- Want to watch it K answers the place screens let's play it back we -- this screen -- -- -- from us. -- pad doesn't work here so that's kind of frustrating that so this is still in beta and there's plenty of room to -- from the interface here. -- a lever to the community and you can see you are sad friends list here for the CNET steam account only have a few people connected. On -- an online right now but it's all pretty straightforward you can see Dan Ackerman is account there. Here's his profile. Is one of the future though it's actually pretty cool if we hit left trigger here that -- your web browser. We are shortcuts to some common web sites. It read it here in a -- in is that it's designed to work well -- game -- We can scroll up and down and it works pretty intuitively. Also zoom in button output lets you really focus -- -- -- Michigan -- clicks that's very useful. Now another cool feature that you'll use within the browser elsewhere. Is the DC style text and put. So the way that works as you've got your let's stick. And direct that to a certain sort of cluster of letters son of the colored buttons at things a little bit -- getting used to. But once you've figured out it's actually not that that no one -- cool feature -- the browsers. When you're in the middle of the game. And you get stuck. In the center button in -- back over the browser. Look at say a help file. And -- -- in the game had to get right back. This actually alt tab and when your -- PC game and here works pretty much has. You could -- news updates here in -- can change some settings they're not as comprehensive as the standard desktop interface -- aren't even done it. Question always go back the desktop interface that's on that you need fine and it's not here. So if you're wondering why -- would do something like this company says because people like the played via gains on account so it's no secret. There's also been rumors about was gonna be coming out its own game console. This is definitely not that there's no hardware component here plays up a standard PC. And I wouldn't necessarily think this is the sun at a console is imminent at least in the near future. But with pretty clear is that valve is trying out some console style things for the PC and this is certainly a pretty good first step. -- brown this is -- big picture mode for --