--- title: Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a... description: A practical guide to using Moonlight game streaming with a cheap Android TV box (like a Chromecast) as an alternative to buying a Steam Machine or mini PC for... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a cheap Android TV box and Moonlight can do better | daily.dev og:description: A practical guide to using Moonlight game streaming with a cheap Android TV box (like a Chromecast) as an alternative to buying a Steam Machine or mini PC for... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ILu0dcyHS.png og:image:alt: Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a cheap Android TV box and Moonlight can do better og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a cheap Android TV box and Moonlight can do better **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A practical guide to using Moonlight game streaming with a cheap Android TV box (like a Chromecast) as an alternative to buying a Steam Machine or mini PC for living room gaming. By running games on your existing desktop PC and streaming via Moonlight/Sunshine over your home network, you get full PC gaming power on your TV without moving your computer. Testing over Wi-Fi on a 2021 gaming laptop showed playable results at 720p, with occasional stutters in fast-paced games like Rocket League. A wired connection and more powerful PC would improve the experience further. The cost advantage is significant: a Google TV Streamer 4K costs $100 versus $1,000+ for a Steam Machine. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I stream PC games to my Android TV box using Moonlight and Sunshine? Install the Sunshine server on your gaming PC and the Moonlight client app on your Android TV box, then ensure both devices are on the same network. Moonlight will detect the Sunshine server automatically; request a connection, then enter the PIN shown on your TV to pair the devices and start streaming. _daily.dev surfaces practical setup guides for gamers building a wireless PC streaming rig at home._ ### Is streaming PC games over Wi-Fi to an Android TV box a viable alternative to a Steam Machine? Yes, even a modest setup can work well: streaming from a 2021 Asus ROG Flow X13 laptop over Wi-Fi to a Chromecast at 720p was largely smooth, with only occasional stutters in Rocket League and rare slow-connection warnings. A wired connection and a more powerful PC would likely allow higher quality streaming, all while costing far less than a $1,000-plus Steam Machine. _Comparing budget streaming setups against dedicated hardware is easier with daily.dev's coverage of gaming tech trade-offs._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I self-host my PC game library with Moonlight instead of paying for a second PC or GeForce Now](https://daily.dev/posts/i-self-host-my-pc-game-library-with-moonlight-instead-of-paying-for-a-second-pc-or-geforce-now-hbqx33lfe) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [I spent $10 to turn my PC into a wireless console, and it's the best couch gaming upgrade possible](https://daily.dev/posts/i-spent-10-to-turn-my-pc-into-a-wireless-console-and-it-s-the-best-couch-gaming-upgrade-possible-kh0uijqrg) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I streamed my Steam library to my handheld and stopped worrying about storage](https://daily.dev/posts/i-streamed-my-steam-library-to-my-handheld-and-stopped-worrying-about-storage-clsre4mfm) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [This mini PC proves you don't need a Steam Machine to game on your TV](https://daily.dev/posts/this-mini-pc-proves-you-don-t-need-a-steam-machine-to-game-on-your-tv-stthi3onr) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I spent a $1000\+ on a Windows handheld, but Sunshine made it obsolete](https://daily.dev/posts/i-spent-a-1000-on-a-windows-handheld-but-sunshine-made-it-obsolete-zfmsincj6) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#steam](https://daily.dev/tags/steam) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a cheap Android TV box and Moonlight can do better","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs"},"datePublished":"2026-07-12T16:30:42.709Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T20:16:22.682Z","description":"A practical guide to using Moonlight game streaming with a cheap Android TV box (like a Chromecast) as an alternative to buying a Steam Machine or mini PC for...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/1691e67d76d7d1666d04475043e3b727?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/1691e67d76d7d1666d04475043e3b727?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"steam","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your living room doesn't need a Steam Machine when a cheap Android TV box and Moonlight can do better"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-living-room-doesn-t-need-a-steam-machine-when-a-cheap-android-tv-box-and-moonlight-can-do-bette-ilu0dcyhs#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I stream PC games to my Android TV box using Moonlight and Sunshine?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Install the Sunshine server on your gaming PC and the Moonlight client app on your Android TV box, then ensure both devices are on the same network. 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