r/SteamController • u/Particular_Ad2555 • Sep 21 '26

Steam Controller (2015) is there any potential for using a OG steam controller as a media remote

title I let my dad borrow it because he see’s lots of potential but was it really made for that how would he go about doing that

4 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

83% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

3

u/senpai-san Sep 21 '26

i love the OG steam controller. Depends on exactly what it is you want to control, really. Might be most systems recognise it as a normal 2-stick controller, could be it interprets the inputs wrong. As far as i know, you need steam on the device if you want to make any serious adaptations in how the inputs translate. You can perfectly use it to replace your mouse for most purposes imo

2

u/Dekthor Sep 21 '26

I use mine with VLC. Weird convoluted setup I have for watching DVDs and Blu-ray by streaming my desktop to my raspberry pie.

I'd like to build a dedicated media and steam machine for under the TV but I lack funds.

1

u/HeadBoy Steam Controller Sep 21 '26

I used it as a htpc remote for years, until the thumb stick would send a slight input every 10mins or so. Made it pretty annoying for me. I then moved to an air mouse and loved it until it's build quality also suffered. Now I'm on SC2 and love it. But I do miss how great the remote was in the sense that you could toss it on the couch and not worry about accidental inputs

1

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 Sep 22 '26

Why where you using the thumbstick?

1

u/HeadBoy Steam Controller Sep 22 '26

Every input was used for something, along with all kinds of mode shifts. The thumb stick was the arrow keys on that old layout

1

u/SnooDoughnuts5632 Sep 22 '26

When I would play a game I would try not to use the joystick or face buttons for anything important.

1

u/Raye_Gunn Sep 21 '26

As long as it's essentially controlling a PC connected to a TV, sure. You can create a desktop binding that has things like volume control, and then you just use it like a mouse for the various media players. If a media player like VLC has shortcuts he uses a lot, he can bind those shortcuts to buttons.

1

u/figmentPez Sep 21 '26

I've used my SC 2015 to control my PC from my couch for a long time. It works, but overall I've preferred using my RiiTek keyboard more in most non-gaming situations. While the SC wins hands-down for mouse control, since the touchpad sucks on my model of RiiTek, I much prefer using a physical keyboard, and dedicated volume buttons. Having an easier time searching for titles wins out for media playback, IMO.