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TV hijacks right control stick to change volume when in Steam Link app/game since the latest update

(Topic created on: 01-03-2023 10:14 PM)
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simonj2
Apprentice
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See this Reddit post for more information. When using any of:

- Wired Xbox controller

- Wireless Xbox controller

Logitech F710 controller

With Steam Link on several Samsung TV models (QN65QN85DAFXZA,qe55qn90a), the right control stick now adjusts volume in the app and in-game. This makes Steam Link unplayable for people as the right control stick can't be used without making the TV hit 0 or 100% volume.

It looks like this may be related to the 2111 release, as this was working previously and many users are reporting the same problem now. This originally seemed to be a problem with Steam, but now we realize it may be a problem with Samsung's new software.

PLEASE LIKE AND REPLY TO THIS US FORUM THREAD TOO: https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/QLED-and-The-Frame/TV-hijacks-right-control-stick-to-change-volu... 

Samsung US can't read the European forum apparently :facepalm:

130 REPLIES 130
MVS
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  I’m glad you now agree it’s a Feature and not a bug.  Although you now want to argue that “it’s a new feature with a bug”. Again, it is not a bug! 

A programming bug is an error in the code of a program that prevents or interrupts the designed purpose of the program.

This new feature is a program designed to map the inputs of a connected peripheral to operate pre-defined TV functions.    If it does this, then it is working as designed and is not a bug.

The feature is just simply a very poorly thought-out idea that was implemented without giving any consideration to how it would be used and who would be using it.

Aside from the issue it causes with the usability of the SteamLink, It also ignores the problems with the majority of game controllers with analogue ‘Sticks’.

Hardcoding the mapping of TV functions like Volume control to an analogue controller stick is an incredibly stupid thing to do. Analogue (potentiometers) sticks tend to were down quickly (if you are a frequent gamer) causing “controller drift”. For example, my Xbox One controller has a slight drift on the left stick towards the top. This isn’t enough of an issue to cause any problems in game. Connecting it to the TV however immediately and rapidly causes the volume of the tv to go up to full volume.

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MVS
Apprentice
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,   I went a bit further down the rabbit Hole!

The developer of the  steam-link app is not Valve but a company called Handstudio Co. Pty.  Their headquarters are in Soul, Korea; very close to Samsung's headquarters.  It seems that they may have been contracted by Samsung to develop the SteamLink App.  They may even be owned or funded by Samsung.

Handstudio Co. Pty may also be the developers or have something to do with the development of the Tizen operating system on Samsung's smart TVs. Their website is mostly in Korean so I can’t really read this.  

Go to  https://handstudio.net/   If someone who can read Korean can translate what is written under the Samsung logos?

 If you scroll down to “What We Do” there is a side scrolling list of their projects. The Steam Link app is listed there along with 3 Samsung Logos shown in the list.  The first has to do with their involvement with the development of Samsung's Sero TV.  The other two I’m unsure of exactly what they are for.

Secondly the Xbox app doesn’t have an issue.  It overrides or disables the TV control functions set by this new Samsung feature.  Which also means that the feature for controlling TV functions has an ‘ON/OFF Switch’ built into it.  All Samsung would need to do is give the end user the ability to control this ‘ON/OFF switch’ and that would solve the problem.

Frisco4105
Apprentice
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Again like I said before, for those desparate to make this work, just stream video and audio from the tv and stream the controls from a phone or tablet. And for those who are more tech, make this part of a fun house project and hook up an rasberry pie or an old computer or mini PC and run the steam link app from there hehe.

Personally I have given up on SteamLink, it is clear that in house streaming isn't the focus anymore. Since my PC is just in a room next too it and within bluetooth range, I have ran a 10m HDMI cable from the PC trough to the TV room just next to it.
Not only does the picture looks far better (no streaming artifacts and can run at the full resolution and detail) but the games itself run better too since my PC doesn't have to bother encoding every frame.

Still curious if this gets fixed one day. I think it's more a matter of companies not really talking to each other when one updates an app.

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Tomas Monkevic
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Have the same issue with Samsung Q6570A TV, Xbox One Controller

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hpackard
Student
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Hi!

I have the same issue with my Samsung GQ50Q60 since the FW Update 2111.1 from Dec 2022.

Today I get behind a possible solution. But unfortunately this can only be fixed by the developer of the Steam Link app.

I managed to activate the developer mode on my tv and connected with Visual Studio.
Started writing an App showing just a simple Text "Hello".
At this time the GamePad Right Stick an the "B" Button still controlling the TV function like mentioned above.

Then I tried to read the connection state of the GamePad to show the state on TV Screen as a Text like this:

GamePad Connected --> Connected: True
GamePad Not Connected --> Connected: False

I had to subscribed to the Tizen.TV.Accessory Namespace from the Tizen SDK in my application.

At this point the GamePad works like a charm and did not had any impact to the TV by using the right Stick or by pressing the "B" Button.

So either Samsung will change the behavior of external controls within one of the upcoming firmware changes or the SteamLink App should implement the GamePad interface from the Tizen SDK to work as suspected. But then the developer has to manage all controller inputs by himself.(https://handstudio.net/)

https://developer.samsung.com/smarttv/develop/tizen-net-tv/guides/user-interaction.html#Gamepad

 

hpackard
Student
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There is an Update of Steam Link v 1.9.68 from 2023-02-21 available on the Samsung App Store. This version has fixed the issue. Gamepad is working as expected now.

Thank you!

DCMotion
Apprentice
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Hell yeah

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kiichin
Apprentice
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I had given all hope. So good to see this finally fixed!

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DannyB2
Apprentice
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Hallelujah!

And no thanks to Samsung... Please next time when you roll out an update, spend more time making sure that it doesn't break stuff. And consider giving users (instead of just app devs) an option to select the old behavior instead.

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Robatortas
Student
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NO ***** WAYYY!

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