steamify-cachyos/CEC.md

HDMI-CEC: does my PC have it?

The HDMI-CEC item in Steamify lets you use Steam with your TV's remote, and turns the TV on and off with the PC. It only works when the PC has a CEC device (/dev/cec*). Many PCs don't: on desktop PCs CEC is rare. How it works: TECHNICAL.md; problems: TROUBLESHOOTING.md.

Graphics cards

• NVIDIA: no. The driver doesn't expose CEC on the HDMI port, on Linux or Windows.
• AMD and Intel: the CEC line of the HDMI port is normally not connected on desktop cards. The Linux drivers (amdgpu, i915) only support CEC over a DisplayPort connection: some DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters and built-in converter chips pass CEC along ("DP-AUX CEC"). That depends on the adapter or chip, not on the graphics card, so it's worth trying a different adapter.

Devices with CEC built in

• the Valve Steam Machine (Steamify ticks HDMI-CEC by default there);
• some Intel NUC mini PCs, which have a CEC chip on the board;
• the Raspberry Pi.

Any PC: a USB CEC adapter

A USB CEC adapter, such as the Pulse-Eight USB-CEC adapter (or a RainShadow Tech one), sits between the PC and the TV on the HDMI cable and works on Linux. This is the way to get CEC on a custom build, e.g. with an NVIDIA card. Steamify installs what these adapters need (inputattach-cec-units), so plug it in and turn on HDMI-CEC.

Check your PC

After turning on HDMI-CEC in Steamify, the menu lists the CEC devices it found. Or run:

ls /dev/cec*

No device (and no USB adapter): no CEC on this PC. Also turn on CEC on the TV itself: it has a brand name there (Sony: BRAVIA Sync, Samsung: Anynet+, LG: SimpLink, Philips: EasyLink, Panasonic: VIERA Link).

This overview is based on how the Linux drivers work; hardware differs, so the only sure test is ls /dev/cec* on your own PC.