Sickday

Am I right in thinking that I could play on the Deck’s screen almost every game which could run on a Playstation 4?

Sure, assuming the game is released on a supported platform like Steam, or any of the platforms Heroic or Lutris support. Though I guess if you really wanted specific PlayStation games running on your deck you could setup PS Now to stream it.

Am I right in thinking that I could play on the big screen games until the middle of the Playstation 4 era?

Same as above really, with the only caveat being that changing the resolution will obviously diminish performance. Eg. If you dock the deck on a 4k TV and set the game’s resolution to 4K you shouldn’t be surprised if the game runs like ass.

Since I’d be buying a used LCD deck, I fear that the battery would be in poor health. Is there a way to know its health? If I replace the battery, could I get a better one?

I don’t know of any tools to measure or monitor the health of the deck’s battery.

You can replace the battery if you’re up to it. I don’t believe there are any higher capacity internal batteries available without some significant modifications to the unit.

Most other deck users that are concerned with battery life opt for power banks. You can always explore that route if it becomes a concern.

My PC screen can charge devices through USB-C and has 4 usb ports. It delivers enough power to charge my Surface Go 1 while using it. In my mind, it could clearly replace a dock, but would I have any advantages in getting one? Could the official dock be used for another handheld like my kid’s Switch?

I can only speak for myself, but I like using my dock because it has an Ethernet port so I don’t have to rely on my wireless connection when I’m on the couch and a Display Port so that it could be docked at my desk and plugged into one of my monitors. When I’m doing game development, this comes in pretty handy; I can build the game directly on the deck or transfer to it, then test it out in game mode very quickly. I’ll admit, this is a sort of a niche usecase, though.

If I end up using a Dual Schock 4 or a Dual Sense when my Steam Deck is docked, will I have to pair them again with my consoles every time after using them with the Deck?

I don’t own a Dual Sense (or a PS5), so I cant speak to that. Every bluetooth controller I’ve used behaves the same though. When I turn off the deck or undock it, the controller enters pairing mode and if I turn on my PS4 the controller is automatically paired to it. I don’t have to do anything extra.

Since I’d be buying a used Steam Deck, is there anything I should be particularly careful about?

As with any used product, if it comes with a warranty of any kind pay very close attention to the wording so you’re aware of the avenues available should anything bad happen to the product.

Other than that, good luck! And congratulations on your wedding!

It’s based on mpv. VLC isn’t.

Ultimately, the real comparison is here is just ffmpeg vs ffmpeg, but some people prefer mpv defaults over VLC. Search and you’ll find many many comparisons of the two.