When comparing SteamOS vs Kodibuntu, the Slant community recommends Kodibuntu for most people. In the question“What are the best operating systems for a Home Theatre PC?” Kodibuntu is ranked 1st while SteamOS is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Kodibuntu is:
Both Kodi and Ubuntu are free and open source.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Native graphics processor support
The OS natively supports Nvidia, Intel, and AMD graphics processors.
Pro Streaming service integration (under development)
Valve is in talks with streaming companies such as Spotify and Netflix to bring their features to SteamOS.
Pro For entertainment, it just works
What media center software do for videos, it does for games (and later videos).
Pro Open source
Both Kodi and Ubuntu are free and open source.
Pro Updates can be run remotely
Using a Linux distro (not only Ubuntu) with Kodi allows you to run system and software updates remotely through SSH. Not only that, it's also very easy to update the system because only a couple of commands are needed.
Cons
Con Hard to install
If you've installed Arch you're probably fine, but for those used to simple installs like (Ubuntu to name just one) you should prepare some patience, determination, and painkillers. Good news is, it's getting better (it's very young).
Con Not built around the desktop experience
SteamOS is, first and foremost, meant to act as a gaming console - it doesn't ship with even some of the most basic applications, such as a file manager or image viewer. As a result, using SteamOS as your primary operating system would require a fair bit of work.
Con Sub-par graphic drivers support
Support for graphic drivers is not the best. For example, if you want to do any gaming on Kodibuntu you need an Nvidia card and install the proprietary drivers. Though for Kodi alone the Open Source drivers are good enough.