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finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
I am seriously impressed. I have an nVidia Shield TV (2017) that I bought some time ago and have used on and off, mostly as a set-top streaming box. Recently, I've been without a PC and have deferred most of my gaming towards my Switch, but still have a massive Steam backlog.

Some time this year, nVidia enabled the beta of its remote game streaming service, GeForce NOW, for all Shield TV owners.

Essentially what this allows you to do is checkout remote hardware (Tesla GPU) in an nVidia datacenter and use it to run a game in your Steam/uPlay/Battle.net library. You must own the game in order to be able to play it, as you are accessing your account for the actual storefront. They then remotely stream the game to your device and this is how you play it.

And holy fuck does this thing work beautifully. I think the GPU being used is roughly equivalent to a GTX1060, so Witcher 3 runs at a smooth 60fps in 1080p. You can set higher resolutions, but I haven't seen the need. You are basically able to customize it as you see fit. The game runs buttery the entire time and I have not faced a single hiccup. No stalling, no lagging, no video stream degradation -- nothing. This experience has REALLY made me believe in the future of game streaming services.

And I sat here thinking .. wow, I am playing this game at ultra quality, locked 60fps, and at 1080p. With the fact it's streaming not affecting the quality of the experience at all. This is actually a better experience than I've ever had on a console with this game, and better IQ/performance than any current console can do.

This is really amazing stuff. Now, to be fair -- I am in an ideal situation: I have a 1ms ping to nVidia's West datacenter, with gigabit internet (Google Fiber), and prosumer networking hardware (Ubiquiti routing/switching and hardwired connection). My network jitter and packet loss are virtually nonexistent. But with that said, in a future where we can bring networking and internet standards up in 10-20 years, I really do think game streaming can be the future.

I urge anyone who has a good network setup and connection to give it a shot and try to get a beta invite (takes between a few weeks and a few months, last I checked). The service is also available on PC and Mac. I am really, honestly, thoroughly impressed.
 
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Sir_Caffeine

Member
Oct 28, 2017
715
Sweden
Tried anything else? How does a FPS feel? Still works? I'm super impressed by this technology. Once the pipelines are there for enough people this will be a game changer for sure.
 

tenderbrew

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,807
I have an Nvidia Shield TV that I mostly use as a Plex server. Will this also work the same way? I might try this so I don't need to drag out the Steam Link.
 
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finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
I have an Nvidia Shield TV that I mostly use as a Plex server. Will this also work the same way? I might try this so I don't need to drag out the Steam Link.
Indeed, Shield TV owners are automatically opted into GeForceNOW, I believe. It's what I use.

If you have a PC with an nVidia GPU, you can also use GameStream to stream from your PC over local network. I highly recommend everything be hardwired, but I hear wireless works fine too.
 

vestan

#REFANTAZIO SWEEP
Member
Dec 28, 2017
24,630
Streaming is the fucking future. Geforce NOW works absolutely beautifully with Dark Souls 3. I was impressed.

GeForce NOW seriously is something else but Gamestream is truly the standout feature for me. I've completed dozens of games chilling in bed with them streamed to my Vita. Having my entire Steam library available in this portable form factor is so good, I've honestly never looked back. While this isn't the same thing, I've also played through Spider-Man's DLC entirely on my Vita with Remote Play.
 
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tenderbrew

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,807
Indeed, Shield TV owners are automatically opted into GeForceNOW, I believe. It's what I use.

If you have a PC with an nVidia GPU, you can also use GameStream to stream from your PC over local network. I highly recommend everything be hardwired, but I hear wireless works fine too.

Awesome, yah I already have everything hardwired. Going to definitely try this. Thanks for the thread.
 

CarthOhNoes

Someone is plagiarizing this post
Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,181
In the UK, my parents are only just getting fibre to their cabinet at the end of the road, let alone gigabit fibre to the home. We're ateast 30 years away from the majority of people having that kind of Internet capability. Cool tech for those that do though!
 

Alucardx23

Member
Nov 8, 2017
4,713
I am seriously impressed. I have an nVidia Shield TV (2017) that I bought some time ago and have used on and off, mostly as a set-top streaming box. Recently, I've been without a PC and have deferred most of my gaming towards my Switch, but still have a massive Steam backlog.

Some time this year, nVidia enabled the beta of its remote game streaming service, GeForce NOW, for all ShieldTV owners. Essentially what this allows you to do is checkout remote hardware (Tesla GPU) in an nVidia datacenter and use it to run a game in your Steam/uPlay/Battle.net library. You must own the game in order to be able to play it, as you are accessing your account for the actual storefront. They then remotely stream the game to your device and this is how you play it.

And holy fuck does this thing work beautifully. I think the GPU being used is roughly equivalent to a GTX1060, so Witcher 3 runs at a smooth 60fps in 1080p. You can set higher resolutions, but I haven't seen the need. You are basically able to customize it as you see fit. The game runs buttery the entire time and I have not faced a single hiccup. No stalling, no lagging, no video stream degradation -- nothing. This experience has REALLY made me believe in the future of game streaming services.

And I sat here thinking .. wow, I am playing this game at ultra quality, locked 60fps, and at 1080p. With the fact it's streaming not affecting the quality of the experience at all. This is actually a better experience than I've ever had on a console with this game, and better IQ/performance than any current console can do.

This is really amazing stuff. Now, to be fair -- I am in an ideal situation: I have a 1ms ping to nVidia's West datacenter, with gigabit internet (Google Fiber), and prosumer networking hardware (Ubiquity routing/switching and hardwired connection). My network jitter and packet loss is virtually nonexistent. But with that said, in a future where we can bring networking and internet standards up in 10-20 years, I really do think game streaming can be the future.

I urge anyone who has a good network setup and connection to give it a shot and try to get a beta invite (takes between a few weeks and a few months, last I checked). The service is also available on PC and Mac. I am really, honestly, thoroughly impressed.

Geforce Now is an awesome service and everyone that has any doubts about streaming services should give it a try to see if services like this will become a viable solution or not. The only thing that is missing from the Shield TV is the ultra streaming mode that lowers the latency even more, try it out on any cheap PC.
 

JohnnyMoses

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,661
I use it on my MacBook Pro and it really is impressive. I believe it's equivalent to a GTX 1080. The only thing I don't like is that it's limited to the games that they allow you to play. Do you have access to your complete Steam library on the Nvidia shield TV?
 
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OP
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Geforce Now is an awesome service and everyone that has any doubts about streaming services should give it a try to see if services like this will become a viable solution or not. The only thing that is missing from the Shield TV is the ultra streaming mode that lowers the latency even more, try it out on any cheap PC.
I've played in Ultra mode on a hardwired MacBook, and it's great, probably even more awesome for people wanting to try out slightly more competitive games (multiplayer). I don't miss it for single player experience like Witcher. It's really cool tech!

I use it on my MacBook Pro and it really is impressive. I believe it's equivalent to a GTX 1080. The only thing I don't like is that it's limited to the games that they allow you to play. Do you have access to your complete Steam library on the Nvidia shield TV?

You can theoretically play unsupported games by just launching into your Steam library (there's an option to just launch into the individual storefronts), but they don't guarantee compatibility, and since game data isn't locally cached you have to re-download the game every time you login. Saves also may or may not work.

There are definitely still issues -- for example, Elder Scrolls Online is supposed to work, but currently doesn't really. It tries to download a 20gb patch every time you launch, which supported games are not supposed to do. So there's still work to be done on nVidia's side to ensure supported games continue to be supported, but the service is in beta in all fairness.
 

Malkier

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,911
Hmm I recently got my dad a shield to stream tv. I just signed up for the beta I hope I get a code soon I'm actually really interested to try this out.
 
Oct 30, 2017
166
I actually just bought the 2017 Shield TV the other day. I was interested in trying this, and I also got in to try Google's Project Stream for AC: Odyssey. I tried Project Stream today and it was pretty bad. Tons of delay and stuttering even in cutscenes. I have a good PC and good Internet connection/service. Would this do any better?
 

LAM09

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,210
I completed Hollow Knight that way on a 5GHz (60/20) connection without any issues. I'm intrigued to see what Nvidia's plans are for the service going forward.
 
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finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Hmm I recently got my dad a shield to stream tv. I just signed up for the beta I hope I get a code soon I'm actually really interested to try this out.
I'd try launching the nVidia Games app on the Shield. I believe all Shield TV owners should have it.

https://shield.nvidia.com/support/geforce-now/faq

Make sure you are signed in with an nVidia account and such. The code will still be great so you can play on your own PC/Mac hardware, though.

I actually just bought the 2017 Shield TV the other day. I was interested in trying this, and I also got in to try Google's Project Stream for AC: Odyssey. I tried Project Stream today and it was pretty bad. Tons of delay and stuttering even in cutscenes. I have a good PC and good Internet connection/service. Would this do any better?

I haven't tried Project Stream yet (I need to make sure I get my hour in to get a code for AC: Odyssey to play on my Shield later ;)), but I'd say it's worth requesting a Beta code and giving it a shot. I think nVidia has a lot of expertise in this field that might make their service better, but I haven't had a chance to compare them.
 

Daniel James

Member
Nov 9, 2017
47
San Francisco, CA
I've been using it on my laptop over Winter Break while my desktop is at college and I'm legitimately impressed how seamless it is. I imagine it's even better hooked up to a TV.
 

Malkier

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,911
I'd try launching the nVidia Games app on the Shield. I believe all Shield TV owners should have it.

I just checked it seems like i can just do it right away. Definitely check it out. I did notice just now though that if I have a part controller plugged into my shield I get no audio, anyone know why this is? Hopefully it's just a setting because it's a new accessory, don't want to hijack the tv from my dad right now to figure it out.
 
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finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
Also worth mentioning you can record/stream straight from the Shield while playing GeForceNOW. Unfortunately it only records on 30fps as far as I can tell. Here's some footage I captured:



Also yes, I know I need to go repair my swords ._.
 

GameAddict411

Member
Oct 26, 2017
8,518
I have been playing assassin creed Odyessy using Google project stream. It still in beta, and I am super impressed. It's very close to the PS4 version just running off chrome. Any PC that can stream full HD video, and also has a decent wireless connectivity will be able to enjoy console level experience. I put about 15 hours into Assassin Creed without a single hiccup. Now the image quality has tons of room to improve. But that's something that definitely happening. Consoles are in serious danger if something like game pass plus a small streaming device are paired together for cheap. At this point I can confidently say that next gen of consoles is probably going to be the last of it's kind.
 

BernardoOne

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,289
Also worth mentioning you can record/stream straight from the Shield while playing GeForceNOW. Unfortunately it only records on 30fps as far as I can tell. Here's some footage I captured:



Also yes, I know I need to go repair my swords ._.

I wish we could stream directly from the base PC, that'd be neat.
 

Panda Andino

Member
Nov 5, 2018
354
Im playing DQ XI 4k 60hz on my surface go with a ipega 9083 controller via wifi 5.0 in a third world country via shadow pc. It runs very good. In conclusion streaming is the future even in countries with no costumer fiber.
 

StereoVSN

Member
Nov 1, 2017
13,620
Eastern US
Weird, I have a middling experience with GeForce Now. Got 1Gb Verizon to the house, fast router/switch and good quality network card on the motherboard. I have about 9-10 ms ping to the data center in the east coast.

Experience sucks overall. Image Quality is usually pretty bad as the connection doesn't seem to be stable. There is also input lag. I guess it could be my local Verizon node but not sure why. I have no issues with either downloads/uploads or TV streaming.

Edit: I did have a better experience with Shadow overall vs GeForce. It wasn't perfect but was serviceable.
 

Andrew Lucas

Banned
Nov 27, 2017
1,309
You're right, but I'm taking into consideration the refreshes/X/Pro variants, as well as the fact this is a service that's streaming a video feed over WAN.

And that's even more impressive. I honestly rather the 60FPS than anything else, which the variants still can't, so that's a version already miles head to me.
 

Inuhanyou

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
14,214
New Jersey
i guess it depends on what you want out of gaming in particular. For my part, participating in a streaming future would be going against a lot of what i enjoy about gaming, so i cant really agree.
 

Valdega

Banned
Sep 7, 2018
1,609
A 1060 isn't going to cut it if you want 1080p60 in newer games. Honestly, if they're leasing out these machines, they should at least have a 1080.
 
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finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
A 1060 isn't going to cut it if you want 1080p60 in newer games.
Turns out it's closer to a 1080, as per a poster above. When initially announced it was intended to be multi-tiered, but during the beta phase they're going with the 1080 level hardware.

Good news is it can always be upgraded on nVidia's end, they are after all the ones who make the hardware.

I have a hard time believing you but ok.
Why? I can assure you I'm not lying.
 

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,471
I can't imagine how anyone could draw this conclusion on W3, a game with already, quite unresponsive gameplay. I wouldn't be able to tell how the latency was affecting the gameplay in a game where it already feels as though you're wading through mud when moving your character.
 

Acu

Member
Jan 2, 2018
366
I've seen this working with Batman Arkham Knight and I was astonished.

It still has a long run to be wide-spread, but initally, my first impressions were honestly above my expectations.
 
OP
OP
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
I can't imagine how anyone could draw this conclusion on W3, a game with already, quite unresponsive gameplay. I wouldn't be able to tell how the latency was affecting the gameplay in a game where it already feels as though you're wading through mud when moving your character.
I've spoken out against Witcher's movement pretty ardently back on the other forum, but between 60fps and the alternate movement mode, I honestly fare just fine with it even with whatever extremely minimal input lag is added by GFN. It is entirely not noticeable to me.
 

Jonnax

Member
Oct 26, 2017
4,920
1ms ping to a data centre is faster than your display can process and display an image.
So yeah. You have the most ideal of ideal conditions.

Plus with a broadband where your internet throughput is essentially a 0 bottleneck pipe.

You may as well be doing in-home streaming from another room.

It's great. But it's reallu going to be great only for people that live in a city near a data centre.

Also in a lot of places there's high contention on the line. So especially in the evenings they're going to get lag spikes as other users use the bandwidth.
(For example your ISP may have a contention ratio of 10:1, so for every 10gbps they sell there's actually only a 1gbps link into their core network.)

I mean things are getting better but physics is a limit. The speed of light is finite :P

I hope we don't get into a future where people living in the countryside with 300kbps internet only has the option of streaming.
 

Rizific

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,950
I have a hard time believing you but ok.
It ain't really hard to outperform the current consolez . Enjoy.
consoles provide the bottom of the barrel experience when it comes to gaming. i for one, am shocked. now you dont even NEED a pc to provide an experience that exceeds console performance. im skeptical myself of this whole streaming bit, but everything so far seems to point to it being a legitimate experience. i think thats pretty cool.
 
OP
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finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
consoles provide the bottom of the barrel experience when it comes to gaming. i for one, am shocked. now you dont even NEED a pc to provide an experience that exceeds console performance. im skeptical myself of this whole streaming bit, but everything so far seems to point to it being a legitimate experience. i think thats pretty cool.
I was really so impressed because I expected far less from the tech. It's really quite far along, given ideal network conditions.

Off topic: nice avatar -- loved my '09 rex :)
 

alexbull_uk

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,923
UK
I'm glad it works for you, but for as long as it's possible to own the hardware and do it locally, that's what I'm going to do.
 

BigTnaples

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,752
Awesome that it works well for you, b7t 1080p streaming of Wild Hunt, a game that benefits massively from resolution, doesn't sound ideal. I'd play higher resolution on an XB1 or a PS4 Pro any day over 1080p n PC.


I own all 3 versions of the game, and built a PC specifically for the Wild Hunt. I also play it on my Surfacr Book 2 1060 6GB.

Wild Hunt is not a great 1080p game.
 

TheMadTitan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
27,234
I tried same room streaming Phantom Pain through my Shield TV that was hardwired and I didn't like it all that much. The latency was too noticeable and annoying over just playing on my machine.
 

Alexious

Executive Editor for Games at Wccftech
Verified
Oct 26, 2017
909
You're right, but I'm taking into consideration the refreshes/X/Pro variants, as well as the fact this is a service that's streaming a video feed over WAN.

Did you try playing The Witcher 3 on a 4K HDR enabled Xbox One X? Because I doubt that could possibly be inferior to 1080p streamed PC, even with Ultra settings enabled.

By the way, given your ideal environment you should probably try Shadow. It allows high frame rate at 1080p resolution and 4K60, unlike GeForce Now.
 

Ichi

Banned
Sep 10, 2018
1,997
consoles provide the bottom of the barrel experience when it comes to gaming. i for one, am shocked. now you dont even NEED a pc to provide an experience that exceeds console performance. im skeptical myself of this whole streaming bit, but everything so far seems to point to it being a legitimate experience. i think thats pretty cool.

Huh? Streaming is all and good but you will still lose detail. Just because it says you're getting a 1080p output does not mean the bitrate is as good as a local machine. Also, consoles are bottom of the barrel experience? What a silly remark. The bottom of the barrel gets GOTY nominations year in and out.
 

LetalisAmare

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,957
Funny this thread comes up, I just finished trying out a bunch of games. I played Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Arkham Origins and a couple others and they all ran and looked fantastic. I didnt notice much in the way of input lag which I thought I would with Batman which I also had set to the highest res and the same with the TR games at the highest graphics settings.
 

MattyG

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,031
I wish Shield Portables were still being sold new, I'd scoop one up to play like this in a heartbeat
 

kc44135

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,721
Ohio
I've yet to have a good game streaming experience with any service, on any device. Not saying anyone here is being dishonest about their own experiences, but... Yeah, in my own experience Streaming is awful and the worst possible way you could experience pretty much any game.
 

ArnoldJRimmer

Banned
Aug 22, 2018
1,322
Awesome that it works well for you, b7t 1080p streaming of Wild Hunt, a game that benefits massively from resolution, doesn't sound ideal. I'd play higher resolution on an XB1 or a PS4 Pro any day over 1080p n PC.


I own all 3 versions of the game, and built a PC specifically for the Wild Hunt. I also play it on my Surfacr Book 2 1060 6GB.

Wild Hunt is not a great 1080p game.

1080p on ultra settings >>>>> 4k on whatever settings the consoles run at with that horrible view distance and pop in.

Whats the point of 4k when the details that you would get to see are removed from the game?

The game shines on ultra at whatever resolution. I played it at 3440x1440 ultra wide and it was amazing.
 

Zelda

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,079
The only experience I've had with game streaming is using Remote Play with my PS4, and the experience has been really blurry compared to using the console.
 
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OP
finalflame

finalflame

Product Management
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,538
OP... have you compared the input lag of Geforce Now beta vs in-home streaming?
I haven't, but at 1ms ping to the data center per the network test, I doubt the additional input lag when compared to local streaming would be noticeable. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to test them side by side.
Did you try playing The Witcher 3 on a 4K HDR enabled Xbox One X? Because I doubt that could possibly be inferior to 1080p streamed PC, even with Ultra settings enabled.

By the way, given your ideal environment you should probably try Shadow. It allows high frame rate at 1080p resolution and 4K60, unlike GeForce Now.
I haven't, no. I just now realize they added 4K and 60fps support to the XOX. I'm not sure how the LoD settings compare for the XoX in the 60fps mode and how the dynamic scaling actually works in terms of comparison to the PC settings GFN is running Witcher 3 at. Per the article on your own website:
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2017-witcher-3-xbox-one-x-analysis said:
Unlocking the frame-rate in this mode lays bare all the stresses the engine puts on Xbox One X, and pushes the CPU limitation to the forefront. Whether it's the 35-50fps range in Novigrad, or the wavering 50-60fps line in Crookback Bog, this is clearly not an ideal fit for the hardware.

I'll take a locked 60fps with ultra/high settings and the ability to pick that over having 35-50fps fluctuations.