![]() Streaming a title like the supremely underrated Super Puzzle Platformer to my iPad Air only required about 4,000Kbps of my router's bandwidth, according to Steam Link's reports, and ran without a hitch. Playing far from the router resulted in a lot of multi-second unplayable freezes, like this (see performance graph).Įven on a "fantastic" in-home network Wi-Fi environment, though, the quality of the mobile streaming depended a lot on the resolution and visual detail of the game being played. At that level of delay, playing felt practically indistinguishable from playing directly on the computer, with no noticeable gameplay impact even on quick-response titles like Cuphead. Switching over to a 5GHz tri-band router (The Netgear Nighthawk X6, to be precise), the same network test reported a "fantastic" connection that "look like it will work well with Steam." On this router, remotely played games ran incredibly smoothly at the iPad's full 1080p resolution, with total round-trip display latency ranging anywhere from 50 to 150ms, according to Steam Link's reports (and one-way "input lag" of less than 1ms). Even graphically simple games like The Binding of Isaac ran at an unplayably slowed-down rate on this connection, with frequent dropped inputs to boot. The Steam Link network test warned me that "your network may not work well with Steam Link," thanks to 1- to 2-percent frame loss and about 15ms of "network variance," depending on when I tested. I first tested iPad streaming on the low-end 2.4Ghz router provided with my Verizon FiOS subscription (an Actiontec MI424WR), with a wired Ethernet connection to my Windows gaming rig on the other end. Valve isn't kidding when it says a Wi-Fi router in the 5Ghz band is required for wireless streaming. You can also back out to a full desktop view, if you really want to, and bring up an on-screen keyboard and mouse pointer for full control of the desktop. ![]() The first time you connect to any given computer, you have to enter a four-digit code to prove the connection is wanted (and possibly install some Steam driver updates to enable the stream).Īfter that, you can start streaming Steam's "Big Picture" mode to your mobile device as long as the host computer is on, connected to the network, and running Steam (no remote startup options here). After asking you to sync a controller (a Steam Controller or any generic bluetooth input will work), it scans the network for computers running Steam. The Steam Link app itself is relatively straightforward. We got a chance to test out a beta version of that new mobile Steam Link app this week, ahead of today's launch on Android 5.0+ devices and an iOS launch that has been delayed "pending further review from Apple." We found that, on mobile, in-home Steam streaming is still a passable solution for playing away from your office chair, provided you have the right game and the right network setup. Further Reading Valve will soon let you stream Steam games to phones and tabletsLast week, Valve announced it would be bringing Steam's long-standing in-home streaming functions to mobile platforms, letting users play games running on a PC via a tablet, mobile phone, or Apple TV on the same network.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |