Is there a way to play PC (upstairs) games on my TV (downstairs)?

[Brumboy]

Is there a way to play PC (upstairs) games on my TV (downstairs)?

What's the best value option for this (if it's even possible).

Deciding to get a new console or just stick to xbox game pass for PC and figure a way to play them on my TV basically.

 

[Brumboy]

Lots of options it seems! Running a HDMI cable all the way downstairs and then a long USB cable for an Xbox controller receiver may be an option although not the most convinient. Will probably give this a go.

Steam Link I won't try as input lag and quality don't sound good.

Nvidia shield was also an option but it's £200. Xbox series S is £250 so I would regret buying that when £50 could get me a new console although not capable of 4k but still.

This was mainly to make use of the Sony TV downstairs as it's HDR and my 4k monitor is just a regular VA panel.

Thanks for the info though dudes, will look into it some more.

 

[Brumboy]

The Shield TV 'tube' 2019 version is only £150. That's what I've got. I caved in and bought a Shield controller too (v nice) but you can use any bluetooth controller (Shield controller is better for various reasons I won't go into now, but rumble working is one main thing!)

Don't want to sound like an Nvidia rep (I'm not!) but the Shield TV is a great bit of kit. A really smart feature is the AI upscaling of 1080p content on Netflix and Amazon for example to 4K. It's noticeably better (it's like DLSS 2.0 for video basically). My main reason for buying it though was for Gamestream and in HDR, as I too have no HDR monitor connected to my PC, but do have an HDR OLED downstairs in the lounge.

Ah right, I will have a look. Yeah I saw the video by Linus about it. The 4k upscaling looks great although my TV does 4k upscaling very well as it is. If we didn't have a Firestick then I would buy the Shield I just can't justify spending that much money at the moment to be honest. Too much tech coming out this year! Thanks for the information though mate.

Another +1 for this, the shield is not just a game streaming device, we use ours basically as a set top box, for amazon prime, Netflix, YouTube, Spotify etc.

hTe Steam Link will do what you want (lag wise it's very similar to the shield), but is limited to 1080p, no Hdr. You can pick one up for around £15, so possibly a reasonable test to see if streaming will work for you before forking out for a shield?

Failing that, your only option really is running the HDMI & USB - this will give you the best experience (basically the same as having the PC in the living room connected to the TV) but obviously there's the inconvenience of running the cables.

Edit: just noticed you mention Xbox game pass. This doesn't work nicely with steam streaming, so if you're planning to use it then the Shield idea may be a non-starter

1080p and no HDR wouldn't be right for what I want to be honest. Some other users here mentioned it had quite a bit of lag too.

Yeah now I need to find a decent HDMI cable that's about 15M!

Howcome the game pass doesn't work nice with steam streaming?

Another +1 for shield. I bought one and now have three. They are great little android boxes and let me comfortably stream 4K games @ 60fps with no noticeable lag.

Maybe if I can find a deal on one I will have a look. They do have great reviews though so very tempting.

Is it an Android Sony?

If so download moonlight on the app store and enjoy. ( Assuming you have a nvidia card?)

Yeah it's a Sony XF9005. Not the best gaming TV but the picture and HDR quality is so nice I want to experience my games on it!

You talking about this? - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.limelight&hl=en_GB

I have a 2080 right now (yep..regret not selling it)

 

[Brumboy]

I had a Steam link before the Shield (upgraded when I finally got round to getting a 4K TV) and didn't notice any more lag than the Shield.

But it only outputs to 1080P and no HDR right?

To be able to use the Steam streaming you need to add the executable for the game to Steam as a "Non-Steam Game". This works fine for most 3rd party games (e.g. GOG, Epic, Origin & Uplay), but because of the way the Game Pass games are stuck in a hidden folder which you don't actually have permissions for, you can't do that. I've tried a couple of times with various guides online & tools which supposedly let you do it, but never had any luck

Ah right. Have you tried selecting the shortcut? As this just worked for me via GameStream on GFE. I tried to add the game the normal way but like you couldn't modify the permissions weirdly. But selecting the game shortcut on the desktop allowed me to stream the gamepass games via gamestream to my Sony TV using the Moonlight app

 

[Brumboy]

I was looking at this thread when it was new and thought to myself NV Shield but seen he said something about buying a console so thought I read it wrong.

I can if I want play my PC games on my TV via my Shield (you link them in GFE and you need a Nvidia GPU obv to do that).

Yeah but after reading the comments here I literally just tried Moonlight app on the playstore and can stream all my games on my TV no problem. Only had a five minute play around though so need to test the latency and quality properly.

I could also stream my desktop to my TV which is helpful for watching media without having to put it on a USB stick.

I just need to figure out the best way to use a controller now

 

[Brumboy]

Is it an Android Sony?

If so download moonlight on the app store and enjoy. ( Assuming you have a nvidia card?)

Thank you for this suggestion. Works great actually! Just need to test the quality and latency some more.

Do you use this app to stream 4k? Have you had any issues?

Also what's the best way of using a controller. Do I plug a xbox controller into the TV and it should work with my PC for games?

 

[Brumboy]

I did try this and the game launched OK, but I had no controller input. To be fair I did only try it with 1 game (Metro Exodus), so it might work with others. This was using the Steam Link app, not Gamestream

I see, perhaps you'll need to configure the steam link app then but you could also try the Moonlight app if you're able too because after researching it seems to be the best streaming app overall.

Hopefully you get it sorted out.

By the way what controller do you use?

 

[Brumboy]

For the main one I use the Shield controller, it's great

I also have a couple of old PS3 controllers which work flawlessly with it.

Nice one. I just ordered a xbox one controller, £60 which is pricey but worth it as I can get away with not buying a xbox series x if most games come to the game pass & PC (which I hope they do)

 

[Brumboy]

OP you cannot stream in HDR at all be aware of that!

Also Win10 has built in streaming which is pretty good otherwise use OBS (free streaming software). Steam link as well with max quality is almost the same as sitting in front of the monitor but again no HDR as that cannot be streamed due to the amount of bandwidth it requires!

Ah are you sure? Moonlight seems to have a HDR setting and whenever I launch a game that is not HDR it says HDR not supported. I will need to download a HDR game and check it properly but I thought that Moonlight does support it.

I use moonlight to stream to a chromebook (host pc requires an NVIDIA gpu) best one I've used and I've used parsec and steam link too

So have you just installed the Moonlight app via the playstore then?

Also what controller do you use?

 

[Brumboy]

I wish people would just stop being wrong on the internet.

Both nvidia gamestream and moonlight support 4K 60fps with HDR.

I mostly use nvidia gamestream (I presume moonlight should be the same), but it works thusly....

Some pc games have ‘native’ hdr and these will work with no messing streaming via gamestream. Some pc games have hdr that is only supported at the windows os level, and this streaming hdr will only work if you have an hdr display connected to the pc that you are streaming from.

however, there is a work around for that, as neither of my pc monitors have hdr! I bought an hdmi dummy plug, then cloned the edid of my hdr oled tv and when this dummy plug is in your pc it spoofs it to thinking there is an hdr display attached, and you can stream hdr windows os games.

I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty complicated for the win os hdr games and needs extra workarounds and extra spending for the hdmi dummy plug - but it works.
OP - I wrote a guide for myself once I got it all working, so I’m pretty knowledgeable about all this **** now. Tap me up if you need some advice....

Ah that's good to know! I am trying to find a HDR game to test it out properly but it seems like it would work, can't wait!

Wow that sounds a bit complicated haha but that's part of the fun. Let me try this Moonlight app first, if it works then don't worry about it. Appreciate the offer mate.

 

[Brumboy]

Yes, it really does work very well - absolutely no need to spend money on a shield.

I use a Bluetooth Xbox controller linked to the TV - not tried any other combinations as it works well for me with minimal lag.

I use full 4k 60fps (or the setting for 90-120) and set the bit rate to 150. I do have ethernet running through two gigabit switches from the TV to the Computer upstairs so no WiFi or potential bottlenecks.

My only issues is the fact the computer is running a 980ti which at 4k isn't optimal. Once a 3080/AMD equivalent is in there I'm not expecting any problems - I'm not playing fast paced e-sports titles but do enjoy CS:S/Global offensive without issue.

Can't believe I didn't come across it before. I've had this TV for almost a year now. Literally saved me about £150-£200 if I was going to get the Shield lol

I have ordered a Xbox one controller which should be here by 10pm today (thank you Prime). So I'll connect that directly to the TV via bluetooth or USB cable.

Any tips for minimising lag and latency? I've got my main PC connected via PowerLine. Router is downstairs next to the TV connected by ethernet. I've changed the settings in Moonlight to use 100MB bit rate, HDR, 4K, 120 FPS.

Although I think the bitrate setting resets to default after you close the app, do you find this happens to you?

I've got the TV to go into game mode and that's about it I think.

Yeah but does your TV have 4k upscaling cause that may help? plus at 4k you can turn things down like AA to reduce GPU load.

Appreciate the information, been super helpful.

 

[Brumboy]

Regarding games with hdr, if you’re looking for one to test quickly make sure you get one that supports hdr ‘natively’ like I described to save a lot of confusion! Farcry 5 does (and is cheap now). Also, assassins creed origins and oddysey do. I have a list of others but can’t remember off hand (there ain’t that many!)

Also, regarding the other reply below/ above, I’m certain your tv doesn’t have built in Gsync (only the LG c9, b9 and cx do far as I know) so In order to get smooth judder free gameplay over streaming you have to make sure your actual frames per second in games can meet and sustain with the max refresh rate of your tv.

On my LG oled c8 that’s 60hz max at 4K, so I have to make sure 60 frames a second can be maintained at all times. If it drops even a bit down to the 50’s it introduces stutter. So, for some more punishing games I run them at 1440p (which looks good still from 8 feet away) or run them in 4K but with only 70 or 80% scaling if the game options have it.

also be very wary of power lines. All depends on the wiring in your house but I tried 2 sets, one a really high spec one and they were awful. Unusable ping rates and lag. Hard wired Ethernet is best but as mentioned I don’t do that totally. I connect from my pc to the router via WiFi (luckilily it’s directly above the router upstairs) and then from the router to the Shield by the TV via Ethernet cable. Depending on your router I’ve read that this half and half method can actually be better in terms of ping and lag too.

Ok good tip I will have a look. Currently downloading Oddysey, got Far Cry 5 in my library to so will download that after.

No it doesn't have Gsync. Well my PC monitor is 4k, so I just set everything to 60hz in game options and on the Moonlight app. My TV can do 1440p at 120hz but I can't get that in the game options as the monitor is 4k/60hz. So will stick to 4k/60 for now.

Interesting, once the controller arrives I'll have a better chance to test it all. I could try 1440p/60hz, do you run at 60 or 120hz? Yeah true regarding the scaling, I'll have to tweak the settings to maintain 60fps.

Well from using the powerlines for about a year now playing e-sport competitive games, I can't say I've experienced high pings or lag. I usually get less than 15ms on all games.

 

[Brumboy]

I don't really have problems with lag and can't comment on the power line in your individual circumstances..

I believe we have a similar TV - if not the same. I don't seem to have an issue with it resetting?

I will lock my FPS @ 60fps and select this in the app and see if it helps with any judder experienced which I thought was the graphics card being unable to cope.

Okay cool. Maybe because I am used to playing on a 144hz monitor so 60hz seems a bit slow to me.

Yeah I think it is staying at 150 bit rate now.

That's what I am doing too, modifiying the graphic settings to maintain 60fps.

 

[Brumboy]

Also, what is the best way to connect my xbox one controller to my PC over a distance of about 15M?

Bluetooth does not work as expected. I am looking on various shops for USB cables and can't find any USB cables that go to 15M in length.

The connection could either be:

PC - long micro usb cable of 15M - xbox one controller

PC - usb extender - micro usb cable - xbox one controller

PC - usb extender - bluetooth adapter - xbox one controller