Playing PC Games on the Big TV - Game Streaming & GPU Virtualisation

Liamb2005

Liamb2005

Liamb2005

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Hi Guys ive had these thoughts as well as conversations with others about where gaming is going, i have always played games since the atari 2600, moving on through many a gaming consoles, amiga then onto the PC with games like Doom, Unreal Tournament etc and then owned a PS3 and XB360 etc..but latley i feel like we have hit a wall but i really think this is about to change.

It seems we are approaching exciting times with reports on the net about game streaming as well as CPU and GPU virtualisation such as Nvidia Grid and Cloud Computing.

So im sure a few of you still play games I still play a few myself but know if the right things were in place id be playing a lot more...Unless you have had your head in the sand latley you are probably well aware of the Xbox One and Playstation 4 and like me im sure most of you PC gamers with a reasonably high spec computer looked at them graphically (even with low expectations) and thought "OH!!! Theyre pretty poor graphically!!" ...Well i did and i didnt have the greatest expectations in the first place but heres my problem !!

I like nothing more than sitting in front of the big screen (with an XB controller if i can) and playing a game in 5.1 with the best possibly graphics available (currently limited to 1080p) due to TV's obviously but in a year or two i will invest in a 4k television.

At the moment i feel like neither the PS4 nor the XBox One is capable of doing this simply because they lack the performace to do so

So....this topics purpose is for viable options as well as future options of PC gaming on the TV..

So at the moment my computer desk is upstairs and id like to be able to play games downstairs on my big TV from steam and Origin on both mouse and kb or controller and here are the options i have with the current times.

1: Long HDMI and USB Wires
2: HDMI Ethernet Converter
3: HDMI Wireless transmitters

My questions, is anyone familiar with these, is there any more options ?what would people recommend or am i best waiting for Nvida Grid or SteamBoxes to possibly stream the power of my computer or other GPU down to my TV downstairs

Would love to hear peoples opinions on this
 
Probably not what you want to hear but I feel exactly the way you do.

I rather sit on a nice comfortable couch with an xbox controller in my hand, I have an office job and already sit on a desk 8-6/7 on a computer, the last thing I want to do is get home and do the same.

Things to note:

All you need is a long HDMI cable and a speaker cable to connect your 5.1 to the computer and you're sorted.

Hundreds of games are controller compatible, apart from MMOs like WoW pretty much any game is compatible with a controller, things like Skyrim, Assassins Creed, Witcher, etc even play better with a controller.

I've looked for HDMI wireless transmitters but the general opinion is that they are absolute rubbish. Not sure about the ethernet thing but I was under the impression that HDMI 1.4 is already capable of carrying an ethernet signal?
 
I've done this a couple of times as I love to be able to play my games on the big screen downstairs.

First time I just ran a long component cable from the computer to the living room and used a wireless kb/mouse and wireless 360 controller. Worked perfectly but did mean drilling some rather large holes in the wall. :o (I played with ethernet senders but only had Cat5 cable running to the living room which at the time couldn't cope with both video and audio, the picture also suffered from interference but the cable was pretty worn)

I'm now in rented accommodation so no longer have the option of drilling so tried a HP wireless TV HDMI sender and was stunned at how good it was.

Admittedly my computer is only in the next room (about 6m away) but this thing just plugs into your hdmi port and uses 1 usb for power and then sends it over high speed 5GHz wireless to the receiver.

I've played hours of full 1080p games in 3D with only a few tiny little dropouts (milliseconds of it going to blank but very rarely).

Still using the same wireless 360 controller and notice no lag.

I only play controller friendly games on the sofa though, find a kb/mouse too uncomfortable unless I'm at my desk.

I'd still prefer to have a wired connection and if you can lay cables then go with that but these wireless senders are pretty damn good.

One thing I will add is that while Steam Big Picture is great once you've got the game installed/setup, I still find I need a KB/Mouse every now and then. I'm waiting to see how Steam OS streaming performs and may switch to that later on.
 
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I have a long hdmi cable from PC to TV. Wireless 360 pad with wireless mouse/keyboard in the lounge so I am all set to play every game I own on my TV with the best graphics my machine can push out. Good thing about the wireless key/mouse is you can still keep your USB ones plugged in they both work at the exact same time.
 
thanks for your comments lads, mine is around 2 metres away from my TV and a floor below so i dont think a wireless keyboard, mouse or wireless 360 controller will reach that far so dont know how id be able to transfer controls down :(

Moneyman what is the name of the HP Wireless hdmi you use ?
 
I'm considering doing this in my new house - I'm having a HDMI cable run into the wall to get the PC image downstairs. XBox controller + Steam big picture. Nice.

My question is - my GFX card has a HDMI slot, but what actually provides the source for the audio? Or would I have to run some additional cabling to use my audio card? (Currently an old Audigy card, but planning to upgrade it)
 
Sorry - should have explained that better! I know HDMI can also carry sound, but what hardware is processing it? Obviously not the GFX card itself, do I need to link the GFX card to my sound card, or is there something software based working it's magic?
 
Liamb2005 said:
thanks for your comments lads, mine is around 2 metres away from my TV and a floor below so i dont think a wireless keyboard, mouse or wireless 360 controller will reach that far so dont know how id be able to transfer controls down :(

Moneyman what is the name of the HP Wireless hdmi you use ?
Click to expand...

Did you mean 20m?

You'd be suprised at the range of the wireless 360 controller. Just test it out by pressing some buttons in a game donwstairs.

The one I have is just called the HP Wireless TV Connect but I believe its the newer version as it has a smaller transmitter. I read about future models even having usb ports to transmit controllers back to the host.

I think you will struggle if its quite far away though, the 5Ghz signal is fast but doesn't have a great range.

Something like the new Steam Boxes (or just something running Steam OS) over the fastest network connection you can get (wired or perhaps these new AC Wireless routers) would probably be best but its still all a bit of an unknown.
 
Matmulder said:
Sorry - should have explained that better! I know HDMI can also carry sound, but what hardware is processing it? Obviously not the GFX card itself, do I need to link the GFX card to my sound card, or is there something software based working it's magic?
Click to expand...

I believe the graphics card handles everything, so as long as you select the TV as the output device for audio it will just pass the audio signal on along with the video.

No internal connection is required as the sound card isn't used.

Edit: Found this:
http://www.overclock.net/t/441176/g...hdmi-now-including-creative-cards#post5305349

Looks like you can connect the sound card to the graphics card on some cards, however on modern gfx cards I don't see the point.
 
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I run my pc, to my TV.

Using HDMI via Ethernet. Two CAT6 cables,

http://www.monoprice.com/Product/?c...d=1042501&p_id=8009&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

Runs perfect. No additional power needed.

I'd avoid a long HDMI cable, as its thick and hard to work with, and there's degradation after 50ft.

As for switching between the two, what i do is have my PC monitor running off the DVI, and the TV off HDMI, then I setup a kb shortcut within the ATI control panel.

ALT+D to switch displays. Take along with a wireless KB, so its easy to just flip between the two.

The sound also switches between the onboard sound, to the ATI HDMI audio, so it can be done.
 
The NVidia driver install usually include the HD Audio component as well. If you install this and select it as your sound device, it will be carried over the HDMI cable.

I use something called Audio Switcher, a free lightweight app to do this as I frequently switch between HDMI, on-board soundcard (driving an arcade cabinet's speakers), second soundcard and wireless headphones. Works a treat.
 
I have my pc connected to an HDMI wall socket. An HDMI cable is then run out of the wall, outside the house then comes back in and terminates next to the tv. PC plays sound via HDMI. I use the tv as an extended desktop but I could always switch that to my main display if I wanted to game.

HDMI cable is 20m that runs outside the house.
 
I just tend to clone the desktop for both screens and then turn off which ever one I'm not using.

I noticed a performance hit when I left both on but after I turn one off its fine.

I'll look into that Audio Switcher, could be very handy!
 
thanks for the comments nice to know im not alone lol

moving into the steamboxes then, how do they work ?

I keep seeing steamboxes some as low as i3's with linux on them

whats confusing is surely that wont compare to my i7 3770k and 670 gtx and linux ??? i didnt realise most games ran on linux yet i hear its capable of playing games 300% faster ? is this right out of the box or is it through 3rd party software or what ?
 
Liamb2005 said:
thanks for the comments nice to know im not alone lol

moving into the steamboxes then, how do they work ?

I keep seeing steamboxes some as low as i3's with linux on them

whats confusing is surely that wont compare to my i7 3770k and 670 gtx and linux ??? i didnt realise most games ran on linux yet i hear its capable of playing games 300% faster ? is this right out of the box or is it through 3rd party software or what ?
Click to expand...

They are still a bit of an unknown as Steam OS is still in very early stages.

The idea is that you can buy a high specced steam box and play games on it directly (well compatible ones anyway) or if you already have a capable PC you could buy a basic low powered steam box and stream the games from your gaming pc.

Similar to how Shield works from Nvidia, or Remote Play on PS4 / Wii etc.

They are also bringing in family sharing of accounts so others can play your games on the steam box with their own save games and some other things to make it more of a console experience.

All very cool but not quite ready yet. :cool:

One thing is known though and that is that you will need a decent network connection between the steam box and host for streaming.
 
Matmulder said:
Sorry - should have explained that better! I know HDMI can also carry sound, but what hardware is processing it?
Click to expand...

It doesn't need processing in that it's just passing a digital signal, so there's no need for a DAC.
 
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