Playing AAA Games on TV (Streaming)

OzFrugie on 16/04/2023 - 19:30

Hi all,

I am in an early phase of getting back to PC gaming.
One thing I always want to do is to stream PC gaming to my TV on my living room as it's a bigger screen and I have Atmos soundbar.

My understanding is that this used to be possible with Nvidia GPU and stream to something like Nvidia Shield connected to TV, but I believe this was recently discontinued.
Based on my research, I can use Moonlight and Sunshine to work around this and it also works with AMD GPU.
Is this correct? Any lags or degradation in pic/sound quality when streaming using these two software?

For the client device which is connected to the TV, does it need to be powerful or any "dumb" PC client will work?
I have an old NUC (from 2014) currently connected to the TV. Not sure if this is sufficient?

Btw, my TV is only 1080p, so this means I just need to build PC with GPU which can play AAA games in 1080p on highest settings right? No need for GPU for 1440p even though my PC monitor is 1440p unless I want to play the game there?
Or, is it better to have a more powerful system to compensate potential lags/degradation due to network latency in streaming etc?

Advice is much appreaciated.

Thanks

Gaming

Comments

    • Porker on 16/04/2023 - 20:53

      ^^^ THIS

      Steam stream will by a very cheap way - you could connect your phone to the TV and play that way.

      Alternatively, if your area allows, simply run a HDMI cable from the PC all the way to the TV and another for the USB keyboard/mouse.

      • CascadeHush on 17/04/2023 - 21:11

        Yeah, i was going to say just run a HDMI cable

  • AustriaBargain on 16/04/2023 - 20:11

    You could just move your PC to your lounge room when you want to play there.

    • Sinnerator on 17/04/2023 - 08:19

      Buy a trolley table for it to make it easier.

    • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 13:27

      Unfortunately PC is in another room although I can pull network cable to connect to my NUC in the living room so eliminate wifi. Will that eliminate lags?

      • AustriaBargain on 18/04/2023 - 13:30

        You'd think it would help, yeah. Especially if you aren't using the latest wifi standards on your router and all devices.

  • tebbybabes on 16/04/2023 - 20:25

    I do exactly what you're planning.

    The client device doesn't need powerful hardware as all the heavy lifting is done by the host. The client is just streaming the video and audio and sending the controller inputs onwards.

    And yep, I use to do this via moonlight and Nvidia Gamestream. Currently my gaming TV is down and is awaiting a replacement. When that arrives, I'll finally get off my arse and check out sunshine. I certainly hope it's as painfree as gamestream was for me.

    • Master Bates on 16/04/2023 - 20:54

      Can you play FPS games like this with no noticeable input lag?

      • tebbybabes on 16/04/2023 - 21:52
        +1

        Sorry, the last time I played a game on the couch that was fast paced enough (but wasn't an FPS) I had a tiny bit of lag. but it was totally playable. My observation has a caveat - namely, this was years ago and I was still using a physical steam link when it was new.

        I dunno if better tech has eliminated it. OTOH, I do play platformers and metroidvanias and they seem to control just fine.

        • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 13:28

          Are you using wifi to stream or ethernet?

          • tebbybabes on 18/04/2023 - 14:26

            @OzFrugie: ethernet. But I remember playing and finishing a few single player games waaaay back then when it was hooked up via wi-fi.

            • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 16:53

              @tebbybabes: So even with ethernet, you noticed a bit of lag with moolight / nvidia gamestream?

              • tebbybabes on 18/04/2023 - 19:23
                +1

                @OzFrugie: I know you want a definitive answer, but I'm sorry I can't give you one.

                In complete honesty, my perception said there might have been SOME lag. - of course it could have been my imagination.

                However, with 100% certainty, I can tell you the games were perfectly playable and enjoyable and some of those were tight platformers - notwithstanding what my perception was saying about the presence or absence of lag.

      • iamherenow on 16/04/2023 - 22:20

        games on tv even with HDMI will be worse than a good monitor.

        • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 13:29

          Because the refresh rate?

          • iamherenow on 19/04/2023 - 09:15

            @OzFrugie: Input lag. My TV had a games mode which is supposed to cut down input lag, but was still noticeable in very fast paced games.

  • jaimex2 on 16/04/2023 - 22:30
    +1

    I use Sunshine and Moonlight with my soft-modded Nintendo Switch.

    Works great!

    • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 13:29

      Soft modded switch? What is this? Like downloadable ROMs?

      • jaimex2 on 18/04/2023 - 13:53
        +1

        You can run homebrew software on older models.

  • freefall101 on 17/04/2023 - 01:00
    +1

    I haven't had a chance to try Moonlight with Sunshine yet, but Moonlight with the old nVidia software was better than Steam remote streaming (I even had a steamlink years ago).

    Plus you can play any game, not just Steam games.

    Biggest issue was moving to 4K gaming over wireless so I gave up. So now I have a gaming rig at my TV and a tiny PC in my office. I'm going to set it up to stream the opposite direction - I can game in my office now (and it's only 1080p there)

  • Sinnerator on 17/04/2023 - 08:20

    LAG is your enemy :-(

    • OzFrugie on 18/04/2023 - 13:27

      Even using ethernet cable? I can run a network cable so not using wifi.
      Will it still be laggy for fps games?

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