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[epmode]

When I first got the Link, I had no problem streaming at 60 FPS from my PC via wired ethernet. Now, a few days later, streaming from the same PC instantly drops the apparent FPS of everything to about 20 FPS.

The streaming details on the Link indicate that it's actually displaying at 60 FPS. If I go over to the PC it's streaming from, the framerate in BPM even before launching a game is absolute garbage. Every game I launch is similarly affected on both the source PC and the TV with the Link.

Changing stream quality and bandwidth settings on both the Link and the PC has no effect. If I stop streaming and launch BPM on its own, the framerate is fine and games work properly. So it seems like the streaming itself may be working properly but simply enabling the connection between the Link and my PC is somehow screwing with BPM's framerate.

Am I missing something obvious? I'm thinking it could be a driver problem since I just updated to a hotfixed Nvidia driver due to a G-Sync bug with my Titan X. ..I just won't be able to test for a while and I wanted to know if anyone was familiar with a problem like this.

 

[sk3tch]

^
No problems here with TITAN X SLI (358.50, Win10 x64). How are you measuring FPS on the local system? You can just use something like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision and it will show that FPS (along with the Steam Link details on the bottom left of the screen) on your TV.

There are two things going on here - 1, your system is generating the actual game FPS for the engine. 2, your Link is merely streaming what is displayed by your PC. So even if it says 60 FPS, it could just be streaming your PC doing 20 FPS in the game engine at 60 FPS to the screen. That doesn't mean it has improved anything, just that the "view" into your PC is running that smoothly. You need to fix the problem on your local PC before pointing to the Link.

You already understand the middle paragraph, I'm sure. Just posting it for everyone's benefit should they not be in the know.

 

[ashecitism]

Is there a bug or recommendation section, where we can post this kinda stuff in Valves direction?

It's right there in the OP: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream Then you click Discussions and there are the sub-sections.

 

[epmode]

^
No problems here with TITAN X SLI (358.50, Win10 x64). How are you measuring FPS on the local system? You can just use something like MSI Afterburner or EVGA Precision and it will show that FPS (along with the Steam Link details on the bottom left of the screen) on your TV.

Fraps and Afterburner don't show me a framerate in BPM so I was just eyeballing it. It is very clearly nowhere near 60 on the host computer.

I just loaded up Shovel Knight via the Link. Fraps reports about 25 FPS while the Link is still receiving 1080p content at a steady 59.94 frames.

Now for something REALLY weird:

I started up Shovel Knight, then alt-tabbed to bring up this Firefox window. The Link is now streaming my entire desktop. BPM is running in the background (borderless window, I guess).

That's not the weird part.

The weird part is that moving this Firefox window around with my mouse animates at a flawless 60 FPS on the Link. Even mousing over BPM shows that the mouse cursor inside BPM is running at a perfect 60. The framerate only goes to shit once I switch back to BPM exclusively.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update

Fixed some causes of audio stutter when streaming at high bitrate
Fixed always-black video on some multi-GPU, multi-monitor systems

 

[sk3tch]

Fraps and Afterburner don't show me a framerate in BPM so I was just eyeballing it. It is very clearly nowhere near 60 on the host computer.

I just loaded up Shovel Knight via the Link. Fraps reports about 25 FPS while the Link is still receiving 1080p content at a steady 59.94 frames.

Now for something REALLY weird:

I started up Shovel Knight, then alt-tabbed to bring up this Firefox window. The Link is now streaming my entire desktop. BPM is running in the background (borderless window, I guess).

That's not the weird part.

The weird part is that moving this Firefox window around with my mouse animates at a flawless 60 FPS on the Link. Even mousing over BPM shows that the mouse cursor inside BPM is running at a perfect 60. The framerate only goes to shit once I switch back to BPM exclusively.

They will show framerate in Big Picture Mode - make sure you're using the latest MSI Afterburner (4.1.1, I believe) and it works just fine for me (Settings > Monitoring > select the items you want monitored and shown by checking "Show in On-Screen Display" under them - I.E. temperature, usage, etc.).

 

[epmode]

They will show framerate in Big Picture Mode - make sure you're using the latest MSI Afterburner (4.1.1, I believe) and it works just fine for me (Settings > Monitoring > select the items you want monitored and shown by checking "Show in On-Screen Display" under them - I.E. temperature, usage, etc.).

Alright, the onscreen display only works in BPM if I first start up BPM, launch a game and press the Home button to bring up the overlay. Afterburner pegs BPM's framerate at about 20 FPS while I'm streaming. It jumps back up to normal as soon as I stop streaming.

I'm actually using driver 358.59. The driver you're using was giving me trouble with G-Sync. It's noted in the release notes: http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3798

 

[sk3tch]

Alright, the onscreen display only works in BPM if I first start up BPM, launch a game and press the Home button to bring up the overlay. Afterburner pegs BPM's framerate at about 20 FPS while I'm streaming. It jumps back up to normal as soon as I stop streaming.

I'm actually using driver 358.59. The driver you're using was giving me trouble with G-Sync. It's noted in the release notes: http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3798

There must be some weird stuff going on in your system. Afterburner OSD works flawlessly with the Link for me - no trickery needed. Just leave it running - like any other game.

 

[epmode]

Sure, maybe something's weird. But it could be unrelated. As best I can remember, Fraps and Afterburner have NEVER shown me a framerate in BPM since the first day it was released. And when I first got the Link, Steam had no problems running the games at 60 FPS while streaming.

Ah well, it could be an issue with this new driver. I've had it up to here with tech support this week so I'll try again in a few days. I was just hoping that someone else has seen the same issue.

 

[sk3tch]

Sure, maybe something's weird. But it could be unrelated. As best I can remember, Fraps and Afterburner have NEVER shown me a framerate in BPM since the first day it was released. And when I first got the Link, Steam had no problems running the games at 60 FPS while streaming.

Ah well, it could be an issue with this new driver. I've had it up to here with tech support this week so I'll try again in a few days. I was just hoping that someone else has seen the same issue.

Yeah, I guess if you're saying FPS doesn't show up in BPM, yes. However, FPS and all the stats do show up when you're running any game that you launch via BPM on your Link...

 

[deleted]

There is a steam group called in home streaming. That is where I got a response from valve. You can post there.

It's right there in the OP: http://steamcommunity.com/groups/homestream Then you click Discussions and there are the sub-sections.

Thanks, I posted the issue there - I'll wait and see what comes of it and maybe reinstall the game in the meantime.

All right Steam has crashed on me four times today while using the Steam Link. I'm usually fairly patient about these sorts of things, but it's getting to be really fucking irritating, having to go to my computer and restart Steam every time.

Is it Big Picture Mode? Is it the Link connection? Is it the games I'm playing (Tales from the Borderlands and Undertale)?

Did I get a defective Link on top of the already defective Controller that's somehow CAUSING Steam to crash?

Or, please tell me this is so, is this just a problem lots of people are having?

I have that problem too, it's highly depended on the game I'm running. Some games BPM will crash every time I use it. Super Meat Boy will crash every time in BPM when I try to skip the 'controller recommended' intro... It's still buggy and technically in beta. These things will get ironed out - and I guess rather sooner than later.

 

[atomic moth]

Bought a powerline system to help with the link. It was wired to the router, but the host had to be wireless. Lots of stuttering and freezing while playing Strider and a few others. Lowering the resolution helped, but it wasn't in a playable state.

The powerline solves everything. I guess my wireless router is shit.

Not only do I have steam games available to play on reclining chairs, I've added hyperspin/HLSL for when friends come over and also Fightcade. Lag is negligible. Very happy with it so far.

 

[Russ T]

I have that problem too, it's highly depended on the game I'm running. Some games BPM will crash every time I use it. Super Meat Boy will crash every time in BPM when I try to skip the 'controller recommended' intro... It's still buggy and technically in beta. These things will get ironed out - and I guess rather sooner than later.

Good to hear I'm not the only one! Thanks for letting me know, so I can stop worrying.

Although I don't have much time to be worrying about that, anyway, as this morning... my SSD died and now I don't have a computer.

 

[TheCochese]

Any luck with a wheel yet?

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

Anyone having issues with Dark Souls streaming? Every time I fire Dark Souls up in BPM when streaming, it goes to a white screen and starts flickering, flashing between a white screen and black screen, like its trying to switch resolutions or something.

It worked for me earlier in the year when I had been using in home streaming but now its not...

 

[U2NUMB]

Well pre ordered it in store at Gamestop... looking forward to getting mine. Perfect solution for my current situation.

 

[Phil4000]

Are we getting 5.1 audio streaming support, if not I kind of regret getting the Link.
The Controller is awesome tho.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update

Fixed a crash if the user exits Steam while a streaming session is still active

 

[KnownAsEpic]

So does the Xbox One wireless adapter works with steam link?

 

[ashecitism]

No.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/10/23/n...oesnt-work-with-steam-machines-or-steam-link/

 

[deleted]

Anybody else tried their luck with a 8bitdo controller? Did it work for you?

 

[sk3tch]

No.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/10/23/n...oesnt-work-with-steam-machines-or-steam-link/

*Not yet

I mean, I understand there's some kind of hardware lock in-place by Microsoft - but it's early. I am hoping the Valve Engineers can find a way around it.

What a ridiculous time we live in. OS-level hardware DRM. Windows 10 only and not even Windows 7/8. Ha.

 

[danthefan]

Are these things available in Europe yet, and would I need the Steam controller to go with it?

Anyone use it over power line adapters, does it work OK?

 

[Nzyme32]

So does the Xbox One wireless adapter works with steam link?

No since it is only compatible with Windows 10 alone. The 360 wireless adaptor is supported though along with either wired Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers.

Are these things available in Europe yet, and would I need the Steam controller to go with it?

Anyone use it over power line adapters, does it work OK?

Available via Steam and some retailers in certain European countries, yes. You don't need a Steam controller. You can use Xbox One wired / 360 controllers wired or wireless / keyboard / mouse and some other controllers

 

[ashecitism]

Anyone use it over power line adapters, does it work OK?

Couple of people in this thread have and experienced good results.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update

Improved performance of some video capture methods for windowed games
Disabled some incompatible capture methods if AMD Crossfire is detected
Improved support for rotated (portrait-mode) monitors
Fixed incorrect mouse coordinates in some situations with Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
Changed desktop mode to capture one monitor at a time and follow the mouse across monitors
KNOWN ISSUE - desktop streaming from multiple monitors with different DPI scaling factors on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 is not working properly

 

[Maiden Voyage]

I just got my Xbox One wireless controller dongle. I did some playing around with it and got it work with the Link. Sort of.

If you put the dongle in your Windows 10 pc, turn it on, then turn on your Link, you can use it.

It's definitely not ideal, but if the host pc is Windows 10 and nearby where you are playing, it works just fine.

 

[Couchaddict]

I just got my Xbox One wireless controller dongle. I did some playing around with it and got it work with the Link. Sort of.

If you put the dongle in your Windows 10 pc, turn it on, then turn on your Link, you can use it.

It's definitely not ideal, but if the host pc is Windows 10 and nearby where you are playing, it works just fine.

If it's like the xbox 360 dongle, they have significant range. My PC is 50 feet from my TV, connected with an HDMI cable, and the 360 controller works fine.

 

[Exuro]

So I tried doing local coop today. Didn't work at all. I used a Steam Controller, DS4 and 360 controller and for some reason they work great with steam/steam overlay but in a game only one controller gets recognized. Has anyone had this issue? Each controller was connect to the Link.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

If it's like the xbox 360 dongle, they have significant range. My PC is 50 feet from my TV, connected with an HDMI cable, and the 360 controller works fine.

The dongle has okay range. I used the included extension cable to get it on my desk. My living room Link is maybe 15 feet from the dongle. The controller has some connectivity issues here and there. There are a few walls between the two.

So I tried doing local coop today. Didn't work at all. I used a Steam Controller, DS4 and 360 controller and for some reason they work great with steam/steam overlay but in a game only one controller gets recognized. Has anyone had this issue? Each controller was connect to the Link.

I've had no issues with wireless 360 and Steam controller previously. Today I had issues with the Xbox One and Steam controller, both wireless. XBOne controller was plugged into my pc and Steam controller to the Link, however.

 

[ashecitism]

beta update:

Fixed bugs with streaming multiple-monitor desktops on Windows 8 and higher
Improved performance and fixed garbled picture with AMD hardware encoding

 

[koji]

Are we getting 5.1 audio streaming support, if not I kind of regret getting the Link.
The Controller is awesome tho.

26/11/14: This is something we plan to fix in Valve Time.

So another 2/3 years maybe?

Recent update on it in that thread though:

henryg 12 hours ago
We're actively working on it, but it's a lower priority than improving compatibility with ATI cards or fixing audio latency/crackling.

Also this

 

[Russ T]

So... It's been a few days since I streamed, and given that Valve is updating frequently, I figured that must be the problem...

Like epmode, I'm experiencing a MASSIVE reduction in framerate now. (Unlike epmode, I don't have a Titan X. I've got a.. oh geez. A 700-something or other? Or is it 600... Anyway it's not a super beefy card by today's standards, but it should be able to handle the games I'm playing...)

It was working great, near PERFECTLY, last time I played. I'm playing Life Is Strange, so I know it's not a demanding game. It's not just affecting visuals, either, it's affecting things like camera movement, as I'm overshooting a lot more with the lower framerate. It's... it's really bad.

Haven't hooked up an FPS display to test things, yet, but I'm about to. Figured I'd post here while I'm doing that, to see if maybe there's a known fix for this issue?

It's really bad and just makes me sad. ):

Will edit with actual framerates, assuming I'm not going crazy or my computer's not going crazy, or whatever. I did replace my dead SSD, but if anything it should be faster, as it's a better SSD in general AND I've fully reinstalled Windows 10, and now I have less shit running all the time.

 

[ashecitism]

Also this

Added this to OP.

 

[The Shadow]

Probably a dumb question, but is there any point in using hardware encoding or decoding if I'm streaming on a wired gigabit network?

 

[mordecaii83]

Probably a dumb question, but is there any point in using hardware encoding or decoding if I'm streaming on a wired gigabit network?

Less stress on your PC/Steam Link and less latency. Plus performance should be higher.

 

[Russ T]

All right so I reinstalled Fraps, also updated my video card drivers (apparently reinstalling Windows last night didn't give me the actual latest drivers), and yeah.

On desktop, normal mode: 60fps
On desktop, BPM: 60fps
On Link: 60fps

Fraps' FPS display doesn't show up over the stream, but it says 60fps on my desktop when I go to look at it.

But it's actually running noticeably worse, like there's screen tearing and shit on my desktop monitor that isn't there when I'm not streaming. And on the TV it looks even worse than that!

So either Fraps is lying about 60fps or something else is going on. Guess I'll try that thing mentioned earlier in the thread for displaying FPS. Maybe it's more accurate?

EDIT: Uhhhh RivaTuner Statistics does two things:
1) It unlocks the FPS, so I am now running Life is Strange at like 100+ fps (consistently above, sometimes way above, sometimes just)
2) Streams a black screen to my Link/TV

Interesting...

Updating that, now.

 

[ashecitism]

Try the stats. It'll show more than FPS.

 

[The Shadow]

Less stress on your PC/Steam Link and less latency. Plus performance should be higher.

Any known issues with AMD cards? Seems like there is a lot of stuttering when I enable either or both. R9 290 on host, Radeon 5450 on client.

I'm just wondering if it's something I should try to get working, or just stream without encoding.

 

[Russ T]

Try the stats. It'll show more than FPS.

The stats?

 

[ashecitism]

It's in the OP, I'm on phone, search for it.

 

[Russ T]

Found it on my own, I just had no idea that existed, geez. ):

Streaming at like 20fps.

It definitely wasn't a few days ago.

 

[Lagamorph]

I'm planning on getting a Steam Link, and whilst it will be cabled directly into my router, my gaming rig is upstairs running on wireless, though it is on AC wireless.
Has anyone tested such a setup and gotten good streaming results?

 

[Glass Shark]

Really anxious to get my Link to see how it performs. My PC is wired directly into the router, but the Link will be wireless. Granted, it's only like 3 feet away from the router on the other side of a wall.

 

[mordecaii83]

Any known issues with AMD cards? Seems like there is a lot of stuttering when I enable either or both. R9 290 on host, Radeon 5450 on client.

I'm just wondering if it's something I should try to get working, or just stream without encoding.

I've heard of issues with AMD cards, but I was thinking the latest beta updates fixed those issues... have you tried that? If not, software rendering might be your best bet for now. I have Nvidia so I can't give you any personal experience.

Edit: Has anyone tested the amount of latency of different wireless/wired configurations? Like, PC wired but Link wireless, both wireless, PC wireless Link wired, and both wired? Preferably with a high-end router (at least AC1900)?

 

[Russ T]

Okay so some more experimenting and I believe it's the encoding that's taking too long? I believe I sometimes see the message "Slow encode" pop-up when I've got the stats display on. Also, if it was decoding causing the issue, I would've expected my L4D2 first-level speedrun to have a lower framerate than the super solid 60fps it had.

Here's my basic system info:

Windows 10 Pro
Intel i5-3570k @ 3.4GHz
Nvidia Geforce GTX 760
16GB RAM

If it seems weak please let me know! I've been thinking of upgrading something for a while, anyway, but was hoping to wait a bit longer. (I feel like it shouldn't matter unless I'm running, like, The Witcher 3... and definitely not Life Is Strange?!)

 

[Cartman86]

The dongle has okay range. I used the included extension cable to get it on my desk. My living room Link is maybe 15 feet from the dongle. The controller has some connectivity issues here and there. There are a few walls between the two.



I've had no issues with wireless 360 and Steam controller previously. Today I had issues with the Xbox One and Steam controller, both wireless. XBOne controller was plugged into my pc and Steam controller to the Link, however.

Don't see why Valve can't change this but I'm pretty sure the controllers have to be plugged into the link. Had same issues then plugged 360 adapter into link and other players worked. Using devices plugged into PC sees them all as player one I guess.

 

[Maiden Voyage]

Don't see why Valve can't change this but I'm pretty sure the controllers have to be plugged into the link. Had same issues then plugged 360 adapter into link and other players worked. Using devices plugged into PC sees them all as player one I guess.

I keep my 360 plugged into the Link when using it but since there is no support outside of Windows 10 for the XBone controller, I have to plug that into my host pc. I haven't tinkered around with multiplayer too much yet. My wife has her own gaming pc and we are used to playing together that way.

 

[ss_lemonade]

Less stress on your PC/Steam Link and less latency. Plus performance should be higher.

For some reason, hardware decoding looks pretty bad for me with lots of macroblocking. I have a gtx 780 and I stream to my Surface Pro 1 by the way. Switching to software makes everything look really good with no obvious drop in streaming performance.

 

[VillageBC]

Okay so some more experimenting and I believe it's the encoding that's taking too long? I believe I sometimes see the message "Slow encode" pop-up when I've got the stats display on. Also, if it was decoding causing the issue, I would've expected my L4D2 first-level speedrun to have a lower framerate than the super solid 60fps it had.

Here's my basic system info:

Windows 10 Pro
Intel i5-3570k @ 3.4GHz
Nvidia Geforce GTX 760
16GB RAM

If it seems weak please let me know! I've been thinking of upgrading something for a while, anyway, but was hoping to wait a bit longer. (I feel like it shouldn't matter unless I'm running, like, The Witcher 3... and definitely not Life Is Strange?!)

While testing mine, I was getting the same slow encode error. I was testing in Bioshock Infinite. Now my TV is older 720p and the monitor is 1080p and I had already set the stream to 720p. So I changed the game settings to 720p as well, that rectified the issue. I'm surmising that pushing your card to the edge doesn't leave enough free room for it to encode for steam link so you need to turn the settings down. Just a guess, but that's what I figure. It has not come back since doing that in that game. Other games, less graphic intense don't seem to care.