Steam In-Home Streaming Now Available To Everyone

This is great! Looking to try this out soon, but good news for people with HTPCs.
 
Very cool! My HTPC is almost as powerful as my main PC, but my laptops that are sometimes used away from both are definitely not. This will be nice while taking a break from working.
 
Well, basically have have to have a PC of some type to receive the streaming?

Would be NICE if there was a client side app for SMART TVs to receive the streaming.
Same way NetFlix work, but over a LAN and not the internet.
 
Interesting. I may have to play with it when Watch Dogs releases. Wonder how well it works.
 
I love the idea, but I don't want to buy/build another device to put in my entertainment closet. It's getting packed as it is. I wish one of the other dozen devices in there could play the stream. With this, maybe I'd finally finish the Witcher!

Very cool idea, though.
 
Been using the beta for quite a few months. It works really well, able to play Bioshock Infinite with my Xbox controller on my HTPC which is running an i3 sandy bridge, 2GB of RAM and IGP at 1080p on my 50" TV. A little lag once in a while but all in all, it works great.
 
This is very cool. I have a pretty big library on steam, and it really sucked having to download the games to my htpc when I wanted to play them in the living room. Not to mention some games eat up a good amount of space. If this works well, I guess I won't be needing a bigger HDD in my htpc now.
 
Oh this cool.

I have my main machine in the living room and my little C2D workstation in the office. I've always wanted to switch them so I can have the option for traditional mouse/keyboard gaming and 3D modeling power. Now this streaming feature makes that totally doable!

Very cool.
 
Bubbers214 said:
Been using the beta for quite a few months. It works really well, able to play Bioshock Infinite with my Xbox controller on my HTPC which is running an i3 sandy bridge, 2GB of RAM and IGP at 1080p on my 50" TV. A little lag once in a while but all in all, it works great.
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This is exactly what I'm going to do today. I reinstalled Win8.0 on my i3 HTPC in the living room, got Mediabrowser 3 set up, and was thinking too bad the graphics card is only a GT430, because there are some controller based games I've been playing lately (Dark Souls 2, Transistor, etc) - the Steam streaming thing had slipped my mind, so its great timing, can't wait to try it out.
 
Oh sure, right after I build a nice gaming htpc. Pretty damn cool nonetheless. At least I won't have to upgrade my htpc anytime soon.
 
Interesting, I may have to experiment with this over the coming weekend.
 
I tested it out in the latest beta build about 2 weeks ago. It work surprisingly well for beta. I only tested it on a gigabit wired connection so I don’t know how it will work over Wifi but I didn’t do any QoS or tweaking to the network. I streamed a few modern games from my main rig (i7-3770, 16GB Ram, 2x7950 @935Mhz) to my HTPC (A10-5700 APU, 8GB Ram, Integrated Video)
The games that I tested out that worked well were Warframe, Fallout New Vegas, and Deus Ex: HR, Darksouls. All ran pretty good, but I did get some input lag once and a while on all and some frame pausing, but overall. It worked as advertised.

I did try some older games Legacy of Kane Collection just too how older games would fair and appears not every games especially older ones are going to work streaming. Most of the older games would start and then go to a black screen on the HTPC but I could see them running on the Main rig.

All in all, I think the fact it's a free feature and it worked as well as it did (over a wired connection). I think it is pretty well done. A little network and QoS tweaking and you can probably negate most the input lag is not remove completely.
 
B2BigAl said:
Oh sure, right after I build a nice gaming htpc. Pretty damn cool nonetheless. At least I won't have to upgrade my htpc anytime soon.
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Kinda what I was thinking (only I built mine a while back.) It will be interesting to compare the two though. I'd say my main game PC is roughly twice as powerful as the HTPC, but the HTPC is still pretty decent. I'd like to see what kind of trade-offs there are in control latency, image quality, etc. Obviously the main PC can do higher in game settings, but is there noticeable compression in the streamed image? (etc. etc.) Will be fun to test at least.
 
I'm sorry but I don't get it... :rolleyes:

I can't imagine why would I want to stream a game from one computer on my network to another one? why not just play from that computer? :confused:

had it been where your just logging into steam account via http site rather than steam client it would have huge potential so that it would give steam access to android, ios + home gaming console devices but if you need another steam client pc just play on that pc running the game...

This is just useless streaming, waste of bandwidth. :(
 
shatterstar said:
I'm sorry but I don't get it... :rolleyes:

I can't imagine why would I want to stream a game from one computer on my network to another one? why not just play from that computer? :confused:

This is just useless streaming, waste of bandwidth. :(
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Well some people like myself would like to lounge on their couch in front of there 60" HD TV and play some games instead of sitting at a desk since I do that all day at work.

This allows you to have a cheap system to stream to and play your big games just as if you where at your main rig. Now you are no longer tied to your desktop or whereever you have your main rig.
 
I think shatterstar missed the point of it being local connection only. You can't do it over the internet. Hence why it is called In-Home streaming.

Also OnLive is totally different then Steams In-Home Streaming on so many different Levels. Main one, OnLive was over the internet. Not on a local low latency network.
 
SGTGimpy said:
I think shatterstar missed the point of it being local connection only. You can't do it over the internet. Hence why it is called In-Home streaming.

Also OnLive is totally different then Steams In-Home Streaming on so many different Levels. Main one, OnLive was over the internet. Not on a local low latency network.
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I understood perfectly it is a in home streaming which is why I am confused. :confused:

I don't see a purpose to this if your using 2 computers in your home that need steam client.

Either play on the computer that can is going to be doing all the work or just use steam big picture feature which would give you lag free option?

or am I missing something? :confused:
 
So my Son can play games that take horsepower without having to get on my main rig breaking things? Sign me up! He has an old laptop that he always says (rightfully so) that it does not have the good graphics.
 
shatterstar said:
I understood perfectly it is a in home streaming which is why I am confused. :confused:

I don't see a purpose to this if your using 2 computers in your home that need steam client.

Either play on the computer that can is going to be doing all the work or just use steam big picture feature which would give you lag free option?

or am I missing something? :confused:
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"Oh hey brother, can I play Half-Life 2 on your PC?"
"Nah man, but you can go play on the living room TV, my account is shared there."
"OH COOL THANKS!"

It's a feature and I like it. Maybe I am lazy and don't feel like gaming on my PC? I can go chillax on my sofa with an xbox 360 controller and just game from there.
 
I've been playing with the beta and it's pretty slick. On wireless N, Civ V is finally playable on my laptop. I have been meaning to try this on my HTPC (sucko Intel integrated gfx and a 50gb SSD) but haven't had time or ability to pry my wife away from the big tv long enough.

I think the ability to have a monster gaming rig in another room pushing content to weaker pc's is awesome. And it's free? I would PAY for something like this (and I have been looking at wireless HDMI transmitters/receivers for basically the same thing).

Shatterstar, as someone who spends their entire day + sitting in an uncomfortable chair staring at a desktop, the thought of playing my PC games on the big screen, kicked back on the couch, without dropping $500+ on a gaming HTPC... is priceless.
 
I have one question really, excuse me if it has been answered. Say, someone is playing X game streaming from my pc to his/her laptop.

What does that mean for my pc usage? Do I also see the game running? Can I use my pc for other things?
 
Stardusted said:
I have one question really, excuse me if it has been answered. Say, someone is playing X game streaming from my pc to his/her laptop.

What does that mean for my pc usage? Do I also see the game running? Can I use my pc for other things?
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From what I witnessed testing it on my systems is the main rig was running the games as if you where playing on it. So my guess is that the main rig is taken up playing and encoding the stream to the other PC.

I did the test by myself so I didn't have anyone else around to see if you could still operate the main rig, This would be something for someone to try out.
 
shatterstar said:
I understood perfectly it is a in home streaming which is why I am confused. :confused:

I don't see a purpose to this if your using 2 computers in your home that need steam client.

Either play on the computer that can is going to be doing all the work or just use steam big picture feature which would give you lag free option?

or am I missing something? :confused:
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There are a lot (whatever that number actually is) of people building or buying lower end PCs to stick in their living-rooms. Many of these same people (who let's just assume are into PC gaming) also have a decently powerful gaming PC. (presumably in another room of the house, with a smaller monitor than their main TV)

I'm guessing most of the time PC Gamers (like myself) would want to play shooters and other games that make good use of mouse and keyboards would want to be at the desk. However, there are TONs of games that work quite well with gamepads, look impressive on a TV, in addition to the pull of a comfortable chair or couch.

Without having to buy a console, and using one's existing Steam account, one could (using this new Steam technology) play those games that are nicer on the couch, on the couch, using a big TV, and gamepad without additional spending.

Or pop it up on a laptop, say if you wanted to sit with a loved one on the couch, but not watch TV with them.

Or, if you're like me, and already have a pretty beefy gaming oriented HTPC... You just try it out because it's new, fun, tech oriented, and why the hell not when you have everything in your house to do it?
 
shatterstar said:
I understood perfectly it is a in home streaming which is why I am confused. :confused:

I don't see a purpose to this if your using 2 computers in your home that need steam client.

Either play on the computer that can is going to be doing all the work or just use steam big picture feature which would give you lag free option?

or am I missing something? :confused:
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I think the idea is that many people have their TVs in their living room and their gaming PCs in an office or bedroom. Normally HTPCs aren't as powerful as gaming rigs so this allows you to play your games on your moderately spec'd HTPC in your living room without having to move your gaming rig. Its probably not something that is advantageous for all Steam users. I can see it working for sports games or multiplayers games that you want tp play on your TV on your living room with friends or possibly for someone that just wants to play certain games in their living room on a TV when their HTPC isn't as equipped to handle the game.
 
masterosok said:
I think the idea is that many people have their TVs in their living room and their gaming PCs in an office or bedroom. Normally HTPCs aren't as powerful as gaming rigs so this allows you to play your games on your moderately spec'd HTPC in your living room without having to move your gaming rig. Its probably not something that is advantageous for all Steam users. I can see it working for sports games or multiplayers games that you want tp play on your TV on your living room with friends or possibly for someone that just wants to play certain games in their living room on a TV when their HTPC isn't as equipped to handle the game.
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That was the concise way of saying what I said. :D

Also, it's just a new optional "tool" to add to Steam for those that need it. I can't see that as anything but good even if only a few people use it. As long as it's not bloating Steam or sucking resources too badly for those that aren't using it anyway...
 
Ironically Steam and its growning new and neat neat features is pretty much the stuff the stuff Microsoft should making for windows, if they were truly had intent on pc gaming like we've heard them say so many times..
 
I'm actually excited about this. I can play some decent stuff on my living room pc but it doesn't have anywhere near the power of my downstairs pc. I have a big backlog of games that keep building simply because I don't have time to lock myself away downstairs for hours at at time away from the wife and kids.
 
I've been loving In-Home Streaming. It still has some issues with higher resolutions in some games, but all in all, it's 90% there. Most games run flawlessly @ 60fps at 900p on my gigabit network... even 1080p is cool most of the time, but it can knock you down to 30fps at times.

From what I witnessed testing it on my systems is the main rig was running the games as if you where playing on it. So my guess is that the main rig is taken up playing and encoding the stream to the other PC.

I did the test by myself so I didn't have anyone else around to see if you could still operate the main rig, This would be something for someone to try out.
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You're correct. you cannot use the host machine while it's streaming. Same as if you were using RDP to connect to a remote computer... just with much lower latency. You'll actually see a mirror image of whats on the remote computer on the host machine.
 
shatterstar said:
I understood perfectly it is a in home streaming which is why I am confused. :confused:

I don't see a purpose to this if your using 2 computers in your home that need steam client.

Either play on the computer that can is going to be doing all the work or just use steam big picture feature which would give you lag free option?

or am I missing something? :confused:
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Because then you'd need to build 2 or more gaming PC's which will cost you quite a bit of money. Or you need to constantly move your PC around which is a pain in the ass. With IHS, you only need one beastly rig and pretty much ANY other machine in your house can play with the same settings as it.

Right now I have an old HP Slimline C2D machine with a low end GPU hooked up in my living room. It has a tiny HDD, and boots directly into Windows with big picture mode. Some Indie and older titles will run fine natively, but for those that don't, I can still play them without much compromise.

Even my laptops, which can play a lot of lower end games, benefit from it since they're not doing the processing (only decoding)... So the fans around wound up to 90% and dumping hot air right into my lap. They stay ice cold and get much better battery life aswell.
 
Even my laptops, which can play a lot of lower end games, benefit from it since they're not doing the processing (only decoding)... So the fans around wound up to 90% and dumping hot air right into my lap. They stay ice cold and get much better battery life aswell.
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around = aren't


stupid spell check
 
shspvr said:
Steam In-Home Streaming = OnLive
I agree with shatterstar
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No, its not "On-Live". You might as well be saying "a car is a bicycle". Try it before making assumptions.

What's the point of In-Home Streaming? Well for me, there are times when I don't feel like sitting at my desk on my gaming PC, and instead want to vegetate on the couch with a nice open world sandbox game and a controller. Heavily modded Skyrim for example. BUT: I'm too lazy to drag my gaming rig back and forth to the living room, and I also didn't feel like investing in expensive gaming quality motherboard/CPU/GPU/memory to upgrade my 3+ year old low end HTPC hardware.

Bottom line: I've tried a bunch of games and they feel like the game is running locally off the low cost HTPC, and it this didn't cost me a dime.

In-Home Streaming thread in [H] Gaming Forum: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1819617

Here's my setup, with Media Browser Theater + Steam Integration Plugin.
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So I install steam on both computers, however I can play a high end game on my lower end laptop using my 46" TV plugged in as if my higher end desktop was hooked up to the TV? Or am I still restricted to hardware limitations on the laptop and this is simply a way to play a game without installing it on that computer?
 
sfsuphysics said:
So I install steam on both computers, however I can play a high end game on my lower end laptop using my 46" TV plugged in as if my higher end desktop was hooked up to the TV? Or am I still restricted to hardware limitations on the laptop and this is simply a way to play a game without installing it on that computer?
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I haven't tried it yet, so this is a guess, but I'd say that as long as your laptop supports the needed resolution of the TV, and is at least up to decoding a stream of that size, then yes, it would work.
 
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