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The scenario

I want to watch a friend play 3D FPS or RPG games on their PC (mid range spec with Nvidia GPU) and have 2 or 3 other friends watching in realtime (or as near as possible) over the Internet in different countries.

Quality doesn't need to be high, just 720p 30fps or thereabouts is acceptable.

Live chat between the friends would be via Discord so that we can discuss what is happening in the game with the player so that decisions can be made in real time. Lag of more than a few seconds makes this impossible.

The options so far

  • Twitch is designed for streaming to a public audience and the lag/latency is 15-20 seconds.

  • Google Hangouts/Skype is instant, but very low frame rate and not suitable for streaming games.

  • Steam is nicely integrated with your game library and friends to allow multiple friends to easily watch your games but the stream latency is 10-15 seconds.

  • Beam Pro appears to be a low latency alternative, but it is unclear how you set it up on a PC, and stream it. Also there appears to be some latency from reviews I've read.

  • Nvidia GameStream (or just Stream as it is called in latest GeForce Experience download) is instant with no discernible delay for the viewer using a Chrome plug-in, even over the internet across Europe, but it is restricted only to 1 viewer at a time by a single invite. (Nvidia broadcast is to Twitch or other public service and has latency)

Is there any other way to get more than 1 person watching someone's PC gameplay near realtime?

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9
  • upgrade your upload speed on your internet connection. I had good streaming with steam once I lowered the upload speed enough. Problem is it will have to be 1/3 or less of total as each friend will use 1/3. What is the upload speed on your connection?
    – cybernard
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 1:38
  • My upload speed is 6mbps. But as indicated above, Nvidia streaming is instant whereas Steam has 12 seconds delay. This is not a bandwidth issue but a technology issue. The 12 second delay was the same whether there was 1 or 3 Steam friends watching.
    – DaBozUK
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 12:59
  • To clarify, what do you mean by "lowered the upload speed"?
    – DaBozUK
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 13:01
  • In steam goto settings, then in the left window select Broadcasting. Then find Maximum Bitrate, and lower it. You can start at the bottom, and go or vice-a-versa.
    – cybernard
    Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 21:18
  • Unfortunately that setting makes no difference. I tested on my LAN and connected to friend's game with default broadcasting settings and the delay was 9 seconds. I quit the game, set broadcast stttings on both steam accounts down to best performance and 750 bps and 480p res. Connected again and the delay was still 9 seconds. Thanks anyway
    – DaBozUK
    Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 9:24

1 Answer 1

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2

Discord's screensharing works nicely for sharing gameplay with a small group of friends.

  • Streams video quality at 720p, 30 FPS
  • Little to no latency
  • Supports up to 10 users
  • Built in voice & text chat
  • Records game audio without a separate audio device.

Discord stream sharing

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