Well, Nvidia's got your back. Its GeForce Now game streaming service is now available to use on M1 Macs, through the dedicated app. This has been 'translated' using Apple's Rosetta 2 emulator, so. However, in GeForce Now version 2.0.27, not only is Nvidia adding beta support for game streaming via Google Chrome on both Windows and macOS, Nvidia has also updated its native GeForce Now macOS. GeForce NOW Instantly transforms nearly any laptop, desktop, Mac, SHIELD TV, Android device, iPhone, or iPad into the PC gaming rig you’ve always dreamed of. Instantly play the most demanding PC games and seamlessly play across your devices.
I recently discovered an alternative to remote control my Windows 7/10 desktop PC, instead of using Microsoft Remote Desktop. This method requires a computer with a modern NVIDIA graphics card with GameStream and works with iOS and macOS using a client called Moonlight!
There must be many people using MS Remote Desktop for macOS, since it's perpetually in the top 'Free' apps chart. There is also an iOS version.
But, from what I've experienced so far, NVIDIA's GameStream is faster, fast enough to play games! Depending on your WiFi speed, you can stream video from 30 fps at 720p (5 Mbps) up to 60 fps at 4K (80 Mbps), with audio. And it supports XBox controllers, in addition to the standard keyboard/mouse combo.
Desktop (GameStream Server)
First, you'll need to have a modern NVIDIA graphics card (apparently GTX 600 and above), and I'd recommend the latest drivers and GeForce Experience 2.11.4 (GFE).
I'm using GFE 2.11.4 and not the latest GFE 3 because the latter requires login to NVIDIA is generally hated. If you need to downgrade, uninstall GFE and download the previous version from NVIDIA directly:
Then, in the GeForce Experience tool, visit Preferences > SHIELD and make sure GameStream is enabled by checking Allow this PC to stream games to SHIELD devices.
Normally, GFE will allow detected games to be streamed, but in the bottom half of the screen, you can add any other applications. So, to remotely control the entire Windows, there is a little trick. Click the + button and add mstsc.exe typically found in
C:windowssystem32mstsc.exe
(mstsc is Remote Desktop client, previously know as MS Terminal Services Client). You can rename this 'Desktop'.Finally, open the NVIDIA Control Panel, and from the menu, make sure Desktop > Show Notification Tray Icon is checked! This is required to popup the connection request authentication window on the desktop PC.
As a slight aside, if you keep getting a request to update GFE 2, head over to
%programdata%NVIDIA CorporationGeForce ExperienceUpdate
and delete all the files there. Then in GFE Preferences > General make sure to disable both options under Updates.GameStream Client on iOS and macOS
Now, you'll need a client (since nobody has an NVIDIA Shield anyway!), and I found Moonlight, an open source GameStream client.
For macOS, you'll need Google Chrome installed first. Then, download Moonlight Chrome, either following the links from the Moonlight home or directly from GitHub. The installation instructions are quite clear:
- Download moonlight-chrome.crx.
- Open Chrome's extensions page, via the menu Window > Extensions.
- Uninstall any previous version.
- Drag the CRX file into the extensions page.
![Nvidia mac card Nvidia mac card](https://www.howtogeek.com/thumbcache/2/200/45632b998f7d3b6b5f0ebf9780cb25e5/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/SHIELD-Android-TV-Screenshot-2017-05-11-10-46-39-650x300.png)
Once that's done, go ahead and start Moonlight from Launchpad, or from Chrome's bookmarks bar . Enter your desktop hostname (e.g. 'homepc.local') or IP address, select a game or 'Desktop' and Connect!
If it manages to connect you'll be prompted to enter a code on your desktop.
If it does not, check your Windows Firewall. I have no specific recommendations here as I had no trouble in this regard. If there is no popup window on the desktop, make sure to check the Show Notification Tray Icon described above.
Moonlight Chrome is currently in Alpha, but will eventually replace Moonlight PC, which is a slow Java-based client without hardware decoding. In addition, it's not available on the Chrome App Store yet.
For iOS, just download Moonlight from the App Store. It's even easier as it automatically found my desktop and displayed installed games with box art!
Here is my iPad mini 2 running No Man's Sky. You can see the buttons emulating a virtual controller. It's pretty slow on my old iPad mini, but quite playable on my MacBook Pro, despite my slow Wi-Fi!
Moonlight also supports Windows, Android, Raspberry Pi and Linux too. Amazing stuff! Wish could do this with AirPlay.
Updated 10 Oct: Addded the bit about downgrading to GFE 2 since I accidentally had mine updated. Download info was taken from this thread on Reddit.
NVIDIA Capture SDK (formerly GRID SDK) enables developers to easily and efficiently capture, and optionally encode, the display content.
The NVIDIA Capture SDK enables remote desktop displays on NVIDIA hardware (local, remote or cloud). It provides the ability to capture the desktop buffer as an image or steam of images that can be compressed as a video bitstream for transmission to remote clients or for storing locally.
Download NVIDIA Capture SDK 8.0.4
To download, you must be a member of NVIDIA Developer Program.
Upgrade office 2011 for mac. By clicking the 'Agree & Download' button below, you are confirming that you have read and agree to be bound by the Capture Software Development Kit License Agreement for use of the SDK package. The download will begin immediately after clicking on the 'Agree & Download' button below.
Join the NVIDIA Developer Program
Get access to the latest software releases and tools and receive notifications and invites to join special developer events, early access programs and educational webinars. The program is free-to-join and open to all developers.
LinuxAccept & Download Release Notes
- NVFBC has been deprecated on Windows 10 starting with Windows 10 October 2019 Update for reasons explained in this document.
- Windows 10 provides native capture APIs that can be considered as alternatives to NVFBC. Explore this option (Github Sample).
To run Capture SDK, please obtain a compatible NVIDIA Driver for your hardware.
- For Linux, 455.23 or newer drivers are required for NVIDIA Capture SDK 8.0.4 can be obtained directly from http://www.nvidia.com/drivers.
NVIDIA Capture SDK Interfaces
What’s new in NVIDIA Capture SDK 8.0.4
- Retired the NVFBC_CAPTURE_TO_HW_ENCODER interface
- The recommended way to encode captured frames with NVENC is by using the NVIDIA Video Codec SDK.
Linux
Operating System | Linux |
Dependencies | Please refer to release notes for supported hardware list. Linux drivers 455.23 or newer |
Development Environment | Linux: gcc 4.8 or higher |
Graphics APIs | DirectX9,10,11 and OpenGL |
Key Features of NVIDIA Capture SDK
NvFBC works by capturing the entire contents of the desktop to a GPU buffer without stalling, or interfering with, the other work on the GPU. On Windows, the capture can occur with the Windows Desktop Manager enabled or disabled. This buffer can then be encoded using H.264 or HEVC via on-chip hardware video encoder through the NvEncode API.
Enterprise Case Study with NVIDA Capture SDK
VMware Horizon Blast uses NVIDIA Capture SDK, and has demonstrated that using the Capture and Encode SDK improves latency, increases the number of users per server, reduces bandwidth, and lowers CPU utilization. The VMware case study blog can be found here.
Resources
Getting Started
NVIDIA Capture SDK can be used for desktop or application streaming from a private cloud. In order to setup a private cloud to develop and validate streaming functionality, there are two options
Nvidia Streaming Codec
- Refer to the NVIDA Capture SDK FAQ for the supported Tesla, Quadro, or GRID product to use with the Capture SDK. Download the latest relevant NVIDIA Display Drivers for install on Windows or Linux systems.
- Use Amazon G2 instances for GPUs in the cloud. These are located in data centers in US East (Northern Virginia), US West (Northern California), US West (Oregon), and EU (Ireland) Regions. Refer to the documentation in the Capture SDK on setting up an account and AMI for use.
Code Samples
The NVIDIA Capture SDK includes a collection of code samples that demonstrate how to use the SDK APIs to capture either the desktop or a window and then send the contents to the NVIDIA Hardware Encoder. Reference the NVIDIA Capture SDK Samples Guide included in the download package for more information on getting started.
Nvidia Streaming Media Player
Developer Forums
Our forum community is where Developers can ask questions, share experiences and participate in discussions with NVIDIA and other experts in the field.
Check out available forums here and here.
Check out available forums here and here.