Now limited to 30mbps?

[TheJFK]

I have been extensively using steam in-home streaming as my default way of playing Steam games for about a year now. I have a gigabit network with a dedicated gigabit switch and my computers are well set up for the tasks. The host is on Windows 10, previously 8.1 and client on Windows 10/Steamos, depending on my mood.

Since my network setup is so ideal for the task, I've been using the "beautiful" setting and "unlimited" bandwidth on the client side for decoding. It's been working great with very low latency and very good quality. However, as of about a week ago, I've noticed a huge drop in streaming quality with colours washed out and compression artifacts. The stream is still fast and reliable, just a drop in quality. I did notice that where once my estimated bandwidth was around 600mbps and varying around that point it was then limited to 30mbps and was rock-solid limited to that point. I verified that my settings were set to unlimited, but 30mbps was the hard limit.

I solved the problem by opting out of the beta and all was back to normal. However, last night the changes were pushed to the stable client (I presume) and the issue is back. Is this something anybody else is noticing? Can I get back my high-quality unlimited stream? My network can push at least 10x what the new hard limit is and the quality is suffering from it. I suspect this has something to do with the imminent influx of Steam Link users and preventing complaints of latency issues on less-than-ideal network connections :(

[Hadriel]

Holy moly! This really improves the image quality alot. I am on a 100mbit network, and was also capped to 30mbit according to the steam overlay. After setting the parameter to 100000, it still says 30mbit, but the actual bitrate skyrocketed from approx. 15000kbit/s to 60000kbit/s. The swamp in Witcher 3 doesn't look like a pixel mess anymore.
btw, I'm on a mac, so the file in OSX is located here:
/Users/xxx/Library/Application Support/Steam/userdata/xxx/config

[fatSki]

TheJFK の投稿を引用：

fatSki の投稿を引用：

I actually found it a bit surprising that the fix didn't work with the Steam Link, as far as I can see all it does is stream Big Picture mode directly from the host, and any client settings I make there are applied as expected (bandwidth, display streaming stats etc.) so I would have thought any config changes I made on the host would be picked up as well, but apparently not :/

To clarify, this fix is entirely client-side. It seems the client controls many elements of the streaming service. I suspect this issue could be resolved with a fix on the link if the file system were accessible, but, I haven't played around with one nor do I even know if it's theoretically possible to modify the file system.

I might mess around and see if I can get into it from the host through telnet or something, you never know what they might have left open :)

It's frustrating though, I've basically got an absolutely perfect set up for streaming, only to have it hamstrung by this issue. I'm sure there will be a fix soon enough.

[Saftle]

I managed to gain root access to the Steamlink via SSH, but there doesn't seem to be a configuration file that I can edit in order to change the 30000 to 100000.

I added you fatSki, since I didn't want to post the info here.

I would hate to be the cause of people "rm -rf /"ing there Steamlink :P

[NoXPhasma]

Hmm, interesting, for me the value is -1, which means probably unlimited. Why is it for you 30000?

[Saftle]

NoXPhasma の投稿を引用：

Hmm, interesting, for me the value is -1, which means probably unlimited. Why is it for you 30000?

If you open the performance overlay and press F6, you'll see that the bandwidth is 30 megabit regardless of it being set to Unlimited. This seems to only affect users that have hardware encoding though.

[Damage Inc]

Something I just noticed. I have mine on Wifi with AC. I was showing 200mbps at first then after a reboot it went to 30. I was able to get it to go over 30 by hitting the home button, clicking on steam streaming on the top right. Changing the settings to fast and back to beautiful, then under advanced host options disable and reenable hardware encoding.

Testing again to verify.

[Damage Inc]

Just did it again. Rebooted my host PC. It locked back at 30. It is unchecking hardware enconding under advanced host settings and reenabling seems to keep the bandwidth above 30.

Edit: It shows the software encoder after reenabling but if you quit the game and restart the
game (I am using Street Fighter 4) it shows NVFBC and bandwidth is fine still.

[Saftle]

Damage Inc 84 の投稿を引用：

Just did it again. Rebooted my host PC. It locked back at 30. It is unchecking hardware enconding under advanced host settings and reenabling seems to keep the bandwidth above 30.

Was this using a Steam Client on a Windows/Mac/Linux desktop/laptop, or using the Steam Link?

[Damage Inc]

Saftle の投稿を引用：

Damage Inc 84 の投稿を引用：

Just did it again. Rebooted my host PC. It locked back at 30. It is unchecking hardware enconding under advanced host settings and reenabling seems to keep the bandwidth above 30.

Was this using a Steam Client on a Windows/Mac/Linux desktop/laptop, or using the Steam Link?

This was using the Link.

[fatSki]

Does that help with the stream quality though, given that the Link doesn't have the unlimited option and the highest you can set it is 30, which actually seems to enforce a limit of 25?

[Damage Inc]

I leave it Automatic. Unlimited caused things to perform worse for me (Latency). Once I disable and renable hardware encoding on the host options using the steam link's interface, the bandwidth shoots right up and stays high no matter the game I try.

As far as quality difference, I do notice the incoming bitrates are lower when it is showing only 30. Once it goes up I see a rise in the bitrates. Ill be able to run more tests tonight.

[Saftle]

A fix for the Steam Link is available! https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam_Link/comments/3pj3ts/uncapping_the_30_megabit_bandwidth/

[Saftle]

The fix is absolutely amazing. With the bandwidth being capped at 100 Mbps rather than 30, gameplay is extremely smooth. I am finally extremely happy with the Steam Link. Go thank mcd1992 for the fix!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam_Link/comments/3pj3ts/uncapping_the_30_megabit_bandwidth/

[ichigo1381]

Hi Guys,
i have this problem too.
I have a pc with nvidia gtx 970, with hardware encoding and Prioritize network traffic activated as host.
I have a notebook with amd 5600 and i7, hardware decoding on as client.
They're wired at 100 Mbits with netgear powerlinks (and they're over 100 Mbits connected, as shown from netgear utility).
I have made the change into the .vdf file, setting the limit bandwidth to 100Mbps in both pc, but still the overlay shows "bandwidth: 30mbps" and risen 3 is still stuttering.
Why this doesn't work to me? i'm doing something wrong or forgetting something?
Really,. in home streaming was going very good before, why valve change this? why?

Thanks

[Damage Inc]

Saftle の投稿を引用：

The fix is absolutely amazing. With the bandwidth being capped at 100 Mbps rather than 30, gameplay is extremely smooth. I am finally extremely happy with the Steam Link. Go thank mcd1992 for the fix!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam_Link/comments/3pj3ts/uncapping_the_30_megabit_bandwidth/

Fix doesn't work for me. Still seeing lower bitrates even when seeing higher bandwidth. It was all working fine unti the other night. I can tell the fix is applying because hitting Y on streaming that section is blank. Though it is still not going over 30mbps unless i switch off hardware encoding and putting it back on and then restarting the game.