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Microsoft Now Lets You Stream PC Games To an Xbox One and Use a Controller (theverge.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

Microsoft is now letting Xbox One owners stream their PC games to the console and use a controller to play them. From a report: A newly updated app, Wireless Display app, from Microsoft enables the support so you can play Steam games or other titles directly on an Xbox One. You can use a regular Xbox controller to control the remote PC, enabling game play or even the ability to use an Xbox for presentations. Microsoft's Wireless Display app uses Miracast to create a connection between a PC and the Xbox One, and you can cast to the Xbox using the winkey + P combination. There are different latency modes for gaming and watching videos from a remote PC, and the app is ideal if you want to project a stream or video onto the Xbox. You won't be able to stream protected content like Netflix, though.

42 of 85 comments (clear)

  1. I don't know what to say... by Kokuyo · · Score: 2

    ...except why?

    Few people have a TV that is really good for gaming in the first place and you can use Xbox controllers on a PC.

    What is this good for?

    As for streaming content, how about allowing a Plex and Kodi app to run directly on the xbox?

    Perhaps I'm missing something but this seems to solving an issue I have trouble imagining many people to actually have.

    1. Re:I don't know what to say... by thereddaikon · · Score: 1

      Would be great for the new generation of PC based party games like gang beasts or all of those weird ones that you dont know jack devs make. Its fun to play but my PC monitor isn't ideal for local multiplayer, nor is my PC in front of a couch. Beaming it to a TV would be convenient. However this has been possible through a number of different solutions over the years. I think the biggest benefit would be since its first party microsoft its probably more seamless and idiot proof than other solutions.

    2. Re: I don't know what to say... by tysonedwards · · Score: 1

      It's good for being good enough. There are people who want to sit on the couch to play games. Being able to have access to all of your games with one controller is a nice value add, especially when it's a free piece of software. Not everyone is a competitive keyboard master race player and just wants to sit back and play Trailmakers or Gary's Mod.

      --
      Thirty four characters live here.
    3. Re:I don't know what to say... by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      The only thing I can think of is Wireless, Your PC is up in the office, while your XBox is under your TV.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:I don't know what to say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not only that, but it's the wrong direction. KB+M is vastly better for virtually every genre of game except maybe platformers. Put a KB+M player up against a similarly skilled controller player in a FPS, and unless you give the controller guy aim assist in the game, he's gonna get destroyed.

      You want to use a KB+M on most games, not a damned controller, unless you want to suck or depend on "auto-aim" where the game does the aiming for you. And if you give that auto-aim to the KB+M player too, he'll still school you.

      It's almost like there are other games out there that aren't PvP... Some of us like playing PC games, but would like to play them in the room where the big TV is when the computer isn't... It's not a hard fucking concept to get and people like you are grasping at straws over something YOU DONT HAVE TO USE.

    5. Re:I don't know what to say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Platformers are absolutely better with a controller.

      So are third-person action titles like God of War, Devil May Cry, and Batman Arkham Whatever.

      Same for the more arcade-actiony flight and space games. And I'd never, ever want to play a racing game with a keyboard when a controller is available (a steering wheel is better than both of course, but not everyone plays enough racers to justify buying one).

      Menu-driven games like many RPG's and turn-based tacticals like XCOM are a wash.

      Fuck your objectively wrong PC Master Race dipshittery.

    6. Re:I don't know what to say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      KB+M SUCKS.

      I used to play Quake 3 competitively back in the early 2000s and even then I used a gamepad for movement, crouching, and jumping. Gamepad in the left hand, mouse in the right. The analog movement is a huge advantage.

      The last 10 years or so making precise mouse inputs for more than 30 minutes or so gives me arm pain, so I've gone entirely gamepad. Not even pretending to be competitive in anything anymore, but the gamepad is far more fun, and I can relax instead of crouching at my monitor.

      I tend to not even consider playing games that don't have gamepad support now, which is sort of a shame since that rules out a lot of civilization/city builder stuff that truly benefit from the mouse, but they're just not worth the discomfort. I will mess with mouse based things that work with a touchscreen though, I have a little Lenovo X1 I use for light gaming.

    7. Re:I don't know what to say... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      He’s not talking about just resolution. The refresh rate of gaming monitors is much higher than TVs with 120Hz to 144Hz or higher being common. Also the resppnse time is much lower. Granted that level of performance isn’t needed if you’re playing Tetris, but is pivotal on the competitive scene. The question is for what audience was this feature intended.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    8. Re:I don't know what to say... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      The refresh rate of gaming monitors is much higher than TVs with 120Hz to 144Hz or higher being common.

      TV's are available with 120Hz and 240Hz refresh rates. And what is up with PC gamers wanting 144Hz? Video content is either 24, 30, or 60 so you want a multiple of that

    9. Re: I don't know what to say... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      How so? You can use the EXACT SAME wheel and pedals you use with a PC with a PS4.

    10. Re:I don't know what to say... by Wulf2k · · Score: 1

      You can already install Kodi on the Xbox.

    11. Re:I don't know what to say... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      KB+M is vastly better for virtually every genre of game except maybe platformers.

      The reason keyboard control became a thing for games is that early PC owners, having spent thousands on their setups...didn't have much left over for a joystick...so developers put in keyboard control schemes for those people who had a DOS machine, but no joystick.

      And they kept on having to do that even for games where keyboard isn't a very good control scheme.

      Would you want to play Elite with a keyboard? No Man's Sky? A Third person adventure game? A Diablo clone? A Racing game?

      Put a KB+M player up against a similarly skilled controller player in a FPS

      Ahh, I get it, you're a competitive FPS guy who doesn't play much other than FPS's. And I'd lay odds you haven't used a controller often enough to have any skill with it. So for "you", you can't use it well or accurately and you like the easy-mode that the mouse gets you.

      Yes, mouse-aiming is easy mode. That's what the first FPS players who had played games before mouse-aim called the games that had mouse-aiming.

    12. Re:I don't know what to say... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      On the TV is nice, but I need the keyboard and mouse. A console controller is a terrible interface, not ergonomic, inaccurate, and designed for children's hands.

    13. Re:I don't know what to say... by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      KB+M SUCKS.

      While I am generally pro-console and loathe the PC Master race asshats, I generally am mouse-tolerant.

      Keyboards on the other hand were designed to input text, they don't make good controls, especially not for movement.

      I used a gamepad for movement, crouching, and jumping. Gamepad in the left hand, mouse in the right. The analog movement is a huge advantage.

      Hybrid controls, I like using it in certain games, if it is supported. Played Quake II on the PSone with the PSone mouse that way, as well as Deus Ex and Half-Life on the PS2 with a USB mouse. I've used it in a few other games as well. You can even use it in FortNite.

    14. Re:I don't know what to say... by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Even if not PvP, a mouse is a huge help, and a keyboard is usually more flexible. Most people use computers if they're not kids, so they already know how to type (even touch type) and use a mouse. Ie, the mouse is easy to aim quickly, it can be fast or slow, it work from minesweeper to Fallout 4. That joystick thing on a controller is junk. Many early FPS games on consoles had an auto-aim feature for this reason. I've tried an old Tomb Raider game (3 or 4) on a PS3? and it was incredibly clunky even though I was great at it with keyboard only on a PC. Other FPS games on consoles I find myself constantly running in zigzags or S's until I finally get myself lined up in the direction I want to go. Now I want to name my character - that controller is crap for having to type in any text.

      You can tell which games were designed for a console first because they tend to have a simpler control mechanism, fewer choices, more QTEs, etc. Ie, they won't use 1 through 0 to select weapons or spells or other options, maybe they have a circular menu, etc.

      Trying to think of a computer game that is not better with keyboard and/or mouse, and I can't think of any.

    15. Re:I don't know what to say... by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      Fewer and fewer new TVs are offering 120Hz. Many are claiming “True Motion 120” or some variant of it. That is really marketing speak for 60HZ with smoothing algorithms. There are studies on how 144Hz being optimal for gaming. However the refresh rate is only part of deficiency. TVs have lower response times from what I know. These are the average TVs people can buy. If someone is willing to pay thousands for a set they can get higher quality.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    16. Re:I don't know what to say... by Solandri · · Score: 1
      I'm a PC gamer. Have been since probably before most of you were born (I played Zork I back when it was released, albeit the pirated version). But I admit I bought an XBox and PS4 controller, and eventually settled on a Steam Controller and Steam Link, so I could stream my PC games to my TV and play from my sofa. Sometimes I just want to lie back and chill on my sofa while playing games, and it's kinda hard to get comfortable using a keyboard and mouse on a small table when you do that.

      Few people have a TV that is really good for gaming in the first place

      The hardcore gamer crowd who gets high refresh rate monitors are a relatively small segment of the market. Around 5%-10% by unit sales, which means probably around 2%-3% by number of people since they upgrade much more frequently. The other 95%+ of gamers are perfectly content to play on their TV.

      Regular TVs are actually very good for gaming if you're content with a 60 Hz refresh rate. TVs all cover 100% sRGB and have good viewing angles. And they're designed to show fast motion (TV shows and movies) so the panels were pre-selected by the manufacturer to have low pixel response times and thus minimal image smearing. The only issue you might encounter is processing lag as the TV tries to refine what it thinks is a video image. But that can usually be disabled by putting the TV into PC mode (direct or 1:1, which also turns off overscan).

    17. Re:I don't know what to say... by hiroshimarrow · · Score: 1

      Frets on Fire. End of story.

    18. Re: I don't know what to say... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Because you look retarded with a gaming chair in the middle of a living room.

    19. Re: I don't know what to say... by thereddaikon · · Score: 1

      Have you tried to get 4 adults play on one laptop at the same time? Or do you mean connecting the laptop to the TV via HDMI? That works fine but most modern models don't have enough usb ports for all of the Controller's receivers or plugs. So then you have to use a hub, which is just another annoying thing to hook up. It's all doable just fine but feels half assed and a bit of a hack.

  2. Re:If only there was a way by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

    Its insights like these which makes me hate the default choice to be anonymous.

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    There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
  3. protected content like any thing that needs HDCP? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and controller only??

  4. the lag of an long HDMI / DP cable + wireless keyb by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    and the lag of an long HDMI / DP cable + wireless keyboard + mouse? with an cost way under that of an xbox.

  5. PC Games Xbox by Ogaboss · · Score: 1

    Cone to thing of it PC Games Xbox a Controller is one of the best ever made zizijam download has contributed his part,

  6. I just don't get it by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

    I don't own an Xbox One, so I have a problem conceiving it.

    Has there ever been an instance when playing a game on one's computer, and thinking, "damn, if only my Xbox One had that Steamlink feature so I could play off my TV..."

    Did Xbox users clamor for this feature? Is this really a significant Xbox deficiency that needed to be addressed? There weren't more pressing issues to fix for Xbox? Should I expect other console makers to add that option to their consoles? Is it time for DOJ to open up an antitrust investigation on Xbox?

    --
    There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
    1. Re: I just don't get it by tysonedwards · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, some people live in houses, and have their computers set up in offices in another room from their living room. And sometimes those people with houses also like to play games in their living room. And sometimes they would like to play a game in their bedroom. And punching holes in walls to run a hundred feet of HDMI cables, including sometimes breaking out a drill to go through studs is... Difficult. So, having something like Steam Link or this MS branded miracast app makes things easier for someone who would otherwise need to buy three computers so they can play games how they'd want.

      --
      Thirty four characters live here.
    2. Re:I just don't get it by DrSpock11 · · Score: 2

      I don't get what's so hard to understand. You own game X on PC. Let's say you bought it on PC because the graphics are better and the options are better. You want to play said game on your couch occasionally. You don't want to run new wiring through your house.

      Or an even better use case- you have emulators on PC (which are banned on the XBox Store), and you want to play them in the living room like they were designed for.

    3. Re:I just don't get it by Ogive17 · · Score: 1

      I do have an Xbox One but do not plan on using this feature. I can see it being useful for some of those local co-op PC games.

      The other option is to hook my PC tower up directly to the TV. Not as convenient with all the wires.

      --
      "Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
    4. Re:I just don't get it by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      That seems to be a limiting use case as the lag from inputs would make some games like FPS and any game where response time matters unplayable. Those are the likely the only games where graphics would matter between a console and a PC. I can’t imagine people want something Solitaire 4K in their livings rooms.

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    5. Re:I just don't get it by tepples · · Score: 1

      Or an even better use case- you have emulators on PC (which are banned on the XBox Store)

      Then how is Haunted: Halloween '86 for Xbox on Microsoft Store? It's almost certainly an NES emulator, seeing as the exact same game is also for sale on cartridge. I'm under the impression that it slides by rule 10.13.10 on grounds that it's self-contained and won't run ROMs other than the packaged one.

      But your "even better use case" is valid: You're playing a game for another platform, be it Windows or something a Windows PC can emulate, whose publisher hasn't rereleased it on Xbox.

    6. Re:I just don't get it by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      But an XBox is a very expensive way of doing this. There's got to be an easier solution than using a full console. You just want the video casting to the TV plus a way to get your inputs to your computer (and a laptop desk of course, for your keyboard and mouse :-).

  7. Re:If only there was a way by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    For the past 6 years all my work laptops no longer have VGA connectors, but HDMI, My home laptop only has HDMI, My friends had bought new gaming rig PCs and while they VGA they also have HDMI connectors too.

    Even the cheap TV's I see today have at least 2 HDMI inputs.

    The difference between a PC Monitor and a TV isn't that different anymore. Back in the day Computer monitors supported a higher resolution then a TV did, to support features such as clear 80 column readable text, non bleeding colors. Game Consoles of the time, were customized to use the TV, with 40 column text, and low resolution to get more colors. PC used RGB vs Composite for display technology to fix a lot of these issues.
    However ever sense we gone to HDTVs it has gone digital, and the RGB method of data input is common, and the HDMI cable for it good and bad had become standard on both PC's and TV's

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  8. Presentations? by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    Who the fuck would use an xbox for presentations? Especially when you need the computer anyway, just hook it directly to the screen. Use a laptop/netbook like a normal person. Can you imagine their faces when you say hang on just have to set up and you pull out a fucking xbox?

    --
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  9. But why? by MagicM · · Score: 1

    I can't think of a reason why I'd use this...

    That must mean that nobody would ever have a reason to use this...

    That must mean this is a terrible idea...

    That makes me angry and I must share my opinions with the world!

  10. Re:the lag of an long HDMI / DP cable + wireless k by Riceballsan · · Score: 1

    I don't think this is a reason to justify purchasing an xbox on it's own... you could accomplish the same with steamplay and a $30 raspberry pi I think. But if someone bought an xbox because it had some exclusive games that they cared to play, it seems like something that could be useful if you already have one.

  11. Re:the lag of an long HDMI / DP cable + wireless k by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

    Speaking of lag, I had something that seemed odd happen this week.

    I recently hooked my gaming PC up to my TV (not my preference, but there are reasons), but I haven't had much chance to play around with it since doing so. And because TV time is something that needs to be shared with others, I had an interest in getting Moonlight up and running on my iPad so I could enjoy my PC games even if I didn't have access to the TV at any given time.

    As I'm going through the setup process, I had the PC displaying on the TV via a wired connection as I worked on getting Moonlight working wirelessly on my iPad. After just a few minutes I had the same image on both screens, but as I moved the mouse around I realized that if I jiggled the cursor it stopped significantly sooner on the wirelessly-connected iPad than on the wired TV, to the tune of about 100-200ms. Enough that even my non-gaming wife commented on it without any prompting from me when I had her play a level of Bit.Trip Runner on the TV.

    To be fair, my wired setup is rather convoluted. The PC's signal path is PC -> HDMI -> A/V Receiver -> HDMI -> HDBaseT Transmitter -> Ethernet -> HDBaseT Receiver -> HDMI -> TV. So there's plenty of room for latency to be introduced. Even so, it boggled my mind that a wireless video stream would be noticeably faster than the wired stream heading to my TV.

    After a little fooling around, it turned out that the A/V receiver was the culprit. I had already set the PC's input channel to use "Game" mode on the AVR, which is supposed to reduce latency by removing most of the video processing, but apparently the processing for on-screen volume controls introduces quite a bit of latency. Switching the channel to use "Bypass"—which tells it to do no video processing at all—instantly eliminated the problem.

    But to bring things back around to the subject at hand, as a gamer with a family I'm finding a lot of value in having the option to play any given game on a wide variety of screens, simply because you never know which ones you'll have access to at any given moment. TV got nabbed? Continue that PC/PS4 gaming session on the MacBook Pro. Wife wants to web surf on the MacBook while watching TV? Switch to the iPad. Time for the TV and speakers to go off as folks head to bed? Pull the Switch from its dock and keep playing.

    Having options makes life a lot easier.

    Side note: Moonlight is awesome and free. Highly recommended.

  12. They're traditionally in different rooms by tepples · · Score: 1

    The difference between a PC Monitor and a TV isn't that different anymore.

    The difference is that they are in different rooms. The PC monitor is on the computer desk, while the TV is in the living room. In addition, last I checked, tower-style cases still dominated mass market desktop PCs, and they still were eyesores in the living room environment. Many gamers don't want to have to spend hundreds on a second PC just for one game nor haul one PC back and forth between the computer desk and the living room. (Others' views)

  13. Other platformer-like genres by tepples · · Score: 1

    KB+M is vastly better for virtually every genre of game except maybe platformers.

    Perhaps 4-player fighting games like Duck Game and Rivals of Aether and Super Smash Bros. are close enough to "platformers", as are 4-player party minigame collections like Mario Party. But is KB+M also better for 2-player fighting games like Street Fighter II and Tekken?

  14. Competitive Tetris by tepples · · Score: 1

    Granted that level of performance isn’t needed if you’re playing Tetris

    Don't underestimate. As soon as you hear the robotic voice say "Ready, Go!" you know you're in for some some fast $#!+.

  15. Re:If only there was a way by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    My first computer that I bought was an Amstrad CPC1512 and the Display we great for the time, Being able to handle 640x200 16 color graphics, too bad it wasn't EGA compatible. I had a few games (mostly from Sierra) that supported it (well one game King Quest IV, but I copied the drv file to the other games and they worked fine, up until SCI2) But the display was really good, and combined with the default font, which made ANSI block character 176, 177 178 and 219 line up without that 1px spacer that we saw on VGA displays.

    Now the Amstrad CPC was meant to be sold to businesses. While the Display was really good for its time, Businesses still preferred monochrome displays, mostly due the the fact that Text was crystal clear on a monochrome (As a monochrome display doesn't have prosper separators, so a pixel will be a solid pixel). Besides a color display would be too much fun, and you can't have that. We don't want the employees using the business computers to play games all day.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  16. Just tried it - too slow for gaming by prentiz · · Score: 2

    I've just downloaded the app on my xbox and given it a go - it was really quite slow, display-wise, much too slow for any real gaming. It worked usefully to connect the xbox controller to my laptop, and I guess it would be handy maybe for watching movies or doing presentations, but not gaming.

  17. Re: the lag of an long HDMI / DP cable + wireless by Anubis+IV · · Score: 1

    Or buy/frankencable a 2+*2+ matrix hdmi switch for $100 and send any input to any output that allows wired video input.

    FTFY. Sadly, my laptops, phones, tablets, etc. (i.e. the screens I have available when I don't have access to the TV) don't support video input from wired sources, so wireless is the only way to go.

    You can run a f2f HDMI cable through drywall pretty easily and pretty it up with a panel port. [...] run it through the HVAC.

    Given that I need to account for the WAF, which means that maximum prettying up must take place, what you're suggesting is that instead of using my existing devices and some free software with no additional purchases and no additional labor, I can instead buy an incredibly long CL2 (or higher) rated HDMI cable, cut a hole in the wall where the panel will go, locate and then cut open the wall at the location(s) where we have horizontal brace(s) that are designed to stop the vertical spread of fire between studs, notch out the brace(s) so the cabling can run through, run the cabling up the wall, drill through the riser, cut into the HVAC conduit and run the cabling through, patch the hole(s) in the HVAC conduit to prevent air from escaping into the attic, insulate around the cabling in the wall to prevent fire from spreading through the notch(es) I made in the brace(s), insulate around the cabling in the riser to prevent air/fire from spreading through the new hole, close and patch the hole(s) in the wall at the brace(s), repaint the walls that we just got done painting, connect and install the new panel for the HDMI, and then repeat almost all of that for the other end of the cable as well.

    I've actually considered doing all of that before, but in the end it simply wasn't worth it when it was both easier and cheaper to use wireless for anything other than the TV, and for the TV itself, I have a flat Ethernet cable that's carrying the HDMI signal simply running over the slab and under the carpet padding.

    Also worth noting, HDMI doesn't exactly get very long cable runs before you need a powered signal booster. Modern cables are somewhat better, but a few years ago when I was checking, the general advice was that anyone interested in 4K needed to keep their runs at or under 25', which barely gets you across/around a room once you account for vertical changes or going around corners. If you're going to all of that work, you'll likely want to run Ethernet and use HDBaseT instead of running HDMI.

    A 1" hole through a floor isnt too tough either, just check for electrical/plumbing

    As you may have surmised, I'm on a concrete slab foundation. Running a cable through the floor would be even more onerous than the process I outlined above, given that step one would involve renting a jackhammer.