[AMA] I have a SHIELD, you have questions! I have answers!

[Kevin OQuinn]

Ask anything. If I don't know the answer, I will do my best to find out!

 

[neonworm]

Does it have any noticeable lag while playing graphically intensive games? For example, dead trigger, modern combat 4, or need for speed most wanted.

 

[isamu99]

Does it have any noticeable lag while playing graphically intensive games? For example, dead trigger, modern combat 4, or need for speed most wanted.

Great questions ^^ Also how does it run with emulators like RetroArch and MAME4Droid?

 

[The Bard]

How differs in graphic playing Riptide GP2 on SHIELD compared to Tegra 3 devices or Adreno and Mali?

Is SHIELD have and support tactile feedback ( rumble )?


Posted via Android Central App

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Does it have any noticeable lag while playing graphically intensive games? For example, dead trigger, modern combat 4, or need for speed most wanted.

I've played Dead Trigger, the Dead Trigger 2 Beta, Shadowgun, Sonic 4 Ep2 (an extremely demanding game, especially at 60FPS), and have noticed no performance dips. I'm not into Modern Combat, and NFS has some bugs that EA needs to get worked out. It's not playing nice with the gyro, with every other game that I've tried has. I'm told they're working on it, though.

Great questions ^^ Also how does it run with emulators like RetroArch and MAME4Droid?

Also not much of an emulator guy, but I can say that SHIELD does have the horsepower for it. As for the controller working properly, I might try to track some down and test, but don't hold me to that.

How differs in graphic playing Riptide GP2 on SHIELD compared to Tegra 3 devices or Adreno and Mali?

Is SHIELD have and support tactile feedback ( rumble )?


Posted via Android Central App

I just played it side-by-side on SHIELD and the Nexus 7. Graphically, the effects aren't all that different. You'll notice better lighting and shadows, which to a more realistic experience, but the jet skis, water, and splashes are almost identical. But boy, performance is so much better on SHIELD. There are no dips in performance or frame rate that I can see. Plus, using it with a controller just feels more natural and intuitive. I definitely do better in the game with the controller. The speakers are good enough that the experience almost becomes "immersive". EDIT: I also just played it on my HTC One, and the difference is noticeable. Not as many water splashes, and the lighting isn't as good (as the N7 or SHIELD). Also, gameplay wasn't a smooth experience at all. Noticeable frame rate dips. I know the One has a ton of horsepower, but I think the Tegra specific coding is making the difference here.

SHIELD does not have a rumble motor, but after you play it you'll notice that speakers actually do resonate inside of the case, which gives it an almost rumble feel. Call it cheating if you want LOL. Obviously that makes it based solely on the sound. So the short answer is no, it doesn't have rumble in the sense of a 360 or PS3 controller, but you definitely "feel" it when playing the game. Does that make sense?

 

[SuperTongue]

How's the PC streaming going?

If you happen to have BF3, could you please test it with the multiplayer? I know a few reviewers said "twitch" based games might not work well on the SHIELD, but BF3 is in that gray area between twitch and strategy.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

How's the PC streaming going?

If you happen to have BF3, could you please test it with the multiplayer? I know a few reviewers said "twitch" based games might not work well on the SHIELD, but BF3 is in that gray area between twitch and strategy.

No BF3 here, sorry. I've been playing a lot of Borderlands 2, and a little bit of Metro 2033. I'm not disappointed. I gotta leave something for the review, though.

IMO, the killer feature is the streaming. It's what puts SHIELD over the top.

 

[dvdcatalyst]

In regards to the streaming,

From the nVidia site, I get the impression that it only works with the games mentioned, but in one review on the web, it mentioned that it basically plays anything that Steam Big Picture supports.
Aside from Borderlands 2 and Metro 2033, have you tried any other games, maybe a few not on the supported list?

A few reviews also mention an audio-lag of about 120ms when streaming. Have you noticed that yourself?

Last question (for now).

One review (IGN) mentions connection issues even at a small distance from the router. Can you share the setup are you using with the Shield, such as router, PC-specs, and the distances you have tried?

 

[Joe the Insider]

In regards to the streaming,

From the nVidia site, I get the impression that it only works with the games mentioned, but in one review on the web, it mentioned that it basically plays anything that Steam Big Picture supports.
Aside from Borderlands 2 and Metro 2033, have you tried any other games, maybe a few not on the supported list?

A few reviews also mention an audio-lag of about 120ms when streaming. Have you noticed that yourself?

Last question (for now).

One review (IGN) mentions connection issues even at a small distance from the router. Can you share the setup are you using with the Shield, such as router, PC-specs, and the distances you have tried?

I second this question.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

In regards to the streaming,

From the nVidia site, I get the impression that it only works with the games mentioned, but in one review on the web, it mentioned that it basically plays anything that Steam Big Picture supports.
Aside from Borderlands 2 and Metro 2033, have you tried any other games, maybe a few not on the supported list?

A few reviews also mention an audio-lag of about 120ms when streaming. Have you noticed that yourself?

Last question (for now).

One review (IGN) mentions connection issues even at a small distance from the router. Can you share the setup are you using with the Shield, such as router, PC-specs, and the distances you have tried?

Yes, the games need to be supported to work with the streaming feature. It's still in Beta, and hopefully once it's out of beta this is fleshed out and becomes more widely available. For now the requirement seems to be full controller support AND big picture support. I will try to get more info on this and reply back.

I haven't noticed any audio lag. I'm not saying it's not there, but it might not be noticeable enough for me to care, or in my particular situation it's not an issue.

My setup follows:

Core i7-3770k (stock clocks)
GeForce GTX760 (stock clocks)
16gb RAM
250gb SSD

The router is the ASUS RT-N66U, which is a simultaneous dual-band MIMO unit. Basically, wifi performance is not an issue for me. I have the PC plugged into the gigE and SHIELD connected to the 5ghz channel. I don't live in an apartment or condo, it's a house, and the neighbors aren't close. I don't have a lot of congestion, noise, or interference as far as wifi goes. I've played in the same room as the router, one room away, and two rooms away without any noticeable issues.

Here you go:

PC streaming will release as a BETA feature at initial launch of SHIELD. The PC
Streaming BETA will feature a select number of supported games from Steam, access to
Steam Big Picture, and a set of recommended routers. After conclusion of the BETA period,
users will receive a free software update to the official release that includes expanded game
support, broader Wi-Fi compatibility, feature enhancements, and any needed bug fixes based
on BETA feedback.

 

[The Bard]

So the PC stream on Shield only can be access using Steam? So game that aren't steam version can't be stream on Shield?

I need info about Nvidia Shield full package weight and size please...? About shipping cost, is it free in region US & Canada?

Many thanks!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[SuperTongue]

So the PC stream on Shield only can be access using Steam? So game that aren't steam version can't be stream on Shield?

I need info about Nvidia Shield full package weight and size please...? About shipping cost, is it free in region US & Canada?

Many thanks!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

I'm not sure where the list of games is, but there are a few (Battlefield 3 and SimCity, for example) that were on the list as being supported for SHIELD play. This list is on Nvidia's site - just not sure where.

As for the package weight, Newegg has this under the details section:

UNIT WEIGHT (lbs):2.7
UNIT LxWxH (in):7.5" x 7.5" x 4.82"

Newegg.com - NVIDIA SHIELD Gaming Portable, 5" 720p Retinal Display, Tegra 4 Mobile Processor, Android Jelly Bean, 802.11n

 

[The Bard]

Here you go:

PC streaming will release as a BETA feature at initial launch of SHIELD. The PC
Streaming BETA will feature a select number of supported games from Steam, access to
Steam Big Picture, and a set of recommended routers. After conclusion of the BETA period,
users will receive a free software update to the official release that includes expanded game
support, broader Wi-Fi compatibility, feature enhancements, and any needed bug fixes based
on BETA feedback.

So, to stream the PC game, there is a software from nvidia that installed on PC? Sorry I just a bit confuse how to trigger the streaming to play game from PC to Shield.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[SuperTongue]

So, to stream the PC game, there is a software from nvidia that installed on PC? Sorry I just a bit confuse how to trigger the streaming to play game from PC to Shield.

Posted via Android Central App

Yup, you'll need the Nvidia GeForce Experience, which is actually a pretty useful program if you've got an Nvidia GTX card. It even tells you if you're PC is ready for streaming or not. You can download it and find more out about it here:
GeForce Experience Tweaks your Game Settings Automatically | GeForce

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Here;s the LINK TO THE LIST OF GAMES

 

[SuperTongue]

Not to go too far off topic, but you said your router was the ASUS RT-N66U in another thread. How's the range on it? I'm currently in a duplex (half of a house) that's about 750 sq. ft. total. I'm pretty sure it's the low-priced routers I have now, but the coverage is shoddy at best so I have to have two (one for downstairs and one for upstairs). Suggestions?

 

[dvdcatalyst]

Here;s the LINK TO THE LIST OF GAMES

Mine came in earlier today, but just now been able to play with it.

I figured a few things out that might be interesting for some:

1. Games not supported by Geforce Experience do work, but you have to set the resolution in the game's settings to 1280x720.

2. You can actually stream apps to the Shield as well. I was able to run Photoshop CS6, Windows Media Player, and my own app this way and control them (touch-only) on the Shield.
to do this, add your application as a non-steam game in Steam, and you can then access them through the main Steam interface on the Shield.


update:

Just accomplished something I have been messing with for years. Playing Fallout 3 in the bedroom

Before that, I fiddled a bit with Plants vs Zombies on my PC, and learned something new.

Adding it as a non-steam game resulted in a crash when I first tried to start it. I tried it directly on my PC, and noticed I had it set to "windowed" rather than "full-screen". Changing it made it work.

Unfortunately, the mouse pointer is off quite a bit when tapping the screen. I was hoping it was fixed by turning off multi-monitor on my desktop-system, but even with just one screen enabled, the mouse pointer is off.

But, Fallout 3, which has controller support, works perfectly

(I'm using a second-gen Apple Airport Extreme as a router)

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Not to go too far off topic, but you said your router was the ASUS RT-N66U in another thread. How's the range on it? I'm currently in a duplex (half of a house) that's about 750 sq. ft. total. I'm pretty sure it's the low-priced routers I have now, but the coverage is shoddy at best so I have to have two (one for downstairs and one for upstairs). Suggestions?

Part of your problem might be general congestion of the available bands. 5ghz doesn't have tremendous range, but it's far less congested and generally offers better performance. Where I'm at I get great range (bi-level, old spread out farm house) and have signal everywhere (basement, main level, and upstairs) and my router isn't located centrally in the house.

 

[SuperTongue]

Part of your problem might be general congestion of the available bands. 5ghz doesn't have tremendous range, but it's far less congested and generally offers better performance. Where I'm at I get great range (bi-level, old spread out farm house) and have signal everywhere (basement, main level, and upstairs) and my router isn't located centrally in the house.

Ah, cool. I was looking at the Amazon.com: ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router: Computers & Accessories for 802.11AC support (especially since phones like the Moto X are rolling out with support for it). It seems like this is the cousin of the RT-N66U.

I did a quick scan with my Nexus 7 and it doesn't seem like there's anyone nearby utilizing the 5GHz band, so that would certainly help with the SHIELD.

And a quick question about the Shield: You mentioned HDMI-out works fine. I assume it works for everything, including streaming? It'd be pretty slick to stream from my PC to SHIELD and then play it on my big HDTV!

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Ah, cool. I was looking at the Amazon.com: ASUS ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router: Computers & Accessories for 802.11AC support (especially since phones like the Moto X are rolling out with support for it). It seems like this is the cousin of the RT-N66U.

I did a quick scan with my Nexus 7 and it doesn't seem like there's anyone nearby utilizing the 5GHz band, so that would certainly help with the SHIELD.

And a quick question about the Shield: You mentioned HDMI-out works fine. I assume it works for everything, including streaming? It'd be pretty slick to stream from my PC to SHIELD and then play it on my big HDTV!

That router should work just fine.

Yes the HDMI output will work with that.