Why is it so hard to stream the image and sound of games running in a PC to an iPAD?

[Perene]

Guys,
can you help me further on what is explained on this thread?

Why all these emulators and even PC games won't work in this scenario?

(Edit: read post #3)

[deadlegion]

A lot of older PC games and emus probably have issues, I mean with old stuff like that there are issues using wireless controllers and higher resolutions anyway. Also you're using an iPad which is possibly more trouble than using an Android based device, but I really wouldn't know.

[Perene]

OK, here's a more detailed explanation since the links got removed. I'll explain everything below, if you want to reproduce the issue and get a clear picture, since this has become confusing for most users to understand:

My PC:

Intel Core i7 4770 @ 3.40 Ghz
Motherboard: H97M-D3H
8 GB RAM, DDR-3
SSD Samsung 120 GB
4 TB WD Hard Drive

OS: Windows 10 Pro, 64 bit
Monitor resolution: 1920x1200, W2452
Video card: AMD Radeon R7 200 Series

Also using a PS2 USB controller. I was planning to buy a bluetooth model (for ex., the PS4 DS4)

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My iPAD :

iOS version 10.2.1
iPAD Pro 9.7, 256 GB wifi+cel model.

App used for this task:

- Microsoft Remote Desktop;
By Microsoft Corporation

100% free, can be found in the Apple Store

Compatibility: Requires iOS 8.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Description of the app:

Overview
With the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, you can connect to a remote PC and your work resources from almost anywhere. Experience a rich Windows experience with RemoteFX in a Remote Desktop client designed to help you get your work done wherever you are.

Getting Started
Windows Professional and Windows Server editions are supported.

Features
* Access to remote resources through your Remote Desktop Gateway
* Rich multi-touch experience that supports Windows gestures and RemoteFX
* Secure connection to your data and applications
* Simple management of all remote connections from the connection center
* Seamless audio and video streaming
* Easy connection to external monitors or projectors for presentations
* Support for Azure RemoteApp

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- How do I start using this app?
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- First I insert my Windows IP, which I configured in my gigabit router to always be 192.168.8.144. Then I insert my Windows login, say, JohnDoe, and my password, 1234.

- After establishing a connection with my PC (using Microsoft Remote Desktop), the PC logs off automatically and can't be used anymore (it reverts to the login screen).

- If I wanted to continue using the PC, I would simply log in and then the app would lose connection.

- Closing the connection in the iPAD app does not change anything, I still need to insert my password in the PC to log in again.

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What are the options provided by the app
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When it comes to resolutions, the app offers all these:

a) Default: 1368x1024
Uses less data to improve the experience

b) Coincide with this device
Uses more data to improve the experience

c) Custom

1368x1024;
1536x1152;
2048x1536

Or Scale: beginning at 100%
These configurations affect the performance and the data used. It is available if you are using Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2 and later versions.

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* What option you are using? a).
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OK, now what? What is the use of this app?

It can stream whatever is happening in the PC to the iPAD. The only (and very minor) downside is that two small buttons are always on the iPAD screen, for you to control the app.

Of course I wouldn't use this to stream audio/video files.

So I use to stream any game that is actually running in the PC.

Since there's no visible lag/delay, this would be a perfect solution, right?

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The thing is, depending on the emulator used it is not working properly or not working AT ALL.

You'll get all sorts of errors. And PC games as far as I can tell don't work in any way.

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Could this be some issue with the app, and not the emulators and games themselves?
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I don't think that is the case, because some work and others don't.

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Now I am going to list my experiences:

Before I begin, I must say that it would be wise not be running the game in the emulator already BEFORE a connection is established with the Microsoft Remote Desktop app and the PC logs off. It would be better (for testing purposes, of course) to only open the app and then move the mouse cursor to the menu and only then open the game. This can be done quickly in the app.
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1) Super NES

Emulators tested: ZSNES, BSNES and SNES9X

ZSNES won't work at all with this app.
BSNES works, but it's clumsy.
SNES9X works perfectly. It can send the image fullscreen, and has sound.

I managed to make SNES9X work, but not without configuring these for the controller first:

Edit the file snes9x.conf

And modify this part:

[Controls\Win]
Joypad1: Enabled = TRUE
Joypad1: Up = (J0)POV Up
Joypad1: Down = (J0)POV Down
Joypad1: Left = (J0)POV Left
Joypad1: Right = (J0)POV Right
Joypad1: A = (J0)Button 1
Joypad1: B = (J0)Button 2
Joypad1: Y = (J0)Button 3
Joypad1: X = (J0)Button 0
Joypad1: L = (J0)Button 6
Joypad1: R = (J0)Button 7
Joypad1: Start = (J0)Button 9
Joypad1: Select = (J0)Button 8
Joypad1: Left+Up = (J0)POV Up Left
Joypad1: Right+Up = (J0)POV Up Right
Joypad1: Right+Down = (J0)POV Dn Right
Joypad1: Left+Down = (J0)POV Dn Left

2) NES

Emulator tested: FCEUX

The game runs while using this app, but without filling the screen. We may change a setting in Windows to hide the taskbar, but if we attempt to use the emulator in fullscreen mode it will become painfully slow. Game has sound and doesn't appear to have any problems in window mode (which almost fills the screen).

- Question: if the emulator only runs in window mode, doesn't it look small even on your iPAD?

Yes, but there's a way to fix this:

Use the standard pinch-in and pinch-out gestures in your iPAD, to zoom the emulator. It works quite well that way.

3) Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Master System, Game Gear, 32X, Sega-CD

Emulator tested: Fusion

- It will only work in window-mode (you need to zoom the image)
- You need to do this modification in the emulator, otherwise it won't work AT ALL:

Run your application in compatible mode:
Properties -> Compatibility -> Settings -> Reduce color mode (check)
Then you can choose color bits (8bits; 16bits).

Question: what if you try to send the emulator to fullscreen mode in the app? Will that work?

Answer: No. You will either get a black screen or some sort of error such as "Unable to set display mode", "Direct3D error", that sort of thing. When I say it doesn't work in fullscreen mode I mean it.

4) Atari 2600
5) MAME
6) Sega Saturn

All emulators I tried (I think SSF for Saturn closes automatically) don't work with this app.

7) Dreamcast

Only tried DEMUL and the game Resident Evil 2. Also doesn't work with the fullscreen mode. We need to do the same thing we did with Fusion. Set Config > Video > Window resolution (in the PC, not while using the app) to lower values (ex: 640x480) to do the pinch properly.

It's even worse to adjust the screen, but it works and with sound. This is not the main DC emulator, I haven't managed to make the others (Chankast, NullDC) work so far even in my PC.
This game has weird issues with the sound only before starting. It would be useful if someone already tested others for this functionality.

8) Nintendo 64

I tested Project64.

Also cannot be used in fullscreen mode. Set windowed resolution (in graphics configuration) to 1152x864. Also turn off the option "Enter fullscreen mode while loading a rom". The window won't fill the entire screen, so you may pinch to zoom in. It's almost like fullscreen, the problem is doing that every time we want to use it.

9) GameBoy/Color

Tested with the emulator BGB. It doesn't work AT ALL when I try to stream. I can only hear the sound, but nothing I do in the game itself is broadcasted, the screen remains white and if I am hearing the same sound over and over, that means it is frozen in the iPAD.

10) 3DO (emulator: 4DO).

It ran in fullscreen mode, yet I think it isn't working properly.

Note: the BIOS panafz10.bin (it can be found with others) is required prior to run any game.

For example, while using the app I noticed slowdowns. Also a game isn't working even though Virtual CloneDrive mounted the ISO. When I try to run using the app it says "failed to load" (Need for Speed).

In the PC the same game works.

I only tested another ISO (besides NFS), from the game "Road Rash", and in the first attempts I noticed the sound wasn't 100% smooth. In my last try it was, but only I think after I closed the emulator and opened/tried to run using the app first (and not doing in the PC and only after this establishing a connection with the iOS app). I also think it has the same problem described for PS2 (and fixed for GameCube), if we try to run a 2nd game/time using the app it will have no sound.

11) Sony PlayStation 2

PCSX2 emulator: works fine (fullscreen and with sound), but with one issue still not solved. (read "Desc-1" below):

12) GameCube, Wii:

Dolphin - emulator only works 100% if you use the last development version. Fullscreen with sound, I tried 3 games in the same session, all 3 worked with sound.

Before I tried a dev. version I was using the 5.0 released months ago.

This is what I was experiencing in the 5.0:

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Desc-1: - When you try the 1st game it's all good.

Then after you close the game, if you try to open it again (or a different game) there will be no sound.

"Ending the current session" in this app and restarting it will return the sound.
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13) Sony PlayStation

Emulator: ePSXe

Works 100% fine, fullscreen with sound. In the ePSXe settings, use fullscreen mode, and 1360x1024 @ 32 bit.

I am using Pete's OpenGL2 Renderer, and:

Internal X resolution: 2
Internal Y resolution: 3
Stretching: 0
Render mode: 0
Text filtering: 5
High-res textures: 2
Use pixel shader for... (on)
Use fps limit (on)
Auto-detect fps on
FPS limit is set to 200.00

Off-screen drawing: 1
Framebuffer effects: 3
Framebuffer upload: 1

Fullscreen filters:
Screen filtering ON
Shader effects ON, 4 GLSlang smoothing
Flicker-fix border: 0
Shader level: 4

Also ON: MDEC filter, Disable screensaver

Emulator sound: ePSXe SPU Core 2.0.0.

Tip: use alt + F4 + Enter in the iPAD app to close the emulator, and reopen, to change to another game. If you do that there will be sound! This is a perfect example of emulator designed to work perfectly with Microsoft Remote Desktop. Too bad all others fail to follow its example.

14) PC games. Tried Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (released in 2006). Won't work in any way. I assume all others won't either.

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That's all...

Anyone have an idea why only a few (not a few, since we can count thousands already) games can be streamed this way?

If you have an iPAD please try this app and let me know in the comments of this thread why all I described happens, and what could be done to fix it.

[Perene]

More updates:

http://i.imgur.com/oVYlAKI.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3awoZkl.jpg

As you can see, the DEVIL MAY CRY 4 demo (PC) can only run in window mode, and it has audio.

But Assassins Creed (2007) won't work at all. In fullscreen it will crash, and in window mode it has no sound.

I believe most PC games will have the same issues.

And this is how Fusion (Genesis, Master System, Game Gear, Sega CD, 32X) looks like in the app:

http://i.imgur.com/6zfkZwe.jpg

Now with zoom applied:

http://i.imgur.com/l26yfKV.jpg

And contrary to what I said, the Atari 2600 emulator Stella is fully supported.

http://i.imgur.com/02ycGJ1.png

Only needs a few adjustments. The same for FCEUX, the NES emulator.

This is what happens when we try to run M.A.M.E.:

http://i.imgur.com/OoNkf2X.png

http://i.imgur.com/nRGbtr0.png

http://i.imgur.com/bT8Rgy6.png

http://i.imgur.com/fMlJoW2.jpg

PlayStation (ePSXe) running:

http://i.imgur.com/6K1JGcm.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Xoly0zq.jpg

PCSX2 (PlayStation 2):

http://i.imgur.com/ut1qltF.jpg

For use with these systems:

- Game Boy
- Game Boy Color
- Game Boy Advance
- Wonderswan
- Wonderswan Color

There's the higan (v102) emulator.

A few screenshots:

http://i.imgur.com/QkEyZn6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/FyXnbyf.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gy27AEi.png

higan can also run Game Gear, Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive and PC Engine, the problem is that the games I tested are muted (in the PC) and none of the Genesis games I have here are being recognized. Once these problems are fixed I'll update that wiki page.

There's also the fact that this emulator doesn't have a few options that Fusion has, such as the use of cheat codes.

http://microsoftremotedesktop.wiki-s...Remote_Desktop

P.S. MAME is now supported:

http://i.imgur.com/5s8wEVB.jpg

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Nintendo DS also working! Check the wiki for more details.