Yeah if you’re using TV speakers or headphones connected to PC, it likely won’t matter. If you’re using a soundbar or home theatre setup, you’d want eARC.
Not sure about connecting headphones to the TV - possibly you’d not get Atmos that way either, you’d max out at compressed 5.1.
Another solution (one I use for my keyboard’s poor range) is to get a better Bluetooth/Wifi antenna for the PC, one with a cable on it.
Good tip. Thanks again, Prof!
You should run your gaming PC to your tv. That’s what I did! 70 feet of cable under the floor.
It’s glorious being able to run my computer games on the living room tv when I can’t sit up at my computer. If you want to consider it, I can list what you’ll need to make it work.
Good news! My new HDMI cable seems to be working beautifully. Plus it’s a lot less bulky-looking under the carpet.
It took me a while to figure out how to enable 120Hz but now I’m gaming and computing in style.
Thanks again to @Profanicus and @geggis!
Excellent!
Up and running. Had to use dongles for keyboard, mouse, and Xbox controller as the laptop’s Bluetooth was too weak to work reliably across the room.
Dongles? My brain is still not working…
Receiver
I have a SFF PC right by the TV, but similarly my issue has always been mediocre wireless connectivity from the couch.
I use Moonlight to stream from my gaming PC in the office. Moonlight is an app that works on my Sony Android TV and works the same as an nVidia Shield. I then use Playnite as an aggregator and platform. A gamepad also connects to my TV.
Works like Steam but with all platforms, has a nice interface too. But for games where I prefer a mouse and keyboard I go back to the office.
Try Playnite though, it’s pretty clean.
Playnite is fantastic but I’ve never used the controller interface so now I’m intrigued!
Yep. I have a keyboard I reviewed that has a 2.4GHz wireless receiver. So does my Logitech MX3 (also works via BT, but the dongle’s stronger). And I’m using the MS adapter for the controllers since there’s less latency and a better signal.
Looks great!
One thing to look out for, that I’ve run into - after playing a game for…a few hours, whenever I exit it, the sound just doesn’t work anymore. Only a cold reboot of the PC will restore it - I’ve read its something to do with the sounddrivers through HDMI that good to sleepmode - Just a little FYI.
It was a couple years ago but I believe the process is simple enough. One of the first google searches is here: GameStream Launchpad | Optimize Moonlight/SHIELD GameStream sessions for Playnite | Playnite Forums
Basic Installation
Install Playnite and configure it to your liking.
Download the latest release and extract the files somewhere.
Open GeForce experience and navigate to Settings > SHIELD > ADD.
In the file picker, select the Playnite .bat script and resolution you want your computer to have during the GameStream.
There is a minor annoyance that if you quit playnite on your TV, it doesn’t actually quite moonlight, so your PC still streams the desktop. So in your TV interface, you have to navigate back to the moonlight app, and select it, then ‘Quit Session’.
Other than that, couch gaming with a faster, cleaner interface than XBox. Works for Game Pass, Epic, Steam games etc too.
What’s the battery life like on those? I suppose it could live by the future living room PC, but it sure would be convenient if it could mostly live by the couch.
With an hour or two of use most days, I tend to last a couple weeks between charges. But you get a lot more if you turn off the backlight.
Another thing to think about is Bluetooth range and obstruction. You probably wouldn’t want it much more that 5 meters before requiring a usb extension cable for the Logitech dongle to bring it closer, higher, or more line-of-sight.
When I built my SFF PC to replace using the laptop, I sprung for the Razer Turret mouse/keyboard combo. Pricey, but the design is excellent, I love the keyboard switches (sooo much better than K830, which is fine for web browsing and simple stuff but not great for touch-typists), and the mouse is really good.
But the best part is the slide-out mouse tray. Finally, the replacement for the Phantom Lapboard I was never able to buy. Before I was using a keyboard/mouse tray that sat over my lap, and that was just unwieldy and annoying to get comfortable with.
The current model with the good key switches is listed for the Xbox, but it’s also PC-compatible and has PC software for customization.
Only real gripe is that the mouse uses an included MicroUSB cable to charge off the keyboard; wish it used USB C like the keyboard itself.
Oh, now that is nifty! Only tangentially related: Did you know the world’s oldest board game had a slide out tray for storing the game pieces?
I’ve been using this same set for the same purpose for a few years now too. Well-built, especially when compared to the flimsy and too-small Turret v1 generation. I only wish the borderless key-switches weren’t such MASSIVE dust bunny & cat hair magnets!
