Valve Tests New High Bandwidth, Low Latency Video Codec Using GPU
Valve has begun beta testing a new video codec called Pyrowave as part of its Steam Remote Play feature. The codec is designed for high bandwidth and low latency streaming by utilizing the user's GPU to encode and decode frames efficiently. According to Valve, Pyrowave uses five to ten times more bandwidth than other codecs but compensates with significantly reduced end-to-end latency when used on a stable network connection. It is currently available in Steam beta across macOS, Windows, and Linux platforms. The company notes that the codec may not be suitable for all setups due to its high bandwidth requirements.
Topics: GPU usage streaming technology video codec