Nvidia released the Grid cloud-gaming platform in November 2014 and has since added titles on a regular basis. In a nutshell, Grid enables compatible devices to stream games from servers located in multiple locations across the globe. Game processing is done on the server side by specialised Grid GPUs, compressed and then beamed to-and-fro client devices.
The premise is to provide smooth gameplay of leading titles without the need for a dedicated PC or console in your home. Supported client devices are limited to the Shield Tablet and soon-to-be-released Shield Android TV console. Games are accessed through the Shield Hub software package that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
Now, six months after initial roll-out, Nvidia is raising the quality standard for game streaming by bringing the 1080p60 resolution to 35 or so titles, with more on the way. Nvidia says it has been able to fine-tune the end-to-end process to enable higher-quality cloud-based gaming, though it's only usable for those with a fast and consistent broadband connection.
You'll remember that streaming at 720p60 required a minimum, consistent bandwidth of 10Mbps, according to Nvidia, but using 1080p60 increases this to requirement to 30Mbps. The Shield Tablet auto-defaults to a lower resolution should the network speed not match the minimum requirements, but if you're able to meet the needs, Shield can offer, on paper, a genuine PC-like gaming experience on your big-screen TV.
Nvidia says it plans to increase the number of Grid datacentres to six, adding a second in Europe to cope with the extra load and to keep latency to a minimum when serving potentially millions of customers. Speaking of which, Grid will remain free until June 30, 2015 at the earliest, though there will come a time when Nvidia, like Netflix, wants to cash-in on the expense incurred when licensing and serving games. Interestingly, Nvidia says it will operate single-tier pricing system for both 720p- and 1080p-resolution streaming.
The company is of the firm belief that streaming games is the way forward. Do you agree with this sentiment?
