PulseAugur
EN
LIVE 06:16:31

Steam Remote Play adds Pyrowave codec for lower latency game streaming

By PulseAugur Editorial · [1 sources] ·

Steam has integrated the new Pyrowave codec into its Remote Play beta, designed specifically for low-latency game streaming over local networks. Developed by open-source contributor Hans-Kristian Arntzen, Pyrowave utilizes a different encoding approach than traditional codecs like AVC and AV1, focusing on intra-frame encoding and GPU shader processing to achieve minimal input lag. While this results in superior responsiveness and image quality, especially with 4:4:4 color support, it comes at the cost of significantly higher bandwidth usage, reportedly 5-10 times that of other streaming codecs. AI

IMPACT Enhances game streaming performance by reducing latency and improving visual quality, though at a higher bandwidth cost.

RANK_REASON Integration of a new codec into an existing product feature.

Read on Tom's Hardware →

AI-generated summary · Google Gemini · from 1 sources. How we write summaries →

Steam Remote Play adds Pyrowave codec for lower latency game streaming

How we ranked this

Signal score
0 / 100
Composite score across the factors below. Higher = stronger signal that this story matters right now.
Newsworthiness bucket
Tool
Integration of a new codec into an existing product feature.
Source corroboration
Single-source cluster
Only one publisher covered this so far. Single-source stories can still rank when the publisher is high-authority, but they lack cross-source corroboration.
Topics
product, infra
Editorial topic classification. Feeds into how the story surfaces on /topic/<slug> hub pages and into the per-entity coverage mix.
AI-industry relevance
Low
Off-topic or adjacent — cluster remains reachable but doesn't surface in AI-industry rankings.
Story freshness
1 days old
Coverage has settled into its steady-state source set.

Full methodology in our editorial standards.

COVERAGE [1]

  1. Tom's Hardware TIER_1 English(EN) · Zak Killian ·

    Steam adds low-latency Pyrowave codec to Remote Play — new codec offers better game streaming on local networks but costs '5-10 times' more bandwidth

    The Pyrowave codec was specifically created for the purpose of game streaming, taking advantage of the large bandwidth and powerful compute available on home networks.

RELATED ENTITIES

RELATED TOPICS