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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Terrible performance

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When playing Stadia, wired to my TV, I get what feels like around 4fps, even selecting 720p (I am a premium subscriber).  Sometimes increasing the resolution seems to improve the frame rate :face_with_open_mouth: How does that work ?!

What I don't understand is how Netflix, on the same TV, also wired has flawless 4k UHD.

Even my wireless speed is 22Mbps, so it should be able to handle 720 smoothly, at least.

Makes me think it's a stadia issue.

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Best Response
Blackgem
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

"Cogent Communications" is not a very common national operator (such as Movistar, Orange, Vodafone), so it must be one that only operates in very specific parts of Spain, which can harm the connection at different levels.
This may also use cgnat or other technologies that take priority away from cloud gaming and benefit more common services such as Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
In addition, according to their website, they only offer fiber optics, but a network of 30mbps down and 10 up is not usual... (for €25 in Spain they easily give you 300mbps up and down by fiber optics if you are not in a remote town, in my case they give me more than 300mbps when I choose destination servers that do support that speed).
I do not know if it is a network subcontracted to a third party, but it is not the one deployed by one of the usual large operators in the area.

The latency leaves it a little beyond 50ms, which is not the most appropriate but I think it is acceptable.

Then we see at least that you do not have the same upload and download speed. Knowing this, and that the google test also gives you enough speed in addition to obtaining more favorable results when connecting the devices to another network connection...
Try to connect the mac and the chromecast ultra apart from the mobile to perhaps the connection of another neighbor and even someone from another operator if possible.
For now we see that you have a somewhat particular ISP, but we will also have to see if your nearby node is saturated with that operator or others (they can share them).

The appropriate thing will be to check with those devices on another network and thus be able to tell the company that supplies you internet that with other operators or connection you are doing well, but with theirs it is not, and perhaps thus, being able to suggest that they open certain ports , service priority, disable any annoying service like cgnat, etc.

If your operator does not give you any solution... you may have to switch to another operator for the internet connection and be able to use Stadia correctly, but first, as we mentioned, try to check the same hardware on a different network and contact the company. For example, the Digi company puts you Cgnat but for €1 more per month they take it away from you, thus preventing you from sharing the public IP with other users.

Personally, I could only comment and give you details about the most important national operators in Spain because I don't have the need and many don't operate in my area... or I directly know that their service would not be well adapted for cloud gaming. As usual, they prioritize what brings them the most customers and normally, netflix brings them more customers than cloud gaming could.

As a detail, if you have the opportunity and depending on how long you are going to be in Spain, there are operators that only ask you to stay for 3 months without penalties and for only €25 or even less.

Using the Stadia Enhanced browser extension if you have a chance, you can also get more data on how Stadia data is reaching you on each site you connect to.

---
El conocimiento es poder, úsalo bien, pues su mal uso conlleva la destrucción.
"Stadia Gameplay", my channel of choice for Stadia 4K HDR content.

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24 Replies
Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley 4fps seems awfully low. Is this happening for a particular game, or did it happen to all the games you tried? Which TV are you using? Are you using the built in Stadia app, or are you using a streaming device like Chromecast Ultra or Chromecast for Google TV? Have you tried updating the firmware of the TV/device app to the latest version?

Where are you located when you're playing Stadia? Internet speed is important for playing Stadia games, but latency also matters. Are you behind and strict firewall or VPN by any chance?

If you can provide these info we can have an idea of what might be causing the issue. You can also try some troubleshooting steps listed in the article below and see if they help

https://support.google.com/stadia/answer/9595943 

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Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Hello Ivan,

My router isn't behind a VPN, and the TV connected directly to the router.  4FPS was a guess, feels very low on every title though.  I think it might be location related, as I'm in Spain right now, and when I'm in the UK it plays much better.

Now, you could say that this is then internet connection related, but it makes no sense then I can stream TV perfectly at 4k and not Stadia at 720.

I'm doubting a it's a latency thing because the low frame rate is also happening on things like loading screens, where there is no interaction.

I'm using the chrome stick which came included in the bundle with the controller to connect.  And yes, it's happening on every game I've tried recently (Borderlands, Far Cry 6 and Cyberpunk 2077).  I might try a low spec game to see if that makes a difference.

Pretty sure the TV is on the latest version of firmware, will double check.  Doesn't feel like that is going to be the issue though.  My guess is that Spanish networks aren't handling the throughput well.  Is the UK served by UK based servers and Spain... non-spanish ?

Using a laptop over wifi seems to be giving me slightly better results.

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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley Different applications are hosted in different data centers by different companies and can give you different experience. Just because you're having a smooth Netflix experience, doesn't always mean your Stadia experience will be the same, and vice versa. Spain is a country that is officially supported, so it is usually expected that you will have a good experience.

10 megabits per second is the minimum recommended for 1080p, so you should be fine with regards to internet speed.

When you play games in Stadia, everything is streaming, so when you say the low frame rate is also happening on things like loading screens, that actually support my suspicion that the issue is latency related (not in game latency, but more internet latency)

So with Chrome stick that came with the bundle I assume it's the Chromecast Ultra? Chromecast Ultra is still supported, but it has been recently phased out and replaced by Chromecast for Google TV. I haven't been keeping up with the updates for the device. In this case don't worry about checking the TV firmware since you're not using the built in app.

My Chromecast Ultra has actually stopped working long time game (non Stadia related issue) so I can't really do any testing. Like what @Blackgem said, can you try playing Stadia on different devices like computer browser or mobile device? Just want to eliminate the possibility that the Chromecast Ultra is the issue. You can also try doing factory reset on the Chromecast Ultra and see if it improves performance.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

I did try Chrome here on my laptop using wifi, and it's also Jerky.

Have tried a new network cable, restarted with setting at 720, and (right now) it's feeling more playable.  Does the time of day affect things ? (used to notice that sunset - or early evening, everyone coming home from work) affected wifi speed before.

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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley Time of day generally don't matter, but there may be edge cases where the data center you're connecting are experiencing interruption/disruption. Can you try checking your speed from the link below and see what you're getting? Try to do it a few times within 5 mins or so and check if you see any variations in results.

https://stadia.google.com/speedtest 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Just checked again and got this 

omsuley_0-1663914740351.png

 

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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley Looking at the numbers and also the Speedtest link you gave on the other reply, it looks like everything should be good. What concerns me is that you're getting the same experience on Chrome, so it may just be something is up with your internet provider. It could be a temporary thing, it could be the internet provider is doing something that affects your experience. Any chance you can try with a different network to compare by any chance? If it's indeed the internet provider that's causing the issue, I'm not sure there's nothing much that can be done (we don't know that yet though).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Will try with mobile data (for a short while only) which is from a different provider

 

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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Hello again @Ivan  and @Blackgem ,

I've just tested over mobile data (numbers below), and it's a weird outcome.  Both Stadia and Speedtest dot thing come back with worse numbers, but playing Farcry 6 was a much smoother experience, with stable frame rates

omsuley_0-1663933150616.png

omsuley_1-1663933176530.png


Does this point the finger at my specific ISP ?

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Blackgem
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

"Cogent Communications" is not a very common national operator (such as Movistar, Orange, Vodafone), so it must be one that only operates in very specific parts of Spain, which can harm the connection at different levels.
This may also use cgnat or other technologies that take priority away from cloud gaming and benefit more common services such as Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, etc.
In addition, according to their website, they only offer fiber optics, but a network of 30mbps down and 10 up is not usual... (for €25 in Spain they easily give you 300mbps up and down by fiber optics if you are not in a remote town, in my case they give me more than 300mbps when I choose destination servers that do support that speed).
I do not know if it is a network subcontracted to a third party, but it is not the one deployed by one of the usual large operators in the area.

The latency leaves it a little beyond 50ms, which is not the most appropriate but I think it is acceptable.

Then we see at least that you do not have the same upload and download speed. Knowing this, and that the google test also gives you enough speed in addition to obtaining more favorable results when connecting the devices to another network connection...
Try to connect the mac and the chromecast ultra apart from the mobile to perhaps the connection of another neighbor and even someone from another operator if possible.
For now we see that you have a somewhat particular ISP, but we will also have to see if your nearby node is saturated with that operator or others (they can share them).

The appropriate thing will be to check with those devices on another network and thus be able to tell the company that supplies you internet that with other operators or connection you are doing well, but with theirs it is not, and perhaps thus, being able to suggest that they open certain ports , service priority, disable any annoying service like cgnat, etc.

If your operator does not give you any solution... you may have to switch to another operator for the internet connection and be able to use Stadia correctly, but first, as we mentioned, try to check the same hardware on a different network and contact the company. For example, the Digi company puts you Cgnat but for €1 more per month they take it away from you, thus preventing you from sharing the public IP with other users.

Personally, I could only comment and give you details about the most important national operators in Spain because I don't have the need and many don't operate in my area... or I directly know that their service would not be well adapted for cloud gaming. As usual, they prioritize what brings them the most customers and normally, netflix brings them more customers than cloud gaming could.

As a detail, if you have the opportunity and depending on how long you are going to be in Spain, there are operators that only ask you to stay for 3 months without penalties and for only €25 or even less.

Using the Stadia Enhanced browser extension if you have a chance, you can also get more data on how Stadia data is reaching you on each site you connect to.

---
El conocimiento es poder, úsalo bien, pues su mal uso conlleva la destrucción.
"Stadia Gameplay", my channel of choice for Stadia 4K HDR content.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Thank you so much for all of this kind and supremely knowledgeable assistance.  @Blackgem you seriously rock mate.  Next time we're recruiting platform people I'll try and tap you up :winking_face:

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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley There may be other factors we aren't aware other than what's shown from the speed test. After you tested on mobile, did you try on your ISP again? It may be from Stadia side, it may be from the provider side. The only way to find out is just to keep getting more data points. 

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Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Hey @Ivan I had a smooth session at 720p last night on Farcry 6 using my ISP.  Can't work out the logic to this. Will try again tonight and post results.  I am wondering if a change of ISP might be the best move.  They're very slow compared to the national average anyway.

 

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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

 @omsuley If you have the ability to switch ISP,  it's definitely worth a shot (most people won't do it just for Stadia). A lot of times this is not an option due to contract, availability, and such. What you're experiencing could just be the ISP not enough bandwidth for everyone at all times, resulting in fluctuating connections.  

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Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
1 Kudo
omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Will try changing ISP, it will take a month probably, but been with Cogent guys for years...

(they get a lot of IP blocks blacklisted so am guessing they're just bad)

Stadia enhanced showing framerate as good but it's really not in real life.  And look at the pixelation

screenie.png



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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@omsuley I do admire your persistence. Personally I wouldn't change my ISP just for Stadia (but it's not like I have many options in my area anyway). Let us know how it goes!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
1 Kudo
omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

It's that stadia is such a perfect fit for me. I work across three countries, can't carry a gaming rig. Really don't want to even carry two laptops and depending on the client often I can't install unauthorized software.  I don't have much free time so don't want to wait for loading and updated. So stadia is life saver for me. When it streams well it is perfect. 

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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Unplayable again this evening on Laptop and TV

Latency looking bad

omsuley_0-1664040281741.png



omsuley_1-1664040322768.png

 

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Blackgem
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

A recorded video does not change in real time, it can be stored and sent later, thus giving a sense of fluidity, in a game this does not happen and you need immediacy and fluidity in data transmission, which is different from speed.

Do a speed test on that device and see how much more lag you have among other things.

In addition, you do not comment on the device, which may not be prepared to properly decode that data stream from Stadia but from other services.

If you have the opportunity try playing on mobile and also on TV using your mobile internet instead of home to see if you see any difference.

---
El conocimiento es poder, úsalo bien, pues su mal uso conlleva la destrucción.
"Stadia Gameplay", my channel of choice for Stadia 4K HDR content.
2 Kudos
omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

That's a great point about the stored and sent later, hadn't thought of that.  Thank you for teaching me something :slightly_smiling_face:

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Blackgem
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Greetings. I've been playing in Spain since Stadia came out, I have Chromecast Ultra (which is what you'll have, I guess, because the rest goes in separate boxes).
I play on my TV with Android TV, chromecast ultra or Chromecast with Google TV at 4K HDR, with wifi always.
On PC I play at 4K (since it doesn't support HDR), you can watch videos on my channel to review it.

It doesn't matter that the TV is on cable but... it does matter that it is in game mode and I don't use post-processing...

That yes, I have a fairly powerful internet line, and as I have told you, it is not only the speed, it is the stability, if you have a local internet provider, either by cable or wifi, or a very old copper installation, Maybe it's that connection that's causing you lag.
And believe me, it affects a lot, you can compare it to normal driving and driving after drinking which causes "lag", the speed of the car will be the same, but the reaction speed will be different, and believe me, it makes a big difference.

You can already have 1Gbps that if you have 1000ms of delay you will have that lag.

I recommend you again, do a speed test where you can see the delay. Try this website and send us the link please. https://www.speedtest.net/en/result/13709373315

If you can write in Spanish, I will have no problem speaking.

------

Saludos. Yo llevo jugando en España desde la salida de Stadia, tengo Chromecast Ultra (que es lo que tendras supongo, pues el resto va en cajas separadas).
Juego en mi TV con Android TV, chromecast ultra o Chromecast con Google TV a 4K HDR, con wifi siempre.
En PC juego a 4K (ya que no soporta HDR), puedes ver videos en mi canal para revisarlo.

No importa que la TV este por cable pero... si que importa que este en modo juego y no uso un postprocesado...

Eso si, tengo una linea de internet bastante potente, y como te he comentado, no es solo la velocidad, es la estabilidad, si tienes un proveedor local de internet, ya vaya por cable o wifi, o una instalacion por cobre muy antigua, tal vez sea esa conexion la que te este provocando lag.
Y creeme, afecta muchisimo, puedes compararlo a conducir normal y conducir despues de beber lo cual te provoca "lag", la velocidad del coche sera la misma, pero la velocidad de reaccion sera distinta, y creeme, marca una gran diferencia.

Ya puedes tener 1Gbps que si tienes 1000ms de retardo tendras, ese lag.

Te recomiendo de nuevo, hacer un test de velocidad donde puedas ver el retardo. Prueba con esta web y pasanos el enlace por favor. https://www.speedtest.net/es/result/13709373315

Si puedes escribir en español, no tendre problemas en hablar.

---
El conocimiento es poder, úsalo bien, pues su mal uso conlleva la destrucción.
"Stadia Gameplay", my channel of choice for Stadia 4K HDR content.
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Ivan
Platinum Stadia Guide
Platinum Stadia Guide

@Blackgem Just want to add that the speedtest website that you linked above may not be able to provide the best representation for checking Stadia connection. It's best to do connection test from Stadia website below, as it will ensure you to test connection to Stadia servers and not just the closest provider.

https://stadia.google.com/speedtest 

For example, I'm currently connected to a public WiFi and tried to do speed test from Stadia's website and also Speedtest around the same time (one after another), and got conflicting results

Ivan_2-1663866616700.png

 

Ivan_1-1663866580598.png

 

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stadia Guides are not employed by Google. Opinions are my own.
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Blackgem
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

As I live in Spain, the information that they gave me in speedtest could be more useful when showing latency, if you are connecting to a local provider for example. As you previously offered the official Google one, I did not see the need to comment on it again.

Unfortunately, in Spain there are small local distributors that offer Wi-Fi or cable connection with half-decent downloads but minimal uploads... and with a latency that makes cloud gaming unfeasible, these data could not be easily detailed by Google's speed test.

For this reason, I tend to always request all the information that is easily verifiable and in a general way before trying to isolate more specific situations. Also, it may be easier for someone to share a link than a clear image.

---
El conocimiento es poder, úsalo bien, pues su mal uso conlleva la destrucción.
"Stadia Gameplay", my channel of choice for Stadia 4K HDR content.
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omsuley
Stadia Player
Stadia Player

Thanks so much for your help here, Gem.

 

Here's my results (and I have this running on my macbook while the TV is streaming Stadia)

https://www.speedtest.net/result/13709570063

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