GeForce Now Gaming Issues

[CloudGamer]

Am seeing huge drop in performance of GeForce Now on Shield TV using BT FTTC 76 Mbps service with BT Smart Hub.

The in app Network Test is detecting 20-30 Mbps using ethernet.
This means a 720p or 520p stream is used but constant spikes in available bandwidth causes GeForce Now to run like a bag of spanners.
50 Mbps is recommended for 1080p stream.

If i run speedttest from BT on Shield TV in Chrome browser it indicates bandwidth is good but no jitter or ping info is given. Speed is low 70's Mbps.

If speedtest.net.uk is run get same speed but high jitter and high ping.

So this indicates there are issues with my connection.

Phoning BT in past about this yielded no help, as speed test indicates all is well and was offered no further advice.

A few months previous to this it took several visits from BT engineers to fix an underground fault which the Engineers told me that if i see drop in QoS i should contact BT. But as described BT helpline did not understand what jitter is or how my internet had dropped in performance if speed is Good.

It was the very last QoS test engineers performed on their hand held diagnotic thingy which diagnosed the underground fault.

GeForce Now (GFN) is bleeding edge technology and is in beta stages, so appreciate there may be issues with the service itself.

The network troubleshooting pages for GFN are found at https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4504/kw/geforce%20now%20troubleshooting%20networ...

which mostly talks about troubleshooting wifi. The GeForce Now Ready Router thing seems to be all wifi related optimisations.

Resetting BT Smart Hub to factory settings has not helped improve GFN Network Test results.

So other than doing speedtests and factory resetting BT Smart Hub there appears to be very little i can do and am reaching out for help and advice.

Thanks in advance.

[CloudGamer]

this info in GFN Network Troubleshooting article

[quote]GeForce NOW Ports

Starting with the GeForce NOW (GFN) PC and Mac apps v1.13.2.5 or later, the GFN apps use fixed ports for streaming games. In order to further improve streaming quality when using GFN, we suggest using GFN optimized routers or engage your existing router QoS by adding GFN app ports to the active router’s QoS profile. Here are the ports to add:
49003 – UDP Inbound AUDIO
49004 – UDP Outbound AUDIO
49005 – UDP Inbound VIDEO
49006 – TCP/UDP Outbound/Inbound Remote Input
If you are not using a GFN certified routers, please consult with the technical support page for your router how to configure the router QoS engine to improve your gaming experience.
If your router QoS supports port based prioritization, you may consider creating custom router QoS rules based on the port information provided above.[/quote]


seems to be the only info relativing to ethernet users.

Have ensured those ports are opened but rebooting Shield TV and running GFN Network test still shows very low connection speeds/bandwidth of 37 Mbps.

Can find absolutely no info on optimising BT Smart Hub settings in FAQs or User Guides for gaming or cloud gaming.

Does BT Smart Hub have QoS engine?

Does BT Smart Hub have port based prioritisation settings?

Can BT Smart Hub 2 help?

Is BT collaborating with Nvidia and working on a cloud gaming optimised router?

[Keith_Beddoe]

None of the home hubs have any of those features, as they are just free basic ISP provided equipment. That also applies to the smart hub 2.

You would have to buy your own VDSL router which was suitable for that application, and supported QOS.

[CloudGamer]

ahh okay.    Thought i was overlooking something.

Not sure if those settings can help in this case anyhows as i live on my own and can easily control local network traffic by switching off wifi or switching off devices not being used.

Looking more like bug with beta service or device software and just need to wait on updates.

How can i remove the possibilty that underground fault has recurred or not and make sure it is not contributing to the issues i am seeing?

 Could using a second smart hub as bridge for dedicated use of Shield TV possibly help out?

Have been using other cloud gaming services reéently, Shadow in particular, and havent used GFN for months butc an confirm Smart Hub is perfectly capable of running GFN to its full potential when paying for 76 Mbps internet service.   Have only ever used ethernet.

[CloudGamer]

 I described in OP how BT Engineers identified an underground fault relating to QoS and my internet connection was working much better with GFN back then compared to how things are working now.

Using 5Ghz WiFi instead of ethernet gives better looking game due to higher usable bandwidth somehow.   Am seeing 20% - 50% packet loss so see laggy input and stuttering.

 This is in complete contrast to how things were working after BT Engineers fixed underground fault.   First thing I did after they left was run GFN and had 0% packet loss and full 76 Mbps bandwidth using ethernet.

Also performing speedtest with speedtest.net.uk shows higher than expected ping and high jitter.

Your suggestion that I buy a Gamestream Ready Router simply is not going to help if my internet connection has an underground fault affecting QoS.

BT Engineers told me to contact BT if i saw issues again and they would fix again but contacting BT has not helped because they reckon speed test is good.   Connection speed is irrelative for detecting QoS issues as far as I understand.    

So any better suggestions on how can I can escalate this and get BT Engineers to check and fix the underground fault affecting QoS ?

[CloudGamer]

After calling BT on 08001114567 spoke to a very understanding rep who made many suggestions and was very good at putting what I am trying to describe in layman's terms in making a complaint as part of the process in possibly getting a BT Engineer visit.

Basically i need to wait 48 hours before calling again if issue persists making sure I do not manually reset router during that time.

Can appreciate I am using bleeding edge technology and am very low occurring user case so the issues I am seeing are all part of being an early adopter of new technologies.

The rep I spoke too was very good at giving me confidence that BT will do everything they can to help and in a way made me realise I am helping BT improve their infrastructure and services to provide better support for these next gen cloud delivered services that I am an early adopter of.

[CloudGamer]

I paid £100 to upgrade to BT Smart Hub and just paid another £100 for the BT Smart Hub 2 which is now only available for £200 from BT Shop.

Comparing specs of BT Home Smart Hub 2 (£200) to Asus DSL AC88U (£210) shows the BT Smart Hub is not a low specced router nor can be described as cheap, it just has gimped firmware for "ease" of use.

Seeing provision by BT to give better optimisation options in their firmware for their routers is what is needed.   Adaptive QoS and MU-MIMO are the settings needed to help get more from my internet connection.

BT refuse to send an engineer to perform diagnostic tests on their handheld tool to prove if the old underground fault has reoccurred or not and do not test QoS related problems with their Speed checker.    Since my speeds are good BT customer care see no issue and refuse to send engineer to check for underground fault relating too QoS.   BT Customer Care even refuse to acknowledge BT engineers fixed an underground fault relating to QoS after the issue showed up when an engineer fixed a landline fault back in June of last year.    The BT engineers gave better customer support than BT Customer Care!     Why was the issue so important to BT engineers and is not even being acknowledged as possible problem by BT Customer Care?

Another point of concern which has showed up are BT are gimping the old 76Mbps Super Fast package I signed up for about three  years ago giving it a new name and adding benefits for mobile users.

I feel like the FttC infrastructure is being used for more customers now which has caused drop in sppeds and QoS and BT are penalising early adopters ofand long time subscribers to Super Fast Package 2.

Sorry but when BT Customer Care call me a liar, delusional and refuse to offer any help like "pay for better router with better firmware" , "pay for engineer visit" or " we are working on improving our firmware on our routers so local network traffic can be optimised by users" and refuse to acknowledge facts is no doubt costing BT customers.