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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteValve’s experimental Pyrowave codec is designed to reduce the time Steam Remote Play spends encoding and decoding video, but it does not promise 1 ms total stream latency. Its developer reported sub-millisecond codec-stage timings in specific tests; your full result also depends on the network, host, client, and display. Pyrowave trades substantially higher bandwidth use for fast video processing, so it is most worth trying on a capable wired network.
What Pyrowave is—and what “1 ms latency” means
Pyrowave is an experimental, opt-in video codec for Steam Remote Play, created by Hans-Kristian Arntzen. It is intended for game streaming, where keeping encode and decode work quick is important. Valve’s September 21, 2026 announcement describes it as a high-bandwidth, low-latency option.
The “1 ms” framing needs a qualification: codec processing time is only part of the delay a player experiences. Valve puts total video-stream latency this way: “The total latency of your video stream is the time for encode + network + decode + display.” A fast codec cannot eliminate network transit or display delay, and a weak or congested connection can outweigh gains in encoding and decoding. Valve recommends checking the Remote Play performance graph to see the latency components on your own setup. Valve’s announcement
What the published timing figures actually measure
Arntzen’s 2025 technical article reports individual codec-stage measurements, not an end-to-end test of Steam Remote Play under typical home conditions. For a 1080p 4:2:0 encode of Expedition 33 material on an RX 9070 XT using RADV, he reported 0.13 ms encoding and decoding in under 100 microseconds. He also reported an 80-microsecond encode on more typical game material and a 0.25 ms encoding result for a 4K ParkJoy scene. These are developer-reported results tied to the stated hardware and content; they are not guarantees for other GPUs, games, settings, or complete streaming sessions.
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Arntzen describes design choices intended to make codec work fast and predictable. Pyrowave uses an intra-only approach, avoiding motion prediction, and omits entropy coding to help parallelize work on the GPU. Wavelet transforms and rate control are part of the design. These choices prioritize processing speed, but they also contribute to the codec’s substantial bitrate demand. In the same article, Arntzen compares his approach with GPU-vendor H.264, HEVC, and AV1 encoders under constrained test conditions and cautions that the results are not a straightforward real-world comparison. Arntzen’s technical article
Bandwidth and network setup
Valve says Pyrowave uses 5–10 times the bandwidth of other streaming codecs. It recommends connecting both the host and client computers directly to the router using at least Gigabit Ethernet. That makes a wired connection the sensible starting point, especially if a wireless network is busy or unreliable. Wi-Fi is not ruled out, but the codec’s high bandwidth demand makes local network quality consequential.
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When automatic bitrate is turned off, Valve says the manual bitrate controls cover 100 Mbit/s to 500 Mbit/s. The quality slider affects bandwidth directly. Higher quality may look better, but it can put more pressure on the network; use the in-stream performance graph to check whether the resulting stream is actually smooth and responsive.
How Pyrowave compares with conventional streaming codecs
| Factor | Pyrowave | What that means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Codec processing | Designed for fast encode and decode; the developer has published sub-millisecond stage timings for specific tests. | Potentially less codec-stage delay, but these figures do not establish total stream latency. |
| Bandwidth | Valve says it uses 5–10 times the bandwidth of other streaming codecs. | More demanding on the local network; Valve recommends a direct Gigabit Ethernet connection for both computers. |
| Network dependence | Valve says the benefit depends on the user’s setup because stream latency includes network time. | A congested or slow path can erase codec-stage gains. |
| Image options | HDR is selected automatically when supported by both ends; optional YUV 4:4:4 is off by default. | YUV 4:4:4 may help desktop streaming and text legibility on a 4K display, at some extra bandwidth and processing cost. |
| Availability at announcement | Beta support on Windows and macOS; Linux required the experimental SteamRT3 client option. Steam Link mobile support was described as coming soon. | Availability can change; Valve did not give a mobile release date in the announcement. |
There is no universal winner: a codec that spends more bandwidth to reduce processing delay can be a poor fit for one network and useful on another. The best comparison is the latency graph and stream quality on the actual host-client route, rather than a codec-stage benchmark alone.
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How to enable Pyrowave and tune the stream
- Install the Steam Remote Play beta and open the Steam Link/Remote Play client settings. Navigate to Settings > Remote Play > Advanced Client Options and enable Pyrowave. It is not enabled by default.
- On Linux, enable the experimental SteamRT3 Steam Client option in Steam System Settings to meet the Linux beta requirement described by Valve.
- Start a stream and open Remote Play’s performance graph. Inspect encode, network, decode, and display latency rather than treating one codec timing as the total.
- If automatic bitrate is off, adjust the manual bitrate within Valve’s stated 100–500 Mbit/s range and use the quality slider carefully. Watch for network-related delay or instability as you raise quality.
- Leave YUV 4:4:4 off unless you have a reason to prioritize fine desktop text or 4K text clarity. Valve says it uses somewhat more bandwidth and processing. HDR is selected automatically when both host and client support it.
Who should try it?
Pyrowave is most relevant if you use Steam Remote Play on a strong local network and want to test whether lower codec processing improves responsiveness or image quality for your setup. It may be especially useful for desktop streaming where fine text matters, provided you can accommodate the higher bandwidth. If your network is the main source of delay or instability, changing codecs may not solve the problem; the performance graph can help identify that bottleneck.
At the time of Valve’s September 21, 2026 post, beta availability included Windows and macOS, Linux with the experimental SteamRT3 client enabled, and Steam Link mobile support was still forthcoming. No mobile release date was stated, so check the current Steam beta notes for the latest rollout status.
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