Streaming to remote desktop on a laptop

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Auryn
Posts: 842
Joined: 12 Aug 2015
Location: La Mancha

18 Apr 2021

Summer is coming fast and my house gets REALLY hot during july and august. I'd love to able to take my reason set up and just sit outside on the balcony with headphones on and cool off a little. Unfortunately my laptop is pretty old and can't run many instances of most modern synths. I was wondering whether any of you have had any success in streaming your desktop PC's output to another pc like a laptop? I realize I'll incur a lot of latency but other than that is it possible/feasible?

Or should I just stop being a cheapskate and get a new laptop?
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pepe444
Posts: 89
Joined: 29 Jul 2020
Location: Portugal

18 Apr 2021

You could try some remote desktop environment (TeamViewer works on a internal network) , the problem is the audio maybe. Maybe Bluetooth headphones .

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ThatKevinHanleyGuy
Posts: 18
Joined: 30 Mar 2019

19 Apr 2021

You can do what you're considering using the usual Windows Remote Desktop application, or (better) if you have Windows 10, the Windows 10 version of Remote Desktop that you can find (for free) on Microsoft Store. In fact, I just tested it to be sure and my latency wasn't as bad as I expected, or what I experience when remoting in to my offsite work PC (for obvious reasons). However, both local and remote PCs for me are connected via ethernet, and I'll go out on a limb and assume your balcony isn't set up with an ethernet port, even if your primary desktop is. If not, try it and see what happens, it may be fine, but if the performance isn't to your liking, you may have considerably better results if you go with an ethernet-over-AC solution. Going back to my setup, my primary PC is connected directly to my main ethernet switch (or router, whatever your setup may be), but my PC in a different room is connected to the network via ethernet using Powerline, specifically
If you do go this route, be sure to get a product that's gigabit, like the one in my link.

To recap: Your desktop could be connected directly to your modem/router, or if you have a separate network switch in place, that. Then another port on your modem/router or switch would be connected to one of the Powerline adapters. Then if you plug another Powerline adapter into a power outlet on your balcony and connect your laptop to that... the odds should be in your favor for making music in the beautiful outdoors.

Disclaimer: Your results may vary depending on whether the two Powerline adapters are connected to the same circuit or not. Also, I typed all that assuming your balcony has AC outlets, and if not, I haven't been much help here but still think you should try using Remote Desktop over wifi. If that's no good, buying a new laptop could be a plan B, one that you would likely be glad you did anyway. :)
soundcloud.com/thatkevinhanleyguy

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DaveyG
Posts: 2499
Joined: 03 May 2020

20 Apr 2021

TBH Remote Desktop and VNC type stuff will work but it will always P you off in some way.
I'd suggest a budget solution of running an older version of Reason on the laptop or even, gasp, a different DAW, then pulling the results into your "proper" desktop setup to finish off.

Or you could learn to be frugal with your synth usage to suit the power of your laptop. This can have productivity benefits too. Less choice can mean less messing about jumping between devices. Tracks can be bounced to audio if you start to run out of steam. Just make sure you save at strategic points so you can get back to the pre-bounced tracks in case you want to change something later.

The non-budget solution is to get a new laptop!

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Auryn
Posts: 842
Joined: 12 Aug 2015
Location: La Mancha

20 Apr 2021

ThatKevinHanleyGuy wrote:
19 Apr 2021
You can do what you're considering using the usual Windows Remote Desktop application, or (better) if you have Windows 10, the Windows 10 version of Remote Desktop that you can find (for free) on Microsoft Store. In fact, I just tested it to be sure and my latency wasn't as bad as I expected, or what I experience when remoting in to my offsite work PC (for obvious reasons). However, both local and remote PCs for me are connected via ethernet, and I'll go out on a limb and assume your balcony isn't set up with an ethernet port, even if your primary desktop is. If not, try it and see what happens, it may be fine, but if the performance isn't to your liking, you may have considerably better results if you go with an ethernet-over-AC solution. Going back to my setup, my primary PC is connected directly to my main ethernet switch (or router, whatever your setup may be), but my PC in a different room is connected to the network via ethernet using Powerline, specifically
If you do go this route, be sure to get a product that's gigabit, like the one in my link.

To recap: Your desktop could be connected directly to your modem/router, or if you have a separate network switch in place, that. Then another port on your modem/router or switch would be connected to one of the Powerline adapters. Then if you plug another Powerline adapter into a power outlet on your balcony and connect your laptop to that... the odds should be in your favor for making music in the beautiful outdoors.

Disclaimer: Your results may vary depending on whether the two Powerline adapters are connected to the same circuit or not. Also, I typed all that assuming your balcony has AC outlets, and if not, I haven't been much help here but still think you should try using Remote Desktop over wifi. If that's no good, buying a new laptop could be a plan B, one that you would likely be glad you did anyway. :)
Hey thanks for the in depth response, I will look into this ethernet-over-AC solution. My balcony doesn't have an outlet but I can easily dangle an extension cord from the bedroom window. I don't know how the WIFI reception is on the balcony, so that sounds like a neat solution. My adblocker killed your amazon link dead though LOL.
DaveyG wrote:
20 Apr 2021
TBH Remote Desktop and VNC type stuff will work but it will always P you off in some way.
I'd suggest a budget solution of running an older version of Reason on the laptop or even, gasp, a different DAW, then pulling the results into your "proper" desktop setup to finish off.

Or you could learn to be frugal with your synth usage to suit the power of your laptop. This can have productivity benefits too. Less choice can mean less messing about jumping between devices. Tracks can be bounced to audio if you start to run out of steam. Just make sure you save at strategic points so you can get back to the pre-bounced tracks in case you want to change something later.

The non-budget solution is to get a new laptop!
thanks for the response, I do have an old laptop with reason + RE's installed but it generally gives up with just two instances of Oberon or Zero. Nowadays I also make a lot of use of VST's which are much more of a hassle to install, and they also don't always allow you to have multiple installations which is another headache I was hoping to avoid...
~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-
Quixotic Sound Design: http://www.quixoticsounddesign.com
Europandemonium Refill: https://gumroad.com/l/YxIGB

User avatar
ThatKevinHanleyGuy
Posts: 18
Joined: 30 Mar 2019

20 Apr 2021

You bet, and I hope you'll share the results. I may actually give your idea a try this summer on my laptop for the same reason you described. The setup I described above is really just me switching from an 8 year old desktop to a new desktop, so I can remote into the old desktop when I realize I forgot to move something over to the new one, a seemingly never ending process.

The powerline product I have is TP-Link AV1000 Powerline Ethernet Adapter(TL-PA7010 KIT). But forget my link, it looks like B&H has them new for $50, as opposed to $85 on Amazon. Later, if you're like me and want other ethernet connected devices around the house, you can buy add-on adapters of the same type that all lead back to the one connected to your internet router/switch. At one point when our wifi wasn't very good, I had devices connected this way in 5 rooms. Good luck!
soundcloud.com/thatkevinhanleyguy

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mcatalao
Competition Winner
Posts: 1824
Joined: 17 Jan 2015

20 Apr 2021

DaveyG wrote:
20 Apr 2021

The non-budget solution is to get a new laptop!
IMHO and for the price of a new laptop, getting an AC unit for the studio be a better solution.

You can find some nice small Ac's under 500 eur (assuming your room is smaller than 16 m2) with installation, it will allow you to work on the studio (probably you'll need to mix at higher volumes to be able to ignore the AC, and stop it sometimes to listen to softer parts), and it's a solution for cold and hot weather.

Cheers,
MC

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