enricobuehler
40030e90c8
Intel's Windows driver advertises Vulkan Video (Arc drivers since 2023), so the capability gate alone no longer keeps Intel off FFmpeg-Vulkan — and that combination is broken in the field (B580 report: strobing + 7.2 ms p50 decodes at 4K120) and on glass (Arc Pro iGPU: 29-33 ms p50 decodes at 4K60 where D3D11VA does 2.5 ms on the SAME GPU). Mirror the Linux vendor order on Windows: NVIDIA/AMD keep Vulkan Video first, Intel/unknown take D3D11VA first; vulkan stays reachable by explicit preference and as auto's fallback. Also: - Vulkan→D3D11VA mid-session demotion rung (the Windows analog of Linux's Vulkan→VAAPI rung) — a failing Vulkan backend lands on hardware, not on software, which cannot survive 4K120. - The demotion streak now needs 1 s of age as well as 3 consecutive errors: a startup loss burst produced 3 errors in 20 ms and stranded the session on software decode (one-way) before the IDR requested on the first error could possibly arrive — live-hit on the Intel iGPU leg. - Stale "Intel's Windows driver has no Vulkan Video" comments corrected, docs updated to the per-vendor order, vendor-order test extended with discrete/iGPU Arc cases. Verified on an Arc Pro iGPU + RTX 3500 Ada laptop against a CachyOS/NVENC host: auto now picks d3d11va on Intel (60 fps, 2.5-2.8 ms decode, e2e 26 ms vs 50 ms before) and still picks vulkan on NVIDIA. 27/27 pf-client-core tests, clippy clean. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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title, description
| title | description |
|---|---|
| Clients | The ways to connect to a punktfunk host — the Apple app, Moonlight, or the Linux client. |
A punktfunk host accepts clients over its own punktfunk/1 protocol (the macOS, Linux, Windows, and
Android apps) and over GameStream (Moonlight). Pick whichever fits the device you're streaming to.
Ready to install?
Install a Client has the step-by-step for every device.
Apple app (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV)
The native app for Apple devices speaks punktfunk's own punktfunk/1
protocol — the lowest-latency, most resilient path, with the full feature set:
- Automatic host discovery — hosts on your network appear under On this network; no IP typing.
- PIN pairing built in, and pinned reconnects after that.
- Controllers, including DualSense — rumble, adaptive triggers, lightbar, motion, and touchpad.
- A live stats overlay (resolution, fps, bitrate, latency) and a built-in network speed test to pick a bitrate for your link.
Open the app, pick your host, pair once, and stream. It builds from the
clients/apple directory in the repo (Swift / VideoToolbox / Metal).
Moonlight (anything else)
punktfunk also speaks the GameStream protocol, so any Moonlight client — a browser, a smart TV, an old phone, a games console — connects with no punktfunk-specific software. (Most platforms also have a native punktfunk app below — Moonlight is the catch-all.) See Connect with Moonlight.
This is the broadest-compatibility option and great for couch gaming. It doesn't use the native protocol's FEC/encryption extensions, but for a healthy LAN that rarely matters.
Linux desktop client (GTK4)
punktfunk-client is the native graphical Linux client — a GTK4 / libadwaita app that speaks
punktfunk/1 directly, with hardware decode via Vulkan Video on every GPU vendor (including
NVIDIA), falling back to VAAPI dmabuf and then software, PipeWire audio, and SDL3 controllers
(rumble, lightbar, DualSense touchpad/motion). Like the Apple app it discovers hosts on your network
automatically, does PIN pairing, and pins reconnects.
It ships as a real package, not just a source build — full steps in Install a Client:
- Any Flatpak distro (recommended) —
flatpak install https://flatpak.unom.io/io.unom.Punktfunk.flatpakreffrom the hostedflatpak.unom.iorepo, thenflatpak update; this is also what the Decky plugin launches. - Ubuntu / Debian —
apt install punktfunk-clientfrom the punktfunk apt registry. - Fedora / Bazzite —
rpm-ostree install punktfunk-clientfrom the Gitea RPM registry. - Arch —
sudo pacman -Sy punktfunk-clientfrom the signed binary repo (see Arch Linux).
Launch it, pick your host from the list, and stream. For scripting you can skip the host list and connect straight away:
punktfunk-client --connect <host>:9777 # skip the picker, start a session immediately
Android app (phone + Android TV)
The native Android app speaks punktfunk/1 directly, on both phones and Android TV. It does hardware
HEVC decode (including HDR10), Opus audio with a mic uplink, game controllers with rumble and
DualSense feedback, automatic host discovery, PIN pairing with pinned reconnects, and a live stats
overlay — with D-pad and game-controller focus navigation for the couch. It builds from the
clients/android directory (Kotlin + a shared Rust core).
The app is in Google Play Internal Testing — request a tester invite on our Discord and we'll add you (see Install a Client). Once added, open the app, pick your host, pair once, and stream.
Windows desktop client
punktfunk-client for Windows (clients/windows) is the native graphical client for Windows — pure
Rust, the same punktfunk/1 core as the Apple, Linux, and Android apps, with a WinUI 3 UI (host
list, settings, PIN pairing); the stream itself runs in punktfunk's Vulkan presenter. Its decoder
order is per-vendor: Vulkan Video, then D3D11VA, then software on NVIDIA and AMD, and
D3D11VA first on Intel and other GPUs (Intel's driver advertises Vulkan Video, but DXVA is the
proven path there), with 10-bit/HDR present, WASAPI audio + mic,
SDL3 controllers (rumble, lightbar, DualSense), network discovery, and the full PIN-pairing trust
surface. It builds for both x86_64 and aarch64 and ships as a signed MSIX. Launch it and
pick a host from the list, just like the other native apps.
Hardware decode is validated on NVIDIA and Intel GPUs; HDR10 is implemented with on-glass validation still pending. If anything misbehaves, Moonlight is a proven alternative for Windows.
A headless CLI path exists for scripting/measurement:
punktfunk-client # open the WinUI 3 window (host list / settings)
punktfunk-client --discover # list hosts on the network
punktfunk-client --headless --speed-test --connect <host>:9777 # no window: probe the link, print measured/recommended bitrate
Prefer the broadest compatibility, or no install? Moonlight also streams to Windows (see below).
webOS (LG TV) — community
pf-webos is a native client for LG webOS TVs, built and
maintained by the community (dyptan-io) on top of punktfunk's
punktfunk/1 protocol and core. It's not an official punktfunk app, but it speaks the real protocol
directly (not Moonlight/GameStream) — LAN discovery or add-by-IP, PIN pairing with pinned reconnects,
hardware video decode via webOS's NDL DirectMedia API, and a browsable game library with cover art,
navigable with the Magic Remote.
It ships as a sideloadable .ipk (homebrew package) rather than through the LG Content Store — see
Install a Client for the sideload steps.
Linux reference client (headless)
punktfunk-probe (in the repo) is a command-line client for the native protocol, used for
testing, development, and latency measurement — not an everyday client. It connects, streams to a
file, runs the speed test, and can discover hosts:
punktfunk-probe --discover # list hosts on the network
punktfunk-probe --connect <host>:9777 --pin <fp> # connect to one
Which should I use?
| You're streaming to… | Use |
|---|---|
| A Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV | The Apple app |
| A Linux desktop or laptop | punktfunk-client (GTK4) |
| A Steam Deck | The Decky plugin in Gaming Mode, or the GTK4 client in Desktop Mode |
| An Android phone or TV | The Android app |
| Windows | The native punktfunk-client (signed MSIX) or Moonlight |
| An LG webOS TV | The community pf-webos client, or Moonlight |
| A browser, another smart TV, or any other device | Moonlight |
| Automated tests / latency measurement | punktfunk-probe (headless) |
Whichever you choose, the first connection needs a one-time pairing.