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Show HN: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk

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Re: Show HN: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk

#5

Post by jeroenhd »

This is one thing I'm surprised the open source community hasn't developed a popular alternative for: Teamviewer.

The core idea is simple: a video stream from one computer to another, with mouse and keyboard controls sent the other way. Connection negotiation can be done Magic Wormhole style, via basic STUN, encryption can be done in a number of ways. Add some clipboard and P2P file transfer features and you've got most of Teamviewer/Anydesk/whatever implemented. There's VNC, but that's horribly outdated and the UX is absolutely terrible.

I think there's a business to be built here; open source remote support with a Gitlab-style self-hosted option companies can put down in their own networks, or have them pay you for management and servers.

This project is a good starting place, as any. With some tweaks you could probably build this into a end-user friendly system with your usual numeric code and random password. There's a business to be built in this space, I'm sure of it. I wish I had the expertise to take advantage of that.

Re: Show HN: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk

#6

Post by eins1234 »

Am I the only one that has long since given up traditional desktop streaming software like TeamViewer/AnyDesk and the like for game streaming software (Parsec, Rainway, Steam Remote Play, etc) that just happen to offer desktop streaming because they can? The actual streaming tech in those feels worlds ahead in terms of quality/efficiency/stability/latency. And the UX has generally felt better as well with much more streamlined onboarding and everyday operation.

I personally have been using Parsec most often these days and might even start paying money for it soon for some of their advanced features, as they've recently pivoted their marketing towards the productivity side, which is a move I'm happy to support with my wallet. I honestly don't see a reason why someone would use any of the traditional players in the space these days for personal use. Not sure how the tech in this project compares, but I think it should try to measure itself against something like Parsec/Rainway rather than TeamViewer/AnyDesk if it wants to compete at the state of the art.

Re: Show HN: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk

#8

Post by toastercat »

eins1234 wrote: post #6

Am I the only one that has long since given up traditional desktop streaming software like TeamViewer/AnyDesk and the like for game streaming software (Parsec, Rainway, Steam Remote Play, etc) that just happen to offer desktop streaming because they can? The actual streaming tech in those feels worlds ahead in terms of quality/efficiency/stability/latency. And the UX has generally felt better as well with much more s…

Yes, you're the only one out of the 8 billion people on Earth.

Re: Show HN: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk

#9

Post by jeroenhd »

eins1234 wrote: post #6

Am I the only one that has long since given up traditional desktop streaming software like TeamViewer/AnyDesk and the like for game streaming software (Parsec, Rainway, Steam Remote Play, etc) that just happen to offer desktop streaming because they can? The actual streaming tech in those feels worlds ahead in terms of quality/efficiency/stability/latency. And the UX has generally felt better as well with much more s…

I think the difference is that Teamviewer/AnyDesk is intended mostly for corporate usage. Their software is optimised for images that are mostly static, letting them get away with much less bandwidth without making text blurry or illegible. Standard H.264/H.265 encoded video needs sharpening and extra filters to be both low bandwidth and legible in many cases.

Parsec and friends use more bandwidth and hardware resources to get a stream going, but that stream is of much higher quality. You probably won't be running a fully-staffed remote support company over DSL or basic cable with Parsec, but with Teamviewer you just might. I've made several remote support connections at the same time on ≤8Mbps down on a simple Core i3, you just can't get that done with a game streaming solution like Parsec. Modern streaming services also require hardware encoding support or their CPU requirements are huge, and the endpoints support software often connect to isn't that powerful.

Microsoft's RDP solution in excellent on all fronts, though. Normal H.264 encoding for moving content and static-optimized codecs for office machines, all with heuristics to switch codecs on the fly. Sadly, this is all locked away behind licenses for consumer devices, but the technology is there.

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