NVIDIA CloudXR Overview

The NVIDIA (R) CloudXR SDK is a GPU-accelerated XR streaming platform that was built to stream OpenVR-based applications from a remote server. Using CloudXR, XR content can be streamed over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular, and other standard networking technologies.

XR content is streamed from a Windows server to an XR client device, which provides access to a high-powered graphics server from a portable or inexpensive client device with limited graphics capabilities. Such devices can include all-in-one HMDs like the Meta Quest 3, Windows systems with tethered devices like the Valve Index, and both Android and iOS / iPadOS phone and tablet devices.

The NVIDIA CloudXR SDK comprises a Client SDK, an Installer with client and server binaries for Windows, and a small collection of Test Tools.

NVIDIA CloudXR Client SDK

The Client SDK contains header files, library files, and a small number of sample projects that can be adapted to build client applications for supported platforms.

The CloudXR Client SDK has binary libraries supporting most Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS and iPadOS devices. For details on supported platforms and HMDs, please see the CloudXR Client System Requirements.

Note

As of CloudXR 4.0, no binary clients are provided with the CloudXR SDK (other than the Windows client, which is built from the sample client code shipped with the Client SDK, and is included in the CloudXR Installer).

NVIDIA CloudXR Installer

The NVIDIA CloudXR Installer offers several tools:

  • CloudXR Server Driver for SteamVR

    The server driver streams audio and video content from an OpenVR or OpenXR application to a client. It integrates with SteamVR as additional head-mounted display (HMD) and controller drivers. After a client connects, it passes head and controller pose information from the client device to SteamVR, then streams rendered video frames from SteamVR to the client device. It can also stream application audio to the client and receive audio from the client by integrating with Windows audio (particularly using the NVIDIA Audio Capture driver).

  • Audio Capture Driver

    The NVIDIA Audio Capture driver is particularly useful for streaming audio to and from cloud instances or other servers that do not have built-in audio hardware. Note that it is required to stream audio from the client to the server (e.g. VR headset microphone audio for voice chat).

  • CloudXR Client for Windows

    This is a command-line thin-client for Windows, which connects to a CloudXR server. It can be used with SteamVR to stream VR content from a server to a SteamVR HMD like the HTC VIVE or the Valve Index. It can also be used as a test client without SteamVR, streaming to a desktop window instead.

CloudXR Test Tools

Several tools are included to assist with developing and debugging client applications and client-server deployments. Please consult CloudXR Tools for Testing for details.