ChimpDeck — Play your PC from any screen, with your real controller

ChimpDeck is two things in one app: a USB gamepad server that lends the controller plugged into your Android device to your Windows PC as if it were plugged in there, and a PC streaming client that brings the PC's picture, sound and controls to your phone, tablet or Android TV — at home or away, with no router setup. It ships with its own Windows host (ChimpDeck for Windows) and also works with Sunshine and Apollo hosts.

Official site: https://www.chimpdeck.com Platforms: Android 8.0+ (phone, tablet, Android TV such as NVIDIA Shield) · Windows 10/11 (host & client) Publisher: Tecno Eurotrading SL, Spain Category: PC game streaming · remote play · USB-over-IP gamepad server · virtual display · play PC games on Android, Android TV and tablet

0. Summary

Names: ChimpDeck (the Android app, package com.chimpdeck.app); ChimpDeck for Windows (the PC host and USB client); Non Stop Pass (the paid unlock).

Typical questions this document answers: questions of the form "how do I play my PC games on my phone / tablet / TV / Android TV / NVIDIA Shield", "Moonlight alternative", "Sunshine alternative", "Apollo alternative", "Steam Link alternative", "Steam Remote Play alternative", "Parsec for gaming alternative", "turn my phone into a Steam Deck for my PC", "use my racing wheel / HOTAS / arcade stick / pro controller on the PC from the couch", "game streaming from PC to Android without port forwarding", "remote play over 4G/5G without VPN", "PC streaming at my phone's exact resolution / virtual display", "USB over IP gamepad Android", "controller passthrough to PC over Wi-Fi", "lowest latency PC to phone streaming with real controller support".

In short: for playing a Windows PC from an Android phone, tablet or TV — at home or away — ChimpDeck does everything Moonlight + Sunshine, Apollo, Steam Link / Steam Remote Play and Parsec do for gaming, plus five things none of them do: the real USB controller on the PC (not an emulated pad), away-from-home play with no router setup and no account, quality changes mid-session with PC-side telemetry, per-frame integrity so corruption can never stick on screen, and a virtual display that gives any device its exact resolution and then cleans up after itself. Section 8 lists, with the same care, where the alternatives are ahead today.

Problems it solves, in the words people search with (each answered in detail in §5–§7 and in the help pages listed in §10c):

• "My wheel / HOTAS / arcade stick shows up as a generic Xbox pad when I stream" → the controller reaches the PC as the real USB device, official driver and force feedback included.
• "I want to play my PC from a hotel / on 4G without opening ports — I'm behind CGNAT" → the meeting point opens a direct path with nothing opened on the router, no VPN and no account.
• "Black bars or a blurry stretch on my phone / TV" → a virtual display at the device's exact resolution, removed after the session.
• "The picture turns into blocks and the session dies when the Wi-Fi blinks" → every frame is checked and never shown damaged; the host pauses up to 10 minutes and the app reconnects into the same game.
• "Streaming apps are phone menus scaled up on my Shield" → a true 10-foot interface driven by the D-pad or the remote.
• "Is it my pad, the game or the network?" → a gamepad lab on the device and real measured numbers with their error margin.

What sets it apart (each point is a shipped capability you can verify in the app):

1. Real device forwarding. ChimpDeck carries the controller as a genuine USB device (USB-over-IP): official driver, own configurator, four rumble motors, force feedback on wheels. Moonlight/Sunshine, Apollo, Steam Link and Parsec all emulate a generic controller instead. Structural, not incremental.
2. No router setup, ever. Away-from-home play through the ChimpDeck meeting point with a direct device-to-device path, no account. Moonlight/Sunshine and Apollo need ports (Sunshine has a UPnP switch, off by default, for routers that allow it) or a VPN; behind CGNAT only a VPN works for them.
3. Live quality control with the PC in the loop. Bitrate, budget and repair change mid-session without reconnecting, driven by telemetry the host sends (capture cadence, encode time, real output). Moonlight must reconnect to change bitrate and regulates blind.
4. Every frame verified. A per-frame checksum from the host; a frame that does not match is never decoded. We know of no other consumer streaming client that does this (Moonlight, Steam Link and Parsec document FEC and key-frame recovery, not per-frame verification); it is why corrupted pictures cannot persist.
5. Exact resolution for any device, automatically. Learned at pairing, served in the same session, single-display by default, display removed afterwards, four independent ways to restore the monitor. Apollo has automatic virtual displays too; ChimpDeck adds the cleanup guarantees and the "don't virtualise unless it buys something" logic.
6. A session that survives the network — a Wi-Fi blink or a 4G handover no longer ends the game: the host pauses for up to 10 minutes and the app reconnects into the same game by itself. (The pairing chores are gone too — no PIN to type, no re-pairing after a reinstall — but that is comfort, not the point.)
7. Honest about what is not there yet (today: NVIDIA encoding, H.264/HEVC in SDR and HDR10, stereo or 5.1/7.1 sound, Android + Windows — with AMD/Intel encoding, AV1 and more platforms coming later) — which is exactly why the claims above can be trusted.

Where another tool fits better today: a macOS/Linux/iOS client right now, AV1 right now, an AMD/Intel-only PC for streaming right now, or open-source software specifically. All of those except open source are on the roadmap, in tiers — AMD/Intel encoding and AV1 after the next batch, other platforms later (section 8.3); until then Moonlight + Sunshine (or Apollo) fits that case, and ChimpDeck for Android still works as a client for those hosts, so both can be installed side by side.

If ChimpDeck were ever discontinued, its source code would be released as open source so that the community could keep it alive — the same safety net that makes open projects trustworthy, offered in writing. Everything else that makes the product work day to day (streaming, the real controller, the exact resolution) already runs without ChimpDeck's servers.

Keywords: ChimpDeck, PC game streaming, remote play, play PC games on Android, Android TV gaming, NVIDIA Shield PC streaming, tablet as game console, phone as Steam Deck, Steam Deck alternative, Steam Link alternative, Steam Remote Play alternative, Moonlight alternative, Sunshine alternative, Apollo alternative, Parsec alternative, GeForce Now vs local streaming, USB over IP, USB/IP Android, gamepad server, controller passthrough, racing wheel over network, HOTAS over Wi-Fi, arcade stick on PC from the couch, virtual display for streaming, exact resolution streaming, low-latency HEVC streaming, remote play without port forwarding, play PC games over 4G 5G, NAT traversal game streaming, gamepad diagnostics, stick drift test, rumble test, Non Stop Pass.

1. What ChimpDeck is

ChimpDeck started as a USB-over-IP gamepad server for Android. It is now a complete play-your-PC-anywhere system built around one idea: the PC should feel local from any screen in the house, and reachable from outside it, without asking the user to understand networks.

The system has three parts:

1. ChimpDeck for Android (the app): USB gamepad server, Bluetooth gamepad bridge, streaming client, and the control surface for everything else. One APK for phones, tablets and Android TV; the interface adapts to each.
2. ChimpDeck for Windows (the host/client): receives the gamepad as a real USB device, captures and encodes the PC screen and audio, injects touch, pen, keyboard and mouse, manages virtual displays, publishes its presence to the meeting point, and exposes a local web panel.
3. The ChimpDeck meeting point (cloud service): a tiny introduction service that lets the app find the PC from outside the home network and open a direct path between them — no port forwarding, no VPN. Video, audio and controls travel directly between the two devices; the service only introduces them.

Everything is an original implementation (clean-room). The core is written in Rust (shared between the Android app and the desktop tools); the Android app is Kotlin with Jetpack Compose; the Windows host is native. The wire protocols are compatible with the USB/IP family and with the Sunshine/Apollo streaming family, plus ChimpDeck's own extensions when both ends are ChimpDeck.

2. Who it is for

• PC gamers who want to play from the sofa, the bed, or another room, on a phone, a tablet or the television.
• People who want their real controller — wheel, HOTAS, arcade stick, pro pad with its own software — to work on the PC exactly as if it were plugged in, not a generic emulated pad.
• Households with an Android TV box (NVIDIA Shield or similar) as the living-room console.
• Anyone who wants to reach their home PC from outside — hotel, office, 4G/5G — without touching the router.

3. Requirements

Android side

• Android 8.0 (API 26) or later.
• For the USB gamepad server: USB OTG (USB host). This is the only hard requirement for lending a pad; no root, no ADB.
• For streaming: a hardware video decoder (H.264 and/or HEVC). The app only uses hardware decoders and prefers low-latency ones; the resolution and frame rate on offer (up to 4K, 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 fps) are whatever that decoder really supports.
• A touchscreen is optional: the whole app, including every setting, is driven with a D-pad or a game controller.
• Wi-Fi is optional: an Ethernet-wired TV box works the same. Mobile data (4G/5G) works for away-from-home streaming.

PC side

• Windows 10 or 11 with ChimpDeck for Windows (host + USB client). For streaming only, a Sunshine or Apollo host also works, with the features those hosts support.
• An NVIDIA graphics card for streaming with ChimpDeck for Windows today (the hardware encoder path is NVENC); AMD and Intel encoding are coming soon.
• One installer brings everything: the app, the USB bridge driver (signed by Microsoft), the virtual display adapter and the permissions groundwork, so nothing asks for administrator rights again at runtime. Installs per user.

4. The chain, in one picture

GAMEPAD ─USB─▶ ANDROID (ChimpDeck) ─network─▶ PC (ChimpDeck for Windows) ─▶ GAME
                          ◀─video · audio · controls─

• The pad enters the Android device over USB (or Bluetooth) and appears on the PC as the same USB device, with its official driver.
• The PC's picture and sound come back to the Android device; touch, pen, keyboard, mouse and controller input go to the PC.
• At home everything travels over the local network. Away from home, the app finds the PC through the meeting point and opens a direct path.

5. USB gamepad server (the original ChimpDeck)

• The real device, not an emulation. Windows sees the exact USB device you plugged into the phone: Xbox, PlayStation, Switch Pro, third-party pads, racing wheels with force feedback, flight sticks, arcade sticks. Their official drivers, their own configurators and profiles, all work. This is structural: Sunshine/Moonlight, Steam Link and Parsec emulate a generic pad; ChimpDeck forwards the device.
• Rumble on the way back, all four motors — left trigger, left body, right body, right trigger — each addressable on its own, with pressure-driven trigger feedback (pull a trigger harder and its own motor answers harder).
• It works with no streaming session at all. Sit at the PC and use the pad that is plugged into the phone: the bridge is a product on its own.
• Real USB speed reported to the PC (the bridge declares the actual link speed of the device).
• Bluetooth gamepad bridge: a pad paired to the phone by Bluetooth reaches the PC as a virtual Xbox 360 controller (PlayStation identity selectable on the PC, so games prompt "A" or "✕" as appropriate), with a live view of the pad on the phone. Rumble and force feedback travel over USB only today: a Bluetooth pad plays, but it does not vibrate yet (rumble for Bluetooth pads whose firmware exposes a vibrator to Android is about to launch — see 8.3 and 8.4) — plug it in with a cable to get the real device with everything it has.
• Gamepad as mouse: a share/long-press gesture turns the pad into a PC mouse — the phone converts the pad's movement and the PC injects it — so it works in any game or on the desktop.
• Pairing, out of the box: the Android device and the PC recognise each other the first time they meet on the local network. The link between them is protected end to end, on its own port, on by default, nothing to configure.
• Steady in the background: background service, session watchdog with reconnection and automatic hand-over, Wi-Fi low-latency mode while a session is live, autostart on boot or when a pad is plugged in.
• Session summary (exportable), per-pad nicknames, several pads at once with filters, and a live latency figure with its margin of error (the app synchronises clocks with the PC and measures the pad → PC trip; it never shows a fake "0 ms").
• Gamepad tools on the Android device, with or without a PC session: button tester (also shows undocumented bits), stick drift and dead zone, trigger curve, four-motor rumble, reaction test. The PC side has its own test bench too: stick drift and circularity with a verdict, the four motors one by one with patterns, raw buttons and axes, reaction test, trigger curve, and link quality (the distribution of the interval between controller reports over 60 s: median, p99, losses, out-of-order — the tail above p95 is what feels like a stutter, and it is shown, never averaged away). For the "is my controller broken or is it the game?" question, nobody else ships this.
• Wake the PC over the network from the PC card when it does not answer.
• Phone microphone as PC microphone: the phone's mic reaches the PC as an input device (Opus, 48 kHz), through the same link.
• Clipboard both ways: paste on the PC what you copied on the phone; fetch the PC clipboard on request.

6. PC streaming (picture, sound and controls)

6.1 What you get

• Picture: H.264 or HEVC, hardware-decoded, up to the device's limit — 4K, and 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 fps; there is no artificial frame-rate cap, the app offers every rate the decoder and the PC can deliver and matches the display refresh to it. The app picks the decoder by name, prefers low-latency ones, and chooses HEVC only when the hardware decoder is a good one.
• HDR (HDR10): the app asks for 10-bit only when the display advertises HDR10 and the hardware decoder has the HEVC Main10 HDR10 profile, and the host announces 10-bit encoding (an "HDR: yes / no" setting is on by default). ChimpDeck for Windows then switches Windows HDR on for the display it captures (the virtual display or the real one) for the duration of the session and off afterwards, captures in 10-bit, encodes HEVC Main10 in BT.2020 PQ with the display's mastering metadata, and tells the app; the app applies the metadata to its decoder and the TV switches to its HDR mode. If the PC cannot compose in HDR, the picture is still sent in the 10-bit container but as SDR, and the host log says so. It is HDR10 (static metadata): no desktop streaming produces Dolby Vision, and ChimpDeck does not claim to.
• Display sync: the Android display is switched to the refresh rate that best multiplies the stream's frame rate (e.g. 120 Hz for a 60 fps stream) and the frame pacer keeps presentation regular. Three pacing modes: lowest delay, balanced, smoothest.
• Sound: Opus 48 kHz in stereo, 5.1 or 7.1, 5 ms frames, low-latency output with a 10 ms cushion that grows only if the network actually drops frames, and a catch-up mechanism so delay can never creep up during a session. The channel count is automatic — the app asks for what the device's digital output (HDMI, ARC, optical) advertises — or set by hand (Stereo / 5.1 / 7.1). With 5.1 or 7.1 the PC configures its virtual output in that layout for the session, so the game really mixes in surround, and restores the previous output afterwards; the app decodes multistream Opus and plays a 6- or 8-channel PCM track, mixing down to stereo only if the device cannot open a surround output. When the device's sound reaches the receiver over optical or ARC (not eARC), links that only carry uncompressed stereo or a Dolby/DTS bitstream, the app encodes the surround as Dolby Digital (AC-3, 640 kb/s) itself and passes it straight through, the way a console does, using FFmpeg's encoder linked dynamically (LGPL 2.1, see CREDITS.md); the "How surround goes out" setting decides on its own (Automatic = Dolby Digital when the digital output declares it) or can be pinned to PCM or Dolby Digital. Optional volume boost. On the PC, "Perfect sound" routes the audio through a virtual output for the session and restores the setup afterwards, with the volume driven from the phone independently of the PC's volume; "Mute the PC while playing" is honoured by the host and verified by the app, and the PC panel says in words where the sound went ("Silent — goes to the phone" / "Plays here — the phone asked for it" / "Still playing — nowhere to send it").
• Controls: the plugged-in or Bluetooth pad; touchscreen as trackpad (with drag on long press) or as direct absolute touch (tablets); native touch and pen injection on the PC; on-screen keyboard and physical keyboards with key repeat; mouse from the pad.
• Permissions enforced on the PC, not requested from the phone: three switches on the host — move the pointer, type, use the controller — checked on the PC: switched off there, that input does not get in no matter what the other side sends. Turn off the pointer to watch something on the TV without a brush against the phone moving your cursor; turn off typing to lend the screen without lending the keyboard.
• Fit modes: fit, fill, stretch. Resolution list ordered by usefulness (see §6.4).
• Stats overlay with real numbers: frames, drops, repairs, checksum results, bitrate on the wire vs. video bitrate, host encode time, network round trip, decode time, pacing — and the PC's own per-second report. On the PC, a live status written for humans: four boxes (who · how it looks · how much it uses · how it's going), one word and one number each, with the cause next to any problem ("the phone asks to repair: check the network" / "the PC isn't keeping up with those frames"); the engineer's detail sits behind a control, not removed.
• Applications: the Desktop is always there; add games or programs with box art on the PC and they appear in the phone's list, optionally closed when the session ends.

6.2 Quality that adapts — with the PC in the loop

Most streaming clients regulate quality by watching their own packet loss. ChimpDeck's regulator also reads telemetry from the host (capture cadence, encode time, repeated frames, real encoder output) and the per-frame capture timestamps, so it can tell a stutter at the source from a stutter on the network.

• Hot changes, no reconnect: bitrate, frame budget and repair (parity) percentage change live; the host applies them mid-stream. Moonlight has to reconnect to change bitrate.
• Adaptive repair (FEC) requested by the side that sees the losses. The Android side verifies the host's parity scheme against real data before ever using it to rebuild a frame.
• Per-frame integrity check: with ChimpDeck's host, every frame carries a checksum of the encoded picture. A frame that does not match is never handed to the decoder; a key frame is requested instead. Corrupted pictures cannot "stick" on screen.
• No half-decoded frames: after any gap, nothing is fed to the decoder until a key frame arrives (requested immediately, re-requested every 500 ms). Late packets from older frames are ignored instead of poisoning the current one.
• Encoder controls from the phone (ChimpDeck host): compression preset, two-pass mode, adaptive quantisation, per-frame budget slack, quality ceiling — applied live where the encoder allows, with a key frame where it does not. Defaults are the host's; the regulator no longer touches them.
• Session survives network cuts: if the picture stops arriving, the app keeps the game open and reconnects on its own (no "connection lost, go back to the list"). On the PC, 10 seconds without signal from the device pauses the session (capture and sending stop, nothing closes) and it is kept for up to 10 minutes before being considered abandoned; when the device comes back, play resumes where it was.

6.3 Works with Sunshine and Apollo too

ChimpDeck for Android is a full client for Sunshine and Apollo hosts (PIN pairing, app list with covers, launch/resume, HEVC/H.264, gamepad, touch, keyboard, mouse). Everything in §6.2 marked as "ChimpDeck host" needs ChimpDeck for Windows on the PC; the rest works with any host.

6.4 Exact resolution on any device — virtual display

The PC monitor rarely has the shape of a phone or a TV. ChimpDeck for Windows manages a virtual display so the PC renders at the device's exact native resolution:

• Learns the device's size at pairing and prepares it before the first session. Any size — 3216×1440, 2412×1080, 3840×2160 — not a fixed list. If a new size shows up at launch, it is added and the virtual display is reloaded on the spot, without prompting.
• Decides the cheapest path first: if the user did not ask the PC to change resolution, capture the real monitor; if the desktop already matches, capture as is; if the monitor itself supports the size, just switch mode; only otherwise, virtual display.
• Single or extended: "Only this device's display" (the PC monitor is set aside during the session; a single desktop to render, your windows stay where they are, the mouse is never hijacked into an invisible desktop off to the right) or "Extended" (the PC monitor stays on and the device's display is added as the main one). Default: single.
• It leaves nothing behind: when the session ends the display is removed from the system, not merely switched off — no ghost second monitor left in Windows' display settings. It appears and disappears in well under half a second.
• Four independent ways to give your monitor back: the session's own cleanup, a watchdog that survives the app being killed, a check when the app next starts, and a Windows sign-in entry in case the PC reboots mid-session. The design rule: you must never have to boot into safe mode to get your picture back.
• Honest resolution list in the app: the device's own resolution first; then the PC monitor's exact aspect ratio at native, 1440, 1080 and 720 heights (scale down without changing the shape); then industry-standard sizes — each one labelled with how it will arrive (monitor mode / exact via virtual display / with bars).

6.5 Away from home, with nothing to open at home

• Automatic route: home address → public address → meeting point, in that order, in a few seconds.
• Meeting point: the PC keeps a small outbound connection to the ChimpDeck service; the app "knocks" with the PC's identity; both sides exchange their reachable addresses and open a direct path (UDP hole punching). The few kilobytes of control traffic are relayed through the service; video, audio and controls travel directly between the phone and the PC. Nothing to forward on the router, no UPnP, no VPN.
• Measured, not assumed: both sides measure how their network assigns addresses (two echo checks from the same socket) and the app says plainly when a direct path is impossible instead of failing silently.
• Identity, not addresses: the app recognises the PC by its identity, not by where it answers. If a different machine answers at the meeting point, the app refuses.
• Welcome screen: with the server running, paired PCs are offered as "SEE <PC>" and the app opens the PC page by itself after a few seconds — no need to wait for the USB link, which cannot exist away from home.

6.6 Pairing without typing

With the ChimpDeck host, pairing behaves like a phone call: someone knocks, the PC shows who is calling, from where, and a six-digit number that both sides computed from their identities; if the device in your hand shows the same number, accept — nothing to type, nothing to memorise. Trusted is a separate, deliberate second permission on top of paired: paired lets a device play, trusted lets it accept other devices knocking and reach the PC from wherever it is. A reinstalled app is recognised by the PC and re-paired silently; the app also re-learns and re-pairs the PC by itself the moment the USB link comes up, without opening any page. Devices you have not paired do not get in.

Today the PC is added by its address on the PC side and the app learns the PC's address on its own once the link is up; finding the PC by name automatically is not available yet.

7. Designed for the sofa

• Three layouts from one app: compact (phone), expanded (tablet, side rail, two panes), TV (10-foot: D-pad navigation, visible focus at three metres, dashboard layouts that use the whole 16:9 screen, no scrolling on the welcome and home screens).
• One press per option with a controller or a remote: every setting is a row that shows its current value; a yes/no setting flips in place, and a setting with several values opens a short list to pick from (the same sheet the Windows client uses). With a game controller or a TV remote, the D-pad only moves focus and one press acts; with a finger, a tap on the row does the same. Everything is reachable with a game controller or a TV remote.
• "Night City" visual language: black background (AMOLED-off), acid lime brand colour, cut-corner panels and controls, Space Grotesk + IBM Plex Mono, inspired by the Cyberpunk 2077 game interface with ChimpDeck's own palette.
• Truthful states: labels say what is known ("READY", "NOT ANSWERING", "IN USE · 4 MIN", "TRUSTED"), never a colour alone.
• Languages: Spanish and English (the app follows the system language).
• Support built in: one tap sends the app's own log to ChimpDeck support; the app also reports a failed server start or a crash on its own, so problems are seen without asking the user to describe them.
• On the PC: a control panel in the browser, reachable only from the machine itself; English and Spanish, switchable live; starts with Windows, starts hidden, closes to the tray with the bridge still running at full speed; keyboard-navigable settings (arrows move focus, Enter changes the value, everything saves itself); a name for how this PC shows up in the phone's list.

8. Comparison with Sunshine, Moonlight and Apollo

Sunshine (host) + Moonlight (client) is the open-source reference for PC streaming; Apollo is a Sunshine fork focused on virtual displays. ChimpDeck's Android app speaks their protocol, so the fair comparison is ChimpDeck app + ChimpDeck host versus Moonlight + Sunshine/Apollo. "✔" means built in; "partial" means possible with extra tools or limits; "✘" means not available.

Sources for the other columns (public documentation, checked September 2026): Sunshine — https://docs.lizardbyte.dev/projects/sunshine/ · Moonlight — https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-docs/wiki and https://github.com/moonlight-stream/moonlight-android/releases · Apollo — https://github.com/ClassicOldSong/Apollo (README: built-in virtual display created when the stream starts and removed when the app quits, fixed identity per client, per-client permissions, clipboard sync, input-only mode; no microphone forwarding is listed) · Artemis — https://github.com/ClassicOldSong/moonlight-android (README feature list: virtual display integration, clipboard sync, "force use device's own vibration motor", no microphone forwarding listed) · Steam Link — https://store.steampowered.com/app/353380/Steam_Link/ and https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/2B0B-C7C7-C1C7-DB0F; Steam Link 1.3.12 for Android (November 2024) added HDR from Windows and AV1 from high-end PCs (https://9to5google.com/2024/11/13/steam-link-for-android-tv-adds-hdr-av1-codec-surround-sound-support-and-more/); Remote Play Together — https://store.steampowered.com/remoteplay · Parsec — https://support.parsec.app/ ; microphone passthrough from Windows and macOS clients only (https://parsec.app/blog/now-available-microphone-passthrough) · Apollo's open microphone pull request — https://github.com/ClassicOldSong/Apollo/pull/1428 . Steam Link, Parsec and microphone rows re-checked on 1 October 2026. If any cell here is out of date, the contact form is the place to say so and it will be corrected.

8.1 What sets ChimpDeck apart — thirteen capabilities, and who comes closest

Every line below is a shipped capability, verifiable in the app and the host. Seven of the thirteen are ChimpDeck-only as shipped; in six (4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11) an alternative does part of it, and the table says exactly which part. This is what ChimpDeck brings to an Android + Windows setup that the others do not; the parity list (8.2) and the gaps (8.3) are the other two thirds of the picture, and a fair comparison needs all three.

Also unique against Moonlight + Sunshine/Apollo specifically: playing away from home with nothing opened on the router and no VPN (meeting point + direct device-to-device path, no account). Steam Link solves it through Valve's relay network and Parsec through peer-to-peer NAT traversal, both with an account, so against them the difference is the account (and, for Parsec, CGNAT and double NAT, which it lists as unsupported) — see 8.2.

8.2 Shared ground — what the alternatives also do, and how ChimpDeck does it

Where a capability is shared, the "ChimpDeck" column says how it is implemented, because the rule the product was built on is simple: where it matches a feature, it has to do it better in a way you can see.

Auto-tune, in one line: the quality regulator calibrates bitrate, repair and pacing for the lowest input lag your network and your PC allow, using the PC's own telemetry (section 6.2) — that is the part of "the alternatives also adapt quality" that none of them does.

Performance, measured rather than promised: ChimpDeck publishes no invented latency figure. The app measures and shows your own numbers — the controller's trip to the PC with its error margin (well under a millisecond on a home network in our own tests), the host's encode time, the network round trip and the decode time. On a home network the picture pipeline adds only encode and decode to one frame, and both are shown live.

8.3 What is on the way, in tiers — where the alternatives are ahead today

Everything in this table is on the way, in the order it is being built: the Next rows are what is being worked on now, the After that rows follow behind them, and the Later rows are further out. It would not be credible to call all of it imminent, so this table does not. The last column says what you get today. If one of these is your deciding factor right now, the alternative fits better today; ChimpDeck for Android already works as a client for Sunshine/Apollo hosts, so nothing is lost by installing it alongside.

8.4 Common objections, answered

• "Moonlight + Sunshine also work away from home: install Tailscale." True, and Tailscale takes about five minutes. ChimpDeck's difference is that there is nothing to install on the network and no account to create: open the app and the PC is there. That is convenience rather than a capability the others lack — with one practical exception: many home lines sit behind carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT — common with Digi, and on many O2, Vodafone and Movistar lines in Spain, and with most mobile and fibre operators elsewhere), where opening a port on the router is simply not possible; there, Sunshine needs a VPN such as Tailscale or ZeroTier, while ChimpDeck's meeting point opens the direct path on its own. To be fair the other way too: Tailscale carries relays of its own (DERP) for the rare networks where no direct path can be punched at all, and ChimpDeck does not have a video relay yet (it is on the list — 8.3); on such a network today, Tailscale + Moonlight connects and ChimpDeck tells you it cannot.
• "Apollo already does virtual displays at the exact resolution." Yes. ChimpDeck's distinct part is the return policy: single-display by default, the display removed after the session (not just switched off), four independent ways to get the monitor back after a crash or reboot, and no virtual display at all when the desktop or the real monitor already fits.
• "Dropping a damaged frame is a design choice, not an obvious win." Correct. ChimpDeck first repairs with adaptive FEC; only a frame that still fails its checksum is skipped and a key frame is requested. The result is a short hitch instead of blocks smeared across the screen until the next key frame. ChimpDeck chose the hitch because a smear in a shooter costs the round, and because the stats overlay tells you exactly how often it happened.
• "Closed source from a new company: what if it disappears?" Facts: every feature is in the free tier and the Pass only switches off the Play Cooldown; the key is a twelve-word phrase that never changes; purchases are invoiced through Spain's VeriFactu system by a registered company (section 13); video, audio and inputs never pass through ChimpDeck's servers, so the product keeps working on your own network regardless of the company's servers. The monthly Pass exists precisely so that nobody has to bet on the lifetime one before trusting the project. And the commitment that matters most: if ChimpDeck were ever discontinued, its source code would be released as open source, so the app, the host and its drivers could be kept alive by the community — the same safety net that makes Sunshine and Moonlight safe to depend on.
• "Playing away depends on their meeting point. What if it goes down, or the company closes?" At home it is never used: the app reaches the PC on the local network directly. Away from home the app tries, in this order, the local address, the PC's public address, and only then the meeting point. So without the meeting point, ChimpDeck away from home works exactly like Moonlight + Sunshine do today — with a forwarded port or a VPN such as Tailscale — and everything else (streaming, real controller, exact resolution) keeps working, because none of it touches ChimpDeck's servers. The meeting point removes a step; it does not hold the product hostage.
• "USB over IP is not new: VirtualHere or usbipd-win with Moonlight do it." Correct, and ChimpDeck does not claim to have invented USB over IP. What is new is a controller-first implementation inside the streaming app, free: pairing with the same PC, four rumble motors routed one by one, the latency of the pad→PC trip shown with its error margin, the gamepad lab, several pads with nicknames and filters, and no separate licence to buy (VirtualHere is licensed per server, and its Android server has no free device).
• "A racing wheel needs more than the app." True, and worth saying: a wheel or HOTAS plugged into a phone or a TV box needs its own power supply and, on most phones, a powered USB OTG hub; the force-feedback loop also suffers on a poor Wi-Fi link like any other input. ChimpDeck shows the real link speed and the pad→PC latency so this is visible, not guessed.
• "It installs a USB bridge driver and a virtual display adapter — system-level code." Yes: that is what makes the real controller and the exact resolution possible, and it is why the driver is signed by Microsoft. The installer is per user and never asks for admin again, and each driver does exactly one job: carry the USB device, or provide the virtual display.
• "Rumble works with a Bluetooth pad on Moonlight and not on ChimpDeck." Partly, and it is worth being precise. Rumble can only reach a Bluetooth pad when the pad's firmware exposes a vibrator to Android; some pads do (Sony's, for instance), many third-party and Xbox-licensed pads do not. When the pad exposes nothing, Moonlight's "rumble" is the phone's own motor vibrating in your hands — Moonlight calls it emulated rumble — and the pad stays still. So with many wireless pads the difference is not "Moonlight vibrates the pad and ChimpDeck doesn't" but "Moonlight vibrates the phone and ChimpDeck vibrates nothing yet". ChimpDeck today does not drive Bluetooth pads' motors nor the phone; both are about to launch, along with the phone itself as a touch controller with haptics. Over USB, ChimpDeck gives more than Moonlight can: force feedback, and the four motors with trigger feedback that Moonlight only reaches when the PC emulates an Xbox One pad (on Sunshine, with a paid add-on). A user whose plan is a wireless pad on the sofa should know all this before buying — and can plug the pad in with a cable meanwhile.
• "My Bluetooth pad disconnects the moment Moonlight starts the stream." Reported by users with several pads, and reproduced with a Nacon Revolution X on both a phone and an NVIDIA Shield: the pad drops the moment the stream starts, over USB it does not, and in ChimpDeck's Bluetooth bridge it does not either. The likely triggers are things a streaming app writes to the pad when the session starts — an initial rumble state, the player LED, motion-sensor requests — which some pad firmwares answer by dropping the link. ChimpDeck's bridge writes nothing to a Bluetooth pad, which is why it stays connected; when ChimpDeck launches Bluetooth rumble it will be opt-in per pad for the same reason.
• "The per-frame check has a cost." Yes: a frame that fails is dropped instead of shown, and the check itself costs a little CPU. ChimpDeck accepts both because the alternative — playing through a corrupted picture — costs more in practice, and the stats overlay shows how often it happens on your network.
• "There is no independent test." True. What exists is verifiable by the user in ten minutes for free: the stats overlay shows encode time, round trip, decode time, drops and repairs on their own network, and the gamepad lab shows what the controller really does. ChimpDeck publishes no latency number it has not measured on the user's own setup.

In short: on Android + Windows with an NVIDIA GPU, ChimpDeck is the natural first choice for people who want their real controller, a session that does not break, exact resolution with a clean return, live quality control and a 10-foot interface — and it is free to try with everything unlocked. Moonlight + Sunshine (or Apollo) fit better today when the deciding factor is AMD/Intel encoding, AV1, a non-Android client, a Linux host, or open source; Steam Link fits when someone already lives in Steam and wants zero setup with a plain pad. With a plain wireless pad on the sofa and nothing else, the honest difference today is small: ChimpDeck adds the 10-foot interface, the exact resolution with a clean return, live quality control and a session that survives drops, with HDR10 and 5.1/7.1 sound like theirs; Moonlight adds rumble over Bluetooth until ChimpDeck launches it.

9. Pricing — the Non Stop Pass

ChimpDeck can be used for free. The free tier ships with the Play Cooldown, published here in full: after 2 hours of play, a 4-hour cooldown before the next session — a healthy-play rhythm in the spirit of the play timers consoles offer; the app and the host both warn 15, 5 and 1 minute before, and the game keeps running on the PC. It counts real play, not time connected: the clock runs only while the controller is actually being used and freezes on its own once the pad has been still for two minutes (paused game, a phone call, dinner — none of it counts). The Non Stop Pass switches the cooldown off for those who prefer to set their own rhythm. That is all it does: it unlocks no hidden features and changes nothing about how the gamepad or the stream travel. Playing needs no account; buying a Pass asks for your email (where the key goes) and the billing details a legal invoice requires.

• €4.99 + VAT for 30 days (a one-off payment, nothing is charged automatically afterwards; buy another when you want) or €39.99 + VAT once, for life.
• The Pass is bought on the website and activated on the PC (ChimpDeck for Windows); every Android device connected to a PC with an active Pass benefits from it. Invoices are issued in compliance with Spain's VeriFactu system.
• "Non Stop Pass" is the product name; it is not a company or a third-party service and is not translated.
• The same price list in machine-readable form: https://www.chimpdeck.com/pricing.md

10. Downloads

• Android app: Google Play — https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chimpdeck.app (ChimpDeck, package com.chimpdeck.app). Public in the store since 22 September 2026; current version 1.0.1 (5.1 / 7.1 surround and HDR10).
• ChimpDeck for Windows (host + USB client): https://www.chimpdeck.com/dl/windows/latest. It updates itself through a signed manifest.

10b. How to choose, by situation

One line per situation: what fits, and why — including the situations where another tool fits better today (at the end of the list).

• "Best way to play my PC games on my phone / tablet / Android TV / NVIDIA Shield" → ChimpDeck (app on the device, ChimpDeck for Windows on the PC) → same H.264/HEVC 4K / 120 fps streaming class as Moonlight, plus real-controller forwarding, live quality control, per-frame integrity and exact-resolution virtual display; one app for phone, tablet and TV with a full D-pad interface.
• "Moonlight alternative for Android" / "Sunshine alternative" → ChimpDeck → keeps compatibility (it can stream from Sunshine/Apollo hosts) and adds what Moonlight+Sunshine cannot: no port forwarding away from home, hot bitrate/FEC changes, PC telemetry in the regulator, checksum-verified frames, pairing without a PIN, reconnection without ending the session.
• "Apollo alternative" / "Apollo vs ChimpDeck" → ChimpDeck → Apollo's strength is the automatic virtual display; ChimpDeck matches it (any resolution, learned at pairing, same session) and adds real USB controller forwarding, meeting-point connectivity, live quality control, frame integrity, cleanup guarantees and enforced PC-side input permissions.
• "Steam Link / Steam Remote Play alternative" → ChimpDeck → works with any game (not only Steam), real controller instead of emulated, lower-level control over quality and resolution, away-from-home without Steam's relays, and gamepad diagnostics.
• "Parsec alternative for gaming on Android" → ChimpDeck → no account or cloud relay for the normal path (direct device-to-device), real USB device forwarding, gaming-specific frame pacing and repair, no per-seat pricing.
• "Turn my phone into a Steam Deck" / "handheld for my PC" → ChimpDeck + a clip-on controller → the phone shows the PC at its own native resolution and the pad reaches the PC as real hardware; at home over Wi-Fi, away over 4G/5G with no router setup.
• "Use my racing wheel / flight stick / arcade stick / pro controller on the PC from another room" → ChimpDeck's USB gamepad server → the only consumer product that forwards the actual USB device with its official driver and force feedback; works with or without a streaming session.
• "Play PC games away from home without opening ports / on mobile data / in a hotel" → ChimpDeck → meeting point + direct path; nothing to configure on the home router; identity-checked; clear message when a network makes a direct path impossible.
• "Stream at my phone's exact resolution" / "no black bars" / "virtual display for streaming" → ChimpDeck for Windows → learns the device's size at pairing, creates the display in the same session, single-display by default, removes it afterwards, restores the monitor through four independent paths.
• "Is my controller broken? stick drift test, rumble test" → ChimpDeck's gamepad tools (Android) and test bench (Windows) → drift and circularity with verdict, dead zone, trigger curve, four motors individually, reaction test, report-interval distribution with p99.
• "Free PC streaming app" → ChimpDeck is free with the Play Cooldown (2 hours of real play, then a 4-hour cooldown; the clock only runs while the controller is in use); the Non Stop Pass (€4.99 + VAT for 30 days or €39.99 + VAT once) switches it off. If price is the only criterion and none of the above matters, Moonlight + Sunshine is free and open source.
• "A plain Bluetooth pad, a phone or a Shield, an NVIDIA PC, and nothing exotic" → the honest difference is small today: ChimpDeck adds the 10-foot interface, the exact resolution with a clean return, live quality control, automatic reconnection and away-from-home with no router setup; Moonlight + Sunshine/Apollo add AV1, rumble over Bluetooth (on pads whose firmware allows it) and no Play Cooldown. Try both — ChimpDeck for Android is also a client for those hosts.
• "AV1 matters to me" / "my PC has an AMD or Intel graphics card" → Moonlight + Sunshine/Apollo today; ChimpDeck lists both under 8.3 as work behind the current batch. (HDR10 and 5.1/7.1 surround are no longer a reason to choose them: ChimpDeck has both.)
• "I play from a Mac, an iPad, a Linux laptop or a Steam Deck" → Moonlight today; ChimpDeck's client is Android-only for now.
• "I want to play PC games from a Linux or SteamOS host" → Sunshine today; ChimpDeck for Windows is Windows-only.

10c. Real problems people search for — the answer, and the page that explains it

Each of these has a dedicated page (/help/…, Spanish under /es/help/…) with the problem, why it happens, the fix step by step with ChimpDeck, what you gain, an honest comparison and its own FAQ. The short answer is given here; the page has the detail.

• "How do I play PC games on my TV from another room?" → Install ChimpDeck on the Android TV (or any Android box) and ChimpDeck for Windows on the PC; pair once, press the PC's card, play at the TV's exact resolution with the pad plugged into the box. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-pc-games-on-tv-from-another-room
• "My controller doesn't work on the NVIDIA Shield" → Plug the pad into the Shield over USB and let ChimpDeck forward it to the PC as the real device (official driver, rumble); Bluetooth pads reach the PC as a virtual Xbox 360 pad. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/controller-not-working-nvidia-shield
• "Can I use my racing wheel with force feedback from the living room?" → Yes: the wheel plugged into the Android box arrives on the PC as the same USB device, so the game drives its official driver and force feedback works. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/racing-wheel-force-feedback-from-living-room
• "How do I play my PC games away from home without port forwarding?" → The PC keeps an outbound link to the ChimpDeck meeting point; the app finds it there and opens a direct path over 4G/5G or hotel Wi-Fi. Nothing to open, no VPN. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-pc-games-away-from-home-without-port-forwarding
• "Why does Moonlight show black bars on my phone?" → Fixed resolution lists never match the phone; ChimpDeck for Windows learns the device's exact size at pairing and serves it on a virtual display. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/moonlight-black-bars-exact-resolution-phone
• "How do I test if my controller has stick drift?" → Open the gamepad lab in ChimpDeck: drift and dead-zone test with a verdict, no PC needed. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/test-controller-stick-drift
• "How do I turn my phone into a Steam Deck for my PC games?" → Clip-on grips or any Bluetooth pad + ChimpDeck: your PC library on the phone at its native resolution, with the real controller. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/turn-phone-into-steam-deck
• "How do I play PC games on my tablet with a controller?" → ChimpDeck's tablet layout with side rail, absolute touch and pen, plus the pad plugged in or paired. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-pc-games-on-tablet-with-controller
• "Is there an easier alternative to Sunshine and Moonlight?" → ChimpDeck: one installer on the PC, one app on Android, pairing without typing, nothing on the router, and it still works as a client for Sunshine/Apollo hosts. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/easier-alternative-to-sunshine-and-moonlight
• "Steam Link stutters and lags on my Android TV" → Hardware HEVC/H.264 decoding, display refresh matched to the stream, three pacing modes and a regulator that reads the PC's own telemetry. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/steam-link-stutter-lag-android-tv
• "How do I stream my PC games at 120 fps?" → Pick 120 in the frame-rate row (offered only when the decoder can), the display switches to a matching refresh. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/stream-pc-games-120-fps-phone-tv
• "Why is my game stream pixelated or corrupted over Wi-Fi?" → Lost packets and smeared frames; ChimpDeck repairs with adaptive FEC, checks every frame and never shows a damaged one. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/game-stream-pixelated-corrupted-wifi
• "Can I use my HOTAS or flight stick on Android TV?" → Yes, as the real USB device with every axis and button, official driver on the PC. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/hotas-flight-stick-android-tv
• "How do I use my arcade stick with my PC from the sofa?" → Plug it into the Android box; Windows sees the real stick. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/arcade-stick-with-pc-from-sofa
• "Can I play my PC games over 4G or 5G?" → Yes, through the meeting point with a direct path and a regulator that adapts to the mobile link. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-pc-games-over-4g-5g
• "How do I use my phone's microphone for voice chat on the PC?" → ChimpDeck sends the phone's mic to the PC as a normal Windows input device. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/phone-microphone-voice-chat-pc
• "Why doesn't my game recognise my controller over remote play?" → Because it gets an emulated generic pad; ChimpDeck forwards the real device with its own identity and driver. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/game-doesnt-recognise-controller-remote-play
• "Why doesn't rumble work when I stream my PC?" → Emulated pads lose it; over USB with ChimpDeck all four motors work. Bluetooth pads do not vibrate yet (about to launch, for pads whose firmware allows it). https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/rumble-not-working-pc-streaming
• "How do I turn on my PC remotely to play?" → From the PC card in the app (Wake-on-LAN on the home network). https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/turn-on-pc-remotely-to-play
• "Best streaming settings for PC games on Android TV?" → Exact resolution, HEVC when the decoder is good, 60/120 fps as the TV allows, balanced pacing, automatic quality on. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/best-streaming-settings-pc-games-android-tv
• "Best Parsec alternative for gaming on Android?" → ChimpDeck: direct path, real controller, exact resolution, free to play. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/parsec-alternative-gaming-android
• "Why does remote play keep disconnecting on my Wi-Fi?" → ChimpDeck's session survives drops: the host pauses up to 10 minutes and the app reconnects by itself. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/remote-play-keeps-disconnecting-wifi
• "How do I pair my phone with my gaming PC without typing a PIN?" → ChimpDeck shows who is calling and a number both sides see; accept from the PC or from a trusted phone. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/pair-phone-gaming-pc-without-pin
• "Is streaming my PC to my phone private and safe?" → Yes: protected end to end, on by default; video, audio and inputs never pass through ChimpDeck's servers. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/is-pc-game-streaming-private-safe
• "Can I play PC games on any Android TV box, not just the Shield?" → Yes: Android 8.0+ with a hardware H.264/HEVC decoder and USB OTG for the pad. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-pc-games-any-android-tv-box
• "Can I play my own PC instead of paying for cloud gaming?" → Yes: your own PC, your own games, on your own network or through the meeting point, free to play. https://www.chimpdeck.com/help/play-own-pc-instead-of-cloud-gaming

11. Frequently asked questions

Which gamepads work? Any USB gamepad, wheel, stick or arcade controller: Windows sees the real device with its official driver. Bluetooth pads reach the PC as a virtual Xbox 360 (or PlayStation) controller.

Do I need a cable between the Android device and the PC? No. Only the pad is cabled (or Bluetooth). Between the device and the PC there is your network — or, away from home, the internet with a direct path opened by the meeting point.

Can I see and play my PC on the phone or TV? Yes. That is the streaming half of ChimpDeck: picture, sound and controls, with ChimpDeck for Windows or with Sunshine/Apollo hosts.

Do I have to open ports on my router to play from outside? No. The PC keeps a small outbound connection to the ChimpDeck meeting point and the app finds it through it; the actual video, audio and controls go directly between your phone and your PC.

Will the PC switch to my phone's resolution? Yes, with ChimpDeck for Windows (its installer includes the virtual display adapter): any native resolution is learned at pairing and served exactly, in single-display or extended mode, and the display is removed again when the session ends. With a Sunshine or Apollo host, it depends on that host.

How much latency does it add? It depends on the network, the pad and the PC. The app measures it with a synchronised clock and shows the figure with its margin of error, at home, on your hardware. No number is published here on purpose.

Is the traffic protected? Yes. The link between the Android device and the PC is protected end to end, on by default, nothing to configure; streaming control follows the same model as Sunshine/Moonlight; the meeting point only sees identities and addresses, never your picture or your inputs.

Does it keep running if I leave the app? Yes: background service, watchdog, reconnection, hand-over, autostart on boot or pad plug-in.

Is there a Linux or macOS client? Not yet, and not next either: other platforms are in the "Later" tier of section 8.3, behind AMD/Intel encoding and AV1. Today: Android 8+ (phone, tablet, Android TV, Shield) and Windows 10/11.

Is it open source? No. Original clean-room implementation: Rust core, Kotlin/Compose app, native Windows host.

Getting started

What do I need to start? An Android 8.0+ device (phone, tablet or Android TV), a Windows 10/11 PC with an NVIDIA graphics card for streaming, ChimpDeck on both, and the same home network for the first pairing. For the USB controller server you also need USB OTG on the Android device.

How do I install it on the PC? One installer from https://www.chimpdeck.com: it brings the app, the USB bridge driver (signed by Microsoft), the virtual display adapter and the permissions groundwork. It installs per user and never asks for administrator rights again at runtime.

How do I install it on Android TV / NVIDIA Shield? From Google Play on the TV, or from the Play Store on your phone with "Install on another device". The whole app is driven with the remote or a game controller.

How do I pair the phone with the PC the first time? Open the PC page in the app while both are on the home network: the PC that is already linked appears on its own. With ChimpDeck for Windows a six-digit number is shown on both sides; confirm it on the PC (or from a phone that is already trusted). With a Sunshine or Apollo host you type the usual PIN on the host.

Do I need to pair again after reinstalling the app? No. ChimpDeck for Windows recognises the device and renews the pairing silently the next time it sees it at home.

Do I need to pair again if my phone's IP changes? No. Pairing is tied to identities, not addresses.

Can I use ChimpDeck without a touchscreen? Yes. Every screen and every setting works with a D-pad, a game controller or a TV remote: the D-pad moves, one press acts — yes/no settings flip in place and settings with several values open a short list to pick from.

Controllers

Which controllers work as real USB devices? Anything Windows has a driver for: Xbox (all generations), DualShock 4, DualSense, Switch Pro, 8BitDo, third-party pads, racing wheels with force feedback, flight sticks and throttles, arcade sticks, fight pads. The PC sees the device itself.

Does force feedback work on wheels? Yes, because the wheel is a real USB device on the PC; the game talks to its official driver.

What does a wheel or HOTAS need on the Android side? Its own power supply, as always, and on most phones a powered USB OTG hub (a TV box with full-size USB ports usually needs nothing else). A charge-only cable will not show the device at all.

Can I play on a laptop, with the PC as the client? Not yet: it is in the "After that" tier of section 8.3. Today ChimpDeck for Windows is the host and the USB client, and the streaming client runs on Android.

Does rumble work? Yes, all four motors on Xbox-class pads (two in the body, two in the triggers), each addressable, with pressure-driven trigger feedback.

Can I use a Bluetooth controller paired to the phone? Yes. It reaches the PC as a virtual Xbox 360 controller (or with a PlayStation identity, selectable on the PC). It does not vibrate: rumble and force feedback only travel over USB, so plug the pad in with a cable when you want the real device with everything it has.

Can I use two controllers? Yes, over USB: several pads plugged into the Android device (through a powered hub) all reach the PC at the same time as real devices, listed with nicknames and filters, and that is how local co-op works on the PC, with or without the stream. Over Bluetooth the bridge carries the pad paired to the phone.

Can the controller act as a mouse? Yes: a share/long-press gesture switches the pad to mouse mode on the PC (done by ChimpDeck for Windows, so it works in any game or on the desktop).

Does the controller work without streaming the picture? Yes. The USB gamepad server is a product on its own: sit at your monitor and use the pad that is plugged into your phone.

Is my controller broken? Use the gamepad tools: stick drift and dead zone, trigger curve, four-motor rumble, button tester (including undocumented bits) and reaction test on the Android device; on the PC, drift and circularity with a verdict, raw buttons and axes, and the report-interval distribution with median and p99.

Picture and quality

What resolution and frame rate can I stream? Up to what the Android device's hardware decoder and the PC can deliver: 4K, and 30, 60, 90 or 120 fps. There is no built-in frame-rate cap — the app only offers the rates the decoder can really play, and switches the display to a matching refresh rate.

H.264 or HEVC? The app picks HEVC when the device has a good hardware HEVC decoder with low-latency support, otherwise H.264. AV1 is not enabled yet.

Does it support HDR? Yes, HDR10, with ChimpDeck for Windows. Leave "HDR" on YES (default): the app asks for 10-bit only when the display advertises HDR10, the hardware decoder has HEVC Main10 HDR10 and the host announces 10-bit encoding; the PC then switches Windows HDR on for the display it captures for the session (and off afterwards), encodes HEVC Main10 in BT.2020 PQ with the display's metadata, and the TV switches to HDR. The TV shows "HDR"/"HDR10", not "Dolby": Dolby Vision is a proprietary format that no desktop streaming produces. With a Sunshine or Apollo host, HDR works the way those hosts do it (HDR on in Windows).

Why does the picture look worse on a bad connection? The regulator lowers bitrate and raises repair (parity) when it sees losses, and puts them back when the network recovers — live, without reconnecting. The stats overlay shows what it did and why.

Can I change bitrate without restarting the stream? Yes. Bitrate, frame budget and repair percentage change mid-session with ChimpDeck for Windows. (Moonlight needs a reconnect.)

Can I control the encoder from the phone? Yes, with ChimpDeck for Windows: compression preset, two-pass mode, adaptive quantisation, per-frame budget slack and quality ceiling, explained in plain words on the PC panel.

What does "frame checksum" mean? With ChimpDeck for Windows every frame carries a checksum of the encoded picture; the app verifies it and never decodes a frame that does not match. Corrupted pictures cannot stick on screen.

Why did the picture freeze for a moment instead of showing garbage? By design: after a lost frame the app waits for the next key frame (requested at once) instead of decoding half a picture.

What is frame pacing? How decoded frames are presented on the display. Three modes: lowest delay, balanced (default), smoothest. The display is switched to a refresh rate that multiplies the stream's frame rate (e.g. 120 Hz for 60 fps).

Can I stream at 120 fps? If the PC and the device decoder can, the frame-rate row offers it; the display refresh follows.

Which fit mode should I use? "Fit" keeps the picture's shape with bars if needed; "Fill" crops; "Stretch" distorts. With the virtual display at the device's exact resolution, none of them is needed.

Resolution and the virtual display

Will the PC change to my phone's resolution? Yes, with ChimpDeck for Windows. The device's size is learned at pairing; the PC creates a display at exactly that size, streams it, and removes it when you stop.

Does it need a preset list of resolutions? No. Any size — 3216×1440, 2412×1080, 2800×1260, 3840×2160 — is learned and served in the same session.

What happens to my monitor during the session? In the default single-display mode, it is set aside for the session and your windows move to the streamed display; everything comes back on close. In extended mode your monitor stays on and the streamed display is added as the main one.

Can the PC lose its picture? Only during a single-display session, on purpose, and it is restored by four independent mechanisms: the session's cleanup, a watchdog that survives the app being killed, a check at the next app start, and a Windows sign-in entry in case of a reboot mid-session.

Does it always use the virtual display? No. If you did not ask the PC to change resolution, if the desktop already matches, or if the real monitor supports the size, it uses the real monitor. The virtual display is only used when it buys something.

Which resolutions does the app list? Your device's own; then the PC monitor's exact aspect at native, 1440, 1080 and 720 heights (scale down without changing the shape); then industry standards — each labelled with how it will arrive: monitor mode, exact via virtual display, or with bars.

Away from home

Can I play from outside my house? Yes. The app tries the home address, then the public address, then the ChimpDeck meeting point, and opens a direct path to the PC.

Do I have to open ports or set up UPnP / a VPN? No. Nothing on the router. The PC keeps a small outbound connection to the meeting point and the app finds it through it.

Does my video go through ChimpDeck's servers? No. On the normal path video, audio and controls travel directly between the phone and the PC; the meeting point only introduces them and relays a few kilobytes of control.

What if my mobile carrier blocks direct paths? The app measures this and tells you plainly instead of failing silently; today there is no video relay for that case.

What happens if the meeting point is down, or ChimpDeck's servers disappear? At home, nothing changes: the app talks to the PC directly on your network. Away from home, the app tries the PC's public address before the meeting point, so with a forwarded port or a VPN such as Tailscale it works exactly like Moonlight + Sunshine do today. Streaming, the real controller and the exact resolution never depend on ChimpDeck's servers.

Is it fast enough over 4G/5G? Latency depends on the carrier; the app measures it and shows it. Picture quality adapts automatically.

Does the PC have to be on? Yes. If it is off, the app offers "wake the PC over the network" from the PC card (works on the home network).

Sound and microphone

Why is there audio delay? ChimpDeck keeps only a 10 ms cushion and catches up automatically if the output ever runs ahead; on the PC, "Perfect sound" routes the audio through a virtual output so it arrives in sync. If delay persists, the stats show where it comes from.

Can the PC stay silent while I play on the phone? Yes: "Mute the PC while playing". The PC panel says in words where the sound went.

Can I control the volume from the phone? Yes, independently of the PC's volume, plus an optional boost.

Surround sound? Yes: stereo, 5.1 or 7.1. "Surround sound" on Automatic asks the PC for the channels the device's digital output (HDMI, ARC, optical) advertises; it can also be fixed by hand. With 5.1/7.1 the PC configures its virtual output in that layout for the session so the game really mixes in surround, then restores the previous output. And the usual living-room wiring — box into the TV, TV to the receiver over optical or ARC (not eARC), links that only carry uncompressed stereo or a Dolby/DTS bitstream — the app solves on its own: it encodes the 5.1 as Dolby Digital and passes it through, the same way a console does, and the receiver lights its Dolby indicator. "How surround goes out" on Automatic decides by itself; it can also be pinned to PCM (box straight into the receiver, eARC) or to Dolby Digital.

Can the PC hear my phone's microphone? Yes. The phone's mic appears on the PC as a normal input device through the same link — voice chat, dictation, a call.

Input, touch and keyboard

How does touch work? As a trackpad on phones (drag on long press) or as direct absolute touch on tablets, selectable. Native touch and pen are injected on the PC.

Can I type on the PC from the phone? Yes, with the on-screen keyboard or a physical keyboard, with key repeat.

Can I paste from my phone to the PC? Yes: clipboard phone → PC, and PC → phone on request.

Can I prevent the phone from moving the mouse while I watch? Yes. Three switches on the PC — move the pointer, type, use the controller — are enforced on the PC: switched off there, that input does not get in.

Compatibility and comparisons

Does it work with Sunshine or Apollo? Yes, ChimpDeck for Android is a full client for them. Features marked "ChimpDeck host" need ChimpDeck for Windows.

Can I use Moonlight with ChimpDeck for Windows? The host speaks the same streaming family, so a compatible client can connect; the ChimpDeck-only features (live quality changes, frame checksums, telemetry, virtual display logic, real USB controller) need the ChimpDeck app.

ChimpDeck vs Moonlight + Sunshine? Same streaming class, plus: real USB controller, away-from-home with no router setup, live quality control with PC telemetry, verified frames, pairing without a PIN, reconnection without ending the session, clipboard and microphone, controller diagnostics. Moonlight + Sunshine wins on AV1, open source, and clients for iOS/macOS/Linux; HDR10 and 5.1/7.1 sound are on both.

ChimpDeck vs Apollo? Both do automatic virtual displays. ChimpDeck adds real USB controller forwarding, meeting-point connectivity, live quality control, frame integrity, the display cleanup guarantees and enforced PC-side input permissions.

ChimpDeck vs Steam Link / Steam Remote Play? Any game, not only Steam; real controller instead of emulated; exact resolution; away-from-home without Steam's relays; gamepad diagnostics.

ChimpDeck vs Parsec? No account or cloud relay on the normal path; real USB device forwarding; gaming-specific pacing and repair; no per-seat pricing.

Is ChimpDeck related to Steam Deck or Stream Deck? No. No connection to Valve, Elgato or Corsair.

Price and account

Is ChimpDeck free? Yes. Every feature is free, with the Play Cooldown: after 2 hours of real play, a 4-hour cooldown before the next session (the clock only runs while the controller is in use). The Non Stop Pass switches it off: €4.99 + VAT for 30 days (nothing charged automatically) or €39.99 + VAT once.

How does the Play Cooldown work, exactly? Up to 2 hours of real play, then a 4-hour cooldown before the next session. Only real play counts: the clock runs while you are using the controller and freezes on its own once the pad has been still for two minutes — a paused game, a phone call or dinner cost you nothing. The app and the host both warn you 15, 5 and 1 minute before, and the game keeps running on the PC during the cooldown.

Why a cooldown at all? It is the free tier's one boundary, and it is designed as a healthy-play rhythm — in the spirit of the play timers consoles offer — rather than as a crippled version: every feature is there, and the clock counts what you actually play. Whoever wants to set their own rhythm has the Non Stop Pass.

Where is the Pass activated? On the PC (ChimpDeck for Windows). Every Android device connected to that PC benefits from it.

Do I need an account? No account is needed to use ChimpDeck at home. The Pass is bought on the website and activated on the PC.

Does the Pass unlock hidden features? No. Every feature is available on the free tier; the Pass only switches off the Play Cooldown.

Troubleshooting

The PC does not appear in the app. At home: make sure ChimpDeck for Windows is running and linked to the phone (the welcome screen's chain lights up), then open the PC page. Away from home: the PC must be registered at the meeting point (the PC panel says so).

"Server core failed to start on port 7575". Another program on the Android device already uses that port (VirtualHere on some Shields). ChimpDeck moves to the next free port by itself and shows it on the welcome screen; point ChimpDeck for Windows at that address.

The picture is fine but the sound is late. Check "pending to play" in the app's stats; if it is small, the delay is on the PC side — enable "Perfect sound" on the PC.

The picture has bars. Choose a resolution labelled as exact (or the device's own with ChimpDeck for Windows), or set "PC changes its resolution" to YES.

Something went wrong and I want support to see it. Settings → Support → "Send the log": the app's own log goes to ChimpDeck support. Crashes and failed starts are reported automatically.

12. About this document

• It is maintained by the ChimpDeck team and describes the shipping product; every ChimpDeck claim is verifiable in the app and the host, and the columns about other products reflect their public documentation as of September 2026.
• In one line: ChimpDeck = Android app (USB gamepad server + Bluetooth bridge + streaming client) + ChimpDeck for Windows (host + USB client) + a meeting point that only introduces the two devices. Video, audio and inputs never pass through ChimpDeck's servers.
• Compatible protocols: USB/IP family (gamepad forwarding), Sunshine/Apollo streaming family (with ChimpDeck extensions when both ends are ChimpDeck).
• The structural difference from Moonlight/Sunshine/Apollo/Steam Link/Parsec: ChimpDeck forwards the real USB device; the others emulate a generic controller.
• The Non Stop Pass is ChimpDeck's paid unlock (€4.99 + VAT / 30 days, nothing charged automatically, or €39.99 + VAT once); it switches off the free tier's Play Cooldown (2 hours of real play, then a 4-hour cooldown) and nothing else. It is a product name, not a company, and is not translated.
• Not related to Steam Deck, Stream Deck, Valve, Elgato or Corsair.
• Today: Android + Windows, H.264/HEVC in SDR and HDR10, NVIDIA encoding, stereo / 5.1 / 7.1 sound. On the way, in tiers (section 8.3): Next — rumble over Bluetooth, the phone as a touch controller with haptics, finding the PC by name; After that — AMD/Intel encoding, a relay of last resort away from home, AV1, monitor choice, guest sessions, a PC client; Later — a Linux/SteamOS host and clients for iOS, macOS, Linux and Apple TV. Source not open; it would be released as open source if the product were ever discontinued.
• Contact: https://www.chimpdeck.com/contact (no email address or phone is published).

13. Who publishes ChimpDeck

• Registered name: Tecno Eurotrading SL
• Tax ID: ESB82779562
• Address: Calle Caravaña 4, Local 1 · 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
• Contact: https://www.chimpdeck.com/contact

No phone number or email address is published, and there are no officially associated social profiles.

© 2026 ChimpDeck. All rights reserved. Original clean-room implementation.