In a session
The numbers
FPS, MS and LOSS, and what good looks like.
Three numbers in the toolbar. Together they tell you whether the problem is the far computer, the network, or the settings.
FPS
Frames a second being drawn.
| Reading | Means |
|---|---|
| Near 30 or 60 | Healthy. |
| Low, with low loss | The far computer cannot keep up. Check its load. |
| Drops only when the screen moves a lot | Normal. A still screen sends fewer frames. |
MS
How long a round trip takes.
| Reading | Feels like |
|---|---|
| Under 20 | Like sitting at the machine. |
| 20 to 50 | Comfortable for everything. |
| 50 to 100 | Fine. Dragging feels a bit loose. |
| Over 100 | You notice it. Usually distance or a relay. |
LOSS
Packets that never arrived.
| Reading | Means |
|---|---|
| 0 to 0.5% | Normal. Repaired invisibly. |
| 0.5 to 2% | Some smearing after changes. Tolerable. |
| Over 2% | The link is the problem. No setting fixes it. |
Reading them together
| FPS | MS | LOSS | Likely cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Low | Low | The far computer cannot encode fast enough. |
| Good | High | Low | Distance, or a relay. |
| Low | Jumpy | High | Busy or weak network. |
| Good | Low | Low, but soft | Not the network. See picture quality. |
That last row is the common one. A healthy session can still look soft because of resolution and colour settings.