Lag Testing on a Budget

Keeping input and display latency to a minimum is very important when playing any kind of vintage video game which relies to some extent on reflexes.  There are some methods which can test display lag of any display, like the Time Sleuth or the Leo Bodnar Display Lag Testers.  Other methods may require running the same software on two consoles at the same time or connecting one console to two displays via splitters and adapters.  Testing controller latency often requires wiring up an LED or shooting video of a screen and button pressing at a very high frame rate.  These methods tend to be expensive, but what if we consider an approach that is likely to be inexpensive and perhaps cost you nothing?

Lag : Consoles, Emulators, FPGAs

When playing classic video games on non-original hardware, one should always be conscious for the amount of extra lag that method may offer over the original hardware.  Along with accuracy, latency is one of the most important tangible benefits (versus of using original hardware and display technology (CRTs) over emulators and current display technology (LCDs).  Latency has always existed in some form, and in this article I will give an overview on how latency has evolved over time.  

Additionally, the use of FPGA chips to simulate original hardware has become increasingly popular over the past five years.  FPGAs can offer the benefit of lower latency compared to traditional software based emulation and can offer a high degree of accuracy by using relatively inexpensive hardware.  FPGAs are not without their singular issues, and in this article I will go over some of the issues with using FPGAs as a replacement for original hardware.