Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Discussion and listing of Retron 5 cartridge compatibility.
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the_importer
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Joined: October 25th, 2014, 10:16 pm

Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by the_importer » October 28th, 2014, 9:18 am

I'll get the good stuff out of the way, the games look amazing with the Retron 5, everything looks perfect, especially when you add scanlines. Once updated, the options are great, love all the controller remapping options, it's everything you could hope for in an emulation machine.

Now for the bad part, to quote the AVGN "What's the most important aspect about any game? Well, being able to fucking play it!" The lag input is unforgivable in this device. Now before you blame my LED TV like I first did, let me point out that the same games I've tested on the Retron 5 for Lag inputs, I've tried on both the Wii's Virtual Console and with my original systems hooked directly in the composite inputs on that same TV and I get very different results and yes, Game Mode was activated in all scenarios.

I don't know how they did not notice these lags, they're complete game changers for most genres that requires quick action. Right now, the only purpose of this machine is playing SNES RPGs on my TV and using translation patches for the Japanese ones as well as being a save data backup device. Let's hope they can fix this in the future.

MrMan2k7
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Joined: September 16th, 2014, 11:10 am

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by MrMan2k7 » October 28th, 2014, 10:09 am

In addition to Game Mode being on, make sure that ALL post-processing options for your TV are off. Game Mode doesn't necessarily turn these off on all TVs.

Your TV might perform processing different for composite/component inputs than for HDMI. I know my TV has independent settings for each input, so you may have certain options off for composite that are on my default on the HDMI input.

Just be sure to check everything before blaming the system. I know the Retron5 works great on my TV without any noticeable lag. Action games are not an issue for me.

the_importer
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Joined: October 25th, 2014, 10:16 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by the_importer » October 28th, 2014, 10:49 am

MrMan2k7 wrote:In addition to Game Mode being on, make sure that ALL post-processing options for your TV are off. Game Mode doesn't necessarily turn these off on all TVs.

Your TV might perform processing different for composite/component inputs than for HDMI. I know my TV has independent settings for each input, so you may have certain options off for composite that are on my default on the HDMI input.

Just be sure to check everything before blaming the system. I know the Retron5 works great on my TV without any noticeable lag. Action games are not an issue for me.
The game mode was on in all scenarios: the composite for my AV Famicom, Component for Wii and HDMI 3 for the Retron 5. The Retron 5 was the only one lagging when testing the same games. I am not aware of any post-processing options on my TV, so if you know of any, here's the manual for my model: http://tinyurl.com/nukjdzv

My turn to ask you a question, have you tried the actual game system on that same TV with game mode on to compare with the Retron 5? I'm asking because like with any handicap, it is possible to adjust to the lag, so if you're use to it and forgot how it played on the original system, it may not be an issue for you.

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R9delta
Patch Master
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Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by R9delta » October 28th, 2014, 11:42 am

If your tv (most LGs) has a PC mode you can enable that'll pretty much disable all the post processing that can be disabled. I haven't looked at the link to your specific TV. Anyway I haven't noticed anything detrimental myself and frequently use the Wii U on the other input for VC and a PC on another with VSYNC disabled for comparison. Some people are more perceptive than others though and my tv has very little input lag in general. It probably doesn't help though if your tv has a subpar upscaler combined with the fact that the Retron 5 runs in 720p and not a likely native to your tv, 1080p. There's a little lag that's always inherent to android as well. So yeah, at least partially, it's the retron's fault

the_importer
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Joined: October 25th, 2014, 10:16 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by the_importer » October 28th, 2014, 11:52 am

R9delta wrote:If your tv (most LGs) has a PC mode you can enable that'll pretty much disable all the post processing that can be disabled. I haven't looked at the link to your specific TV. Anyway I haven't noticed anything detrimental myself and frequently use the Wii U on the other input for VC and a PC on another with VSYNC disabled for comparison. Some people are more perceptive than others though and my tv has very little input lag in general. It probably doesn't help though if your tv has a subpar upscaler combined with the fact that the Retron 5 runs in 720p and not a likely native to your tv, 1080p. There's a little lag that's always inherent to android as well. So yeah, at least partially, it's the retron's fault
I'll try switching my HDMI3 input from game to PC. When using my media PC, I know that the PC mode has no game mode (it's grayed out), meaning that it's possible that it will make a difference, guess we'll see tonight when I get home.

username
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Joined: October 9th, 2014, 1:07 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by username » October 28th, 2014, 3:47 pm

there is some test results with numbers re: lag here http://retrorgb.com/retron5review.html

I haven't noticed much lag really(and normally when I play on pc emulators there is enough for it to be distracting)

the_importer
Posts: 19
Joined: October 25th, 2014, 10:16 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by the_importer » October 28th, 2014, 3:57 pm

username wrote:there is some test results with numbers re: lag here http://retrorgb.com/retron5review.html

I haven't noticed much lag really(and normally when I play on pc emulators there is enough for it to be distracting)
Problem is that I tried NES and Famicom games for my tests. Since he mentioned that SNES lagged more than Genesis, it's possible that NES is equal or worst than SNES. Anyway, his conclusions is it's better to stick with CRTs and original hardware and to leave the Retron 5 for casual player, which is ironic considering that casual players would just download those on the Virtual Consoles or something, retro collectors should be the primary market for the Retron 5.

jayare5
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Joined: September 18th, 2014, 12:10 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by jayare5 » October 29th, 2014, 2:08 pm

Hey there, the_importer.
I'm glad someone here understands me. Lag ruined this console for me in most games.
40 milliseconds is what this console has for lag. Anyone saying it's unnoticeable clearly isn't sure what they're talking about, cause 40 ms is VERY NOTICEABLE. Try playing Super Mario Kart in the RetroN5.
Then try playing it on a Super Nintendo connected to a Standard Definition TV (CRT) of old.

IN FACT: my HDTV can play a real SNES through composite and it will have only like maybe 10 ms of delay. (that's a little less than a frame of delay, since each frame in a second lasts around 16 ms, while the RetroN5 probably has 2.5 frames of delay.)

Anyway, there are TVs that add even more to those 40 ms, but the truth is that at it's BEST possible, it's not ever faster than that. (It was Retron's tech that gave me that exact number when I complained about lag.)

90% of the people don't seem to care though. That's nice huh?
I had made a topic about this too if you want to read it:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44&sid=dba33205703371f364b7ad155ff4a266

the_importer
Posts: 19
Joined: October 25th, 2014, 10:16 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by the_importer » October 29th, 2014, 2:13 pm

jayare5 wrote:Hey there, the_importer.
I'm glad someone here understands me. Lag ruined this console for me in most games.
40 milliseconds is what this console has for lag. Anyone saying it's unnoticeable clearly isn't sure what they're talking about, cause 40 ms is VERY NOTICEABLE. Try playing Super Mario Kart in the RetroN5.
Then try playing it on a Super Nintendo connected to a Standard Definition TV (CRT) of old.

IN FACT: my HDTV can play a real SNES through composite and it will have only like maybe 10 ms of delay. (that's a little less than a frame of delay, since each frame in a second lasts around 16 ms, while the RetroN5 probably has 2.5 frames of delay.)

Anyway, there are TVs that add even more to those 40 ms, but the truth is that at it's BEST possible, it's not ever faster than that. (It was Retron's tech that gave me that exact number when I complained about lag.)

90% of the people don't seem to care though. That's nice huh?
I had made a topic about this too if you want to read it:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44&sid=dba33205703371f364b7ad155ff4a266
My test was in SMB1, the pipe jumps. From the start, run and jump on the first green pipe and then jump to the next 2. Using my actual Famicom on my CRT or HDTV, no problem, but with the Retron 5, impossible because if you jump to early, you'll land before the next pipe and if you jump too late, your jump won't register because of the lag and you just fall.

Anyway, I can still use this thing to backup my save games and play some Japanese RPGs with translation patches.

jayare5
Posts: 4
Joined: September 18th, 2014, 12:10 pm

Re: Well the input lag of the Retron 5 really blows

Post by jayare5 » October 29th, 2014, 2:32 pm

You can still complain to them. If more and more people complained, they would work around it.
But honestly, knowing little to nothing about programming, I dont know if that will be even possible to fix.
It's an android machine with emulators, after all. I'm guessing there are limitations and cost issues.
It might never be 0% lag. The effort needed for something like that is probably not worth it when we have our original hardware. That's only my bet though. On iphone, there are some official apps that are emulated games (arcade for example) and those have no lag that I can notice! Maybe like 10 ms if any. It might still be possible. So you should complain to them!

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