Emulation Gaming Homebrew Misc I TESTED Adrenaline input lag vs. Adrenaline Bubble Manager & NoPspEmuDrm (and by extension, Chovy-sign)

iTheBeep · Aug 5, 2023

People on the internet keep saying things like "Adrenaline Bubble Manager is less laggy than Adrenaline", or "Chovy-sign/NoPspEmuDrm are less laggy than Adrenaline".
Nobody AFAIK bothered to test these rumors/claims.
I tested on my Vita while using a 480fps slow-motion recording. I made a quick tap on the dpad/face button, then while watching the recording, counted frame-by-frame to see how long for something onscreen to occur. The unit is an approximate number for the frames of lag.
(All plugins/graphics enhancements/filters are disabled. I didn't hook up any LEDs to my Vita's motherboard, so expect a ~.25 margin of error. Patapon and Project Diva are 30fps games, so 4 frames of lag in my data are technically not 4 ingame, but 2 (still ~67ms lag though).
```
--Adrenaline Bubble Manager--
Project Diva Extend (no ABM, menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.125, 3.75, 3.75, 3.625 [~3.875]
Project Diva Extend (menuing up/down): 4, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875, 3.875 [~3.85]
Patapon (menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.875, 4.125, 4.125, 4.25 [~4.3]
Maverick Hunter X (moving left/right): 3.625, 3.875, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875 [~3.775]
Maverick Hunter X (jumping): 2.25, 2.75, 2.75, 3, 2.875 [~2.725]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, moving left/right): 4.875, 4.625, 5.125, 5.375, 4.875 [~4.975]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, jumping): 5.125, 4.125, 4.25, 4.25, 4.25 [~4.4]
Megaman X4 (PS1, moving left/right): 3.75, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875, 3.625 [~3.75]
Megaman X4 (PS1, jumping): 3.5, 3.25, 3.5, 3.5, 3.25 [~3.4]

--NoPspEmuDrm--
Project Diva Extend (menuing up/down): 3.875, 3.75, 3.625, 3.625, 3.625 [~3.7]
Patapon (menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.5, 4.375, 4.75, 4.75, 4.375, 4.875, 3.875 [~4.453]
Maverick Hunter X (moving left/right): 3, 3.75, 4, 4, 3.5, 3.625, 3.875, 4 [~3.719]
Maverick Hunter X (jumping): 2.625, 2.875, 3, 3, 3, 2.875, 2.75, 3.125 [~2.906]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, moving left/right): 4.375, 4.5, 5.25, 4.875, 4.625 [~4.725]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, jumping): 4.125, 4.25, 4.375, 4.5, 4.125, 4.75 [~4.354]
Megaman X4 (PS1, moving left/right): 3.625, 4.125, 3.875, 3.625, 4 [~3.85]
Megaman X4 (PS1, jumping): 3.625, 3.625, 3.375, 3.625, 3.375 [~3.525]
```

These numbers average up to not even half a full frame's difference, in any of the games tested. If there was a difference beyond the margin of error, there is no way a human can discern 1/4 frames of input lag.
At the end of the day YMMV, and this isn't about Adrenaline vs. a real PSP; I don't have one to test with. But this data shows that:
ABM does NOT have less input lag than opening the game through Adrenaline, at least not with Project Diva Extend.
NoPspEmuDrm (and by extension, Chovy, since both do essentially the same thing) do NOT have less input lag than Adrenaline.

sonictopfan · Aug 7, 2023

I feel this is a good place to ask, is Chovy-sign good for a modded PS Vita?

I already have both Adrenaline and NoPSPEmuDRM but several games aren’t available on the PSN shop and Adrenaline Bubble Manager sucks so I was looking for alternatives.

iTheBeep · Aug 8, 2023

sonictopfan said:
I feel this is a good place to ask, is Chovy-sign good for a modded PS Vita?

I already have both Adrenaline and NoPSPEmuDRM but several games aren’t available on the PSN shop and Adrenaline Bubble Manager sucks so I was looking for alternatives.

In my opinion, Chovy-sign is more hassle than its worth. I haven't bothered getting it to work, because Adrenaline/NPED are simpler.
But try it and see for yourself.

If there's a game unavailable on the PSN shop, there are plenty of websites offering PSP ISOs (that Adrenaline can run). I'm unfamiliar with GBATemp but I assume sharing piracy links isn't allowed, so Google.

Vortex36 · Aug 17, 2023

I apologize for replying to a somewhat dead thread, but since this is the only one I could find on the subject:

Since you tested both extensively, would you say there is any advantage to using NPED instead of Adrenaline? I've searched for an answer everywhere but the only reply I could ever find was about input lag (which you've clearly proven wrong here). Wouldn't Adrenaline be better then, having all the CFW's added functionality like plugins? What does NPED offer that Adrenaline doesn't?

iTheBeep · Aug 28, 2023

Vortex36 said:
I apologize for replying to a somewhat dead thread, but since this is the only one I could find on the subject:

Since you tested both extensively, would you say there is any advantage to using NPED instead of Adrenaline? I've searched for an answer everywhere but the only reply I could ever find was about input lag (which you've clearly proven wrong here). Wouldn't Adrenaline be better then, having all the CFW's added functionality like plugins? What does NPED offer that Adrenaline doesn't?

After posting my findings on the r/vitahacks subreddit, I learned through a reply that there are actually some situations in which Adrenaline is glitchy, laggy, and/or unresponsive. We observed there being lag in the main menu of the Dissidia Final Fantasy PSP games.
(Of course, in actual fights or the strategy part of the game, I tested and found no difference.)

There will be fringe situations where Adrenaline runs worse, but those are few and far in-between. I personally always use Adrenaline for PSP games, and if I want to go play the Dissidia series, I'm gonna play it on Adrenaline too because of the ability to use cwcheat and cross-game savestates. The main menu having lag doesn't bother me at all.

What NPED offers is very easy setup. There are a lot of settings in Adrenaline, and it can be buggy. If it crashes, it hardlocks your Vita and you'll have to restart the device entirely. Savestates are oftentimes buggy too.

On another note, I don't recommend Adrenaline, NPED or any pspemu, for certain retro games. For example, Metal Slug Anthology and Gradius Collection are laggy ports, and running the specific games on Vita's Retroarch is significantly better. Another example is with 2D, sprite-based PS1 games i.e. Megaman X4; they look & run much better on Vita's Retroarch.

NicholasNRG · Jun 4, 2024

One important detail this post isn't taking into account is audio latency, which is what could be causing people to perceive input lag in rhythm games. If there's audio latency, the game will feel off-sync even if there is no input lag, since inputs will not align with what's being heard in game. I'm having a terrible time with Parappa The Rapper because of this, and i don't know if the game is just like this on original hardware or if it's a Vita problem. Has anyone tested for audio latency?

The_Dizzy_Vizzy · Jun 8, 2024

iTheBeep said:
People on the internet keep saying things like "Adrenaline Bubble Manager is less laggy than Adrenaline", or "Chovy-sign/NoPspEmuDrm are less laggy than Adrenaline".
Nobody AFAIK bothered to test these rumors/claims.
I tested on my Vita while using a 480fps slow-motion recording. I made a quick tap on the dpad/face button, then while watching the recording, counted frame-by-frame to see how long for something onscreen to occur. The unit is an approximate number for the frames of lag.
(All plugins/graphics enhancements/filters are disabled. I didn't hook up any LEDs to my Vita's motherboard, so expect a ~.25 margin of error. Patapon and Project Diva are 30fps games, so 4 frames of lag in my data are technically not 4 ingame, but 2 (still ~67ms lag though).
```
--Adrenaline Bubble Manager--
Project Diva Extend (no ABM, menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.125, 3.75, 3.75, 3.625 [~3.875]
Project Diva Extend (menuing up/down): 4, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875, 3.875 [~3.85]
Patapon (menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.875, 4.125, 4.125, 4.25 [~4.3]
Maverick Hunter X (moving left/right): 3.625, 3.875, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875 [~3.775]
Maverick Hunter X (jumping): 2.25, 2.75, 2.75, 3, 2.875 [~2.725]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, moving left/right): 4.875, 4.625, 5.125, 5.375, 4.875 [~4.975]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, jumping): 5.125, 4.125, 4.25, 4.25, 4.25 [~4.4]
Megaman X4 (PS1, moving left/right): 3.75, 3.75, 3.75, 3.875, 3.625 [~3.75]
Megaman X4 (PS1, jumping): 3.5, 3.25, 3.5, 3.5, 3.25 [~3.4]

--NoPspEmuDrm--
Project Diva Extend (menuing up/down): 3.875, 3.75, 3.625, 3.625, 3.625 [~3.7]
Patapon (menuing up/down): 4.125, 4.5, 4.375, 4.75, 4.75, 4.375, 4.875, 3.875 [~4.453]
Maverick Hunter X (moving left/right): 3, 3.75, 4, 4, 3.5, 3.625, 3.875, 4 [~3.719]
Maverick Hunter X (jumping): 2.625, 2.875, 3, 3, 3, 2.875, 2.75, 3.125 [~2.906]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, moving left/right): 4.375, 4.5, 5.25, 4.875, 4.625 [~4.725]
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, jumping): 4.125, 4.25, 4.375, 4.5, 4.125, 4.75 [~4.354]
Megaman X4 (PS1, moving left/right): 3.625, 4.125, 3.875, 3.625, 4 [~3.85]
Megaman X4 (PS1, jumping): 3.625, 3.625, 3.375, 3.625, 3.375 [~3.525]
```

These numbers average up to not even half a full frame's difference, in any of the games tested. If there was a difference beyond the margin of error, there is no way a human can discern 1/4 frames of input lag.
At the end of the day YMMV, and this isn't about Adrenaline vs. a real PSP; I don't have one to test with. But this data shows that:
ABM does NOT have less input lag than opening the game through Adrenaline, at least not with Project Diva Extend.
NoPspEmuDrm (and by extension, Chovy, since both do essentially the same thing) do NOT have less input lag than Adrenaline.

IMPRESSIVE. MOST IMPRESSIVE...

Acid_Snake · Monday at 9:52 PM

NicholasNRG said:
One important detail this post isn't taking into account is audio latency, which is what could be causing people to perceive input lag in rhythm games. If there's audio latency, the game will feel off-sync even if there is no input lag, since inputs will not align with what's being heard in game. I'm having a terrible time with Parappa The Rapper because of this, and i don't know if the game is just like this on original hardware or if it's a Vita problem. Has anyone tested for audio latency?

I've read Adrenaline's source code and it barely does anything with audio (other than some patches to allow psp and ps1 audio at the same time).
If there's something to suspect, I'd put my money on video refresh rates rather than audio.

Adrenaline implements its own Video thread to convert PSP/PS1 vram to display on Vita, it's how it manages to implement more filtering/upscaling methods. It might be possible that this thread is not as efficient as the original one by Sony.

AdrenalineDraw thread:
https://github.com/TheOfficialFloW/...d211d830017ba7aee982fa49a8c6/user/menu.c#L383

If this thread isn't as efficient as Sony's original draw thread then you will see differences in the refresh rate of the PSP/PS1 screen.

Emulation Gaming Homebrew Misc I TESTED Adrenaline input lag vs. Adrenaline Bubble Manager & NoPspEmuDrm (and by extension, Chovy-sign)

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