The difference between FPGA and Emulation explained at a high level

Hey all! In this video we take a look at the difference between FPGA and Emulators at a high level. Is FPGA emulation? What is Hardware vs Software Emulation? Is FPGA better than Emulators?

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This video is for entertainment purposes only.

#FPGA #Emulation #Emulators

[MrSujano]

I could have gone into a lot more detail to really split hairs about the differences between the two. I didn't mention Higan, nor did I talk about the massive potential that software emulation has in general. This isn't a video to determine what is "better".

[Zyute.]

For a purist or someone who wants what it origionally was like fpga would be understandable. In my opinion Emulation is getting better everyday and is my choice.

[impactsuit]

One could try something similar to the "pepsi challenge" where fpga apologists try to tell fpga from software emulation...

That would be intersting...

[SRC]

We need these FPGA chips inside smartphones

[blutarheel]

I've only tried emulation, but I love the options and flexibility of PC and phone emulators. Love playing SNES on both platforms.

[CyberdriveAutomotive]

>Explained in a high level
>Starts comparing them to Pokemon levels

[DavidGarcia-qfgc]

I play both. And I feel (mostly in arcade fpga and emulation) the input lag. I've played arcade almost all my life and I can see I'm a better player with MiSTer than with emulation. But I like them both, it's just where do you feel more comfortable playing.

[ChaoSJino]

As a person who enjoys your style, rhythm and voice in terms of presentation, I would not mid if you gave us a more extended, deeper dive into FPGA and FPGA vs Emulation. :)

[jakuth]

I definitely think software emulation is preferable most of the time. Not only would it be easier to emulate more systems and generally do more things with minimal configuration, but I’ve seen software emulators that seek to have a better output than the original hardware, and aiming for accuracy like an FPGA does only allows the output to be as good as the original

[liminal-waves]

That was very informative, I liked the example with the Pokémon it made it easy to understand! Thanks Mr. Sujano!

[plunkmaster]

"Dont tempt fate save you're state" I like that one

[MobileDecay]

The difference is fpga is overpriced. Emulation is better and affordable.

[oldthink]

I now think of Mr. Sujano every time I save my state. Well played, sir.

[ArthurKannibal]

Software emulation is perfectly fine for most scenarios. It's accessible right away and most people just need to be able to play the game without a hassle. I firmly fall into the group of people that prefer to experience games on actual hardware as intended with no input delay but don't or cannot invest thousands of dollars so the MiSTer FPGA is the next best solution. Having no input delay has unintentionally improved my performance in many games I never expected to be good at.

[anbernicguy]

The price is what preventing me from getting into FPGA, and emulation is getting better everyday.

[trashinGame]

Daddy Sujano doesn't try to extend his video over 8 minutes for the ad revenue, he always keeps it short, sweet and informative!

[TamaOne]

Emulation is for the OG's, FPGA is for the high rollers 😂

[SpouTSmemS]

The Mewtwo analogy was SO on point respect

[kleev]

FPGA is amazing! But it is still relatively young (obviously) compared to software emulation. For now I find that its current amount of benefits is not enough to beat software emulation and thus there's obvious debate. It can basically only do 1 thing better than software emulation, and that is low latency.

And by low latency, I mean that software emulation is only anywhere between 1 - 3 frames of latency, but if using Linux, RetroArch and a good enough CPU (and GPU?), you might get less than 1 frame of latency, at which point FPGA would be pointless :P I can do so much more on RetroArch, like Netplay, shaders, overlays and customizable menus, that I just can't justifty FPGA devices (yet).

When it comes to accuracy, just how much more accurate can FPGA be at playing NES and SNES?
With almost all the games, if you have a Raspberry Pi with RetroArch and any of these consoles running side by side, they'd appear to behave, look, and sound the exact same. There's just not enough higher accuracy for me to even develop any preference.

Here's a fun fact: RetroArch is actually better than FPGA if you're playing on a TV with a lot of lag! Just configure Run Ahead to make up for the lag more than an FPGA would, since FPGA can't run ahead. This was actually a valid argument the last 6 or so years (God time flies). Nowadays most people have TVs with a good enough Game Mode that this is now a trivial difference haha.

[Retromander]

A good example psx one game to try is Bust A Groove, not matter how i tryed, the button timing was off in emulation.But most games, through a psx one emulater you wouldnt notice.