Is there an accurate method to test that a run in a vod is going at exactly 60FPS (or whatever the exact FPS of the NES runs at) and not like, 0.01 faster or slower.

If there is a way, can you please explain it to me a bit? Would very much appreciate it.

Not naming any names, but there have been a couple of videos that I've wondered about speed-wise. And I don't know if it's just a poor connection on my side, the video itself, or the speed at which they streamed. And ultimately, its concerned me enough that I would like to find some way to check. Even a 0.01-speed increase over 12-13mins adds up fast.

Also, is it possible to speed up real hardware? Say someone is streaming on a real NES, is there anything you know of that can increase the framerate by like 0.01 or 0.02 fps? Or say...add some kind of variable fps...like normal fps then changes to 0.01 faster for a bit, then changes back? Probably not I'm assuming :P

I will definitely look into yua. Thanks, Chambers!

Haha, Viruse sent me that earlier. Thanks for this btw! I have to wonder though. What would it take to increase the speed 0.05? Would cranking up the power ever so slightly increase the pitch as well? So many unknowns.

My big concern is, if there is a way to do it without being able to detect it...on real hardware. Whats to stop everyone from cheating? Of course, I'm just theorizing that it's even possible.

I think if someone were to overclock their NES in order to cheat, they may get away with it for a while but someone would eventually notice, compare it with another video/audio source and be able to tell if it was.

There is no way to really detect this, short of inspecting and checking everyone's NES prior to running and that would be just absurd. I do have faith however that someone would catch on to someone cheating in this manner at some point. There are physical limitations to the default spec'd hardware and if someone spots something that goes beyond, they will be caught.

Someone might say, there is no way a human could detect a variance as short as a frame but most speedrunners do that every run when performing frame-perfect tricks. They would eventually be caught guaranteed, especially when under the scrutiny of a leaderboard of their peers.

Just my 2 pennies.

Exactly, there are some spots in (almost) every run where this would be obvious. So there will certainly be a way to detect something like this. Will most runs get this level of scrutiny? Unlikely, but it's nice to know its possible. And people knowing this will be less likely to attempt it.