So what are most differences and advantages to get used to from speedrunning between emulator and console/on the TV? I could certainly use a TV Screen instead for my gameplay sometime instead of my smaller laptop screen and there are consoles to be tried and network to be tested, etc.... It would be easier to rest and eat if I could play on the TV.

That's gonna depend a lot on what emulator you're using and what game you're playing, but generally speaking playing the game on official hardware is a lot better for speedrunning, so if you have the option you should play on a console.

The biggest issue with emulator is often input delay. While his can be mitigated with decent quality gaming monitors, most people who play on emulator have a harder time learning certain tricks or mechanics because they have to deal with slight input delay. This is more prominent for older games and consoles where the gold standard is using real hardware on a CRT.

So that’s one disadvantage you might encounter depending on the games you’re thinking of running. One advantage is accessibility. Emulator provides an easy setup (no need for a capture card, a splitter, etc) and gives you chance to try out a run or a game. That way if you don’t like it, you didn’t spend any money buying real hardware or a copy of the game etc.

Exactly what Timmiluvs said. I practice on official hardware, but stream on Emu (too cheap to buy a capture card/lazy to transport my systems to my ol' ladies house where I stream from). The lag on emulator is very noticeable and takes a bit of calibration to perform precise tricks when moving from hardware.

I've recently begun to use an actual N64 rather than an emulator, and the first and biggest thing I've noticed is that all my muscle memory is complete garbage. I had all the angles and timing down with arrow keys, and it just doesn't translate to an analog stick. I used "Z" and "X" for "A" and "B", and the order happens to be reversed on the controller.

I've found that input delay can be negated with a capture card and splitter, though it does require that up-front cost.

The biggest advantage I've found to using a console over an emulator is that you don't get into any disputes about how accurate your emulator is to the real thing. To be fair, in the game I run, there is almost always a difference between the unpause time on various emulators and the unpause time on a console, so it is actually a problem for the game I run.

I should be getting my n64 in on Tuesday, I practiced on emu for a while, submitted a run today. I'm excited to see how it works out. I used an Xbox One controller on emu so I should be goodish