Ah damn. Oh well, best of luck!

Remember, the timer is really just for you though. The vast majority of (sane) boards don't care about them and manually time runs anyways. If it helps you, you can even time via stopwatch or smart phone app too!

@Tenka is spot on, opengl might work, but if not you could use one of these:

Output=overlay - doesn't support stretching in 16-bit and 32-bit video modes, FYI.

or

Output=ddraw - should be compatible with older Intel card drivers.

I am using ddraw on an older XP VM that I run specific DOSBox games in, so it might be the most compatible for windows with older drivers.

That's good. For your card, that's what everything should be settings wise. I'll see how some of my non-gog stuff is set up.

I didn't catch the part where you said you enter full screen. Yeah, that won't work. If you only have one monitor, you need to do it in Windowed mode. Just change the res until you find something workable (like @Tenka said) that doesn't cover livesplit, and you're good.

I think we're on to something...

Check under Settings -> Output.

Set the Output mode to simple (so you can easily differentiate) then look at the recording section and look at Encoder.

If it says (Hardware) next to whatever it says, it's hardware accelerated. With an Intel GFX card on and older PC, you may want to use Software encoding, or at least try toggling the setting from whichever it is set to whichever it isn't. The old Intel cards are not the best when it comes to that setting.

You may also want to go into Settings -> Advanced, go to the video section, and check what your Renderer is. If it is Direct X, let me know which. One last thing, what OS are you running?

You have a view count on the video though, on both Twitch and YT. Likes isn't universal on platforms, so I could see that.

A local recording is always preferable. I don't trust twitch to begin with and I trust my internet connection even less.

There's definitely a difference of opinion on the need for a step down converter. On the one hand, a 20% difference is well within tolerance for most consumer electronics, but on the other hand we're talking about tech that's close to 30 years old now. Whatever built in tolerance there was is probably a whole lot less tolerant now. If you do go the AV famicom route, personally, I'd get the converter.

Can you play the game in windowed mode scaled to your screen size? You could probably make livesplit semi transparent and just put it over top the window.

It's really up to you how you set it up. The timer is just for you really. Helps you see how your doing. When it comes down to it for major World Records, mods will frame count or manually check the time themselves.

Have as many or as little splits as you'd like. I can post a picture or two of some simple ones I have set up later today.

Not really happy with how I'm feeling physically day to day, but otherwise, I guess so... or perhaps from a different point of view, I guess not. I more ascribe to this sentiment than anything else: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/unhappy

I'd rather just contribute meaningfully, rather than try to be the best at anything. Doing MY best at what I do and liking to do what I like is enough.

I'm quite happy being unhappy.

No, actually, the US ones output AC because most NES versions (if not all in my understanding) handle the conversion to DC in a power module on the system board. The Famicom expects DC from the adapter, and AC could potentially damage the system, so an NES power supply won't do.

Like @Komrade said, the power brick the AV Famicom comes with should work safely with a step down converter (as @Liv mentioned), and yes, according to my Google-Fu, a Genesis power brick might work as well. I only own a single Sega system (Dreamcast) so I can't really verify what I see on the net. Maybe someone else can better confirm that part.

These should be the specs of the required compatible power adaptor:

AC100V 50/60Hz 18VA DC10V 850mA

• ------ C------- -

Anything with those specs should work.

Honestly though, if you just want to play Japanese games on SOMETHING, you could just buy an Everdrive if you don't care much about playing the original carts themselves. Even for speedrunning, most leader boards accept them, and aside from a few edge cases, mapper support is perfect for a lot of Japanese games. Fair warning, they are about as much money as an AV Famicom though.

Love it! It's never too soon to start uploading! Or streaming for that matter.

You're probably aware of these, but just in case: Check out OBS for capture: https://obsproject.com/ And LiveSplit is virtually the only timer anyone uses: http://livesplit.org/

Hit me up if you need help setting things up or have questions! I was in a similar boat as you, never really had the courage to try speed running til recently. Competing against yourself is the right perspective! It's about doing YOUR best!

Looked it up, specifically these early games, though there might be others:

1942 Clu Clu Land Donkey Kong Jr. Duck Hunt Elevator Action Excitebike Golf Gumshoe Gyromite Hogan’s Alley Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! Pinball Raid on Bungeling Bay Rygar Soccer Stack Up Tennis Urban Champion Wizards and Warriors Wrecking Crew

And the estimated rarity is anywhere from 100k to 200k made like this. They may go for a lot sometimes, but they aren't exactly super rare. Heck there's one on ebay right now for $25: https://www.ebay.com/i/152654582686?chn=ps

Check your 5 screws! You might be lucky. Could have one and not know it, like I did.

Generally though, I do agree that an AV famicom is the way to go.

Yeah, I have plenty of videos on DOSBox that also have livesplit.

I'm just gonna ask a bunch of questions cause I have a suspicion of what the problem might be if what folks mentioned doesn't help:

What kind of graphics card do you have? Any chance you have some sort of hybrid Intel/Nvidia like thing going on? Perhaps even livesplit is on a different monitor then the game? Is hardware acceleration turned on in OBS?

If you have any hangups on third party solutions and you have any 5 screw games you don't like, you could use the Nintendo made adapter built in to one of those to play Famicom games.

I've done this for years.

Are you using the "always on top" settings in Livesplit? If not, if you're covering the timer with the game window or another window, it wouldn't show up.

Hey @AquaBlake, I noticed that the PS1 section doesn't have a spot for PS2 under console and in the rules it says PS1 only.

Not sure if this means that PS2 is not allowed for some reason, or if PS2 is just not in there by accident.

Yeah, hmm, I usually have no problems with that version capping windowed mode.

I keep forgetting that the game I primarily run on DOSBox is one of the few that is locked to a bizarre 47.5 fps no matter what settings you try. @Tenka has the right idea, showing the settings with a crop from the desktop is the way to go. Adds credibility.

If that doesn't work for you due to that lag you mentioned, I'd ask about your video card next. What kind, and whether you have hardware encoding on in OBS.

Yeah, I don't hear it. It could be a specific frequency that the set doesn't like that's causing it, or maybe even interference or volume.

...Or... Game's haunted.