u/ShinyHappyREMin r/programming • Recommends
On “MenuetOS now includes an ultra-low audio latency, below 1 milliseconds and in some cases, even below 0.1 milliseconds”
> if the latency were hundreds of ms it might desync audio and video
There's a difference between latency and synchronization.
- Latency: x happens but you don't see it until y
- Desync: x is faster than y, so after a while you get an overflow, i.e. visual "hiccup" (repeated or skipped frame) or audio distortion
> why would audio latency matter generally?
Audio latency is important if you have to react to audio cues - blind speedruns are perhaps the most extreme example, but it also happens with first-person shooters (e.g. Apex). Apart from that large latency is just unpleasant because your brain has to do more work connecting audio events with visual cues.