Not every TAS aims for fastest input time, or even time at all. TASVideos allows authors to categorize their submissions using multiple different metrics for optimization.

TAS Timing is the default metric and is automatically parsed and recorded for every submission. TAS Timing begins at power-on (frame 0) and ends at final input.

RTA Timing is the metric that the game's general speedrunning community uses to dictate when runs begin and end. This varies from game to game, but is consistently applied to all runs for that specific game. For example, Super Mario Bros RTA timing begins the frame "400" appears in the top right corner after selecting 1 player, and ends the frame all sprites are invisible after touching the axe in 8-4. Using this metric, our Super Mario Bros TAS has an RTA timing of 4:54.032.

Often referred to as IGT, this metric can be used when the game itself offers a timer. Optimizing for IGT is often different than optimizing for real time, with a notable example being Sonic the Hedgehog, where runners will optimize each individual stage for the fastest in-game time even though most Sonic games give larger (and thus slower to count down) score bonuses for speed.

For score-based games, users are allowed to submit the score in addition to the time. Time is still tracked for score runs as some score-based games allow players to hit defined maximums, so it is still possible to optimize a defined maximum score run by achieving said maximum in a faster time. Score is prioritized when determining obsoletion: A higher maximum score with a slower time will obsolete a faster, but lower score run.

Primarily used by the Super Mario 64 community, this is a variable time that represents how the TAS would play out on a real console.