In research, timing is often of critical importance.  Do you wonder exactly when in a trial people react?  At what point in an experience do they move?  How long latency does each of your devices experience? 

Having control of timing can be of great value both when collecting data, knowing when to present data to the users during trial, and of course while visualizing data and results.  Having the freedom of using multiple devices or even programming languages can vastly improve the productivity and even create new possibilities in your research.