PS2/GC/DC S-Video cable help

[Kitsune Sniper]

I'm trying to capture some video for some projects of mine, but I noticed that said videos have a really weird checkerboard pattern.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j238/foxhack/Sales/grids.jpg

It's especially noticeable on my Gamecube, hard to see on my Dreamcast, and virtually unnoticeable on my PS2 (I only get it with very specific games). Both my GC and my DC are using third party cables, but I'm using the official S-Video cable on my PS2.

I was wondering if this was being caused by bad S-Video cables, or if there's something else going on. I think I'm using Pelican cables... should I be using another brand?

[ooXxXoo]

I strongly suggest to ditch those Pelican third-party cables at once, they are the problem....They do not provide true s-video....

[Zoe F]

I strongly suggest to ditch those Pelican third-party cables at once, they are the problem....They do not provide true s-video....

... What do they provide then? LOL If it plugs into an s-video port and works then it provides it. It might not be good s-video, but it still provides it.

But yes, swapping the cables out for some better ones would likely be beneficial. Checkerboard patterns can result from poorly shielded cables, and I'd bet that's what the problem is here.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Well, crap. That figures.

Any brands I should look into? I think I have generic Gamestop S-Video cables on my Gamecube. My Dreamcast one is definitely Pelican, though.

[ooXxXoo]

... What do they provide then? LOL If it plugs into an s-video port and works then it provides it. It might not be good s-video, but it still provides it.

Believe it or not, is composite video, instead of the actual divided Y/C signals.....
I`m not saying all third-party cables are bad, but Pelican's have this issue...

[Zoe F]

Believe it or not, is composite video, instead of the actual divided Y/C signals.....
I`m not saying all third-party cables are bad, but Pelican's have this issue...

How would that even be possible? The luminance/chrominance signals are split on the cable. Are you suggesting that Pelican purposefully takes the system's composite signal and somehow splits it inside the cable into fake s-video? How and why would they do this? I would have to think it would be cheaper and less complicated to just run the s-video signal the whole way.

[ooXxXoo]

Its a long story...full of technical reasons....Do some research or crack open a Pelican cable, you'll find the answer there...

[Zoe F]

Its a long story...full of technical reasons....Do some research or crack open a Pelican cable, you'll find the answer there...

I don't have any Pelican cables handy to crack open and examine, but if you have any information about this then I'd love to read it. I just finished doing a google search which didn't seem to turn up anything when looking up Pelican and fake s-video.

I've just finished talking to two other people who are technically savvy and have even made their own cables who have told me that what you're alleging is "dumb" (sorry, but that's the word that was used). So your long story would be very interesting all around.

[ooXxXoo]

I don't know who you have been talking to( I really don't care)...The Pelican s-video cable problem topic has been discussed here before anyway....

[Zoe F]

I don't know who you have been talking to( I really don't care)...The Pelican s-video cable problem topic has been discussed here before anyway....

Link? I just got done searching the boards and didn't turn up anything there either. I found people complaining about the quality of the cables and checkerboard patterns, which I'm not in any way disputing. What I didn't find was anything about Pelican s-video cables giving out a composite image.

A link or at least proper suggested search terms would be wonderful.

[ooXxXoo]

Link? I just got done searching the boards and didn't turn up anything there either. I found people complaining about the quality of the cables and checkerboard patterns, which I'm not in any way disputing. What I didn't find was anything about Pelican s-video cables giving out a composite image.

A link or at least proper suggested search terms would be wonderful.

Keep looking!....You'll find it... :D

[Kitsune Sniper]

Keep looking!....You'll find it... :D

So in other words, you've got no proof.

Come on guys, don't fight in my thread. All I need is help, not people fighting.

[Zoe F]

Keep looking!....You'll find it... :D

Well, the Sony sound chip in the Super Famicom never produced true stereo, it just resampled a mono signal inside the chip and split it into stereo. I'm not going to provide any evidence of this, just look around, you'll find it. :D

[ooXxXoo]

So in other words, you've got no proof.
I had a Pelican N64/GC s-video cable sometime ago...I encounter this very same problem myself....took apart the cable and found the composite signal linked to the chroma s-video pin(nasty)...,.I don't need to prove something that I already know...

[Kitsune Sniper]

I had a Pelican N64/GC s-video cable sometime ago...I encounter this very same problem myself....took apart the cable and found the composite signal linked to the chroma s-video pin(nasty)...,.I don't need to prove something that I already know...

Aaaaaaaaaaaall righty then.

Does anyone else have any other advice, then?

[MASTERWEEDO]

Try to shield the cables in lots of electrical tape?

[TimeLady]

I had a Pelican N64/GC s-video cable sometime ago...I encounter this very same problem myself....took apart the cable and found the composite signal linked to the chroma s-video pin(nasty)...,.I don't need to prove something that I already know...

No offense, but that really doesn't make any sense. Since when does chroma work that way?

[c0ldb33r]

Getting this thread back on track...

I'm not particularly tech savvy, but I would just buy the first party S-Video cables.

Actually, don't even do that, get a VGA adapter for the Dreamcast and component cables for the cube and ps2.

Screw s-video, it's crap. I can't tell the difference between S-Video and composite.

[ooXxXoo]

I'll say get yourself an official Nintendo s-video cable....They used to be $15 a pop at the nitendo store but they are worth...Or the above solution.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Getting this thread back on track...

I'm not particularly tech savvy, but I would just buy the first party S-Video cables.

Actually, don't even do that, get a VGA adapter for the Dreamcast and component cables for the cube and ps2.

Screw s-video, it's crap. I can't tell the difference between S-Video and composite.

Sadly, I don't have a Component-capable system. I have standard definition TVs, and my capture card can only accept S-Video, Composite or Coaxial. The Dreamcast VGA option sounds... interesting, but I don't really need VGA output.

My best option IS S-Video, and I'm sticking to it for the time being. :)

[RARusk]

Try to find Monster Cable versions of the GC S-Video cable and the PS2 S-Video cable. They are the best cables for those systems and can be had cheap if you look in the right places. Sadly there's not one for the DreamCast but you don't seem to have problems with the DC's S-Video so no biggie there.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Try to find Monster Cable versions of the GC S-Video cable and the PS2 S-Video cable. They are the best cables for those systems and can be had cheap if you look in the right places. Sadly there's not one for the DreamCast but you don't seem to have problems with the DC's S-Video so no biggie there.

I think I'll order a set later tomorrow, once I get some more money in.

I still want a better S-Video cable for my Dreamcast... the pattern is barely noticeable, but it's there, and it's still messing up my recordings. :\

[kedawa]

You could get a decent quality VGA box for the DC
They have s-video and composite output as well as VGA.

[Kitsune Sniper]

You could get a decent quality VGA box for the DC
They have s-video and composite output as well as VGA.

Any suggestions on what brand to choose, then? Not even Play-Asia has a first-party DC S-Video cable. :\

[Leo_A]

If you got a VGA box with s-video output, all you'd need would be a standard s-video cable.

No need for Sega's 1st party s-video cable. You'd just need a standard s-video cable to connect the VGA box's s-video output to your television's s-video input.

[Kitsune Sniper]

If you got a VGA box with s-video output, all you'd need would be a standard s-video cable.

No need for Sega's 1st party s-video cable. You'd just need a standard s-video cable to connect the VGA box's s-video output to your television's s-video input.

There doesn't seem to BE a 1st party DC S-Video cable. :P

I'm seeing lots of different VGA boxes on eBay, I'm just wondering which one to pick. I know nothing of brands and Google isn't of much help.

[RARusk]

"I'm seeing lots of different VGA boxes on eBay, I'm just wondering which one to pick. I know nothing of brands and Google isn't of much help."

The VGA boxes for the DreamCast have a buffer chip for the VGA sync signals and usually include a set of standard S-Video, Composite Video, and Audio connectors. They have a switch which allows you to go from VGA mode to Standard Video mode and vice versa.

I've messed around with three different brands of VGA boxes and they all worked fine.

But I will recommend the one made by Naki since that is the one I've used the most. And get a Monster Cable S-Video cable to go with that for S-Video usage.

[RARusk]

Oh, I forgot.....

Sega may not have released a 1st party S-Video Cable but they did release their own VGA box, complete with regular video connectors, for the DreamCast. But it's kinda rare and expensive.

[Kitsune Sniper]

"I'm seeing lots of different VGA boxes on eBay, I'm just wondering which one to pick. I know nothing of brands and Google isn't of much help."

The VGA boxes for the DreamCast have a buffer chip for the VGA sync signals and usually include a set of standard S-Video, Composite Video, and Audio connectors. They have a switch which allows you to go from VGA mode to Standard Video mode and vice versa.

I've messed around with three different brands of VGA boxes and they all worked fine.

But I will recommend the one made by Naki since that is the one I've used the most. And get a Monster Cable S-Video cable to go with that for S-Video usage.

I'll look for a Monster S-Video cable at the flea market, then, thanks. Now I only need a VGA box... *hint hint* :P

[Zach]

Just for fun, here's a little info about the S-video/Composite mess above... I'll try to simplify things and make it brief, which is not easy on a topic like this. Anyone, please jump in if I'm wrong. This is all based on my own experience and research.

S-video is made up of two different signals, chroma and luma (color and light). The luma signal is the "picture" in greyscale. It's just the differences in light and dark areas on the screen. If you only send the luma signal to the s-video jack you will, on most TVs, get a nice and crisp black and white image. Add in the chroma signal on the other conductor, and color data is added to that black and white image.

Composite is essentially chroma and luma mixed together by combining the wires. It gets the same data to the TV but in a much more messy fashion.

If you're modding an old console that doesn't have an available chroma signal (or if you're like me, you just can't find it, like on my Atari 600XL) you can go the quick and sloppy way and use the composite signal in place of the chroma in an s-video compatible output. This will technically work, because the color data is in the composite signal. You still need a separate luma signal, but luckily I was able to find one on the 600XL. This DOES make a s-video compatible picture, but it's not nearly as clean as a true chroma and luma image. If you want proof, you can try this out yourself if you know the pinout of the console you're messing with. Just mix and match some signals to see what happens (at your own risk, of course).

I have all of my old consoles running some version of s-video, either true s-video or this "faked" version. I performed all of the mods myself, so I know what I'm talking about.

Cheap s-video cables, like those from Pelican, will often have both an s-video connector AND a composite connector on them. Hmmm... maybe a clue. And while it may be true that some consoles do actually have actual separate pins to deliver chroma, luma, and composite to the A/V jack, I have a feeling that in most cases, these cables with both s-video and composite are these "sort-of, kind-of" s-video cables where the composite signal is doing double duty, and there's no true, clean chroma signal being output. Yes, they will output a picture when you plug them into your s-video jack on your TV, but you might not be getting the real deal.

Wow... brevity was NOT achieved in that post. Sorry. I tried.