Someone explain to me S video vs. component for my Gamecube

[stargate]

Just looking for a little advice here. I started with my GC hooked up with the normal AV jacks ( called composite?). Then I figured I would go with S Video because I found a cable for $9.99 at Game Stop. The results look nice, but a little dark for some reason.

My tv has component hook ups, so I was thinking about getting a component cable for the GC. Is this the way to go? I see people calling this "progressive scan", but I don't think my tv is progressive scan.

[davidbrit2]

You'll notice much more vivid color, but for picture sharpness, it isn't that much better than SVideo. If you can do it, go for it, but if not, you aren't missing too much. And progressive scan modes are just different video standards that (I think) require the signal to be sent as component.

[Half Japanese]

If you can do it, go for it, but if not, you aren't missing too much.

Bullshit. Try a side-by-side comparison and judge for yourself. I tried it on Ikaruga and showed it to two friends, both of whom immediately bought component/s-vid for all applicable consoles. On Ikaruga it makes the tiny text much easier to read and just generally makes things less fuzzy and more well-defined. Now that I've got an HDTV recently I won't settle for anything less than s-vid/component when applicable!

</wannabe technophile>

[davidbrit2]

That could be, but I noticed negligible clarity improvement when using a PS2 on a very large CRT TV that supports both SVideo and Component. And in either case, text otherwise unreadable with Composite was fine. The color is much, much brighter, though.

[Half Japanese]

Looking over what I wrote, I didn't mean to sound so smug! I was also wrongly comparing. There is a very noticeable difference from composite to s-vid, but the step up from s-vid to component is less drastic I've heard. By all means, if it's applicable, use at least s-vid on your consoles, your eyes will thank you.


(I think that's the most time the word "applicable" has been used, and poorly, in one thread)

[Ze_ro]

If you're interested in the gory details about why certain video standards are better than others, this site (http://nfg.2y.net/games/ntsc/) is pretty good without getting overly technical... it's also geared towards video game consoles, so that helps.

You WILL get a better picture using component video... but it's all rather subjective, and it depends on how picky you are. S-Video is "good enough" for most people. If your TV supports component video, and the connectors aren't that expensive, I'd say go for it.

--Zero

[davidbrit2]

Looking over what I wrote, I didn't mean to sound so smug! I was also wrongly comparing. There is a very noticeable difference from composite to s-vid, but the step up from s-vid to component is less drastic I've heard. By all means, if it's applicable, use at least s-vid on your consoles, your eyes will thank you.


(I think that's the most time the word "applicable" has been used, and poorly, in one thread)

Ah, okay. Got ya. Yeah, Composite video looks like crap compared to the better two options. I can't stand it, because I can't read the small print artist names when I'm playing DDR. ;-) And RF makes baby Jesus cry. So let us never speak of it again.

[Sylentwulf]

About $30. :)

[BoOchan]

I'm sure most of you realise a GC RF Cable costs the same as a Component Cable :P

Anyway, I'm happy with AV throughout. It's all my TV takes, it's all it will get :)

[SoulBlazer]

If I understand what a friend told me, the choices for video with gaming consoles, in order of increasing quality from lowest to highest, is:

RF -- AV -- S Cable -- Composite

Not all consoles support some of those choices, for example.

With sound, it goes like:

Mono -- Stero -- Dolby Surrond Sound -- Optical

Again, not all choices are supported for all systems.

[stargate]

So is there any reason my GC picture looks darker than when using S-video vs composite cables or am I just imagining it?

secondly, where can I get component cables for my GC?

[Half Japanese]

Don't bother much searching for GCN component cables...I've done it for you earlier this week when interested for myself. Your two options that I have found are waiting on Nintendo to get more back in stock (the expect to start shipping them out again on Jan 17 and their cables run $30, though I'm not sure of shipping surcharges) or you can order from Lik-Sang for about $34 plus a $7 shipping charge. Basically make a circle out of your index finger and thumb and stick your other index finger in and out fairly rapidly. Yep, that pretty much sums up my feelings about wanting component cables for a Gamecube at this time...


Also, Gamecube only supports Dolby Pro Logic II (and lesser, I suppose), so no optical sound options for the GCN at this time.

[Ze_ro]

RF -- AV -- S Cable -- Composite

You probably mean:

RF -- AV -- S-Video -- Component -- RGB

(Composite and AV are different names for the same thing... and RGB is definitely the best quality output you can get)

--Zero

[SoulBlazer]

RGB? IS there any console that supports that? Most comsoles don't even support component.

[Ze_ro]

You can manage to get an RGB signal out of a few consoles out there... although for some of them, you may need to modify the console, and you'll almost certainly have to make your own cable. If you're interested in hooking a system up in RGB, then you might want to look through GamesX (http://www.gamesx.com/index2.htm), as they have information on some system mods in order to get RGB running (incidentally, the previous link I posted about video standards was by the guy who does GamesX I think).

One of the problems with RGB is that it's difficult to find RGB-capable TV's/monitor's (at least, it is in North America... Europe is blessed with SCART). Beware of "digital RGB" monitors (like the Commodore 1902), they won't work... you need an "analog RGB" monitor like the Amiga and Atari ST monitors. There's also no actual standard for RGB (or connectors), so it can be a pain in the butt to get it working.

I have my Jaguar hooked up to a Commodore 1084S in RGB (using a Catbox and a homemade cable), and it's MUCH nicer than composite (I haven't seen what it looks like with S-Video or Component).

By the way, just about every arcade machine uses an RGB signal I believe.

--Zero

[Nick Goracke]

There's a very basic point that it seems nobody has really driven home...

The difference in resolution when playing games in Progressive Scan with component cables vs. simply playing a game with component cables is HUGE. There is no comparison in playing games for GC or X-Box in 480p instead of 480i (PS2 support is almost non-existant).

If you don't have a TV capable of Progressive Scan, you'll see a slight upgrade in clarity (over S-Video), but it isn't that significant. If you do have a TV that can take advantage of Progressive Scan, you should be shot for not using it. ;)

For those of you who have used Dreamcast VGA cables instead of S-Video - the difference is similar.

[omnedon]

GREAT link Ze-ro. Thanks!

[BoOchan]

The Australian Nintendo Site (Which is horribly out of date, still lists GBC and N64 as being still sold) says Component AV Cables are "Order from Nintendo Only Via Phone or Mail". Considering almost ALL TV's have Component output these days, and if it's not taken up by a DVD player, would be used for a system. M$ and Sony sell them in stores, why not Nintendo..?

[Ze_ro]

The difference in resolution when playing games in Progressive Scan with component cables vs. simply playing a game with component cables is HUGE.

By the way, what is the story with progressive scan support in console games? I've noticed that some (but not all) of my Gamecube games claim to support it. Will the other ones not display anything at all? Or is it sort of a grey area like with the Dreamcast's VGA box, where you could get some things to work anyways?

--Zero

[GaijinPunch]

I captured a video using normal cables. Encoded it, and watched it, and could hardly tell what was going on. I couldn't for the life of me figure it out until I captured it again with S-Video. It was SOOO much clearer.