Gaming in "RGB"... What kind of TV do i need?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

That SNES RGB cable uses the Japanese 21 pin scart like connector. It has a different pinout from the European Scart connector, but alot of people know how to make an adapter for that. Or you can plug them right into a XRGB2 or something like that.


Or you can hack the Japanese 21 pin end off it, and then bulid the cable to suit your needs.
I bought two "Japanese RGB" cables back when I had an XRGB-2 converter. One for the Saturn and one for the Mega Drive 2. Both were Japanese products that came in boxes with hiragana and katakana all over them just like that one pictured for the SNES, but when I tried using them with my XRGB, I found that they were actually wired like regular European SCART cables. Re-wiring SCART cables to use with an XRGB converter is trivial, so that wasn't a problem, but it does make me suspicious about this whole "Japanese RGB" thing people always talk about. Of course, I can't explain why Japanese people would want to buy SCART cables since SCART wasn't ever a cable standard in Japan, either.


...word is bondage...

[GaijinPunch]

If they were indeed the offiical RGB cables, I would lay money down that they weren't SCART-wired.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

If they were indeed the offiical RGB cables, I would lay money down that they weren't SCART-wired.
Well, they certainly weren't "official" if by that you mean actually Sega branded, but then I've never seen first party Japanese RGB cables for any system, all the ones I've seen have been third party.

I can indeed assure you that they were SCART cables, though, since I rewired a number of SCART cables to work with my XRGB and rewiring these Japanese cables was exactly the same.


...word is bondage...

[Slate]

OK, new question...

I don't feel like paying a whole load for an RGB TV now as I want to get a nintendo wii, But could i get an SCART to Component convertor? Would it work and not make it look awful?

[Soviet Conscript]

I don't feel like paying a whole load for an RGB TV now as I want to get a nintendo wii, But could i get an SCART to Component convertor? Would it work and not make it look awful?

in any case will this look better then say s-video? for instance i don't really have room for another monitor right now or the cash/patience to track down a rgb monitor. how would say a snes or any other old system run through a scart and then a scart to componant look? would it be better then s-video?

i saw a big leap in rf -> composite
i also saw a leap in composite -> s-video
i really only noticed a small quality leap in the s-video -> componant

so is the jump from componant -> rgb that noticable? or do you really need to have to running next to eatch other and really looking to see a diffrence. i was told once before that componant was very very close to rgb and the diffrence was minute.

[Slate]

Keep in mind that the monitors that give real good quality RGB were made for Commercial use And needed to be precice, So you can't get a better quality picture than from a monitor that was made for use in, Say, A hospital.

[omnedon]

component to RGB = diminishing returns

[Ze_ro]

I don't feel like paying a whole load for an RGB TV now as I want to get a nintendo wii, But could i get an SCART to Component convertor? Would it work and not make it look awful?
Unless you get a really good (read: expensive) converter, I doubt it would look much better than S-Video... I don't think it would be worth it.


so is the jump from componant -> rgb that noticable? or do you really need to have to running next to eatch other and really looking to see a diffrence. i was told once before that componant was very very close to rgb and the diffrence was minute.
The quality difference between component and RGB is basically non-existent. If you already have component output from a system, it's pretty much pointless to modify it for RGB.

--Zero

[Anthony1]

Alot of people have PM'd me about whether or not there is some kind of adapter out there, that can convert RGB to component. Before I answer that, let me tell you a little story about RGB and component. This dude Matthew Ross, was my No.1 rgb cable guy for awhile. He made me a bunch of cables for various systems, and even did some rgb mods for me. He has since retired from making cables and such. Anywho, one time I asked him about a rgb to component converter. I had all these RGB cables lying around, I might as well be able to use them with my living room TV that had component inputs. Right? I mean, why not? Component is very, very close to RGB quality. Ultimately, I'll take "true" RGB any day of the week, but it's pretty damn close. Well, he basically explained to me that he could make me an adapter, but that there would be a problem. He said that when the RGB signal is converted to component, the horizontal shift is usually off quite a bit to the right or left. In other words, the screen is off to the left, or off to the right. It isn't centered properly. He said that if my TV with component inuts had a knob on the back of it, or in the menu that would allow me to adjust the horizontal shift, then it might be worth it to have such an adapter. Of course the only way my TV could do that, is if I was messing around in the service menu or something, and I sure as hell ain't about to do that every time I plug a different console up to it. So I basically passed on it.


Now, I've heard of things like the Neo Bitz for the Neo-Geo, which takes the RGB signal of a Neo-Geo and converts it to component, and I know of people who use those with other systems like the Genny and SNES, but again, according to M.Ross, the picture will usually be off to the right or left and need to be centered somehow. I don't know if the Neo Bitz contains a horizontal shift knob on it or something like that to compensate. For the same price, one could get a XRGB2 along with an Audio Authority 9A60 and be able to do the same thing with HDTV's. That's ultimately what I ended up doing with that one TV. My living room TV is a Sony HDTV that has component inputs. It can do 480p and 1080i. The XRGB2+ outputs VGA, but when I connect it to the 9A60, it transcodes the VGA signal to 480p that the component input can understand and display. It works great. It's alot of drama to go through just to get the best video possible with that TV, but I'm basically cerftifiable when it comes to this crap. :D

[Anthony1]

The quality difference between component and RGB is basically non-existent. If you already have component output from a system, it's pretty much pointless to modify it for RGB.

--Zero


In theory that is true, but in practice I would disagree. Once upon a time I had a Playstation 2, and I had a few PS2 games that didn't feature 480p support. Namely Killzone and San Andreas. Well, I played both of those games on a TV via component, and the video signal looked pretty good.

Then I tried playing those same games in "true" RGB, and the difference was like night and day. I saw all kinds of little details that I hadn't seen when playing via component. Now, I understand all the technical mumbo jumbo, about how RGB should only be a very, very tiny amount better than component, but if you saw San Andreas or Killzone running in "true" rgb on my Commodore 1084, you would understand that there is a MAJOR difference between RGB and component, at least when it comes to the Playstation 2. Again, I totally understand that the difference should be very minute and very difficult to tell any difference at all, but to me it was absolutely clear. Of course, I'm the resident videophile, and I notice little details in the backgrounds that alot of people wouldn't notice, so maybe for others it wouldn't be as big a deal. I no longer have a PS2, or I would post some screen shot comparisons so people could understand what I'm talking about.

[idrougge]

It is worth noting that most modern projectors will accept RGB on their component inputs (use the composite input for sync). At least that's the case in Europe, and I see no reason why it would not be the case in NTSC territories, considering how manufacturers try to reuse parts and the connectors are the same.

[idrougge]

It is worth noting that most modern projectors will accept RGB on their component inputs (use the composite input for sync). At least that's the case in Europe, and I see no reason why it would not be the case in NTSC territories, considering how manufacturers try to reuse parts and the connectors are the same.