Help: SNES on Sony Bravia EX LCD HDTV - any hope?

[Eternal Champion]

My cousin just bought a SNES (non-yellowed!) and has a Sony Bravia KDL-40EX400 LCD. She played a SNES successfully on her friend's Samsung LCD, so figured there would be no problem.
The TV has composite, YPbPr, VGA, and HDMI inputs.
She connected the SNES composite and audio - no picture, but sound. Both back and side jacks.

I figure these are the cheapest options, short of getting a CRT (which she doesn't want to do):

1) SNES SCART cable-->SCART->HDMI scaler, such as http://www.amazon.com/Panlong-PL-SH2...=scart+to+hdmi
2) SNES s-video cable-->s-video->HDMI scaler (a bit cheaper than above, but what are good s-video cables?)

Is there anything we're missing? Some setting in the TV, for example? Or, if there's no video, it obviously doesn't support 240p?

[Greg2600]

You can try Game Mode, but I too have a Bravia LCD and 240p systems over component cause massive issues. I can get them to work over composite though. SNES would not work for me going from SCART to converter to component.

[Eternal Champion]

You can try Game Mode, but I too have a Bravia LCD and 240p systems over component cause massive issues. I can get them to work over composite though. SNES would not work for me going from SCART to converter to component.

Well, she's using the normal SNES composite cable, and no video at all.

I would say the best bet is SCART-->HDMI, though that's more money and risk that it might not work. Have you tried SCART to HDMI scaler, by chance?

[Greg2600]

Well, she's using the normal SNES composite cable, and no video at all.

I would say the best bet is SCART-->HDMI, though that's more money and risk that it might not work. Have you tried SCART to HDMI scaler, by chance?

Yes, I have that now, but I'm using an expensive "professional" model by DVDO. The $60 HDMI scaler should work. What I didn't like about them was that they all stretch the 4:3 games to 16:9, and if your TV cannot adjust back to 4:3 you're stuck with that. My stupid Sony couldn't do it. Anyway, that would work. The scaler goes to 720P, and that's what HDMI can accept (1080i/720p/1080p). Component video is supposed to be 480i at the least. Newer sets' upscalers don't have programming for 240p over component, and now perhaps they don't have it for composite either!

[Eternal Champion]

Yes, I have that now, but I'm using an expensive "professional" model by DVDO. The $60 HDMI scaler should work. What I didn't like about them was that they all stretch the 4:3 games to 16:9, and if your TV cannot adjust back to 4:3 you're stuck with that. My stupid Sony couldn't do it. Anyway, that would work. The scaler goes to 720P, and that's what HDMI can accept (1080i/720p/1080p). Component video is supposed to be 480i at the least. Newer sets' upscalers don't have programming for 240p over component, and now perhaps they don't have it for composite either!

Ah, that's a good point about aspect ratio. I have a YPbPr-->VGA scaler that I used to use with my Genesis. It kind of crappily could make it 4:3.
Just out of curiosity, what is the DVDO unit that you use?

[Greg2600]

I have a VP50. Got it used from ebay a few years ago, paid ~ $150. This website is bar none the best there is at reviewing upscalers. http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/


My TV ironically is a KDL-32EX400, same model just smaller. So it should utilize the same hardware. As I said, for anything no-HD it has issues, and when it works, the upscaling looks pretty bad. My primary reason for buying the TV was that it had a VGA port, 2 component hookups, and 4 HDMI's.

[Niku-Sama]

if the snes is old enough, do the component video mod

[Eternal Champion]

I have a VP50. Got it used from ebay a few years ago, paid ~ $150. This website is bar none the best there is at reviewing upscalers. http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/


My TV ironically is a KDL-32EX400, same model just smaller. So it should utilize the same hardware. As I said, for anything no-HD it has issues, and when it works, the upscaling looks pretty bad. My primary reason for buying the TV was that it had a VGA port, 2 component hookups, and 4 HDMI's.

Great to hear from someone with the same TV. OK.

Re: the post above, the component mod, if I understand correctly, YPbPr will still be a problem on this TV, because it's SD. Upscaling is the only option, then.

[Rickstilwell1]

Stretching isn't as much of an issue. If you had been able to use just composite, it would have stretched the video to fit the screen anyway. I typically like it better that way so that the game fills up the whole screen. Even Game Boy games were fine like that and I preferred using the stretch option on Game Boy Advance vs the pillarbox option.

[Greg2600]

Great to hear from someone with the same TV. OK.

Re: the post above, the component mod, if I understand correctly, YPbPr will still be a problem on this TV, because it's SD. Upscaling is the only option, then.

It's hard to say. I would try the $60 HDMI converter, and see if it works to your liking. Better to try the easiest/cheapest solution first.

[eskobar]

First I'd check if the connection of the cable is firm, any LCD shouldn't have any problem playing 240p from composite video signals, component may be an issue but not in composite

[Trebuken]

I would suggest spending a bit and getting a Retron 5.

[sparf]

Check the menu for Picture Settings or something similar. The LG TV I have has a setting you have to change in order to use composite video instead of component. It won't autoswitch. I don't know if Sony is the same but it's worth looking into.

[Mayhem]

When I read the OP, first thought was the TV can't handle or has issues with anything outputting below 480i on it. Some LCD TVs are like that. Thankfully someone with the same model chimed in to confirm my thoughts! It's a bit strange because I have a 40" Sony Bravia too, and I have no issues whatsoever running my US SNES, US N64, PS1, C64 etc on it using composite, S-video or RGB. Different model code, I have a W not an EX. Maybe the W is more advanced (I bought it in 2009) and has stuff in the internals to handle this better.

[Greg2600]

Check the menu for Picture Settings or something similar. The LG TV I have has a setting you have to change in order to use composite video instead of component. It won't autoswitch. I don't know if Sony is the same but it's worth looking into.

Good point, it could be stuck on composite. Those sets did have a second composite only input on the side though.

[Mayhem]

The previous Panasonic I owned had this, whereby the two AV ports had to be manually swapped between RGB, composite and S-video using the remote (not mentioned in the manual!), but not on my Bravia here, it auto detects.

[Cornelius]

Are you sure the SNES is putting out video? You said she tried "a" SNES on a friend's TV. Was it this SNES? What about the cord? Tried switching it out? I'd check these simple/cheap/easy things first.

[Eternal Champion]

Are you sure the SNES is putting out video? You said she tried "a" SNES on a friend's TV. Was it this SNES? What about the cord? Tried switching it out? I'd check these simple/cheap/easy things first.

Yeah, this definitely needs to be ruled out. I don't know yet. I told her to try it on her friend's TV (a Samsung; her SNES works fine), her friend's SNES on hers, etc.
I'll let her know the possibility of having to manually select composite input, though that seems strange to me. There have been stranger things, though...

Thanks for the all the comments! Right now she's pretty frustrated (impulsively bought a nice, clean SNES that had been stored in a hard-shell case [possibly for a NES]) but can't play it. I gently encouraged her to go the CRT route, but space is an issue (understandably; I don't miss the bulk of those damn things)