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NeoGAF peeps who used S-Video
- Thread starter DonMigs85
- Start date
Noisepurge
Member
always went for RGB Scarts / RGB mods with consoles if it was available, but S-video was the second option. Composite can go ROT IN HELL! 
Seven Force
Banned
Have my Dreamcast (VGA's curently not an option at the moment) and Saturn hooked up through S-Video. 2D games on the latter look fantastic.
Shadow Hog
Member
HDMI > RGB > Component > S-Video > Composite > RF, to my understanding. No idea if RGB can handle HD resolutions or not, but Component only has information on two of three channels, as well as luminance, and derives the third from that; RGB just gives you all three channels, period.
And yeah, S-Video is a huge leap over composite. On composite, mesh transparencies actually look kinda transparent (particularly on the Genesis, which has awful blurry composite; a fact many artists for the console abused to obtain shades that wouldn't be possible otherwise). On S-Video, this illusion is completely shattered. While the edges might not be totally smooth, the individual pixels are distinct from each other.
Noisepurge
Member
RGB Scart cant handle 480p, so quality wise Component and VGA got that beat.
Theonik
Member
VGA is A LOT LOT better than component actually. And RGB SCART beats component on anything except for bandwidth. (which makes it impossible for SCART to do progressive scan)
Pretty much in anything up to and including PS2 RGB SCART is a better choice. (for PS2 interlaced output was preferred for various reasons some of which related to intricacies of its hardware)
Yeah, I've got S-Video for both. PS1, PS2, and PS3 all have the same connector.
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
I got a S-Video cable for the first time on the PS2 when I was playing Final Fantasy X. It made a really noticeable difference in video quality.
There should be a list of the best quality attainable from retro consoles guide based on region. The RGB SCART and which specific console you need and which mods are needed is confusing as shit.
There should be a list of the best quality attainable from retro consoles guide based on region. The RGB SCART and which specific console you need and which mods are needed is confusing as shit.
drugstore_cowboy
Member
Gamers in America got the shaft.
Well we were stuck with 50hz for a hell of a long time unless you were willing to spend £250+ on a 14" Trinitron, even then some consoles (SNES/PC Engine) had a really nasty, dull image.
If you are looking for RGB in the states you could always try sourcing an old 15khz arcade monitor, knocking up a compatible cable is easy enough iirc.
zerokoolpsx
Member
Never used S-video. Jumped from composite to component, then HDMI. My lcd has 2 S-Video inputs.
I've never used S-video. Not very common here in Europe. I use RGB on my super famicom. It is by the way not that expensive to get RGB running on American TVs. There are RGB to Component converters and it is not that hard to build your own RGB to VGA Scaler (Less than $100 if you don't want scanlines).
These might be some interesting projects to those who want to get the best video quality out of their N64 and NES:
N64 DVI-I
NES HDMI (Say goodbye to the playchoice PPU)
These might be some interesting projects to those who want to get the best video quality out of their N64 and NES:
N64 DVI-I
NES HDMI (Say goodbye to the playchoice PPU)
eXistor
Member
I've used S-video for Ps2, GameCube, SNES and a DVD player. I switched to component for PS2 and GameCube (got the official one pretty cheap, it's insane that they go for a hundred bucks nowadays).
The main reason was I thought that S-video was better than RGB at the time. Honestly I still don't see much of a difference, but I don't have any TV's that support S-video anymore.
The main reason was I thought that S-video was better than RGB at the time. Honestly I still don't see much of a difference, but I don't have any TV's that support S-video anymore.
Projectjustice
Banned
Saturn, Xbox and Dreamcast were hooked up with S-Video cables. Good old days.
Its too bad its gone away with newer HDTVs yet they keep the old A/V composite jacks.
Its too bad its gone away with newer HDTVs yet they keep the old A/V composite jacks.
Version 3.0
Member
That's not true. I'm not sure about the SNES, but I've definitely been using a Nintendo-branded S-video cable since the N64 launch.
edit: Wikipedia says the S-video cable was only available directly from NoA, but I didn't order them that way. I definitely bought one for my SNES and N64 in a store - almost certainly Funcoland, in Maryland, at the time. Maybe they ordered some from NoA and marked them up. They weren't used.
Version 3.0
Member
Even those are getting scarce; a lot of them are shared with component so you can't use both. But you can get some very nice little converter boxes to make them into HDMI, supposedly only delaying 1 field to do so.
The jump in image quality when I bought a 21" Sony Triniton and a SCART lead for my PS1 (which had been connected with RF to a decades old 18" TV) was like nothing else I'd ever seen at that point. As big an improvement as going from SD to HD, or VHS to DVD.
Up until then, I'd never understood why in gaming magazines you could see individual pixels in the screenshots, as that never happened on screen. I'd been gaming over RF since the VIC-20 days. Oh, the joys of RF.
A few years ago, I got my original Xbox back that I'd given to a friend, and as my TV didn't have SCART, I tried S-Video. It was the first time I'd used it, and to my eyes, was barely any improvement over composite. I little less fuzzy around the edges, but a huge step down from RGB.
Up until then, I'd never understood why in gaming magazines you could see individual pixels in the screenshots, as that never happened on screen. I'd been gaming over RF since the VIC-20 days. Oh, the joys of RF.
A few years ago, I got my original Xbox back that I'd given to a friend, and as my TV didn't have SCART, I tried S-Video. It was the first time I'd used it, and to my eyes, was barely any improvement over composite. I little less fuzzy around the edges, but a huge step down from RGB.
kunonabi
Member
Still playing with S-video since my huge ass tv doesn't have component. Games look great with it and was mind-blowing when I first made the switch from composite. I use it for pretty much everything aside from X360/PS3/WiiU stuff. I use it for DC games that don't support VGA as well. I'm playing Phantasy Star right now and it looks great for such an old game. I'm looking to upgrade to a trinitron with component at some point but S-video is more than acceptable until then.
Sadly, n64 games still look like ass.
Sadly, n64 games still look like ass.
Rentahamster
Rodent Whores
Hooked up Svid to the SNES as soon as I was able to acquire a cable. Showed all my friends the superiority to RF and composite.
Went to component as soon as possible on the PS1.
I knew my shit as a kid.
Went to component as soon as possible on the PS1.
I knew my shit as a kid.
PS1 doesn´t support Component, it does support RGB through SCART which is better.
Feel the Swift
Member
RF Master Race. Don't think I've ever owned a S-video cable.
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
I was pretty surprised that newer TVs don't have it. I have a neo geo modded for S-Video and I couldn't believe it when I tried to plug it into my new TV and there was no port. I'd rather have S-Video than composite.
Shadow Hog
Member
I'm pretty sure "Master Race" doesn't work that way.
Thamauturge
Banned
I finally migrated away from S-Video not even a week ago. Got an 32in HDTV for Christmas, and then proceeded to get an HDMI cable off of Amazon. It looks SO much better on my PS3.
IrishNinja
Member
pretty sure either my dreamcast or SNES is hooked up via s-video on my plasma
SomeOneInaHat
Member
Same, but from 2005-2006 I used a portable radio TV that would sit on a nightstand next to my bed because it was better for laying down and playing.
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Yep, the best analog SD signal you could get. The difference in image quality blew me away when I made the jump from composite to RGB SCART. No more color bleeding, it was glorious. (I also had a SCART switcher which had a button for enabling or disabling RGB mode (with it disabled it used the composite signal, which is also included in an RGB SCART cable), so I could switch between them on the fly and compare.)
I was taking out the Kitty litter and it was beside the garbage bins. I saw a box for a new tv earlier so I suppose it was that persons. I think it belonged to the same guy that tossed his ps3 (blu-ray drive not working) in the recycling. Both had candle wax on them. I've also taken in a 19 inch 4:3 lcd monitor. My apartment is a home for misfit electronics. Anyways this tv is an acer with a vertical line of pixels that are solid blue for twenty minutes and then start working. What's funny is that the night before I was bugging my wife for a bigger tv, I've had the same 32 since 2007, which is the same era the 42 incher is from, and it only does 720p and 1080i, but it was free so I can't complain.