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S-Video worth it for Wii?

HeadsUpSevenUp

HeadsUpSevenUp

Member
Should I spring for $36 s-video cables for my Wii? I have a 31" Panasonic TV over a decade old that I finally got fixed. How is the quality compared to composite?
 
Look at the monitor. That is S-video.

Now bang your head against the wall and drop some Tabasco sauce in your eyes. That is composite.

Why are s-video cables $36? They shouldn't be anywhere near $20, let alone $36.
 
Every generation we go through the same threads. =/

Buy them. The jump is huge. $36 is steep though, screw official and get third party. They will cost you $20- not sure where medrew is shopping.
 
How does s-video compare to component? (Feel free to illustrate using imaginary |||| percentage bars!)

I am using component for my 360 and composite for my Wii. Everyone keeps saying component is the way to go for both, but I don't want to get a switch box thingie (would like to keep all video sources under one convenient remote button).

S-video port is still free on my TV so that would work well, IF it's worth it.
 
Best Buy has been selling React s-vid cables for $20. With a little Reward Zone and the now-difficult-to-find Games gift card action, I got my set for $10.

And hell yes it's worth it, if only to get rid of dot crawl.

Vs component I couldn't tell you--don't have the plugs on my TV--though a friend of mine swears component is a huge improvement.
 
I've been waiting a month for Play Asia to get a restock of Wii s-video cables, and despite the occassional reports of s-video at Best Buy in the US, I haven't seen any in the Toronto area. It boggles my mind that I'm having to buy a simple cable from the other side of the world. C'mon you third party fools, get with the program!
 
Unbiased Basturd said:
Since you're buying new cables you guys should buy some component cables. S-video is the forgotten black sheep in between Composite and Component.
Click to expand...

S-Video is 90% of the quality of components... for 480i.

You can only do 480p through components though, so oh well.
 
PantherLotus said:
Component > S-Video?
Click to expand...

Basically this is how it works:

Composite : video data as one signal.
S-Video : video data as two signals (Brightness & Color).
Component : video data as three signals (Brightness & Blue & Red).

The more signals the better, but honestly the average person probably wouldnt notice the difference. I suggest you try out your dvd player with Composite & S-Video and see if the difference is worth it for you.

If your TV takes component, go with that for sure since it can run in 480p.
 
HeadsUpSevenUp said:
Should I spring for $36 s-video cables for my Wii? I have a 31" Panasonic TV over a decade old that I finally got fixed. How is the quality compared to composite?
Click to expand...

Yes, the difference is noticeable . . . but go with component if you can.

But that tabasco sauce analogy is still a ridiculous exaggeration.

Do a test for yourself with your DVD player and some component & S-Video cables.
 
speculawyer said:
No. The difference between S-Video & composite is pretty subtle. Not worth $36.

That tabasco sauce analogy is a ridiculous exaggeration.

Do a test for yourself with your DVD player and some component & S-Video cables.
Click to expand...


Is that an RF switch I see behind your TV?
 
speculawyer said:
No. The difference between S-Video & composite is pretty subtle. Not worth $36.

That tabasco sauce analogy is a ridiculous exaggeration.

Do a test for yourself with your DVD player and some component & S-Video cables.
Click to expand...

To me it's definitely not subtle...composite is just muddy...i haven't done composite since mid-way into Dreamcast's(official) life-span. I remember after getting my PS2, and getting GT3 shortly after I got a new TV. It looked "nice"...then I finally got an s-video cable for the PS2 and looked "amazing!". Much sharper. It really makes a huge difference with text and HUD elements. It's definitely a bigger difference than from s-video to component(for 480i).
 
OmniGamer said:
To me it's definitely not subtle...composite is just muddy...i haven't done composite since mid-way into Dreamcast's(official) life-span. I remember after getting my PS2, and getting GT3 shortly after I got a new TV. It looked "nice"...then I finally got an s-video cable for the PS2 and looked "amazing!". Much sharper. It really makes a huge difference with text and HUD elements. .
Click to expand...

You are going to have a heart attack when you get HDTV. :lol
 
Yea go for them, this past summer i bought used S-video Monster Cables @ GS for $5, and the picture quality in Paper Mario became so much better.

One questio though, is there a RF Switch for the Wii. :lol
 
S-Video definitly worth it. Makes things much sharper, and gets rid of that ugly rainbowing artifact that happens sometimes with composite. I have yet to get one for my Wii tho.
 
speculawyer said:
You are going to have a heart attack when you get HDTV. :lol
Click to expand...

I just got an HDTV, 32" LCD 720p (tomorrow will make it one month exactly)...I just don't have a high-def gaming source yet. Gamecube games like F-Zero GX and Soul Calibur II still look great via S-video.
 
puck1337 said:
Are S-Video cables available at retail? I haven't seen them anywhere.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've seen them at both Best Buy and GameStop. I'm really tempted to pick them up but $35 is a friggin' ripoff.
 
fabs115 said:
off topic

but in terms of a cable box, what will give me the best hd picture from a cable box


hdmi, or component?
Click to expand...

all i know is that

HDMI > DVI/VGA and all that > Component > S-Video > Composite > RF

that's what GAF told me :)
 
AirBrian said:
Yeah, I've seen them at both Best Buy and GameStop. I'm really tempted to pick them up but $35 is a friggin' ripoff.
Click to expand...

check around at your local gamestore for used cables. I found a set of used monster cables for PS2 at gamestop for $15. $35 for S-video is highway robbery
 
Amazing! My Play Asia order has finally shipped. Currently in stock if anyone is still looking, as the official Nintendo cable isn't coming out in NA until Feb.
 
mr_sockochris said:
Component>>>S-video>>>>>>>>>>>>>Composite>>>>>RF

Well worth getting in my opinion if your TV can't do Component.
Click to expand...

Add:

Progressive Component>SCART-RGB>Non-Progressive Component>>>S-video>>>>>>>>>>>>>Composite>>>>>RF
 
AirBrian said:
Yeah, I've seen them at both Best Buy and GameStop. I'm really tempted to pick them up but $35 is a friggin' ripoff.
Click to expand...

Official nintendo s-video cables are released in stores? Just wondering because they don't list them at all in nintendo's online store.
 
my tv doesn't do s-video so if I get an RF converter and s-video cable it'll still look the same? I'm not sure if there is a difference in if your tv has the input or if its being done through the RF.
 
Testicular Sound Express said:
my tv doesn't do s-video so if I get an RF converter and s-video cable it'll still look the same? I'm not sure if there is a difference in if your tv has the input or if its being done through the RF.
Click to expand...

If the only input your tv has is RF, then there is nothing you can get to improve that shitty picture. Even if there was some sort of converter that converted a HDMI signal to RF, it would still look no better.
 
Testicular Sound Express said:
my tv doesn't do s-video so if I get an RF converter and s-video cable it'll still look the same? I'm not sure if there is a difference in if your tv has the input or if its being done through the RF.
Click to expand...
Does your TV only accept RF input? If it does, you won't see any increase in quality if you try adapting S-video to RF. Converters like those are only meant to add support for cables your TV doesn't have inputs for.
 
Testicular Sound Express said:
my tv doesn't do s-video so if I get an RF converter and s-video cable it'll still look the same? I'm not sure if there is a difference in if your tv has the input or if its being done through the RF.
Click to expand...

I usually don't say things like this this, but get a new TV. Srsly, this gen of consoles barely offers a great improvement in standard definition.
 
does the UK Wii support Svideo, and can you buy svideo cables in the UK? I bought some component cables (shout if anyone wants them) and decided not to bother as I don't have a free slot on my component switch, and my TV processes interlaced pretty well anyway. But it'd be good to improve from composite.
 
Here's something that I came across a while ago, it's composite vs S-Video for the PS2.

ffx-standard.jpg

ffx-monsters.jpg


Zoomed version

ffx-zoom-std.jpg
ms-ffx-zoom.jpg


Original article - http://firingsquad.com/guides/ps2picture/page2.asp

As others have suggested, go with Component because then you can play games in 480P. S-video is still better than composite though, but it's up to you to decide if it's worth the price.

edit: More pics, but these are from Monster brand s-video cables. According to the article they are better than cheap s-video cables.

updated-std-composite-gt3.jpg

updated-monsters-gt3.jpg


std-composite-yuna.png

monster-s-yuna.png
 
Are the official Nintendo s-video cables ever coming to the US?

Also, my TV doesn't have component hook ups. If I decided to go with composite instead, is there a component converter I could pick up?
 
Speevy said:
It doesn't sharpen up my Gamecube games very much.
Click to expand...
I noticed a big jump in quality when I switched from composite to S-video. I play on my computer LCD monitor through a VGA box and it was quite a bit sharper with less bleeding after I switched.
 
Pimpbaa said:
Official nintendo s-video cables are released in stores? Just wondering because they don't list them at all in nintendo's online store.
Click to expand...
Oh sorry, these are the React brand ones.
 
The official Nintendo ones are back-ordered and expensive :( What is the best 3rd party s-video cable?

Is the Pelican one okay? How is the React one?
 
SpokkX said:
does anyone know if US S-Video-cables work on PAL Wii:s? there are none in the EU :(
Click to expand...
SVideo cables will NOT work on PAL Wii systems. Check the Nintendo Wii Multi AV Pinout which shows PAL Wii systems have have RGB output instead - similar to the Gamecube. It sucks for me - no Component inputs, no RGB scart inputs only SVideo and Composite.
 
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