Differences between first-party and third-party SCART cables

[Classicgamer]

Another observation I have with these cables--sometimes they are fully wired and other times not all 20 (or 21) pins are connected. Is there any advantage/disadvantage with this setup? Perhaps connecting just the red, green, blue, sync, audio and ground lines induce less interference/cross-talk?

When people warn about not-fully-wired cables, they're probably referring to the cables that are really only wired (poorly) for composite video and stereo audio, omitting the wires necessary for RGB.

Where console cables are concerned, I'm pretty sure none of these cables are "fully wired", because features like bi-directional composite/S-Video/stereo audio are simply not used in this context; however, you may run into some cables, I think particularly those from Retro-Access, where features that might be useful, like aspect ratio control and mode control, are not connected.

Of course, that really only matters if you intend to use these cables directly with a SCART-compliant display that does not let you select between composite/S-Video/RGB[/YPbPr] or toggle aspect ratio. If, instead, you're going to use these cables with a gscartsw and/or the OSSC, then that having those control lines wired doesn't make a difference, because those devices don't have those lines connected to anything.

Almost every SNES rgb scart cable I ever had was wired for composite video and and Svideo as well as RGB. Most multi av out ports on consoles used the same output port for each connection. It would be very rare to find an RGB scart cable that was not also wired for composite video because they usually sync on composite video.

It was / is not uncommon though to find scart cables that are not wired for RGB. The official scart cable that came with my first pal SNES was only wired for composite video and sound, for example.

Anyway, that's all besides the point. When comparing RGB cables, there are no advantages to using one over another. The rgb image through scart, BNC or db15 is identicle. You just buy the one that fits your monitor. I use a DB15 cable for my PS2 and Dreamcast because that is the port my arcade monitor has. There is nothing more to it.

Any RGB plug can easily be converted to another with a dumb adapter (unless you need a different type of sync).

[Classicgamer]

Another observation I have with these cables--sometimes they are fully wired and other times not all 20 (or 21) pins are connected. Is there any advantage/disadvantage with this setup? Perhaps connecting just the red, green, blue, sync, audio and ground lines induce less interference/cross-talk?

There is no advantage one way or the other. Most rgb scart cables sync on composite video (so it has to be wired for both). It is simply a case of making sure it is wired for something your monitor can display. Scart plugs are designed to carry multiple signals and most console multi AV out ports output multiple also.

The three CRT monitors I use can all accept RGBS, RGBHV, RGB + sync on composite video. The image looks the same no matter which I choose, even when I use an rgb scart cable wired for composite.

If the image is actually affected by "interference", it is more likely to be from other nearby magnetic source like electric motors. In my experience, visible "interference" like snow or distortion at the edges etc is more commonly caused by improper grounding. I learnt that the hard way.

An RGB image is not going to be affected by interference from the presence of composite video any more than the red would affect the green and blue lines.

[azmun]

@Classicgamer
I get it how some are reluctant to splurge on "high end" cables. Not everyone sees the benefit or value in the first place. More expensive doesn't always translate to better build/design. That is why I essentially posed the question of what makes a quality cable. The first-party MD2 SCART cable I have was obviously lacking in shielding and/or grounding. And perhaps a cheaper generic cable could have done the job. However, that did not work out for me as it performed even worst (with higher distortion of video and audio).

I received my custom cables (from RGC) yesterday and pleased to report my "gamble" has paid off and the visual noise eradicated. The audio buzz has also been toned down. While I could and have been tolerating these distractions, I now appreciate the cleaner sound and graphics.

[Jdurg]

The major difference between higher end cables and the cheap shit you find on e-bay and amazon all the time is more with audio than video. First got an RGB Scart Cable from E-Bay and the audio had this awful, LOUD, hum and buzz. Thinking it was a faulty one, I got a different one on Amazon and the same thing.

The cheap cables do nothing to prevent the audio lines from getting heavy interference. The second I spent money on a cable and used it, that awful audio interference was completely gone.

So yes, there are advantages to not using the POS $6 cables you find all over the place.