Scart to S video question.

[cskcsk]

Hi guys.

Would a console > scart cable > adapator/splitter box> svideo >tv work?

Thank you.

[Ed Oscuro]

Pinout may be wrong but it gives the idea:
http://www.im-uk.net/dvd/auxiliary.html

I bet you're looking for something like that.

Which console is this, outta curiosity? You're sure it doesn't have unmodified S-Video capability?

I would also take this moment to suggest looking at TVs with component or even RGB connections. (Component will be almost just as good from what I have seen.) Shouldn't be too expensive and it will keep away the daisy chains.

[cskcsk]

Pinout may be wrong but it gives the idea:
http://www.im-uk.net/dvd/auxiliary.html

I bet you're looking for something like that.

Which console is this, outta curiosity? You're sure it doesn't have unmodified S-Video capability?

I would also take this moment to suggest looking at TVs with component or even RGB connections. (Component will be almost just as good from what I have seen.) Shouldn't be too expensive and it will keep away the daisy chains.

Hi Ed, thanks for the reply.

Its for my sega saturn. The s video cable for the saturn seems to be sold out everywhere.

I live in a country where the scart input was never a standard. After a year of searching the best i could do is a sony trinitron KV-K29MN11 which has 2 svideo inputs.
I thought i might just go for an rgb cable, and then daisy chain that up to an s video cable to the tv. Also wouldnt need to buy another cable if i happen to come across a tv with scart.

So i was thinking of something like an rgb cable > and adaptor http://www.telly-leads.co.uk/scartadapter.htm > s video cable > tv

Will this work?

[ninn]

No, won't work.

Different signal. Your solution lacks a converter.

Splitters ometimes got svideo-plugs, because you can transfer svideo-signal over scart too. This just changes the plug, not the signal. Just a converter does that.

ninn

[cskcsk]

No, won't work.

Different signal. Your solution lacks a converter.

Splitters ometimes got svideo-plugs, because you can transfer svideo-signal over scart too. This just changes the plug, not the signal. Just a converter does that.

ninn

Hi ninn, thanks for the headsup.

Do you know of any such convertor? i reckon the picture quality wouldnt be very good after all that conversion. Hopefully a decently priced s video cable comes up for sale soon.

[Ed Oscuro]

ninn's right, I probably shouldn't have mentioned that. S-Video over SCART is a PAL-region only thing as far as I know. Other regions (US, Japan) only use the plug as a standard connector for 240p RGB video sources.

S-Video signals are inherently worse than component or RGB sources, so the signal will always be harmed (or "downsampled") when moving from RGB to S-Video. Considering that, component to s-video converters look expensive - the least expensive ones I see via a quick check of Google and eBay are $40+, which is probably not worth it for a console application when you might save most of that money getting a better Trinitron that supports RGB or Component (either a pro video monitor, which isn't very expensive these days, or one of the newer WEGA TVs, if you can find one).

You can compare component to s-video converters and rgb to s-video converters on Google to get a feel for pricing. I am not sure about lag via the converters - don't expect any though. You also might see some difference in signal dropouts based on what stuff you're using - somebody else will have to chime in here. I'm interested to know about suggested converters myself (specifically, whether the Atlona $300 converter is worth it if you never go to 480p, which I think it probably isn't, and whether there are any converters to avoid).

As a word of encouragement - it all depends strongly on what local channels you are searching for sets. I checked one specific thrift for a couple years pretty constantly, and noticed that coaxial was the most common connection, while most sets had RCA plugs (at least mono sound). Stereo RCA was a bit less common, while S-Video was somewhat uncommon. Component was very rare to see.

Then I checked another thrift at the end of last month, and on the first day they had a great new WEGA (2006, almost unused from what I can see) with component. No RGB but at the level of component you aren't losing much. To go from RGB to Component may still require a ~$40 converter, but the set is still quite flexible and has S-Video ready as well - not to mention many other consoles have component cables ready.

Edit: To get some idea about the "best" way of hooking different systems up, here is a pretty easy-to-read list: Shoryuken thread (read with care, though)

Edit #2: A bonus, here's the service manual for your TV. Georgia?

[cskcsk]

snip

Hi Ed,
Thanks for the write up, and the link to shoryuken, it was immensely helpful. It does look like the best approach is for me too look for a 2006 wega.(i could submit to madness and import a tv from europe...)
Also, thanks for the link to the service manual, although the "user" section is all blurry.

This is what the tv looks like. It is incredibly heavy. Surprisingly, it has pretty good audio. Not hifi, but very decent.Boomy bass,from the enclosure i reckon,clear highs, recessed mids.


This is a short video of me playing xmas nights.Composite cables sadly. If anyone has svideo cables for not $40, let me know T-T.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qghhYBdd ... e=youtu.be

[stuntman]

If anyone has svideo cables for not $40, let me know T-T.

Found one for ~$20 on ebay (UK seller):
Sega Saturn AV S-Video Cable SVHS 1.8Mtr Lead with Stereo Audio Phonos

[Ed Oscuro]

Also, thanks for the link to the service manual, although the "user" section is all blurry.

I noticed this - quite strange. I believe the main focus of that manual is to show the exploded view for technicians, which isn't much use to you.

The user section details should mostly be similar across regions, however. I was expecting to see a list of service mode entry explanations, but getting into service mode (should you ever require it) is straightforward, and the standard advice is always to write down a setting and not to tweak the setting unless you have an idea what it does.

All this aside, in the past I've generally been pretty happy with S-Video, especially for older systems and early 3D. Playing text-heavy games might make you wish for something better than S-Video, but I don't think there will be many obvious problems playing early 3D games (for example). You may definitely get more detail out of detailed late 2D games though.

A random thought about sound - I actually have preferred to use headphones, because you can get very accurate and detailed sound without much cost (or you can use as expensive headphones as you like). You can even split audio out from the console's cable, easily done if you get the red and white RCA stereo sound connectors) so it doesn't have to go through the TV at all (which I should have done years ago with the previous TV I had, because the headphone jack eventually became loose; alternatively I should have gotten a little headphone extension cable so I wasn't constantly fiddling with the headphone jack, and to act as a quick disconnect against shocks or accidental pulls. The only caveat I can think of is that you would want to use low-impedance headphones if you're connecting directly to the console's output, and of course the sound level will not be changed as easily.