SCART Switches and Game Consoles

[Galgomite]

I currently have a number of consoles outputting RGB SCART. I also have two scart switches, a Hama 100s and a generic. Trouble is, whenever I have more than one console connected, there is substantial crosstalk and signal weakness, and some consoles that were switched off even turn themselves on. I'm running to scart->component adapters and then to an SDTV. I've tried both switches, numerous combinations of consoles, 2 component converters. Anyone have a diagnosis? Are both switches bad, and if so, is there anyone in the US who can fix one?

[BuckoA51]

I've you've got crosstalk with the 100s on its own, it's probably not a Hama 100s and one of those knockoffs that looks the same.

Crosstalk is expected with many generic switches however, they just aren't fit for purpose.

[Galgomite]

I've you've got crosstalk with the 100s on its own, it's probably not a Hama 100s and one of those knockoffs that looks the same.

Crosstalk is expected with many generic switches however, they just aren't fit for purpose.

A fair possibility, but it's labeled and everything. Can you recommend an honest place where I could purchase a switch?  Or possibly get the one I have fixed?

[RocketKnight]

I didn't want to open a new thread for my question so I looked for the best fitting topic and 'SCART switches and game consoles' seemed right to me.

I use two chained Wolfsoft 4-port SCART switches to connect my six consoles and am looking for an additional output switch that allows switching between CRT and LCD and doesn't decrease the picture quality.

The only device I could find that explicitly has two output ports and that seems to be still available is the Shinybox SB-5520, but with a price of more than 120 € it's far too expensive.

Are there any other devices you can recommend? And can 'normal' SCART switches that are declarated to conduct several sources to one display also be used to conduct one source to several displays by simply inverting the connector insertions?

Edit: I just tested the inverted plugs with my Mega Drive and one of the Wolfsoft switches. It works flawlessly. So I think it should work with any mechanical switch. Though I'm not so optimistic in terms of electronic switches... Any experience?

[sky-13]

I've you've got crosstalk with the 100s on its own, it's probably not a Hama 100s and one of those knockoffs that looks the same.

Crosstalk is expected with many generic switches however, they just aren't fit for purpose.

I've seen people say these SCART switches are not meant for what we do with them, but out of genuine curiosity, what are these SCART switches intended for? VHS/LD/DVD players? I can't imagine they are unaffected by crosstalk or signal degradation. Love your site and thanks in advance.

[werk91]

If you can somehow( won't be easy ) find this switcher :
Madcatz Universal Scart Selector , I guarantee it has no crosstalk, brightness loss or any problems whatsoever.

Otherwise I've read that this one also gives zero interference : Twin Scart Adapter 2 Way Adapter Switch Box , but its only 2 ports in unfortunately..

There is also a powered one by brand called Thor that is even harder to find these days. If budget allows the best solution will be the switcher made by a forum member here : http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... h#p1034638

[AndehX]

If you can somehow( won't be easy ) find this switcher :
Madcatz Universal Scart Selector , I guarantee it has no crosstalk, brightness loss or any problems whatsoever.

That Amazon page says there are 15 available....

[werk91]

If you can somehow( won't be easy ) find this switcher :
Madcatz Universal Scart Selector , I guarantee it has no crosstalk, brightness loss or any problems whatsoever.

That Amazon page says there are 15 available....

You can't order from Amazon UK unless you're in the UK.... And the majority of users here aren't. Amazon.com doesn't even have that item so good luck !

[RocketKnight]

Thanks, werk91!

I've already looked for that second switch which I saw on the RetroRGB site, but couldn't find it because of the unknown name. I already thought it was out of production. Bought it!

Anyway, thank you also for your Amazon hint!

[werk91]

You're welcome! I was in the same situation recently and I know what its like to have to unplug cables all the time..

I have a question myself. How are things with Scart splitters ? I want one signal to be used on two separate displays but they will never be on at the same time ie I'm really after a neat solution that saves me unplugging cables. They don't seem to be common and the only place I've seen one is from a local brand : Maplin Scart To Twin Scart Cable. By reading the description I get the idea that it might do the job but since it is pricey I was wondering if anyone has ever tried this and what are the results ?

Also are scart extension cables generaly fine to use ( up to no more than 3 metres ) ?

[RocketKnight]

That's exactly the same situation I was talking about myself: one signal to two displays but not at the same time. I decided to go for a switch instead of a splitter to avoid brightness loss. As I tested yesterday, it seems you can use any mechanical switch with fully populated connectors. Just invert input and output plugs and you'll be fine. You just recommended the Twin SCART Switch to me for that purpose.

I used a 3 metres SCART extension cable for years. Just buy a well shielded cable and it shouldn't be a problem.

[werk91]

I didn't realise you want to split the signal On the other hand its good to know that I can use a switcher in the opposite way. Bidirectional signals are nice ! Thanks, seems my setup will be easier to put together than I expected.

EDIT: Is screened cable the same as shielded cable ?

[GeddonArchon]

Lots of consoles you say? Multiple outputs you say? Extron crosspoint is the solution.

[crabfists]

I've got a Holdan Scart router and there is no crosstalk at all. Lovely little thing. Only does 5 RGB SCART inputs though.

http://www.keene.co.uk/pages/downloads/ ... R1000i.pdf

[RocketKnight]

Is screened cable the same as shielded cable ?

I'm not a native speaker so I had to look it up.
Quotation from the site of the Radiocommunication Agency: 'Cable screening’ is another term for cable shielding.'

[zakruowrath]

It's too bad Bandridge went out of business since their SCART switch is the best I've ever used with a small modification. I've always wanted the Thor Scart Switch but it's almost impossible to find now days. Here's a few pages to help you pick:

http://www.videogameperfection.com/2011 ... h-roundup/

http://retrorgb.com/scartswitches.html

[Endymion]

I've you've got crosstalk with the 100s on its own, it's probably not a Hama 100s and one of those knockoffs that looks the same.

Crosstalk is expected with many generic switches however, they just aren't fit for purpose.

I've seen people say these SCART switches are not meant for what we do with them, but out of genuine curiosity, what are these SCART switches intended for? VHS/LD/DVD players? I can't imagine they are unaffected by crosstalk or signal degradation. Love your site and thanks in advance.

Well these things were designed a long time ago, and they were also simply designed to be as cheap as possible. This goes twice so for the SCART boxes without switches. When you were just transferring audio, and maybe composite video, with old analogue equipment, CRTs that were way lower resolution, etc. this was less a problem. Nowadays we are using much higher quality displays, even if CRT.

I've said it before here and it never gets traction for some reason, but if you aren't in a territory that uses SCART TVs, you have very little incentive to use SCART all the way to your display. People kill themselves trying to get just a decent SCART switch, and nobody ever seems to get ahold of one that works as well for themselves as it does for everyone else (or vice versa). Meanwhile, there are loads of high quality switch boxes available for VGA, all around the world, that are both very high quality and cheap to boot. And if you don't need SCART on your TV it's absolutely to your advantage to dump it for D-Sub. It isn't rocket science, either, it's just removing the SCART end of your SCART cables, and replacing it with a D-Sub plug, the kind used with a VGA cable. Someone here a year or so ago did something similar with (I think) a component switch. It's a great feeling, knowing you aren't at the mercy of old/expensive/dodgy/hard-to-find equipment anymore.

[Guspaz]

It's kind of annoying that all these RGB cables for consoles (like for the SNES or Genesis) are using SCART plugs, and yet most of us are plugging them into monitors that use BNC ports. It's odd that multiple people make NTSC SNES SCART cables, but nobody makes NTSC SNES BNC cables.

Personally I'm very tempted to go component as much as possible (using the HD Retrovision cables where possible) and just use a simple component video switch, since those are still relatively easy to come by, and will let me loop the output of the PVM right into a projector.

[BuckoA51]

That's only really true in the US, here in Europe SCART TVs are very common and often used for retro consoles. Of course as an earlier poster said, if you don't need SCART then it's usually better to ditch it at your earliest opportunity.

[Guspaz]

Yes, but people have latched on to SCART so much that they're making *NTSC* SCART cables, despite the fact that these cables will never be connected to a SCART television.

[AndehX]

Is there anywhere that sells the Extron DA2 RGBHV ?

[Guspaz]

Just to confirm, you're aware that it's simply an RGB splitter? It's redundant if you have a PVM/BVM.

[BuckoA51]

Yes, but people have latched on to SCART so much that they're making *NTSC* SCART cables, despite the fact that these cables will never be connected to a SCART television.

What, you think here in Europe we don't want NTSC consoles? Of course we do, 60hz all the way.

[AndehX]

Just to confirm, you're aware that it's simply an RGB splitter? It's redundant if you have a PVM/BVM.

Some PVM's (like mine) only passthrough Svideo and composite and not RGB.

[hosser]

I have the Shinybow SB-5525. It's perfect. Only complaints were the price and the fact that I had to do an old-fashioned telegraphic transfer to the Czech republic in order to pay them as they don't accept PayPal or cards. Very happy with it though, and since it has two outputs I can have one console output to my PVM and another (or the same) console on my HDTV at the same time.

[AndehX]

I have the Shinybow SB-5525. It's perfect. Only complaints were the price and the fact that I had to do an old-fashioned telegraphic transfer to the Czech republic in order to pay them as they don't accept PayPal or cards. Very happy with it though, and since it has two outputs I can have one console output to my PVM and another (or the same) console on my HDTV at the same time.

That thing always confused the hell out of me. Does it actually output 2 identical signals simultaneously? Like a proper splitter? I always got the feeling that the 2 outputs were connected to seperate inputs.

[Endymion]

Here's the thread I referred to earlier. It's not how I would have done it (D-Sub is my preference, to be more compact and to work with VGA switches), but it's some mighty nice work tailor made for his game centre. Even if you go from a dongle with SCART on one end to a different connector, the liberation can be exhilarating. Break free of the SCART chain!

[werk91]

Otherwise I've read that this one also gives zero interference : Twin Scart Adapter 2 Way Adapter Switch Box , but its only 2 ports in unfortunately..

I received this yesterday and one it works perfectly as a switcher with no interference and quality loss also it does the same when used as a splitter. One thing to keep in mind: If used with cheap Scart cable while its a splitter it does introduce some ghosting and noise. I feed the input(labeled output) with my Madcatz switcher and then split the signal to HDTV and CRT Monitor with GBS8200 + SyncStrike. If one of the inputs on the MadCatz is with a cheap cable that input will have noise (which I don't get without splitting the signal when using the Madcatz alone). If everything is using good cables there is no interference, no audio issues, no colour or brightness loss on both outputs. Nada. This is for a PS2, MegaDrive and Wii using longish output cables and Scart cables from the infamous UK supplier

[AndehX]

Otherwise I've read that this one also gives zero interference : Twin Scart Adapter 2 Way Adapter Switch Box , but its only 2 ports in unfortunately..

I received this yesterday and one it works perfectly as a switcher with no interference and quality loss also it does the same when used as a splitter. One thing to keep in mind: If used with cheap Scart cable while its a splitter it does introduce some ghosting and noise. I feed the input(labeled output) with my Madcatz switcher and then split the signal to HDTV and CRT Monitor with GBS8200 + SyncStrike. If one of the inputs on the MadCatz is with a cheap cable that input will have noise (which I don't get without splitting the signal when using the Madcatz alone). If everything is using good cables there is no interference, no audio issues, no colour or brightness loss on both outputs. Nada. This is for a PS2, MegaDrive and Wii using longish output cables and Scart cables from the infamous UK supplier

What about when using the 2 outputs simultaneously? Still no quality loss? I find that hard to believe if it isn't powered....

[werk91]

You can't use the two outputs at the same time as there's a button that toggles between both. Playing on two screens at the same time is not what I needed in any case. I was surprised too but my eyes can see no difference. For 45£ all together (Madcatz switcher, 2 port switcher + 2 shielded "OFC" Scart cables) its a sweet setup for up to 4 consoles on two screens. I'm even getting power on the Scart all the way to the SyncStrike and don't need to use the extra 2 pin cable from the scaler.