Retrotink RGB to Component converter is awesome

[notsonic]

I just got the RGB2COMP from RetroTINK https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/rgb2comp and first impressions are it's great.

It looks the same as my RGB mod or HD Retrovision cables. But unlike the HD Retrovision cables, you only need to shell out $80 once instead of once per console (plus scart cables of course, which are still at least $20 cheaper.)

I HIGHLY suggest trying this out before RGB modding your TV. You'll save yourself the potential headache and modder's regret.

That said RGB modding is obviously cheaper and HD Retrovision cables are still great if you only need one or two. These are all great options, I wish we had this stuff to choose from 20-30 years ago instead of bootleg ass svideo mods.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Great to hear. There has never been a better time to be into playing old video games.

[cyborc]

I agree. It was way better than the shinybow converter on every TV that I tested.

[Guspaz]

(disclaimer: I sell both RetroTINK and HD Retrovision products)

The financial break-even point, if you compare against the cost of good retro-access SCART cables, is roughly two cables. The difference might grow if you consider that a good SCART switch like the gscartsw costs more than a good component switch like the gcompsw.

There's still something to be said about the relative simplicity of the HD Retrovision cables, in that you don't need external power and don't need to worry about sync types or TTL versus 75ohm. I'd argue that the HD Retrovision cables make sense until you've got maybe four consoles, after which it might make more sense to get some good SCART cables and a gscartsw and feed them into a RetroTINK RGB2COMP.

That said, since I already had a few consoles that directly/natively output YPbPr, I switched the rest of my consoles over to HD Retrovision component cables fed into a gcompsw (one output going to a PVM and one output going to an OSSC) and have been happy with that setup. The gcompsw has two outputs, so I can feed one of them to my PVM, and the other to something like a RetroTINK 2X-Pro or OSSC.

[makar1]

That said, since I already had a few consoles that directly/natively output YPbPr, I switched the rest of my consoles over to HD Retrovision component cables fed into a gcompsw (one output going to a PVM and one output going to an OSSC) and have been happy with that setup. The gcompsw has two outputs, so I can feed one of them to my PVM, and the other to something like a RetroTINK 2X-Pro or OSSC.

How many of your consoles that output YPbPr don't support RGB? I don't see why you'd want to attach an RGB to YPbPr transcoder to every single console if both your PVM and OSSC support RGB just fine.

You can also feed YPbPr signals through the gscartsw to a PVM+OSSC, making it a much cheaper solution than a gcompsw with a full stack of transcoding cables.

[Dr. Claw]

Can confirm.
Because right now all I can get is a good SCART cable as a "one output solution" for the Dreamcast that doesn't involve internal mods, I've been using that cable with the RetroTink 2X SCART on my 1080p HD TV setup. In 480i mode, that's a great solution that works with most, if not all, Dreamcast games. But because the 2X SCART can not pass through, I can't use the 480p mode in this set up.

I got the RGB2COMP converter solely to test this cable as a component output to see if I could use 480p output from SCART RGB. And it works, perfectly!

But now, I have moved the PS2 in the same set up to RGB SCART (Retro Access's universal Playstation cable). I'm also using the Shinybow 4x2 matrix switch, so I can output both outputs to either 2XSCART or COMP2RGB.

One interesting thing is that on the PS2, while using RGB mode via SCART and the RGB2COMP to output it as YPbPr, 480p output works without issue!

The RGB2COMP has become my favorite part of this setup.

[Guspaz]

Off the top of my head, I've got the Wii, which is YPbPr-only, the GameCube, which via the gcvideo supports either RGB or YPbPr output but is natively YCbCr so setting it to RGB does a conversion. I don't have a PS2 hooked up, but if I did, IIRC the only output type that they support that doesn't involve changing sync type is YPbPr.

The goal of my setup was to avoid any manual switching or changing of settings between consoles. I want to turn on a console and turn on a display and simply have it appear. That (and my gscartsw not supporting YPbPr signals because the older ones have no sync-on-green support) rules out mixing and matching output signals.

There are then two options. Convert everything to RGB, or convert everything to YPbPr. At the time I started the switchover, the RetroTINK COMP2RGB was not available, and existing solutions on the market were of terrible quality (if you've seen the RGB bypass mod I had to do to the GARO to make it halfway passable). Even the RetroTINK COMP2RGB suffers from the issue with the TI chip that causes the purple flash on the Wii (IIRC the black reference level was floating if I remember Ste's explanation right). So the simpler choice was to replace the SCART cables with HD Retrovision component cables, which simplify the setup (in terms of no longer having to care about sync types and pinouts and regions, since there are several different kinds of Nintendo multiAV SCART cable).

If I had decided to rely on my hacked-up GARO to do the conversion for the Wii, set the GameCube to RGB output, and figured something out for a future PS2 (maybe a second hacked up GARO back then, unless somebody makes a cable that can get RGBS out of both 480i and 480p), I would have been replacing the cables anyway, to upgrade the setup to proper coax. Retro-Access makes great products but makes it difficult to order by her shop being closed most of every day.

And, to be perfectly honest, when I buy a product that I myself sell (which, reminder, is all RetroTINK and HD Retrovision products), I'm not paying the retail price for them. I've literally got crates of this stuff. That's why I'd say that beyond three or four consoles, a RetroTINK RGB2COMP makes more sense (assuming you want YPbPr output, otherwise a COMP2RGB for the few YPbPr-only consoles) than going all HD Retrovision, unless you really want to avoid the SCART mess. A full HD Retrovision setup works really well, it's all high quality coax and just about the simplest possible setup, but it doesn't make the most financial sense if you have more than a few consoles.

I didn't put in hundreds of hours operating an online retro gaming accessory store just so that I could get discounts on products, but it's certainly a nice side benefit.

EDIT: Random note, the RGB2COMP sells much better than the COMP2RGB. That was the opposite of my initial expectation. Go figure.

[maxtherabbit]

If you subtract the cost offset of full coax SCART or BNC console cables, the rectals are still competitive

[Josh128]

rectals?

?

[maxtherabbit]

rectals?

?

High Definition Rectal Vision

[makar1]

Off the top of my head, I've got the Wii, which is YPbPr-only, the GameCube, which via the gcvideo supports either RGB or YPbPr output but is natively YCbCr so setting it to RGB does a conversion. I don't have a PS2 hooked up, but if I did, IIRC the only output type that they support that doesn't involve changing sync type is YPbPr.

The new gscartsw extracts sync from RGsB, making the PS2 effectively RGBs at all resolutions. That would leave only the Wii requiring a manual switch or converter for RGB to YPbPr. For new buyers with 3+ consoles it doesn't make sense to recommend multiple HDRV cables, especially at full retail price.

Coax isn't required for optimal image quality over short 1-2m cable lengths, so going with regular individually shielded RGB cables would be far more cost effective.

[TORQUENDB]

My RGB2COMP is a crucial part of my setup. I've got a gscartsw outputting to the RGB2COMP, then that feeds into a gcompsw along with my YPbPr systems. Then the gcompsw is outputting to both my 32" JVC D-Series and my OSSC, so I can play either on my CRT or my QLED Samsung without touching anything. Only issue I have is my QLED won't sync with the Dreamcast's VGA output (going through RGC's SCART cable with 15 and 31 Khz modes), but I'm not surprised given the chain it's going through (Dreamcast SCART cable -> RGB2COMP -> OSSC), probably not a valid YPbPr signal.

[maxtherabbit]

Coax isn't required for optimal image quality over short 1-2m cable lengths, so going with regular individually shielded RGB cables would be far more cost effective.

no

[Guspaz]

The new gscartsw extracts sync from RGsB, making the PS2 effectively RGBs at all resolutions. That would leave only the Wii requiring a manual switch or converter for RGB to YPbPr. For new buyers with 3+ consoles it doesn't make sense to recommend multiple HDRV cables, especially at full retail price.

That's indeed quite a useful feature (my older gscartsw lacks it), though it's also worth pointing out that the gscartsw costs a bunch more than the gcompsw, and enabling the sync-on-green stripping feature would probably prevent you from doing YPbPr passthrough, so you'd want to convert the Wii to RGB before sending it into a gscartsw.

Coax isn't required for optimal image quality over short 1-2m cable lengths, so going with regular individually shielded RGB cables would be far more cost effective.

While it's true that the importance of coax is reduced the shorter your runs are, a shorter cable can also pick up interference, and coax on at least the sync line (for example, the Insurrection Industries cables use coax for sync and regular shielding for RGB) would prevent it from coupling into the RGB lines. It's a lot easier to just use coax for all your SCART/Component cables and simply never have to worry about any interference, be it internal or external.

[matt]

The RGB2COMP is perfect if you use different displays that don't support the same format. My setup has one monitor that's component only and one that's RGB only. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to have separate converters for each console. I have everything running through an Extron MVX switcher; the RGB2COMP is looped in so that I can get both RGB and component at the same time from any console with just a couple of buttons.

I agree that it's awesome. The RGB2COMP just works, and the image quality is perfect.

While it's true that the importance of coax is reduced the shorter your runs are, a shorter cable can also pick up interference, and coax on at least the sync line (for example, the Insurrection Industries cables use coax for sync and regular shielding for RGB) would prevent it from coupling into the RGB lines. It's a lot easier to just use coax for all your SCART/Component cables and simply never have to worry about any interference, be it internal or external.

In practice, you can get away with a lot of shoddy materials on short runs. For much of my personal stuff I use cheap computer cable that's neither 75 ohm rated nor individually shielded, but there's no perceptible drop in image quality as long as the cables aren't more than a couple of feet long. I would never charge money for something like this, but for my own use it's easy to work with and dirt cheap (total cost is maybe $3 per cable).

EDIT: Random note, the RGB2COMP sells much better than the COMP2RGB. That was the opposite of my initial expectation. Go figure.

Not suprising - TVs with component inputs are far cheaper and more plentiful than RGB monitors.