What is the best cable to hook up GCN to TV?

[ChryZ]

I use a RGB (Scart cable) since I own a PAL GC. As far as I know the PAL GC has RGB but no SVHS support while the NTSC GC supports SVHS but no RGB.

Bingo.

Another small detail, is that for PAL GC's, while progressive scan is disabled, the Digital Video out port is still present and active, so why the hell shouldn't RGB work through it? Just that holding B during startup won't do anything...

Holding B while booting:

PAL game on PAL GC, if supported: PAL50Hz/PAL60Hz select
NTSC game on NTSC GC, if supported: progressive scan output (requires component cable)
NTSC game on PAL GC with FreeLoader, if supported: progressive scan output (requires component cable)

NTSC GC could display RGB and VGA via "Digital AV Out" port, while using modified component cable, like discribed here: http://www.rgbcube.co.uk/

Not every NTSC game features progressive-scan and not every PAL game features 50/60Hz-select.

This was my last attempt to explain the viewtiful world of GC's A/V options

 

[Megadrive1988]

although I pretty much understand the difference between RF, Composite/RCA, S-Video and Component, can someone please explain RGB to me. I know RGB has been in use for a very very long time. it was around during the 16-bit consoles like Genesis, NeoGeo and SNES, and actually its been around since at least the 1980s. RGB was the absolute BEST picture you could get. much better than even S-Video. And I've heard that RGB is even better than component. even though component its sort of RGB in a sense (correct me if thats not true) in that it has three signals for video: red green blue. from what I understand though, component is not exactly the same as 'old school' RGB, am I right?

Now I have component cables for my GameCube, my Xbox, and now my PS2 as well. the quality is alot better than RCA/composite, and still noticeably better than S-Video. I can easily tell the difference between all
three types on my '32 Sony WEGA.

But what I really want to know is, the difference between component and traditional RGB... and isnt there "analog RGB" and "digital RGB" ?

In the mid 80s, my dad got a '13 Sony monitor. it was one of those commen Sony monitors of the time, and it had RGB in addition to composite and RF. It had a whole array of jacks on the side. the normal RCA/composite and these large jacks with many pins. that was the RGB. not sure if that was digital or analog RGB... but we NEVER used the RGB hookup, ever, for anything. I'm sure my Genesis and other 16-bit consoles could have benifited from RGB. I remember reading about RGB in EGM and MegaPlay, they did a comparasion of composite and RGB. huge difference. but even with RF or composite, the image was just exellent on that 1980s Sony '13 monitor of ours. it blew out in 1990 and we got a '27 Sony XBR which had composite and S-Video.

ok back to RGB: With the PS2, I noticed there are TWO options in the PS2 System Menu for Component Video Out: Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr and RGB. I'm using the first option, obviously, for my component cables.

Is that RGB option in PS2 for 'old school' RGB (analog RGB????) or digital RGB, or what? I dont even know the actual difference between:
1). component (which im using)
2). analog RGB
3). digital RGB

I'm sure two of those are actually one and the same. (maybe?)

I wish I could use my Dreamcast, and all my consoles with tradition RGB. I know this would be preferable over VGA even. Ive used my DC with VGA and dont like the results. yeah it is sharp, but its TOO sharp for my liking. I can see all the pixels, they are too well-defined. I prefer the natural-AA look of a television-monitor with S-Video, than VGA.. So RGB would be the only way to go for me. I seem to recall people using the commenly availiable Commodore RGB monitors for their 16-bit consoles.
something about it made it easy to have a cable made for it.....

please explain this to me more, i need a refresher on RGB!

or i guess i can always hit Google

 

[maskrider]

But what I really want to know is, the difference between component and traditional RGB... and isnt there "analog RGB" and "digital RGB" ?

Component video is like the balanced connection to audio, with the added benefit of easier manipulation of video signal than RGB. H & V sync are embedded into the Y signal.

Component video carries Y, Pb/Cb/U and Pr/Cr/V. It can be easily transcoded to RGB.

And RGB can be transcoded to Component Video as easy, but there are colours in RGB that are invalid in Component Video. But they may not make much of a difference on the display.

Consumer video interfaces are all analog, unless you are talking about DVI.

VGA is indeed the same old RGB, just that VGA is a term used mostly in PCs. European RGB interface (SCART) mainly used for interlaced signals (PAL 576i).

Copy protection can only be applied on embedded composite sync video interfaces (Composite, S-Video, Component video), it cannot be applied to RGB interface, that's why licensed DVD players cannot officially provide video output on RGB interface when the DVD video is tagged as copy prohibited.

 

[rabidrabbit]

Speaking of european SCART connectors.
That must be the worst connection interface ever.
Mechanically the connector is poor, it has no way of securing the conection. The oblong connector loosens very easily, resulting in picture abnormalties. And if your equipment is stacked on a shelf, with no easy access on the rear panels, it is virtually impossible to insert the SCART plug in the socket if you can not see what you are doing.
Only a perverted mind of a frenchman can conceive such a torture device.

Electronically the SCART works fine, assuming you use good quality SCART. But I would much rather take easy component connections over this.

 

[notAFanB]

Component video carries Y, Pb/Cb/U and Pr/Cr/V. It can be easily transcoded to RGB.

And RGB can be transcoded to Component Video as easy, but there are colours in RGB that are invalid in Component Video. But they may not make much of a difference on the display.

I always thought this was because G - green signal is compressed/degraded to reduce bandwidth. this isn't noticable to most eyes and explains why some color infomation is lost from RGB.

since most DVD are encoded into Pr/Cr/V witout ill effects I'd be suprised if anyone can tell this tho.

 

[duc]

"...that's why licensed DVD players cannot officially provide video output on RGB interface when the DVD video is tagged as copy prohibited."

I think you are mistaken here, all European DVD players that I know of output RGB signal (expect PS2, I don't know what Sony was thinking).

One of the main reasons why RGB often looks so much better than S-video is that RGB is the native format of the TV systems, so no conversion between formats is needed.

 

[maskrider]

"...that's why licensed DVD players cannot officially provide video output on RGB interface when the DVD video is tagged as copy prohibited."

I think you are mistaken here, all European DVD players that I know of output RGB signal (expect PS2, I don't know what Sony was thinking).

One of the main reasons why RGB often looks so much better than S-video is that RGB is the native format of the TV systems, so no conversion between formats is needed.

I am not mistaken, just that the heavy handed DVD forum was not able to force that to Europe yet, but they will eventually.

DVD forum have also forced Sony to remove the DVD playback through RGB output, as people can use something like XRGB-2 to convert it back to S-Video and Composite for recording. Which defeats any Macrovision protection.

 

[Fox5]

You know, while technically component is closer to svideo than svideo is to composite(with an HDTV), I don't really feel that way. It depends on the game, on older systems I'd say svideo and component would be virtually indistinguishable, and even for some gamecube games, but in many of mine on my non-HDTV I notice TONS of color bleeding with svideo, yet it is perfect with component. BTW, the absolute worse is RF connection. I tried using it once(when I was taking my cube on a trip) and while all my other systems aren't too bad(considering it is a crappy TV and all), gamecube for some reason output a very static filled image and it was just crap. So now all my portable gaming is dreamcast or gameboy.

 

[PC-Engine]

I've got my GCN hooked up to my 50" with S-video I had ordered thru Nintendo.com (actually had it for my N64). If you dont have an HDTV than S-Video is as good a quality as you'll see. But RCA hookups that come with the GCN are ok if you have a small TV. And yes RF is the pits..i'm still amazed at the amount of ppl that are using that crap.

You don't need an HDTV to use component, only progressive component. There are many tvs that have component inputs but doesn't support progressive.

Component is better than S-Video whether it's interlaced or progressive.