Making Retro Consoles Look Emulated

[@TwilightWolf032]

This video just made me glad we now have an industry standard in HDMI and DisplayPort.

[@Soulintent95]

We have always had standard display ports. It just varied in a few countries, and some tvs had multiple resolutions as resolution didnt exactly matter with crt screens. The picture was made using basically a lazer gun, drawing the picture with individual lines. Hence why there are scanlines on those displays. So those tvs had optional ports like s video. But every device and tv had composite. Before that every device and tv had RF. Not sure how you can be unaware of that. He even said so in the video "came with all consoles"... tvs are about 100 yrs old. If you at least tried to think for a second, youd come to the realization that the tech has changed several times.

[@TwilightWolf032]

@@Soulintent95 Sorry, what I meant to say is that I'm glad the industry standard today is HDMI and DisplayPort.

[@TwilightWolf032]

@Bingus Provided you have the tools, materials and know what you're doing, that is.

[@Manic_Panic]

And I'm glad we have HDMI adaptors that function as a single cable from the console to the TV for older consoles as well so we don't have to look at expensive converters/upscallers, CRT TVs, or TVs that support older video outputs which are extinct. My PS2 is using component signal through HDMI, the games look nearly as good as the official component cables and it supports progressive scan. Also no, there is no input delay since it's not upscaling. Color settings aren't 100% accurate like SCART but you can adjust your TV color settings to mitigate this minor issue. Of course things like Retrotink/OSSC will provide slightly better image but for the price, it's just not worth it imo, plus it also creates a mess of cables and requires ac power.

[@TwilightWolf032]

@@Manic_Panic That might be the best solution out there right now.

[@benjiyadegar8901]

Something I should note. The PS2 CAN do 480p over Scart, but it enables Sync On Green which might need some fiddling around to get your display working with it properly. Something worth noting since this goes against what was said in the video.

[@smasherjosh5000]

The OSSC, the Retrotink and a lot of 480p PVMs and BVMs can do Sync-on-Green.

[@PhantomHavok]

AKA "RGsB"

[@HarikenRed1]

Here are the video cables sold in the package of each console in Europe: - Nintendo NES Europe: PAL Composite, RCA to SCART - Nintendo NES France: RGB, Multi-Out connector to SCART (A PAL Composite -> RGB converter was integrated into the console, because French TVs were composite SECAM, and old TVs don't support composite PAL. The video quality was the PAL composite source, the RGB output didn't improve anything). - Nintendo SNES: RGB, Multi-Out connector to SCART - Nintendo 64: PAL Composite, Multi-Out connector to SCART - Sega Mastersystem: RGB, DIN to SCART - Sega Megadrive: RGB, DIN to SCART (Megadrive 1: Mono Audio, Megadrive 2: Mini-DIN, Stereo Audio) - Sega Saturn: RGB, Mini-DIN to SCART - NEC PC-Engine: RGB, DIN to SCART (RGB signals were internally hand soldered to the DIN socket by the European importer. The PC-Engine wasn't officially imported in Europe). The PC-Engine was 60Hz only, but most TVs in Europe are compatible with this frequency - Sony Playstation: PAL Composite, RCA to SCART. RGB Multi-Out connector to SCART Cables could be bought separately (wasn't the default cable certainly because the Composite one is cheaper to manufacture) - Sony Playstation 2: PAL Composite, Multi-Out connector to SCART (same as Playstation cost-down without RCA sockets). RGB Multi-Out connector to SCART Cables could be bought separately, same as Playstation 1.

[@alpaca-ccino]

I don't own any of these old consoles but watching these technical videos just relaxes me

[@CrowTRobot]

SCART really is a game changer, great video. Also, adding SCART to the list of words that sound way better in a British accent than in an American one.

[@adinsilverstein2788]

It does sound like ska with a Brit accent though

[@RWL2012]

lol when I heard RetroRGB Bob say "Scah-rt" I was like "nah mate, Scaaaaaaaaaart"

[@vasili1207]

scart isn't a game changer it just a connection scart will not give you a rgb picture... unless its wired for rgb 90% of youtube clowns do not know there arse from there elbow.. reason usa didn't have rgb at all , so even if you had Rgb its no use unless you modify the juggler chip on your crt set ... if your crt has teletext you can mod it for rgb

[@ArchinaGM]

A few things regarding the video: 1. The reason why the different region Gamecube's video outputs are different are mainly due to the PAL Gamecube outputting 12V on pin 3 of the multiAV connector (which is used for devices to detect an incoming RGB signal.) This means most RGB cables made for NTSC systems *will not* work on PAL Gamecubes as those instead use CSYNC on pin 3. Thankfully we have a universal cable made by Packapunch which will work on both sides so you can use the same cable for your NTSC super famicom as your PAL Gamcube. 2. I would highly recommend using a more professional upscaler if you plan on playing your retro consoles on a modern TV regardless of your output. Modern TVs will process the hell out of your raw analog signal which will add a ton of latency as well as them likely scaling your signal incorrectly which will reduce the sharpness of your image. Cheap analog to HDMI converters will also add a ton of latency as well so your best option is to buy something like the OSSC or one of RetroTINK's products (like you mentioned in the video) so that way you can scale it to an acceptable resolution as well as having the signal converted in only 50 microseconds (not milliseconds, microseconds. 0.05ms.) Of course you still have the TV's general latency to deal with though there are a lot of TVs that can handle latencies below 1 NTSC frame so long as you use the TV's 'game mode'. 3. While I myself am a bit of an RGB purist, I can see the appeal of a 'lesser' signal. Especially on the megadrive and ps1. Around that era a TON of developers used pixels to create dithering and smoothing effects that would then be blended together via a composite signal. As an example, look at the waterfall in Sonic 1. In RGB it just looks like a bunch of vertical lines yet in composite it looks like a full waterfall with proper transparency. 4. Slightly unrelated to the video though I remember you saying you were looking to capture games from their original hardware yet also wanted to get the cleanest results. Have you considered investing the time into learning how to use a Datapath VisionRGB capture card? Those things are certainly nowhere near as plug-and-play as your average card yet I can guarantee you cannot beat the image quality those cards can achieve. The downside is that you'll have to input a lot of variables manually and without help it may be a bit of a daunting task yet if you can manage to wrangle that card you will literally get pixel-perfect colour-accurate results.

[@AGTS10k]

That's a very underrated comment, right here. I was going to tell about the point 3 myself - most of the games on Sega Gen/MD (and some on PS1) took composite's subpixel color artifacting into account to produce more colors on screen that it would be possible with the console's shitty color palette.

[@guguig9746]

I'm completely OK with those slightly technical videos. They are very informative, and maintain entertainment value! (I'm entertained while learning things, that's great)

[@leeartlee915]

As an American, hearing about SCART for the last 20 years feels like this mythical AV port that can make your images perfect while doing your laundry. I did spend a year in London and finally saw the connector in person. It was being used for the cable box so I didn’t notice a difference. As for me, I’ve just committed to HDMI 100%. If it’s too much work to get a system using HDMI, I find another way to play those games. I’m not a purist. I factor in cost and “pain in the ass” factors.

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

HDMI is great for modern stuff but SCART is the best for retro games, unless you can use component. I use it directly to hook up my consoles to my UK television, and it does look great, compared to composite it’s very noticeable.

[@leeartlee915]

@@justanotheryoutubechannel Oh I know but so is using CRTs… and I’m NEVER going back to those. lol. Those bastards are too heavy and cumbersome.

[@stanzacosmi]

@@leeartlee915 not to mention now impossible to replace for a reasonable price

[@vasili1207]

@@justanotheryoutubechannel nooooooooo scart will make no difference to picture unless its wired for RGB ....

[@vasili1207]

@@leeartlee915 how often do you move your flat screen the same amount you move crt ... never dumb answer

[@123j66123]

Greatly appreciated the usage of the word “prong”

[@theonewhowrotethis5681]

9:46 NTSC GameCube gets Component, not just S-Video. The component cables are very pricey because they were only able to be ordered directly from Nintendo's website back in the day (from what I recall), but they do exist as a better option than S-Video. HD Retrovision also has cheaper cables that also get the job done at a lower price (though OEM are the best IMO). S-Video's ports are used to divide black-and-white intensity from color (each pair of pins act as the input and ground) while Component separates the colors for each cable. As such, even if the game doesn't support 480i mode, you still get better picture quality for your GameCube if you use Component over S-Video in NTSC. As for games that don't have 480p mode, you can use an action replay and SWISS to force 480p mode for most games (i.e., USA ToS, etc.). SWISS also allows for images to be forced into 16:9 mode, but I don't usually do that myself out of preference for OAR. 480p will almost always look better than 480i on GameCube due to the fact that the TVs and/or upscalers won't need to do deinterlacing for you. On screen text looks MUCH better in 480p than 480i due to 480p being sharper in general. Go for the component cables if you have the budget to grab them as they are MUCH better than S-Video. Alternatively, you can get a Wii and use Component on there to get video quality almost as good as GameCube Component (Wii's image is slightly fuzzier than GameCube due to how the chip was made) at a fraction of the cost as OEM Wii Component cables are like 1/10th of the cost. RetroRGB's website covers this in better detail than me. But the general gist is that you should try for better than S-Video if you are able to as both affordable options better than S-Video and expensive options better than S-Video exist for the GameCube.

[@stanzacosmi]

Fun fact: Theres a twitter page dedicated to the differences between raw pixels and a CRT: Did you know that on real hardware, Symphony of the Night's Dracula actually looks like his eyes are red in the artwork? whereas on an emulator its a SINGLE red pixel? Or how in sonic, the waterfalls are transparent because CRT blur causes non transparent pixels and transparent pixels to merge into 50% transparent pixels on both

[@Schwarzorn]

It's not CRTs that blur the image. They generally look crisper than LEDs. It's the cable. If you play Sonic on a CRT with Super Video or better, the waterfalls will display as incorrectly as on an emulator on an LED screen. It's only when the chroma and luma are mixed on a composite video cable does blur occur and make the water transparent. It also blends dithering. But also blurs everything else, has bad colors (aside from the blended dithering), and introduces artifacts. It's a lose-lose situation on the Mega Drive.

[@GamingWithMe]

Jon you just changed my entire life haha! I own a Retrotink 5x, but no Scart cable, cause I didn't realize that was the case! Ordering one ASAP and excited to see the difference!

[@MisterSheeple]

Technically there are aftermarket GameCube component cables that are cheaper than the official ones and deliver comparable quality as well. There's also HDMI adapters that take advantage of the same digital port used for the component cables, and those look spectacular as well. The aftermarket adapters also have lots of options for things like scaling, interpolation, and video filters. Personally for HDMI adapters, I recommend the Carby HDMI adapter. There's also a Carby component cable but I don't have that. And the best part is, the DOL-001 GameCube can output analog and digital video simultaneously! My setup involves having the analog output go to composite so I can view it on a CRT, and the digital output goes to an HDMI where I capture my footage at the same time, without going through any splitters, converters, or scalers! It's super handy and I have no idea why they output video on both at the same time but they do, and it's great!

[@ryeroyal]

I think a great follow up to this vid would be pixel art games on CRTs. I just missed the 16 bit era and even most of my 32 bit era was onto polygons. I experienced Pixel graphic thru indies and later emulation. I was absolutely shocked when I learned just how much a CRT changes the artstyle of a pixel sprite based game. Its like pixels were never intended to be seen in the first place

[@crestofhonor2349]

Yup I was surprised too. Many modern indie games absolutely benefit on a CRT. I love plenty of them on PC CRTs because they often have some odd ball resolutions that are either above or below what consoles of the time output

[@Kani8122]

With RGB cables, you can see the pixels even on a CRT. They do look a bit softer though.

[@bluetopia42]

First moment: "Oh boy, that looks so pixelated..." After getting sick from the soften filter: "Ok, gimme back those pixels! :O"

[@ShinoSarna]

In Poland we called this Euro, and this video made me realize why I remember seeing sharp pixels on a TV from my NES.

[@RWL2012]

the NES can't even output RGB unless it's been RGB-modded.

[@ShinoSarna]

@@RWL2012 To be exact, it was a famiclone. I'm not sure what it was, but some famiclones do have an RGB port.

[@AllieRX]

Thanks to HD Retrovision, you can get component cables made for retro consoles before the 6th gen, namely the ones that supported RGB SCART out-of-the-box like the Genesis, Saturn, SNES, PS1 and so on. Even Mike Chi of RetroTINK made HDMI adapters called the RAD2X.

[@MajoraZ]

I'd actually love to see a video that is trying to teach the OPPOSITE idea: What sort of displays (or emulator CRT shaders), cables, etc are best if you want to have the color bleeding effect that old CRT's and video inputs had which some games actually designed their pixel art around.

[@ozzyp97]

If you're willing to find an actual CRT TV, Raspberry Pi 3 or 4 with RetroPie is a decent starting point since the Pi has composite video built in. It would be pretty interesting to have a video on CRT filters and the like, I'm not yet aware of any generic solution I particularly like. I do quite like UltraHDMI scanlines, but that's very specific.

[@mademedothis424]

@@ozzyp97 Careful with analogue video output on a Pi. It's coming from a framebuffer so you can get very digital scaling artifacts on top of all the CRT artifacts. It looks weird. A MiSTer FPGA will output proper CRT signals over composite or SCART with the right cables and adaptors to a real CRT. It's perhaps the only reason a super expensive FPGA makes sense over software emulation, if we're being honest. As for how to best replicate the original CRT look... it's down to taste. The problem is that there wasn't a single CRT look at all. This video is very European-centric in that in the EU all those dithering blending things were not showing up as early as the 16 bit consoles because SCART was common. At the same time, different SCART versions made for different looks, and all the other cables did as well. And then different CRTs had different specs and shadow masks, and different alignment issues on each one, on top of everything else. I would just recommend loading up Retroarch, going into their standardized list of shaders and into the CRT/PAL/NTSC folders and loading each one until you find one that looks like what you remember. Fun fact, in a lot of continental Europe SCART was known as an Euro-connector. I'm gonna guess the UK stuck with the official name for the usual reasons.

[@ozzyp97]

@@mademedothis424 It's not perfect anything, but I found the results pretty solid for Sonic. MiSTer is much better of course, and also way more expensive. I don't think I'm the easiest audience either, having bothered to things like dual-modding an N64 with both UltraHDMI and RGB, though I'm not a Genesis enthusiast. As to your comment, I'd like to add that FPGA is also good for latency. Software emulation is usually constrained by several levels of overhead, like OS and drivers.

[@mademedothis424]

@@ozzyp97 Yeah, but the amount of processing power today is so ridiculous, even on a Pi that you can largely power through it, down to just one or two frames, for 16 bit-era stuff. Hell, in 32 and beyond these days you can blaze past the original fps and actually improve responsiveness. So I don't really think the latency matters for FPGA unless you´re pairing it with a CRT monitor. Which, to be clear, I do. It's great. I'm just fine with software emulation if I'm on a handheld or a modern display. And yeah, I did the Pi back in the day, and I was very glad to see the old games on a CRT, but they never looked quite right. I was very glad when I got my MiSTer. I'm also not super into HDMI modding old consoles, for some of the same reasons. At that point I'll just emulate, or use a MiSTer on HDMI. If it's not gonna be the full experience there are so many convenient ways to play the same games on a modern display.

[@ozzyp97]

@@mademedothis424 I'm more into CRTs these days as well, the RGB mod happened well after the UltraHDMI. Still, it's nice to have the option for e.g. travel, and the N64 has a good chance of outlasting my old TVs.

[@CrashFan03]

7:46 since this video was released they updated sonic origins to remove the bilinear filter so the pixels are just as sharp now

[@ians_parks]

3:40 HD Retrovision makes high quality component cables for the SNES, Genesis/MegaDrive, Playstation 2, and Wii. With adapters for the Saturn, Playstation and Neo Geo AES/CD. They are a great alternative to using Scart.

[@gametourny4ever627]

Those are what I use. They work great! I have two G Comp Switchers in which I have a ton of systems plugged in with Component cables. I use the Mail to Mail HD Retrovision component cable with the OG Xbox Advanced Pack. I use the Hd Retrovision component cable for my PS1 and the OEM PS3 component cable for my PS2. I use the HD Retrovision component cables on my Snes and Rgb modded N64. I do own that first party Nintendo Component cable and use it with my Gamecube. I use the HD Retrovision component cables with my Sega Master System, Model 1 Sega Genesis/Model 1 Sega Cd/32X tower of doom, and my Sega Saturn. I also use HD Retrovision Component cables with my Neo Geo Aes, my Rgb modded Turbo Duo, and on my Atari Jaguar/Jaguar Cd combo using the Jag2snes adapter. All the systems look great and it is so easy to play anything whenever. I will say, I am crazy though and this sort of setup is EXPENSIVE. Just know what you are getting into before you go down the rabbit hole. I still have a few other retro systems that I use other hookups with. The only console I still use Composite with is the Nes. I have two systems I currently use S Video with. The Panasonic 3DO FZ-1 model and the Philips Cdi 220 model. Finally, the Dreamcast is an interesting one. I use the Sega Oem black Dreamcast Vga box hooked up to a nice monitor for most games and then S Video for Bangai-O. All audio for all systems are plugged into my receiver for 5.1. The OG Xbox and PS2 sound great through their Optical outs for the games that support it.

[@InvertedGamez]

Good stuff! Always nice to see more videos about video quality. I got my N64 RGB Modded a few years ago and running that through an OSSC provides some really nice video! Also Gamecube via HDMI is a beautiful thing with the GCHD. This stuff is kind of a rabbit hole but once it's all setup it's really nice!

[@dcashley303]

The day I got a fully wired RGB scart cable my mind was blown. My scart switcher had an RGB toggle so I could basically go from composite to Rgb in real time. It was like going from TV via ariel to TV via digital. Suddenly all the lines were clear and the colours not blurring into each other. My TV suddenly looked like a PC monitor! Growing up I had a lot of scart cables but it turns out none of them were fully wired (even though they had all the prongs). That first experience of scart was amazing, never looked back and have been using and OSSC the past 3 years.

[@OtterpunkTV]

Oh to be a retro gamer in the year of our lord 2022

[@Twi66e]

Man I always took our scart cables for granted. This has made me realise I’ve been playing my GameCube and original Xbox on S video my whole life using one of those converters to scart. I could be getting such a better picture if I buy an actual scart cable!

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

Jon’s content are amazing!

[@Spacething7474]

your'e grammar are bad!

[@kupferdrachevideosfurdich8733]

Interesting fact, even the Master System had a SCART version, unfortunately the Master System II sold in Germany at that time only had a RF adapter with it, but the versions for France and Australia /New Zealand do have the better Quality output even for the budget revisions.

[@ReapsVsTheWorld1]

Jon is the best. I knew about Scart because of other retro channels, but I just love hearing Jon speak about his passions.

[@Entropic_Alloy]

The problem I have with SCART is that I have a ton of retro consoles and one CRT that doesn't have a SCART port. So I have a switcher for the composite cables and that level of convenience for me outweighs the picture quality. Also, I can't be arsed to buy more cables for each system. I would love better quality, but I need to factor convince and price.

[@Kritigri]

Glad you’re feeling better now Jon! Thanks for making me panic about the SCARTs I may have thrown out during the years

[@milestailsnik6174]

even the mastersystem from '86 had rgb scart built in

[@jothain]

NES didn't.

[@philtrauferson]

Lazy people like me will be interested in the RAD2X, a series of RetroTink-powered plug and play HDMI cables for individual consoles. They are pricy, but not as pricey as a universal solution if you're just looking to play your favourite childhood console on your living room TV without any fuss.

[@emmettturner9452]

The problem with that first converter is that it uses a chip that is intended for TVs with analog inputs and, thus, has the same problem with processing 240p as 480i. Also, RF was available for the PS2 and technically the PS3… both after the Dreamcast. While I’ve never seen PS2/PS3-branded RF modulators, the RF modulator was repackaged in PS2-style packaging like the component cable and sold for all systems with a PlayStation multi-out… including PS3. When PS3 first launched you were officially advised to buy accessories from that PS1/PS2 accessory line including a PS2 component cable if you wanted HD but didn’t have HDMI. There was no PS3-branded cables for the first year or so and this was the official way to do it.

[@emmettturner9452]

SCPH-10071 is the RFU Adapter for PlayStation 2 that explicitly mentions it on the packaging (back side) in the later PS2-style packages (clear with cardboard backing). This is the same packaging the PS3’s component cables were in for the first year and those also didn’t mention PS3, so you can say that the RFU Adapter was as much for PS3 as the component cables were. ;) Years later they made/sold PS3-branded component cables along with PS3-branded HDMI cables and such but they intended for you to use PS2 accessories at first.

[@PixelsAmpersandBits]

Jon. You have the amazing superpower to make dumb lame dad-type jokes still charming because of that damn voice. Glad to see stuff like SCART and retro gaming getting some love!

[@ololreyalple]

But by using scart, some dithering effects implemented for composites bad quality would get lost, right? If you played it on a crt

[@JomaXZ]

Making smooth pixel filters for remasters should be a war crime.

[@toast99bubbles]

I had to use a SCART to HDMI adapter to get a VHS archived recently. Wasn't the best quality, but it was my only option.

[@leahevehumphries]

Lol our TV broke years ago and we had to have our auntie's old TV from 2005. My mum bought a SCART to HDMI adapter thinking it would make the image look HD. How wrong we were... 😆 I noticed it said "HD Ready" on the TV and wondered where the HD came from as there were no HDMI ports on it. Then this year I decided to do a bit of investigation on the back of the TV. I found the magical DVI port... bought a DVI to HDMI cable, and boom, after like 6 years of having to watch shitty TV, we had HD again... we got wayyy too excited when I actually got it to work😆😆 Anyway we're still using that old Philips "Flat TV" (back when a flat TV was a selling point!!) from 2005 and it's an absolute beast. The screen is big and the speakers are amazing, and now that we've got HD it's perfect. Long live the Philips Flat TV!!!

[@GamiFD]

For some Consoles. Component is indeed a better choice than SCART. Like on the OG Xbox or Gamecube. And I know, the official Gamecube component cable is overpriced. But even if you use like the GCHD MK II with the Wii component cables or the Retrobit component cables. It is slightly better. And also for PAL users if you use Swiss and force it to 480p. Also component is not so confusing like SCART. There is Sync on Composite, Composite Sync (CSYNC), Sync on green, Luma Sync. You need really to watch out, what SCART cable you need to buy for each specific system. If you just go for a HD Retrovision component cable you pay depending for which console little more money but you don't need to worry about what sync type your cable carries.

[@teogabrielsson4717]

Hey! I love your voice acting! It's great. You get me to laugh 🤩 By the way.. I worked in the TV-Industry during the 80s and 90s. There is a saying "NTSC - Never the same Color..." I love seeing the SCART-loving 🤓

[@supermahmoud]

As far as I remember I always played my (European) consoles using SCART cables, my SNES, PS1, PS2 and Gamecube That's why I still have a 32" CRT TV for all my non-HD consoles, enjoying them as they were released back in their days is a bliss !

[@SDK2K9]

I got a RGB scart setup for my PS1, PS2, GameCube & Wii games. Have my PS2 and Wii hooked up to a CRT. I mainly get my scarts from RetroGamingCables.

[@waynetemplar2183]

Same here. Great cables

[@Supersayainpikmin]

The PS2 can most certainly do 480p via SCART. It does it via Sync on Green, but the OSSC is the only scaler I know that supports it.

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

I use Euro RGB SCART on most systems, only S-video I use is for Commodore 64 and it is SCART also. Component for one of my PlayStation 2's +Wii, RGB on the other PS2. I use a CRT and LCD in my classic setup.. I'm from the UK and know all about this stuff. Most people I know are clueless about this stuff.

[@KnightsDisillusion]

Happy to see Darkstalkers in the video.

[@Calham64]

Really excited for my RetroTink 5X arriving soon! For years, I have been aware about RGB Scart and have used the cheap SCART to HDMI adapter as I felt it was good enough. I found a way to separate the signals, meaning that I could game on the CRT via direct Scart, but use the scaler to capture or stream footage. As of late, I've wanted the capture to be more accurate and look crisper, so decided to finally invest into the 5X. It's also because as of late I am wanting to be able to play retro systems on either a CRT or modern display for convenience. The cheap SCART to HDMI has served me very well for many years, as any colour correction I could just adjust on OBS or in editing, but still play on a CRT. One thing I am curious about tho, is using the 5X with a recent Scart Amplifier I got called the Scart Buffer V3. This currently allows me to have Dual Scart outputs and retains image quality on both thanks to a 12v plug required to boost the signal. So, one end goes directly into the CRT, while the other goes into the scaler to the capture card. This currently works fine with the cheap SCART to HDMI converter I have, so I imagine it will work with the RetroTink 5X just fine. Very excited to have clean captures of games, while also having full preference of playing on either a CRT or modern display simultaneously!

[@NullyBird]

Analog YPbPr is just as colour accurate as RGB in theory. I think you're basing your observation solely on the Gamecube, which is a special case because its YPbPr signal undergoes a Digital->Analog->Digital conversion that really affects the signal. If you have a PVM that's properly calibrated in both hue and colour, transcoded RGB(as YPbPr) doesn't look inferior to RGB at all.

[@SturmAH]

Panasonic are probably the last tv manufactor that still supports legacy cables and among the best at scaling lower resolutions. However, they don't sell TV's in the US.

[@lauraiss1027]

Checkerboarding you mention at 1:54 has nothing to do with cable quality but synchronisation wiring, read on RGB sync. You can rewire same cable yourself and checkerboard will be gone. It's just a safer way they chose while making a cable. Otherwise excellent video. Fun fact if it's about video quality, SEGA owned the scene. Clean RGB since Master system and VGA on Dreamcast. And yes, if you talk about video quality, N64 is a disaster, even RGB modded it looks like something dog threw up.

[@WhoIsLudwig]

French NES actually had RGB SCART cables, because SCART was mandatory for color TVs sold in the 80's in France. However, as you mentionned, NES generates its picture in composite internally. So as a workaround, they used a cheap RGB encoder that degraded the decent composite signal into some mushy, noisy and quite blurry RGB signal. In that particular case, modding your console to composite is actually an upgrade. Figures ...

[@summerishere2868]

You actually can do 480p over scart on ps2. Though this uses some weird signal that some tvs don't support.

[@MichaelMacaw]

11:45 me at Capcom every time they do a collection with the Vaseline filter on the footage.

[@ericeman]

Minus the expense of games/consoles I think my US build is a solid entry and even endpoint for most gamers simply looking to play at top tier quality, rather than, say, those with a tech itch they're trying to scratch. My goal was to upgrade everything I had to its best quality for the time it came out and in that spirit my largest expenses ended up being a Retrotink 2X and an 8 port Pelican switcher to avoid plugging in and out all the time. It was easy to slowly upgrade to better cables (none of which are too expensive) and the only Nintendo consoles that got tricky were the GC (I bought newer component cables that might be out of stock, though s-video through RT2X more than does the job here) and the NES which outputs composite only. The setup isn't simply serviceable or alright-- everything I play looks stellar, faithful (important, right?) and, again, unless the goal is to tinker (fair enough) this will more than satisfy most.

[@smasherjosh5000]

This is a great video, however I would like to correct you on PlayStation 2 RGB SCART 480p, most SCART displays cannot do this as the PlayStation 2's 480p via RGB SCART uses Sync-on-Green which VGA also uses, you can get 480p and 1080i via RGB SCART on a PVM/BVM by hitting the External Sync button, the OSSC and the Retrotink support Sync-on-Green which is shortened to RGsB. What's also worth noting about SCART is if your SCART CRT supports 60Hz you can use an RGB SCART cable to play imported video games, NTSC DVDs if your CRT doesn't support NTSC 3.58 which is the NTSC you want, don't get confused with NTSC 4.43 it's a faux NTSC, and like John said not all SCART cables can do RGB, however what he didn't mention is that SCART cables can carry Composite, S-Video and RGB signals, so if you're not getting an RGB signal on your display then it's one of three issues: The Display in question doesn't support RGB via SCART for example one of my CRTs has 2 SCART ports one can do RGB and the other cannot do RGB which the second port at best does S-Video, your cable doesn't support RGB and/or the device you want to use your SCART cable doesn't support RGB the biggest example is VCRs which at best is S-Video. What's also worth noting about SCART is that if you're a fan of VHS tapes and importing VHS tapes you will want both a CRT and a VCR that supports PAL and NTSC via Composite and S-Video the former is more common in PAL territories otherwise you will receive a black and white image or the screen will not show properly, it's also worth noting that a lot of people in NTSC regions particularly North America have RGB modified their CRTs or purchased SCART to Component transcoders, companies like Retro Gaming Cables and HD Retrovision have made special Component Cables that allow RGB to work on North American Component CRTs as the cables convert RGB to YPBPR. Like I said earlier there are also PVMs and BVMs (which TV stations, medical monitors and game developers used back in the day) that support RGB through BNC, you can either buy special BNC cables for your consoles, buy SCART to BNC converters (which is a passthrough adapter), buy SCART cards for your monitors if they have slots for them, it's also worth noting that the Japanese have JP-21 or as it's known in Japan RGB-21 (which most of you who have or have had the XRGB Mini Framemeister will be know that the scaler comes with an adapter to plug in JP-21 cables), JP-21s have the same shell as the SCART leads and function basically the same, however both SCART and JP-21 are wired up differently to each other and directly incompatible with each other, JP-21 is not as common as SCART hence why people suggest going with SCART as SCART cables are more readily available, there are plenty of consoles that natively don't support RGB that can be modified to support RGB such as the NES/Famicom, the final models of the SNES/Famicom, Sega Master System II, Sega Mega Drive III, Turbo Grafx-16 and even the Atari 2600.

[@AldoInza]

6:48 Scott Scart was directly responsible for that decision? Great Scott! I thought he was a figurehead.

[@BrewerBomb]

Getting the best video quality from Consoles is what I live for.

[@haloharry97]

There a bit of mis information in this video. 1) scart can do 1080i but only PS2/3 support upto 1080i with scart, all the other consoles support upto 480i with scart. 2) the pal GameCube can support compoment cables, it also can support 480p but progressive is software locked, so if you run home-brew software called Swiss, you can unlock progressive scan.

[@moki5796]

I am currently playing GameCube games on a PAL Wii with a cheap HDMI adapter which allows me to select the 480p option in the settings. Even though the quality is not perfect at all, it beats the component cable that came with my GameCube by a long shot.

[@gabrieleorioli1760]

I would like to point out that while at 4:09 it is said that a SCART cable cannot carry a 480P signal, at least in Europe that is not true. Good DVD players could output Progressive Scan PAL (576P) and the XBOX could output progressive PAL-60 (576P-60Hz). Not all televisions supported the fancier signal, to be fair.

[@XanTheXanadul]

I grew up with SCART, and while it might have had superiour picture quality (unknown to me at the time), it also was way more unstable. The connector might have been bulky, but it definetly wasn't a good fit. It partly came loose extremely often, resulting in weird visual artifacts of all kinds. I often wondered why SCART did't have any screws to strengthen the connection, like VGA and DVI...

[@donutking6805]

the rant at the end LMAO

[@TsjuunTze]

Its just a SCART. Composite is a sub-set of SCART, using only one of the possible SCART connections (CVBS - Composite Video Blanking Sync). The signal level and impedances are identical, so Composite to Composite, Composite to SCART, and SCART to SCART (if using CVBS) are all identical. However! - SCART also has the capability of RGB, which is the highest quality SD connection you can get, and vastly better than Composite) and much better than any broadcast or DVD SD as well.

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

Well current generation of consoles at least got one thing right... Output resolution and framerate never gets esoteric, and even if the graphics aren't rendered at a certain resolution, the system does the scaling itself.

[@Krystalmyth]

Don't think we used Scart in the US.

[@mds_main]

As a European I had no idea that scart was a PAL exclusive thing. It was so normal here, everything used scart before changing to the modern standard.

[@Granadico]

This is a great video that doesnt get super technical like most of the other videos on this topic. But you should have shown the drawbacks of ultra crisp pixels too. Your Sonic 2 example that was zoomed in showed it off but you didnt bring it up. SCART etc is much cleaerer but breaks the illusion of transparencies the older consoles emulated with dithering, so instead of a transparent looking waterfall or bush in composite you get ultra clear dithering that doesnt look entirely correct. Whether or not thats worth it is up to you but its not a 100% perfect solution either.

[@crestofhonor2349]

I'd much rather take the clear image quality of RGB over the blending composite offered. Of course this is subjective

[@tconnolly1tc]

Subtitles think you're saying "RGB Scott"

[@TheOsitoRocks]

Well I recently acquired a N64 and when I connected it to my 55´´ screen using composite video cable because it did not have scart slot and... image looked like satan´s butt after digesting too many spicy fajitas. Then I started to search ways to improve the image quality and ended up seeing the retrotinks option, but it is quite expensive, even for the cheapest option. Then I realized that every single youtuber commenting about the topic always recommended to use a CRT TV first, so I went to facebook marketplace I saw some elderly lady selling an old small tv for 5 euro. One purchase later and now my N64 looks incredible connected using the scart to the old tv.

[@simonzachrisson8755]

I really recommend the rgbpi scart cable and rgbpi os on the raspberry pi 4! Amazing product both hardware and software! It manages to do everything shown in this video and more connected to a crt tv.

[@Le_Grand_Rigatoni]

3:53 It can, but very few TV's support it, and very few devices can output 480p through SCART. The PS2 is one such device. 4:56 You can get MUCH better quality out of RF.

[@SiGeTVee]

You forgot to mention the Retrobit Prism as an option for NTSC GameCube models! It's a literal HDMI adapter that you simply plug into the pre-existing Digital Out port of the GameCube.

[@HustlerHorstRuediger]

This reminds me to get a new cable for my dreamcast. :D

[@FOXDUDETV]

Homies out there making CRT filters to make emulators look more authentic and homies out there making original hardware look like emulators! God, I love the gaming community.

[@gammaboost]

Funnily enough, SCART wasn't really too much of a thing in Australia

[@R04D3X]

I would love to go the SCART route however with my setup it's just too expensive. I only have a 4K TV and getting an upscaler is too expensive. the OSSC is the cheapest however it supposedly doesn't support my TV with SNES sadly. my options would be to get a more expensive one or get a TV with scart support so for me the best option is to just aim for the HDMI cables which honestly look just as good IMO. still would love to go for scart to represent my European heritage

[@bjwalker1371]

look into the GBS-control. You can order them premade or if you're handy, you can make one for yourself relatively cheap with outstanding results.

[@chanhjohnnguyen1867]

Hey mom can we get my life in gaming? We have my life in gaming at home My life in gaming at home: I’m joking, this was a great video

[@ls190v2]

His voice is so calming & relaxing. 😌

[@Sonnavafitch]

I've been really enjoying my E.O.N GCHD Mk-II for gamecube and their N64 solution as well. It's easiest with my set up to record on the fly. And for SNES I use my Analogue SuperNT which is awesome. Those are the three main consoles I collect for and play, and have a CRT right next to it if I wanna play any of them the original way.

[@lthc_hiryu]

Hey all, SCART here

[@ZeFoxii]

7:46 there is a tone shift difference from the scart to switch. I thought the switch was scart because it was more dull on the house.

[@ZeFoxii]

Apparently in this specific scenario scart has better color accuracy and saturation then hdmi.

[@Pikminer-5087]

I just looked and none of my TVs have a scart connection. Only component and HDMI, I think my 2005 CRT has S-video but that's it

[@BryantheArchivist]

Speaking of nostalgia..I love the look of RF lmao

[@lakojake4215]

You can buy new third party component cables for GameCube now. They aren't cheap, but they're a fraction of the price.

[@SlaughteredDecay]

Scart me middle-school flashbacks.

[@RT55J]

Hey all! SCART here!

[@casualcadaver]

Your not gonna mention how Xbox had component cables for 720p gaming? Original xbox with Component on an HD CRT looks emulated.

[@chipsdonut1]

I wonder what Jon's opinion on options like the carby is.

[@waynetemplar2183]

I use component on my PAL Gamecube, PS2 and Wii. Whereas I use RGB SCART for my PAL PS1 and PAL SNES. As this video states the N64 video output sucks and as I don’t want to hardware mod any of my consoles I use an S-video cable hooked up to a converter that gives HDMI. I’ve also got a Retrotink 5x on the way but that’s mainly for future proofing for when my current TV which has loads of different inputs goes kaput

[@Kniffel101]

I'm pretty sure that by using Swiss you can get 480p out of PAL GameCubes but not sure about whether you're limited to NTSC releases for that.

[@Anthestudios]

100%. I use Swiss to force 480p on my PAL games using an HDMI out solution. No SCART, no external converters and no deinterlacing lag!

[@whispercorner04]

Man... Playing old games nowadays is a mess

[@davebob4973]

ok if you want me to tell you why the bilinear blurring is so the pixels look fit on a modern tv since sometimes the size of them can mess up the pix nvm i just realized i only half know what i am talking about but i will continue anyway the pixel sizing consistency on some spots of it which causes a pixel shimmering effect when the screen moves

[@davebob4973]

also i think the blurring is meant to be seen from a further distance from the screen so its not as noticable

[@Plumtopia]

7:44 the one on the left seems to have some weird sharpening going on, the one on the right looks better for that reason imo

[@flynnneil88]

Thanks Jon, expert advice!

[@epoxxylocktight]

But a genesis games was made with the composite in mind. Just look at the waterfall in Sonic 1. That's only transparent with composite cable.

[@Snoozie]

For the trade off of 50hz you got these babies A soul for a soul.

[@lol-ih1tl]

6th generation consoles do support PAL60. Wii and OG Xbox in particular support PAL60 for almost every game.

[@Snoozie]

@@lol-ih1tl thats 5 generations of 50 hz games still sounds like a trade to me

[@afriend9428]

*SCART is the best sir* ⭐️

[@Mishkobt]

Component is comparable to scart in the states, I’m using a component switcher for my gaming setup. Svideo isn’t bad though, way better than composite

[@jothain]

S-Video was just fine. Especially with shorter cables. But in all instances downright killed composite.

[@kitzibu]

I really wonder whether e.g. the bushes in Sonic at 7:06 were really meant to look like that or the developers actually counted on composite blending to kick in. That was deliberately used in many 8 / 16 bit games.

[@SchoolofRockNRoll]

i never knew the US never had scart. i still have so many scart adapters. i never knew that it was the superior cable lol

[@milestailsnik6174]

480p is possible on scart but you need special scart cables for it and even if not everything supports it

[@b2collects]

amazing video as always, just a note ps3 can do 480p through scart