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Page updated on Thursday, 09-Jun-2005 22:05:44 Cen. Australia Standard Time by Chronomagister
Improving Your Video Game Experience
All game consoles have a variety of video connections available. The average western consumer is generally clueless about this, and continues to use their horrid quality connection. Video game consoles that come with video cables bundled, always have included either RF or standard stereo AV cables for connecting to a TV. These always provide some of the worst quality available. The exception is in Europe where some consoles have come with SCART cables, mainly france due to it preventing a bigger headache with SECAM televisions.
A basic list of video connections and their details, in order from relatively bad to good.
| Name | Definition | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| UV RF | SD | Old coax antenna connection, though Nintendo still supports it in Japan at least |
| UHF RF | SD | Coax antenna connection you use for any TV reception, still it's as bad as it gets for games |
| Composite | SD | Now the most common format found on $50 to $50000 displays |
| S-Video (Y/C) | SD | Quite a good format for lower quality equip |
| RGB SCART | SD | aka Euro socket, so it's a common European plug also found in Australia |
| 21 Pin RGB | SD | Looks the same as SCART, different pinout however. Older Asian format. |
| VGA (RGBHV) | SD/HD | What computers use, also an alternative to YPbPr for high definition systems |
| Component (YPbPr) | SD/HD | The new popular connection, found on most HD equipment. Not perfect, but a decent "default" connection. |
| D-Video (YPbPr) | SD/HD | Japanese variation of component, carries additional data including resolution, scan rate and picture ratio. Originally for BS systems. |
| DVI-D / DVI-I | SD/HD | Digital interface, mainly used in computers. Supports analogue video throughput for backward compatibility. |
| HDMI | SD/HD | HDMI is a new connection for consumer electronics that allows for forms of analogue video, digital video and audio |
The main setup the majority of TV game consumers can make is moving from the provided composite AV cable to s-video. Even the cheapest display units on the market have s-video input today. We have a graphical comparison of s-video and composite video connections with video games.
Coming soon... for now try http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/paulgun/xbox/video/. We have some ripped Xbox HD images.
Upscan converters, also referred to as VGA boxes generally are for using a console or other video source on a PC monitor. This range from crappy $50 items to industry quality $5000+ pieces. All current game consoles have their own raw output which can be generally be converted in VGA, avoiding the need for an upscan converter. If you are using an upscan converter then be sure to input with an RGB signal, otherwise YPbPr if unavoidable (ie. Xbox). If your upscan converter doesn't take these inputs then it's a piece of trash anyway, go buy something decent.
Sites with information on the pinouts of game consoles.