AV Equipment & Cables Recommendations

Andy King
January 23, 2023, 5:04 pm

Table of Contents

Transcoders

Transcoders simply convert the signal type, not its resolution. None of these devices are capable of downscaling HD resolutions for a regular SD CRT (for HD sources see below for a list of downscalers). The source signal resolution must already be compatible with your CRT regardless of what signal type you are dealing with. You can assume the device supports all input resolutions unless specified otherwise (ex. the LinuxBot NTSC boxes only support 15Khz signals).

Upscalers

Upscalers convert a low-resolution signal (typically 240p/480i) into high definition resolutions suitable for display on a modern LCD/LED/OLED display.

Downscalers

Downscalers convert a high-resolution signal (480p VGA or higher) down to a resolution compatible with a standard 15Khz CRT monitor. It is important to decide if you want your HD signal downscaled to 480i or 240p - most scalers are not capable of doing both. 240p will have thick scanline gaps but text will be hard to read due to the loss of vertical resolution. 480i will have readable text but since the signal is interlaced the scanline gaps will not be as defined and the signal will appear to jitter.

Sync combiners

Sync combiners take separate horizontal-vertical (HV) sync and combine it into a composite sync (csync) signal that is compatible with a wider group of CRT monitors.

  • Extron VSC-200, 500, and 700 series

Switchboxes

Switchboxes allow you to plug multiple inputs into a signal output. These are necessary when you have many consoles but only a handful of inputs on your CRT.

All-in-one anything to anything

SCART

YPbPr

  • gcompsw
  • Zektor Clarity Elite (eBay)
  • Pelican made a component switchbox that can be found on eBay

S-Video/Composite

Cables

Misc

MiSTer

Nintendo Wii U

Nintendo Wii U does not output RGB. You must use a transcoder to get RGB output.

  • All Nintendo Wii cables will work with the Nintendo Wii U (except RGB of course).

Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii (NTSC) does not output RGB without the WiiDual mod. Only early gamecube-compatible revisions of the Wii are able to be modded. Compatibility with cables depends on your mod configuration, consult your modder for which pin they assigned to sync. 480p output is possible over both RGB and YPbPr.

  • SCART RGB for PAL Wii - official Nintendo cable is easy to find and works well. NTSC WiiDual's can use this cable if configured for it. (Note: In later firmware revisions of WiiDual, support for this cable has been dropped. You will have to use the Retro-Access cable below)
  • SCART RGB for WiiDual - default configuration of latest WiiDual firmware uses this cable's pinout
  • YPbPr - HD Retrovision
  • YPbPr - official Nintendo cable is easy to find and works well.
  • S-Video and Composite - official Nintendo cables are recommended.

Nintendo Gamecube

Nintendo Gamecube does not support 480p output unless you have the digital AV port on the back (DOL-001 revision). NTSC models cannot output RGB without the GCVideo modchip. PAL models output RGB natively at 50Hz. You can force 60Hz with Swiss.

  • HDMI - Insurrection Industries - only compatible with DOL-001 revision. 480p output only.
  • YPbPr - HD Retrovision - PAL models (or NTSC with GCVideo) only.
  • YPbPr - OEM Nintendo cable. This cable is grossly overpriced, do not buy it. Just buy a Wii or a PAL Gamecube, the component cables are less than $40, both OEM and aftermarket.
  • S-Video and Composite - All SNES-compatible cables will work fine.

Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64 does not output RGB or YPbPr without modification. I recommend N64AdvancedRGB (or N64Digital if you want HDMI output) regardless of what revision your N64 is. I do not recommend the simple THS3714 mod even if your console supports it, simply because it doesn't give you the option for deblur.

  • All SNES-compatible RGB cables will wok with the Nintendo 64, assuming your sync pin is correct. Pin 3 is generally the standard, consult your modder for clarification.
  • All SNES-compatible YPbPr cables will work with the Nintendo 64 modded with N64AdvancedRGB and configured properly.
  • All SNES-compatible s-video and composite cables will work with the Nintendo 64 .

    SNES (& AV Famicom)

    SNES, AV Famicom, N64, and Gamecube all use the same Multi-AV connector and can share nearly all of the same cables (see notes for each console)

  • SCART RGB (Csync) - Insurrection Industries
  • YPbPr - HD Retrovision - does not work with the SNES mini.
  • S-Video - official Nintendo cables from Japan are highly regarded and cost around $50. Insurrection Industries will be stocking their own cables in 2022.
  • Composite - official Nintendo cables are readily available and are the best.

NES

NES does not output RGB without being modded. I recommend the NESRGB mod but there are others.

Playstation 3

  • RGB output is limited to 480i on the Playstation 3. For HD resolutions you will need to use a YPbPr cable or HDMI transcoder.
  • All PS1 SCART RGB cables should work with the PS3 (limited to 480i)
  • All PS2 YPbPr cables should work with the PS3 (SD and HD resolutions are supported)
  • All S-Video and composite cables will work with the PS3 (official cables recommended)

Playstation 2

  • PS2 does not output csync natively. Any cables that claim to do csync use a sync separator in the cable head to strip csync from luma.
  • Official Sony YPbPr/RGB cables output sync on green when "RGB" is selected in the system menu. Sync on Green is widely unsupported by most non-Sony CRTs.
  • PS1 and PS2 SCART cables are not interchangeable between the two systems unless specified as such by the manufacturer.
  • If you need composite sync or lightgun support please refer to this page.
  • SCART RGB (Luma sync) - Insurrection Industries
  • SCART RGB (Csync) - Retro Gaming Cables UK
  • BNC RGB (Luma sync) - Retro-Access
  • YPbPr/Component - HD Retrovision
  • YPbPr/Component - official Sony YPbPr cables are easy to find and work well.
  • Sync on Green - use official Sony YPbPr/RGB 5-rca cable. You will need an rca Y-splitter to split the green signal for use as sync.
  • S-Video - for best results use official Sony-brand cables. They have a silver sleeve on the cable plugs.
  • Composite - for best results use official Sony-brand cables. They have a silver sleeve on the cable plugs.

Playstation 1

PS1 does not output csync natively. Any cables that claim to do csync use a sync separator in the cable head to strip csync from luma.

  • If you need composite sync or lightgun support please refer to this page.
  • SCART RGB (Luma sync) - Insurrection Industries
  • [SCART RGB (Csync) - Retro Gaming Cables UK]()https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/sony-playstation-1-2-3-ps1-ps2-rgb-scart-cable-composite-sync-CSYNC
  • BNC RGB (Luma sync) - Retro-Access
  • S-Video - for best results use official Sony-brand cables. They have a silver sleeve on the cable plugs.
  • Composite - for best results use official Sony-brand cables. They have a silver sleeve on the cable plugs.

Xbox 360

Xbox (original)

Xbox RGB output is limited to 480i. The easiest way to get 480p or HD RGB from Xbox is to use a transcoder with the native YPbPr output.

  • SCART RGB (Csync) - Retro Gaming Cables UK - limited to 480i
  • YPbPr - official Microsoft cables are readily available for $40. There is also a "box" that Microsoft sold which gives a breakout for YPbPr output. Both are fine.
  • S-Video and composite - official Microsoft cables are readily available and cheap.

Sega Dreamcast

The Dreamcast can natively output up to 480p if using the right cables.

Sega Saturn

Sega Genesis

NEC TurboGrafix

SNK Neo-Geo AES

Hardware Blacklist

These items been tested and reported to have serious design issues with make them strongly unrecommended for purchase.

  • "RGBS SCART to YPBPR Component Transcoder Converter Retro Game Console, RGBS to C" by hipsale on eBay - noisy, wavy output on all tested displays and input sources.
  • Extron CD900 Digital Decoder (NTSC to RGB) - doesn't support 240p, only 480i.
  • Extron YCV 100 (S-Video to Composite) - creates excessive edge/rainbow artifacting for 240p content (E.K.)
  • Kramer 401D (Composite to S-VIdeo) - creates excessive edge artifacts for 240p content (E.K.)
  • Planar Video-Ex (Composite & S-Video to SVGA) - creates excessive comb-like artifacts when 240p content is in motion (E.K.)