For years I just used the composite output of my consoles mostly because all TVs supported it but then I wanted to connect my classic consoles to an HDTV and down the rabbit hole I went… The following information is a summary of bits and pieces I found searching for information. It’s just a minimal introduction to get you started.
Composite or CVBS is recognized by the yellow RCA connector. It has a maximum resolution of 480i or 576i. All video information is carried over one channel. The composite cable does not carry the audio signal. This standard has been around since 1955!
Component or YPbPr is recognized by the three RCA connectors, Red, Green, and Blue. Component video supports resolutions up to 1080i and unofficially 1080p. The component cables do not carry the audio signal. This standard has been around since 1969.
RGB provided through your SCART connector (mostly in PAL regions) is an analog signal that provides full bandwidth video information for Red, Green, and Blue. while Component (Y-Pb-Pr) the Green RCA cable carries Luma (brightness) & Sync, the Blue RCA carries the difference between blue and Luma, and Red RCA carries the difference between red and Luma.
SCART recognized by the big 21 pin connector is a French invention and was introduced in 1979. It can carry different kinds of signals and it can be bi-directional. It can carry Composite, RGB, S-Video and it also includes the audio signal. So you can imagine not all SCART cables are equal it depends on what pins are connected. It’s a bit like SCART is the early analog version of HDMI 🤭.
Most classic consoles provide Composite and an RGB signal both can be provided through SCART, if you want the sharpest image from your classic console you should get yourself an RGB SCART cable. Be aware though that because Composite was so widely used back then developers used its blurriness to add transparency effects, you will lose those if you switch to RGB SCART. Below is an example of such an effect. Look at the waterfall in the pictures below to see the difference.
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Composite -
RGB
Game-consoles that support RGB SCART are; Sega Master System/Mega Drive (Genesis), Sega Megadrive 2 (Genesis 2), Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Super Nintendo, Nintendo Gamecube, Sony Playstation/Playstation 2, SNK Neo Geo, Atari Jaguar.
Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox, I think should better be used with a Component cable because it will provide you with a higher resolution.
Now, what about two of my other favorite consoles, the Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64? The NES provides RF and Composite out. The Nintendo 64 (PAL) provides Composite and S-Video out. Both consoles can be modded to give you RGB and even an HDMI signal. I choose to mod my consoles to RGB because all of my other consoles are connected this way. If you just use one or two consoles I would say use the HDMI mod. The Nintendo 64 RGB mod comes in a few different flavors, I will write about it and how I modded mine in another post.
When most of the classic game consoles you use are connected with RGB SCART you will probably want to use an automatic SCART selector. There are a few good options out there. Be sure to not buy the cheap ones as they can cause all kinds of problems with the video signal or even damage your TV or other consoles. Examples of good SCART switches are gscartsw and Hydra these are still available and properly designed. Reading about SCART selectors/switches I also found the Bandridge 5 port SCART switch. It’s available as a manual and an automatic switch. It seems to be a good cheap candidate but too bad they are no longer being produced. I did however find a couple of Bandridge 3 port SCART switches. I have been using the Bandridge for a year now and it works just perfectly. Not all Bandridge switches are without problems though, you can read about this on shumps.system11.org
When you look for RGB SCART cables you will probably notice some price differences. Mostly the cheapest ones are not of great quality… I did buy a cheap cable for my SNES and it did not work correctly. The image was just too bright which is odd because it is not a 1Chip console (also a story for another post). While searching for a solution I found eviltim’s website that has all the correct diagrams. Looking at the diagram I quickly learned I was sold an NTSC cable not a PAL one. I just had to remove the capacitors and replace them with 75R resistors.
Okay, now you know the difference between Composite, Component, and RGB video signals. If you want to go with SCART RGB cables and if you want to use a modern HDTV or VGA monitor you will have to go down the rabbit hole just a little further and look into upscalers like the OSSC or RetroTINK. There is also a nice DIY upscaler I wrote about, the GBS-CONTROL or if your lucky and your TV supports it you could use a SCART to Component transcoder. Anyway 🍻 and happy gaming.