The New Cables For Classic Consoles Thread

[blainelocklair]

Hello everyone!

 

I couldn't find a thread dedicated to good and bad experiences with specific new cables available for our beloved classic consoles. So, I started this one so we can share information about what we've bought, what worked, and what didn't. I found threads on individual consoles, but no general repository for this information.

 

I'll kick things off with an s-video cable, gold plated and shielded, which I expected to be great for some newly s-video modded consoles. It's the BLUECELL Gold 6Ft S-Video Cable For TV/HDTV/DVD/VCR/CAMCORDER cable by BLUECELL:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SJ2T1G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I bought three. One only outputs a black & white signal. The second outputs jailbars in the picture. The third is in use but wiggles loosely in the very high quality s-video port installed on my console. Stay clear of these "Amazon's Choice" cables.

 

Next up are a set of RCA cables, gold plated and shielded. They are TNP Premium 3 RCA Cable (6 FT) - 3RCA AV RCA Composite Video + 2RCA Stereo Audio M/M Male to Male Gold Plated Dual Shielded RCA Connector Plug Jack Wire Cord by TNP Products:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B4H4TKO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Again, out of three sets, only one is good. One set had two bad cables, and one set had one bad cable. Won't test positive for continuity with the multimeter. Stay clear of them. They've even gone up $1.00 in price, just to make it an even worse value.

 

Ok, time for a great cable at a great value. Here's the Monoprice MIDI Cable - 10 Feet - Black With Keyed 5-pin DIN Connector, Molded Connector Shells:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009GUP7U8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

All five pins checked for continuity with the multimeter. Works like a champ for my Amiga to connect a MIDI controller. This is a proper "Amazon's Choice". There are different lengths for different needs and prices. I bought the 10' cable for $5.99 at the time, but the 15' cable is only $7.08 at the time of this post. This cable is a great value and works like it should.

 

One more really good one, specially for Dreancast owners, is the Dreamcast Audio/ Video Cable with S-Video feature by DreamcastAudio:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000K13H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Because I push all of my consoles through a switcher to a RetroTINK 2x, using VGA is not an option. I've found that this cable works wonderfully well for my Dreamcast. Perfectly good s-video and RCA audio. Another "Amazon's Choice" that got it right. Absolutely crushes the RF adapter that came with my Dreamcast.

 

Well, there's a start. I have some more to add soon. Please share your experiences with buying new cables and your results. I believe it can help us all find the best quality cables for our consoles, helping us enjoy them to their potential.

 

Thanks!
Blaine

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

You didn't mention them, but I have the best luck using the 6ft S-video cables from Radio Shack. Yeap... Radio Shack. And they are pretty cheap to boot on cost. Pretty much all s-video equipment in my game room uses them. Never had one go bad on me yet. As for jailbars, I've got a really thin s-video cable that I was using in the beginning of my retro s-video adventures like 5 years ago and yeah..it was producing bad jail bars. I could never figure out what the deal was and had assumed it was my s-video installation in the consoles until I happen to try a different cable one day.

 

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-6-ft-s-video-cable

Edited March 4, 2019 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[derFunkenstein]

I have not had a good time with that Dreamcast S-Video cable. On my Retrotink (office TV), the video has a very clear grid pattern that's evident from the SEGA logo. It's in the blue. The same Dreamcast with VGA looks great on the OSSC in the living room. It's not the Retrotink because my SNES looks great with S-Video, it's either the way the Dreamcast does S-Video (in which case, yuck) or it's the cable. I'm holding out hope that HD Retrovision will have their YPbPr cables available soon.

 

Folks who want a VGA cable for the Dreamcast would do well with this eJiasu one, as long as you want VGA only.

https://www.amazon.com/eJiasu-SEGA-Cable-Dreamcast-Adapter/dp/B01N67GOSS/

 

Also while we're in the thread, it's worth noting that EVERY current third-party Genesis model 2 composite video cable I've tried in the last two years has R and L audio wired backwards. Red is left and white is right. So just listen to audio in games where it pans one way or another and you'll see if your cable is affected. The Insurrection SCART cable and of course HD Retrovision cables are both fine.

Edited March 4, 2019 by derFunkenstein

[blainelocklair]

-^Cro§Bow^- abd I have had some recent conversations about cable quality and its importance. He mentioned the s-video cables from Radio Shack during our conversation. I looked them up on their website, and I found that they are only $3.99! Not only that, they are buy one, get one free online! I bought three and got three free, including free standard shipping. Unreal (see attached pic).

 

Here's the direct link, get 'em while you can:

 

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-6-ft-s-video-cable

 

By the way, s-video cables at Best Buy are currently $14.99 each, and they are average.

 

Here's another good cable purchase from Amazon, the Childhood 6ft AV TV S Video AV Cable for Gamecube SNES NGC N64 Console by Childhood:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XKP7Q8P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm using it right now on my N64. It has perfectly good s-video quality for my needs. The cables, as they split out to s-video and RCA from the main cable going into the N64, do seem a bit thin. I can't argue with the results of the picture quality, though, and no problems with shorts in audio or video. I'd certainly buy it again for the current $9.98 Prime price.

 

If you have some stories about cables to share, I hope you'll take a moment to post them. It's not the sexiest topic ever, but it matters when you go to hook up your beloved console. Like -^Cro§Bow^- mentioned, you can do a lot of head scratching and hardware blaming for something as simple as the new cables.

 

Thanks, everyone!

 

Blaine

[Mockduck]

If anyone has a good and easy way to get analog coax into a computer that could be picked up by streaming software like xSplit, I would love a real-world experience on it.

 

I have two to pass along:

 

1. TI99/4a 5 pin to RCA out - The old coax input box wasn't working for my more modern tv, so I purchased either this exact thing or something very much like it: https://www.8bitclassics.com/shop/av-cables/5-pin-din-to-composite-av-cable/I can attest that it worked very well, and was a convenient way to get the video into my modern TV.

 

2. PSOne AC Adaptor - The PSOne decided to be cruel and require a diffuclt to get AC Adaptor that runs 7.5 V 2.0 Amp. I purchased a generic of this model on eBay and it worked well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-version-AC-Adapter-charger-Power-Cord-for-PS1-PSone-For-Sony-Playstation-1-/273724527209?hash=item3fbb40d269The price was high but since I'd only paid $3 for the PSOne it was fine.

[Bartman72]

I'd like to recommend the HD retrovision cable and required adaptor for the PS1. Together they go for $80. If the best S-Video connection from a TV to your PS1 rates a B+ on an academic scale, the HD retrovision rates an A-. There is an incremental difference that you won't notice on all games, but when you do there is a touch more definition and some of the PS1 fuzz goes away.

 

This is probably not worth it for someone who occasionally plays PS1 games; they should utilize the backwards compatible PS2 or PS3. But some games like Vigilante 8 are not 100% compatible, and only the older PS1's have parallel ports for gamesharks. And I don't think PS2 cd lasers are very robust.

[derFunkenstein]

I'd like to recommend the HD retrovision cable and required adaptor for the PS1. Together they go for $80. If the best S-Video connection from a TV to your PS1 rates a B+ on an academic scale, the HD retrovision rates an A-. There is an incremental difference that you won't notice on all games, but when you do there is a touch more definition and some of the PS1 fuzz goes away.

 

I agree that it's definitely an incremental difference. I was a tad disappointed in this setup, myself. It's basically no better than S-Video through the Retrotink 2x. Same with the PS2's component video. I have nice PS1/PS2 S-Video cables from Monster, though. Got 'em used on eBay for $6 a set. I imagine cheaper cables may not be so nice. Used them for a while and then splurged, and regretted it. It's definitely an improvement, but not sure it was worth $80. Fortunately the PS2 component cable was super cheap. A new-old-stock Madcatz universal cable for Wii/Xbox/PS2. I might just keep that cable and get a Wii, since I can get 480p that way.

[cybercylon]

If anyone has a good and easy way to get analog coax into a computer that could be picked up by streaming software like xSplit, I would love a real-world experience on it.

 

I have two to pass along:

 

1. TI99/4a 5 pin to RCA out - The old coax input box wasn't working for my more modern tv, so I purchased either this exact thing or something very much like it: https://www.8bitclassics.com/shop/av-cables/5-pin-din-to-composite-av-cable/I can attest that it worked very well, and was a convenient way to get the video into my modern TV.

 

2. PSOne AC Adaptor - The PSOne decided to be cruel and require a diffuclt to get AC Adaptor that runs 7.5 V 2.0 Amp. I purchased a generic of this model on eBay and it worked well. https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-version-AC-Adapter-charger-Power-Cord-for-PS1-PSone-For-Sony-Playstation-1-/273724527209?hash=item3fbb40d269The price was high but since I'd only paid $3 for the PSOne it was fine.

 

I can think of one possible way to do that, but the results may be less than stellar. The conversion of the analog signal to a digital one usually results in a 2 second delay to more. It might be okay for streaming to do reviews during game play, but you will need to have some way to split the signal to a TV so you can see your actions in real time rather than the delay you are going to get on your computer screen.

 

Just so you know.. I am not familiar with the software you are using. Are you trying to do a live stream? That will be a tricky one again because of that lag. So maybe the below is not a direct solution and might need modification.

 

Anyway, I assume you want to get signal out of something like an unmodded older console (2600, 5200, Odyssey et al.). You will need to start with something like this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/CESS-F-Type-Antenna-Coaxial-Adapter/dp/B01FREPEIQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2UQYLXQU9K128&keywords=coax+to+rf+adapter&qid=1552138986&s=gateway&sprefix=coax+to+rf%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-3

 

Then you are going to need to do something with the RF signal. What you need is an RF demodulator, and I am sure you know a VCR can take care of this (that is what I used). If you don't have a VCR or don't want to deal with the bulk of one, then you can get something like this:

 

https://www.amazon.com/CESS-F-Type-Antenna-Coaxial-Adapter/dp/B01FREPEIQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2UQYLXQU9K128&keywords=coax+to+rf+adapter&qid=1552138986&s=gateway&sprefix=coax+to+rf%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-3

 

That gives you a composite signal. The next step is to get that signal to your computer. There are a variety of solutions from external boxes that go to your computer via USB or actual capture cards. I have something like this, but I don't know if they sell it anymore.

 

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_hdpvr.html

 

So one set of wires goes to your TV for a live picture, and the USB cable goes to your computer. Since I was on a Mac, I did not use the software that came with it. I used EyeTV. From there, I could record that stream or just display it on my screen.

 

That is where my experience ends. I didn't try to do a live streaming from the older consoles, and I don't have my older consoles anymore.

 

Maybe this will get you down the right path.

[Flojomojo]

[cybercylon]

33ni4mp09el21.png

 

Seems like every time I toss a cord or adapter, I find that I wish I hadn't 6 months later.

[Tanooki]

^^I felt that way about a video game I never thought Id be able to play about that long ago, now that I have the hardware for it, it's going to be an annoying $30-40 pill to swallow. >:\

[blainelocklair]

I got the Radio Shack s-video cables in over the past weekend. Plugged one up to the s-video modded 7800. A nice, tight fit in the s-video ports and a clean, stable picture. These really are great cables, especially for the price!

[dj_convoy]

33ni4mp09el21.png

Boy, that hits close to home!

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I have not had a good time with that Dreamcast S-Video cable. On my Retrotink (office TV), the video has a very clear grid pattern that's evident from the SEGA logo. It's in the blue. The same Dreamcast with VGA looks great on the OSSC in the living room. It's not the Retrotink because my SNES looks great with S-Video, it's either the way the Dreamcast does S-Video (in which case, yuck) or it's the cable. I'm holding out hope that HD Retrovision will have their YPbPr cables available soon.

 

I actually have one of these cables and I found out why you have that grid pattern. (Called checkerboard btw). The issue with these cables is that they are actually using the Composite video as the chroma input line?! And you will get that pattern when you do this. But...it can also be fixed but it requires you to take the cable connector apart and you have to forgo using the composite. Basically you re-route that composite wire on the connector to the DC side to the proper chroma output pin. Due to the fact that there aren't enough wires in the actual cable harness, is why you can't use the composite after this. Seems the makers decided to cheap out the construction and knew that you could use the composite as the chroma input and for most people it would be good enough so they didn't run a separate wire for it.

 

Once you make that small change, it actually looks pretty darn good on s-video at that point.

[CatPix]

I see a lot of cables here are "gold plated".

Avoid those

For most cheap cable, "gold plated" is merely "yellow shiny paint" which mean it degrades the signal.

Also, gold plated is to avoid oxydation.... but it works both ways. Your TV or video received doesn't have gold plated inputs - and in fact, there are oxidation reactions between gold and other metals when you make current flow through them, so it is in fact a very bad idea.

"Shielded" must ba taked with a grain of salt too.

 

Sure, a big metallic shielding around the cable is a good thing, but if the wires inside are thin small ones then you can have "crosstalk" happening inside. The best video cables have individual coaxial cables inside of them, but that is a bit over the tom. Still, if you plan to have a long cable (like to connect a video game system to a videoprojector on the ceiling) you should use those cables.

 

Obviously it's quite hard to know what gauge the cables you buy are using; but in general you want a gauge that is not too thin.

 

[youxia]

Sorry, but 80$ for a cable is ridiculous. I'd rather live with these minuscule imperfections.

 

EDIT: I just saw an ebay listing asking over 170$ for the Genesis one. This hobby...

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Sorry, but 80$ for a cable is ridiculous. I'd rather live with these minuscule imperfections.

 

EDIT: I just saw an ebay listing asking over 170$ for the Genesis one. This hobby...

 

Assume you are talking about the HDretrovision cables? Honestly i wasn't cool with that price either. But now that I have the ones on my Genesis with the model 1 adapter, my Genesis is by far the best looking console in my setup through the OSSC and I do have good quality RGB cables on the other systems using that method. So I don't know what magic HDretrovision is putting into the cables, but they do work excellently!

[CatPix]

If you have an OSCC, why bothering with the Retrovision cables when it have RGB out with a 5$ cable?

I understand getting the cable if you don't wanna use an OSCC or a SD to HD box, but you're adding an unneeded step. You're doing RGB to composante/composante to HDMI when the OSCC can deal with RGB directly.

Unless the OSCC RGB to HDMI chip is less good than the composante one.

[Greg2600]

I personally get all my cables from Monoprice.com, they are always heavy duty and relatively cheap, too.

[derFunkenstein]

If you have an OSCC, why bothering with the Retrovision cables when it have RGB out with a 5$ cable?

I understand getting the cable if you don't wanna use an OSCC or a SD to HD box, but you're adding an unneeded step. You're doing RGB to composante/composante to HDMI when the OSCC can deal with RGB directly.

Unless the OSCC RGB to HDMI chip is less good than the composante one.

That $5 cable is basically guaranteed to have audio buzzing and tons of video noise, but your point is well taken. You could get similar results to the HD Retrovision cables in an OSSC by buying a $25 Insurrection Industries cable.

 

The HD Retrovision cables are very nice, but their main draw is a CRT with component, not an OSSC.

[derFunkenstein]

 

I actually have one of these cables and I found out why you have that grid pattern. (Called checkerboard btw). The issue with these cables is that they are actually using the Composite video as the chroma input line?! And you will get that pattern when you do this. But...it can also be fixed but it requires you to take the cable connector apart and you have to forgo using the composite. Basically you re-route that composite wire on the connector to the DC side to the proper chroma output pin. Due to the fact that there aren't enough wires in the actual cable harness, is why you can't use the composite after this. Seems the makers decided to cheap out the construction and knew that you could use the composite as the chroma input and for most people it would be good enough so they didn't run a separate wire for it.

 

Once you make that small change, it actually looks pretty darn good on s-video at that point.

 

That's good to know. I'm not likely to do anything with it since VGA is fine and patching games for VGA with a GDEMU clone is trivial, but I'm glad this info is on the internet for folks who have the same problem. I bet that's why a similarly-constructed SNES S-Video cable has tons of noise on my modded SNES Jr.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

If you have an OSCC, why bothering with the Retrovision cables when it have RGB out with a 5$ cable?

I understand getting the cable if you don't wanna use an OSCC or a SD to HD box, but you're adding an unneeded step. You're doing RGB to composante/composante to HDMI when the OSCC can deal with RGB directly.

Unless the OSCC RGB to HDMI chip is less good than the composante one.

 

Funny you should ask this question?! I actually have tried 3 different RGB SCART cables on my Genesis model 1 and none of them look as good through the OSSC as the HDRetrovision cable does. I was running the Genesis through SCART when I first got the OSSC, then I wanted to run the Jaguar, SNES, and my Saturn on RGB as well and knew I had the HDretrovision cable for the Genesis still from my last configuration and thought, " Why not hook the Genesis up with that since I'm not currently using the OSSC's component input?". Once I did I never wanted to go back because the Genesis seriously looks the best of any of my consoles through the OSSC even though it is through component connections.

 

So..that's why it ins't running straight RGB because it still looks better through the OSSC via the HDR cables via component.

 

[DJ Clae]

 

Funny you should ask this question?! I actually have tried 3 different RGB SCART cables on my Genesis model 1 and none of them look as good through the OSSC as the HDRetrovision cable does. I was running the Genesis through SCART when I first got the OSSC, then I wanted to run the Jaguar, SNES, and my Saturn on RGB as well and knew I had the HDretrovision cable for the Genesis still from my last configuration and thought, " Why not hook the Genesis up with that since I'm not currently using the OSSC's component input?". Once I did I never wanted to go back because the Genesis seriously looks the best of any of my consoles through the OSSC even though it is through component connections.

 

So..that's why it ins't running straight RGB because it still looks better through the OSSC via the HDR cables via component.

 

Where did you get the scart cables? The only excuse for this is bad cables or bad equipment. Because technically the method without the conversion is better. Maybe using the HDRetrovision cable includes or is enabling a low pass filter or sync stripper that you don't have in your setup otherwise.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I've got three for the model 1 Genesis. The 1st one was a cheap one I got from somewhere a few years back and tried to use with a scart to component adapter. Never looked good as it produced a dark picture with odd horizontal noise bars across the picture. So I've never used that cable.

 

the other 2 I have tried with my OSSC is a Packapunch cable from Retrogamingcables out of the UK and also the ones from Insurrection Industries. They work and look okay, but it just seems to produce a softer and slightly darker picture as opposed to my HDretrovision cables do. Now to be fair, I do have my SCART devices plugged into a Bainridge 3 input auto switcher. But the Saturn and SNES both look much better than the model 1 Genesis does and no amount of tweaking on the OSSC to setup a profile for it ever looked as good as the HDretrovision cables do. The Genesis is the only console I'm using via component into the OSSC. I also have my Wii connected via component but that goes through my Extron 7SC.

 

So after spending the bucks I have for 2 (good quality cables) and not getting better or even equal results than what I'm getting now, I'm just going to stick with my current setup. The Genesis looks great via component this way and that allows me to connect the Jag, Saturn, and my SNES via SCART RGB. Now if I could just get the SNES to keep a stable damn picture I would be golden?! And yes I've tried at least 3 different cables on the SNES as well and it will still drop out for a second or two randomly no matter what I do. At least that gives me a picture as the SNES doesn't pass the 240p test on my TV. The OSSC is at least able to get me a picture with audio 95% of the time it is on.

[DJ Clae]

That Retrogamingcables scart should have done the job. Some other factor is making component look better.