Atari 800 beige (not XL) composite video question

[NickN]

I bought a composite video to HDMI converter ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZMX4PS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). No luck connecting the Atari to an HDMI TV though. Does the Atari 800 not have composite out? I'm using the 5 pin DIN cable that has 4 RCA male connectors (Luma, Chroma, Audio, and I thought the black one was composite). I've tried 2 different cables that work fine when connected to the back of my Commodore 1702 monitor.

[+DrVenkman]

I bought a composite video to HDMI converter ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZMX4PS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). No luck connecting the Atari to an HDMI TV though. Does the Atari 800 not have composite out? I'm using the 5 pin DIN cable that has 4 RCA male connectors (Luma, Chroma, Audio, and I thought the black one was composite). I've tried 2 different cables that work fine when connected to the back of my Commodore 1702 monitor.

The Atari 800 has not only composite, but also separate chroma and luma signals. However, not all cables follow the “standard” color assignments for video - I have a couple different Atari DIN video cables and each of them uses a different set of color assignments for composite, chroma, luma and audio, lol. So if you’ve verified your 800 can connect to the 1702 via composite, then that is the signal to connect to your HDMI converter.

 

The real problem here is that many computers and game consoles of the 70’s and 80’s produced not-quite-perfect video signals. Remember, this was analog circuitry creating analog output volages to be fed into analog displays. Lots of room for slop in the hardware at every step of the way, and most displays of the era had a plethora of analog knobs to adjust horizontal and vertical sync, color, brightness, sometimes even screen geometry.

 

Not so with today’s digital display technology. Chances are the Atari video signal isn’t being captured by your HDMI device because it’s not quite “perfect” NTSC video.

[gozar]

I bought a composite video to HDMI converter ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZMX4PS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). No luck connecting the Atari to an HDMI TV though. Does the Atari 800 not have composite out? I'm using the 5 pin DIN cable that has 4 RCA male connectors (Luma, Chroma, Audio, and I thought the black one was composite). I've tried 2 different cables that work fine when connected to the back of my Commodore 1702 monitor.

 

I have an LCD TV/VGA monitor, which usually won't sync until I plug the composite or s-video in a couple of times. While everything is on, try unplugging and plugging in the composite a few times and see if you get a picture.

[Magic Knight]

I bought a composite video to HDMI converter ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077ZMX4PS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ). No luck connecting the Atari to an HDMI TV though. Does the Atari 800 not have composite out? I'm using the 5 pin DIN cable that has 4 RCA male connectors (Luma, Chroma, Audio, and I thought the black one was composite). I've tried 2 different cables that work fine when connected to the back of my Commodore 1702 monitor.

 

Heres what i use as a reference:

 

[SoundGammon]

I use a s-video to hdmi for my 800, also for the 2600, 7800, & the 5200!