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Non-NEC Console Related Discussion => Console Chat => Topic started by: nat on January 28, 2008, 07:07:07 AM
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I got an SVIDEO cable for my SNES so I could get super-great picture out of it.
Only the picture sucks. Like, really bad. It's like it's missing half the color information and every other pixel is blacked out. It's very hard to explain. It's almost like in addition to having horizontal scanlines, the picture also has vertical scanlines. And it's not so much that the picture is missing "half the color information" it's more along the lines of the color looks very washed out.
Since the GC and SNES both have the same AV port I tried the cable on my GC and it does the same thing. I don't have any more of these cables to try so I can't rule that out. Since Nintendo uses super-lame proprietary connectors I can't try a normal SVIDEO cable I know to be working.
So, it could be the cable, it could be my TV, or it could have something to do with the way Nintendo systems output SVIDEO. I'm not as technically savvy when it comes to video signals as some other members here so maybe a resident videophile can help me out. My PC-FX and Playstation both use SVIDEO on the same TV though and it looks great.
Do Nintendo systems use a funky resolution or something that my TV can't process correctly? Or do you think it's the cable? The TV was manufactured in 2004. It's a JVC 29" CRT with a flat screen.
For me it seems to hard to believe it could be the cable since isn't there only ONE pin for color in SVIDEO? Wouldn't that make it an all-or-nothing deal (either there is color or there isn't, no half-color nonsense)?
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I got an SVIDEO cable for my SNES so I could get super-great picture out of it.
Only the picture sucks. Like, really bad. It's like it's missing half the color information and every other pixel is blacked out. It's very hard to explain. It's almost like in addition to having horizontal scanlines, the picture also has vertical scanlines. And it's not so much that the picture is missing "half the color information" it's more along the lines of the color looks very washed out.
Since the GC and SNES both have the same AV port I tried the cable on my GC and it does the same thing. I don't have any more of these cables to try so I can't rule that out. Since Nintendo uses super-lame proprietary connectors I can't try a normal SVIDEO cable I know to be working.
So, it could be the cable, it could be my TV, or it could have something to do with the way Nintendo systems output SVIDEO. I'm not as technically savvy when it comes to video signals as some other members here so maybe a resident videophile can help me out. My PC-FX and Playstation both use SVIDEO on the same TV though and it looks great.
Do Nintendo systems use a funky resolution or something that my TV can't process correctly? Or do you think it's the cable? The TV was manufactured in 2004. It's a JVC 29" CRT with a flat screen.
For me it seems to hard to believe it could be the cable since isn't there only ONE pin for color in SVIDEO? Wouldn't that make it an all-or-nothing deal (either there is color or there isn't, no half-color nonsense)?
My GC cable works just fine for me, although now I'm using a unviersal gaming SVIDEO cable and it works fine too.
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I bet that your cable's dying. To rule out your television's S-Video port, hook up a DVD player via S-Video (or try your SNES on another set).
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My GC cable works just fine for me, although now I'm using a unviersal gaming SVIDEO cable and it works fine too.
I'm thinking maybe Nintendo systems output SVIDEO in some kind of resolution my TV can't handle or something. I dunno. Probably not.
I bet that your cable's dying. To rule out your television's S-Video port, hook up a DVD player via S-Video (or try your SNES on another set).
Like I said, the PC-FX and Playstation look great over that same SVIDEO port.
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I just saw a super nintendo (super mario world) in s-video for the first time at my brothers place, we compared it with composite, the difference was dithering became very visible in s-video, dot crawl was gone, and the colors were different, in composite Green was dark, in s-video it became lighter, paler, kinda lime green.
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I'm familiar with the "normal" changes S-VIDEO makes when compared with composite. These are not it.
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I was surprised how much the colors changed when i saw it, almost washed out, well hopefully its just your cable.
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Like I said, the PC-FX and Playstation look great over that same SVIDEO port.
Sorry, missed that part I guess. Go with my other suggestion and try it on another set; if it works fine, then you'll know that your television is most definitely not a snerd.
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I'm thinking maybe Nintendo systems output SVIDEO in some kind of resolution my TV can't handle or something. I dunno. Probably not.
Most SNES games run in a 320x243 window, just like other game systems of that time. If it did the same on your Gamecube, then the SNES isn't at fault. The GC runs in a 640 x 486 window. The cable=problem.
Can you take a picture of what the screen looks like with this cable?
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The SNES' horizontal resolution is 256 or 512 pixels. It can't do 320.
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Nat, what you described sounds like the image I got when I tried hooking up my SNES2 via S-Video, before I figured out that it didn't support it. Maybe something happened inside your SNES?
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The SNES' horizontal resolution is 256 or 512 pixels. It can't do 320.
I said "window", and that includes the borders around the actual graphics.
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"Quote from: My man Nathan, who claims his name isn't Nathan" Hahaha!
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I'm thinking maybe Nintendo systems output SVIDEO in some kind of resolution my TV can't handle or something. I dunno. Probably not.
Most SNES games run in a 320x243 window, just like other game systems of that time. If it did the same on your Gamecube, then the SNES isn't at fault. The GC runs in a 640 x 486 window. The cable=problem.
Can you take a picture of what the screen looks like with this cable?
I'll post one tomorrow.
Nat, what you described sounds like the image I got when I tried hooking up my SNES2 via S-Video, before I figured out that it didn't support it. Maybe something happened inside your SNES?
That would be incredibly lame.
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Are you using a SNES 2?
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No. This is still my original SNES bought new in like 1992/3.
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of course i'm using RGB with my SFC, which again is superior to SVID. but still the differences aren't that big as compared between composite and SVID.
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Still waiting on that pic.
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It is probably the SNES system itself. My friend's SNES had the color go out slowly and then it went black and white. My original SNES starting acting really weird with anything that had to do with Mode 7 (jerked around and was slanted a little), also when playing FF3 the finger selector would go all over the place and then it died completely when I opened it to attempt a fix..... Weird stuff.
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It is probably the SNES system itself.
Doubtful, considering that the cable causes the same problem when hooked up to a GameCube. I'm assuming that the video is fine when nat uses the normal a/v cable.
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It is probably the SNES system itself.
Doubtful, considering that the cable causes the same problem when hooked up to a GameCube. I'm assuming that the video is fine when nat uses the normal a/v cable.
Oh crap I didn't catch the part where he said Game Cube does it also. Was sleepy posting.. bad combo. Well just get a new cable, can't be that hard. I would just buy a multi cable for the PS2, Game Cube and X-box from Mad Catz. It is actually a well built cable. Mad Catz has gotten a lot better in the mid 2000's compared to their crap PS1 and N64 days. They now stand behind a lifetime warranty as it said on the cable's box.
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Still waiting on that pic.
OK, OK, I'm lazy. I get it.
So here's the best example I can find. It's hard to capture a good pic that showcases the problem but take a look at this. This is from the title screen of Super Adventure Island. The "Super" should be a solid color (some shade of red), not dithered. But it's got yellow specs all over which from a distance gives it a washed out look. The same for the blue sky, should be a solid shade of blue. Note how it also is speckled and looks like it has diagonal scanlines running through it. The effect is much more pronounced in person but this is the best I can do with a pic. Also note how the white part in the lower left does not have this effect, and only the normal horizontal scanlines are visible. That's one thing I've noticed-- black and white are not affected only colored areas.
In a game like Super Bonk 2 when you pause the game, the screen goes into a grayscale mode. When this happens the image sharpens right up and all of these effects disappear.
(http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n132/nathall_1/sai.jpg)
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OK, here's another pic that shows more of the screen.
Notice how everything looks like every other pixel is missing and how speckly Wonderboy or whomever the f*ck he is looks.
(http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n132/nathall_1/sai2.jpg)
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One last shot. This is a comparison shot produced by the all-mighty 32-bit powerhouse known as the PC-FX. Same TV, same SVIDEO port. Notice the absence of the "speckled" look and it only looks like there are horizontal scanlines, no vertical or diagonal ones.
(http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n132/nathall_1/lip.jpg)
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I assume this is a CRT you are using?
That does look pretty bad. If the picture "sharpens right up" when it goes into black and white mode, then it MUST be the cable. The chroma if fuxored. There is probably crosstalk. You can get a similar effect if you try to take both luma and chroma from the composite output. I did this with my Genesis once and got a similar result. Basically you're not seeing true S-Video. The composite signal is sent over both luma and chroma cables and the TV is left to deal with it. So when the color goes away, it looks as it should.
Your SAI picture in the cave looks like a printed pic you'd see in an old magazine with the dot-matrix, etc.
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I assume this is a CRT you are using?
Yeah, it's a 2-or-so year old flat CRT.
That does look pretty bad. If the picture "sharpens right up" when it goes into black and white mode, then it MUST be the cable. The chroma if fuxored. There is probably crosstalk. You can get a similar effect if you try to take both luma and chroma from the composite output. I did this with my Genesis once and got a similar result. Basically you're not seeing true S-Video. The composite signal is sent over both luma and chroma cables and the TV is left to deal with it. So when the color goes away, it looks as it should.
Your SAI picture in the cave looks like a printed pic you'd see in an old magazine with the dot-matrix, etc.
Any idea what would cause a cable to behave this way? Physically, it looks fine (no rips, breaks, kinks, etc). I got it on eBay. Think it's worth going after the seller for a replacement?
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If its a workable cable that isnt injection molded completely you can try to redo it. Otherwise,try for a replacement,or get another one by diff manufacturer to be on safe side.
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My guess is that the cable itself is designed to take all video from the composite pin on the A/V port of the SNES and any other attached console (like the SNES2 which doesn't offer true S-video from that port). I am assuming this is not an official Nintendo cable. Bad by design, not by damage. The seller probably shouldn't be blamed since he/she likely plugged it in and it worked. To most people, it works as intended. But to people who actually care about such things, ug.
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I hear a lot about cheap ass S-video cables that aren't true S-video but just composite. This seems to be a problem with some Dreamcast cables that sold at an online store a few years back. Just get something name brand and you shouldn't have any problems. Hell, even an old POS Nyko S-video cable is better off having. Try a Gamestop or EB if you have to for a 3 in 1 cable for PS2, GC and XBox.
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This morning I played a Super Famicom using Gamestop's universal S-Video cable and the picture looked great.
There is a faint kinda grid pattern across the screen, kinda like the effects I see with my modded SMS and Genesis systems, the XMD-2 and similar to the Genesis 2 and CDX picture with a regular AV cable(only barely noticible). Its kinda like your SAI photo, but the dark spots are light spots instead and not so annoying. It didn't look like half the color was missing or anything.
The image remained solid and consistant the whole time. Since the clarity was a huge improvement over composite, I have no problem playing games like this. I couldn't find any of my dedicated Gamecube S-Video cables to test.
This cable was something like $7 at EB if you'd like to try it out.
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Thanks for the tip.
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I ordered an S-Video cable from Monster Cables just now. By all reports this seems to be the best cable. I read many reviews of other cables and found that I wasn't alone-- many people reported the odd "screen door" effect to varying degrees that I experienced. The Monster Cable was the only one with no such reports, but many rave reviews.
I'll post a report when it arrives.
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I got the Monster Cable the other day. It works great. Just for shits 'n giggles I tried the two cables (new Monster cable and the old "S-Video" cable) back to back. Man, that old one looks SO f*ckING BAD. It's even more apparent trying it back to back with the new one. The pictures I posted can't even convey how bad it truly looked in person.
That's such a sham that they marketed that other cable as an "S-Video" cable. I spent good money on it, but I feel I have no choice but to throw it away lest it fool another poor soul.