Chocolate-Milk wrote:Cheeky Devlin wrote:I would warn though that once you start to notice things like this, it's really easy to fall down the rabbit hole of trying to get the best picture quality you can out of every system which can get real expensive real quick.
https://www.retrorgb.com/ - This is pretty much my go-to site for details on how to get the best out of just about every system you can think of. Always worth looking into, plus they cover a lot of the goings on in the modding and retro-hardware scene.
I'm beginning to realise that! I've already got a GCHD on my shopping list, and the pile of MegaDrives in the spare room are starting to look at me funny!
It always starts small and before you know it you've spent hundreds on cables and upscalers.
If you have several Nintendo systems
the RAD2X cables from
https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/ are a good place to start. The Nintendo one is compatible with anything that has the old Multi-AV connector and takes the best signal it can from each system (Which is RGB in all but one case), line doubles it to 480p and outputs through Mini-HDMI. So SNES, N64, GC and the AV famicom can all be easily played on modern TVs at their best picture quality with one cable. Only downside is that N64 doesn't output in RGB (Unless modded), so you only get composite from it. It's a great value prospect as it costs the same as the other RAD2X cables, but works on 4 different systems. There are other RAD2X cables for other systems, but they generally support fewer systems each.
It was what I started with and I've since graduated to an OSSC (Open Source Scan Converter) which takes RGB SCART and Component inputs and does mostly the same thing. It's universal though so I can plug just about anything into it as long as I can get RGB or Component from it. That cost me about £145, but it's been worth every penny and I'm very impressed with the results. It can also take the 480i signal that PS2, GC and Xbox sometimes output and convert it to 480p, which removes a lot of the really annoying "flickering" that you sometimes get with those 480i signals.
My whole retro AV setup is pretty convoluted at this point now, but I've got it mostly plug and play.
The only other thing I would add is that unlike HDMI cables where a cheap cable is going to give you as good a signal as an expensive one (HDMI versions not withstanding), analogue cables are far more variable. They can be prone to interference from other cables, power sources, wireless signals etc. So in most cases you get what you pay for and a lot of the cheaper cables you find on Amazon/eBay can be pretty shitty. In the worst cases they can even damage the hardware. Definitely look at reviews for the items and if you can afford better cables, go for them.
https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/ is a fantastic source of high-quality cables and they're well worth the higher cost you might pay.