Cables discussion

[ZForce915]

I have a 32inch Sony Flat screen TV, will I benefit from different cable to hook up my Wii? Also will it all be wasted if I were to run it through a system selector?

[daroga]

If you have a component inputs, you'll defintely notice a difference over composite, even if you don't have the ability for Progressive Scan.

A nice quality component switcher shouldn't downgrade your signal.

[Blaine]

I say this as my philosophy but not actual practice*...

NEVER use anything less than S-Video and if you can score it, use Component or even RGB (for the Wii that'd just be through the DLink cable). Anything less... would be uncivilized.




*The reason it's not in practice is I honestly only have 2 consoles with RGB and near-rgb outputs: Dreamcast and Wii. I've just never bought an XRGB or a transcoder to use with RGB scart cables. I'm not happy about it, but it's the way it is.

[ZForce915]

So if I don't have HDTV, should I bother with compent? Or should I go to S-Video instead?

[Blaine]

Even if you don't have an HDTV (HD refers to resolution, anywhere from 480 lines to over a thousand lines of resolution) you still may have a tv that accepts component input (component is essentially a modified RGB signal, the fact that it can be used for higher defintion signals is another matter).

So even if you have what people would call standard defintion (480i), if you have the ports for component - use them.

If you don't then S-Video is the only choice.

[Supreme]

What's the best S-Video cable for the Wii? I hate 3rd party products, and Nintendo doesn't have an official cable, so I'm not sure about what brand to trust.

Edit: Nevermind, I'm an idiot. There's a 1st party joint on play-asia.

[Blaine]

What's the best S-Video cable for the Wii? I hate 3rd party products, and Nintendo doesn't have an official cable, so I'm not sure about what brand to trust.

Edit: Nevermind, I'm an idiot. There's a 1st party joint on play-asia.


I pretty much never buy anything but 1st party anything. I'm with you on that. The only time I skate off that path is when no such quantity exists (say, the SNES style GC pads I bought - 'official' but made by Hori) or too hard to find (component cables).

But the honest truth is... when it comes to video cables, one set is pretty much as good as another. Unless you buy dollar store video cables... it's all the same. Very rarely is there a cable that uses exceptional material through out. Even the 'monster' brand cables can be made with modest electronics equipment for a quarter to half the price.

A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link - the internal wiring. Gold plated ends are masturaborty. They'll stay CLEAN, they won't corrode, which is good for a better signal - but they're not giving you a better signal in and of itself, since it's still going to a copper wire in the meanwhile. So unless the wiring is shit... same same.

Monster cables and higher end cables use better quality connectors and wiring (low oxygen content), but there's no magic to it.

The $50 3rd party component cables probably have the same quality wiring as the $20. Just the facts of it.

(Final side note that $100 HDMI/DVI cables are a joke too... it's a DIGITAL connection, again, provided the wiring isn't a couple gum wrappers twisted into a strand... won't be any difference. Get the $10 ones from a catalog).