S-video worth it?

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jkam

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Does s-video connect to the regular a/v port or do you need a composite port in the back of the cube? Is it worth the upgrade?
 
The regular composite port on the back of the gamecube is the regular a/v port. The S-Video cable will be the same as the composite cable, just with the Yellow end replaced with S-Video. As far as it being worth it, yes, it's totally worth it.
 
A standard yellow rca (aka composite) cable peaks out at 280 lines of resolution. An s-video jack, can push over 400 lines of resolution. So I would switch!
 
[quote name='freestyledust77']A standard yellow rca (aka composite) cable peaks out at 280 lines of resolution. An s-video jack, can push over 400 lines of resolution. So I would switch![/QUOTE]
Composite does a full 480 lines. The reason why Composite isn't as good is because of the compression scheme used. S-Video has a larger bandwidth and can utilize a different method of compression that doesn't lead such nastiness as dot crawl and washed out colors.
 
Sorry I actually meant did I need the digital a/v port like I would if I used component cables. From the responses I'm assuming that I would plug the s-video cable into the regular a/v port and not the digital one. Am I right in that thinking?
 
[quote name='Trakan']You don't need the component port. Only the composite.

EDIT: Make sure to buy the 1st party cables.[/QUOTE]


my 8 dollars svideo cables work fine. i wish nintendo would have made the system AA enabled , well I think it is but maybe 1x instead of the 4x+i am use to on the PC.
 
Yes but on composit your stuck using the tv's built in comb filter to seperate the color and black and white signal vs. on s-video (and the same for component) os that you are sending a pure signal from the device at hand. that means you are not pushing the signal together and then pulling it back apart at the other end of the cable resulting in a pure signal
 
[quote name='freestyledust77']Yes but on composit your stuck using the tv's built in comb filter to seperate the color and black and white signal vs. on s-video (and the same for component) os that you are sending a pure signal from the device at hand. that means you are not pushing the signal together and then pulling it back apart at the other end of the cable resulting in a pure signal[/QUOTE]
If by "pure signal" you're refering to a raw RGB signal, you're getting into different cables. S-Video still compresses the signal. However, S-Video compresses the signals far less resulting in more signals with less data loss. The data loss seems to be due to crosstalk between all the signals in the composite signal.
 
[quote name='Trakan']You don't need the component port. Only the composite.

EDIT: Make sure to buy the 1st party cables.[/QUOTE]

I've never noticed a difference in official or unofficial cables. I currently have third-party s-video cables for all my systems and they look great to me.
 
My third party cables suck in comparison to first party cables. They're either intec or mad catz (can't remember what brand Target Sells). Whatever the case may be, I can't whole heartidly recommend third party.
 
I got some Monster cables for like 10 bucks at Gamestop a while back. I used those to hook my cube via S-video. I've got a great picture.
 
Actually, component cables still look best even if you aren't running progressive... I got some $5 cables off eBay for my PS2 and it looks better than I ever imagined.
 
[quote name='Trakan']You don't need the component port. Only the composite.

EDIT: Make sure to buy the 1st party cables.[/QUOTE] That's good advice.

I blew 10 dollars on some Intec cables, and they actually looked worse than my first party composite. Everything was super grainy and there were lines through my TV.

I'm sure you CAN find good third party cables, it's just riskier.
 
Does anyone know if the GameShark Universal S-Video cable is any good? That's the only one they sell at BestBuy, but I can't seem to find any information about it at all online. Or how are the Mad Catz ones that I'd have to pay $1 more for?
 
It also makes alittle difference what tv you are using, but on my 27" flat tube panasonic tv from about 6 years ago svideo made a very noticalbe differnce in games especially fonts are easier to read less blocky. I used the following cable avaialbe at bestbuy and circuit cities, old buddy has a cheap 1 year old 27" APEX tv and he used this cable and he says he even notices a difference.


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6785543&type=product&id=1089890861266


It also has like a 16' cable length so I can have my gamecube by the coach for disc swaps on Resident evils and Tiger Woods.

I tend to agree with others, you get what you pay for so buyign cheapy Madcatz stuff may show poorer quality.
I use pretty thick more expensive 12 guage speaker wire on my surrounds and you notice a difference over 16 guage monster junk.
 
Well,

A) More expensive S-Video Cables are irrelevent. I just discovered recently that it's all in what type of cable it is. If it has only on plug for a particular system, then most cables should retain relative parity. However, if it's one of those three-in-one doohickeys, you're in for a world of pain (or lowered quality)

B) Thickness of the wire for the audio and video equipment in question is a matter of looks and EM shielding. Unless you have a perpetual EM storm floating behind your TV, or some gigantic Power Inverter back there, thinner, cheaper cables should work just fine.

C) In audio equipment, distance is the determinant of audio quality. For long distances, you will need some thicker wire, but more often than not, 16 gauge wire will sound exactly the same. Anyone who says otherwise, I hold into that special category of "audiophile" who believes they can tell the difference between an $800 receiver and a $900 receiver.
 
Keep in mind that when using Cerwin Vega floor model speakers and and a dts equiped amp rated constant 80watts per channel not that RMS junk, guage of wire does matter. Now buying one of those 100 dollar surround in a box system guage wire doesn't matter. The guy I know with the APEX tv originally bought the cheapest madcatz he could find and he didn't see any video quality increase of the composite video feed however after buying the s video I use he did notice a difference. Of course everyones experiences differ as well as opinions, as alway YMMV.

the thicker guage a wire is for home theatre equipment means less resistance the signal has and less signal degradation you have. And remember back when THX meant something and to get a THX certified system you had to have a certified person install the system, those systems sounded unbelievable, the highs and lows in movies of course back the the best video format was Laser Disc.

Any who, have fun gamecubeing it, one the best game system out I think, and we got off on a tangent sorry about that.
 
[quote name='mercilessming']Keep in mind that when using Cerwin Vega floor model speakers and and a dts equiped amp rated constant 80watts per channel not that RMS junk, guage of wire does matter. Now buying one of those 100 dollar surround in a box system guage wire doesn't matter. The guy I know with the APEX tv originally bought the cheapest madcatz he could find and he didn't see any video quality increase of the composite video feed however after buying the s video I use he did notice a difference. Of course everyones experiences differ as well as opinions, as alway YMMV.

the thicker guage a wire is for home theatre equipment means less resistance the signal has and less signal degradation you have. And remember back when THX meant something and to get a THX certified system you had to have a certified person install the system, those systems sounded unbelievable, the highs and lows in movies of course back the the best video format was Laser Disc.

Any who, have fun gamecubeing it, one the best game system out I think, and we got off on a tangent sorry about that.[/QUOTE]

I think speakers are a different story because the cable isn't only carrying signal, it's also carrying power to vibrate the speakers. Maybe that's just some speakers though. I don't know whether the fancy expensive ones you're talking about have a separate power source or not.
 
bringing back an old thread.

so is S-Video better than Composite? I bought a Dreamcast recently and it came with S-Video cables (used system). I just ordered a set of composite cables for cheap, but I am wondering if that was the better decision now. I am currently running my system through a 27" LCD set.
 
[quote name='asianxcore']bringing back an old thread.

so is S-Video better than Composite? I bought a Dreamcast recently and it came with S-Video cables (used system). I just ordered a set of composite cables for cheap, but I am wondering if that was the better decision now. I am currently running my system through a 27" LCD set.[/quote]
Composite cables are the cables that come with the system. (Red/White/Yellow)

Component cables are superior to an S-Video cable. (Red/Green/Blue)

S-Video will give you a better picture than the composite cables.
 
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