Rf vs composite and up

[bacteria]

Indeed.

Modding old consoles that only offer RF can be really easy, or do-able with some modding, or the system really wasn't designed for doing it and will put up a struggle. For example (this list is off my head so might not be 100%):

Sega Master System - has a CTX chip which you can tap off composite or RGB directly

N64 - the NTSC units and also French and Australian PAL units can be RGB modded, although composite is of very high quality. Composite or S-video by connection to the a/v pins.

SNES - composite is better quality than RGB (I tried it a while back). Composite by connection to the a/v pins.

Amstrad GX4000 - composite or RGB via the various ports, I am not sure, but think it does S-video too.

GameCube - native composite, PAL ones can do RGB natively, don't think so easy for NTSC

TurboGrafx (PAL) - as with the SMS above, uses CTX chip, which also solves issues with composite on the TG being bad, and RGB needing amplification.

PC Engine - can be RGB modded, although RGB might need amplification

Saturn - not sure, know little about it, although I think composite and RGB modding is very easy

Atari 2600 - getting into hard territory - can be made to do composite with varying degrees of success, some are good mods, not not straightforward

Atari 7800 - also not designed for composite, but there are mods around to composite or S-video - I have bought one such kit and awaiting delivery - lots of modding work though when it comes to make it work

Intellivision - another stubborn system to make composite, and little info on the net to show how to do it or what is needed

ColecoVision - I am sure some of you know the issues I have had on this one! I tried various mods on my unit and the best result I could get was to change the "2" chip to the "1" chip as rather than outputting B-Y etc, it outputs composite natively. Seems to work though on some screens and not others. Again, a hard system, and no guarantees at all. Also, the RF unit seems to fail, as I think mine did, which doesn't help either - these consoles were made as cheap as they could make them.

DreamCast - easy to mod to composite, VGA or RGB; although on the screen I was using, composite looked so close to RGB quailty

PSone - composite or RGB, via a/v port

Jaguar - easy to composite mod, via a/v port

Missed any??

[OldSchool_Boy]

I was using a RF Unit for one of my Saturn's and the image was straight doo doo. I couldn't play more than of a minute of Vampire Savior without switching it out for S-Video.

[MrHealthy]

I still have my old NES RF switch kicking around somewhere. Not sure if I ever used it, I was way to young at the time.

[CRTGAMER]

With all the talk on here about s-video, scart and so on... Am i the only person here that prefers to play NES, SNES and Genesis on an old 90s TV via RF rather then on a newer flat screen SDTV via composite or s-video?

It just looks more authentic and, well, just "better" to me on my old ass 20 inch Sansui that doesn't even have composite (my very first TV btw hehe).

Back when the early Game Consoles came out consumers were not keen on Composite, S-Video or even Component and HDMI. The games were the wow factor, but now we are more aware or spoiled by HD and picture sharpness. As you pointed out there is a nostalgia factor with RF hookup. At the time, the NES was regulated to the bedroom 13 inch RF input only TV while Mom and Dad watched Columbo in the newer living room TV.

[Mr.White555]

My main setup is a 87 Zenith that only supports rf. I have my snes, genesis and ps2 hooked up to it. I refer to as the unholy trinity.
The setup is fine for me. PS2 kinda sucks but the other two are fine.

[Hobie-wan]

SNES - composite is better quality than RGB (I tried it a while back). Composite by connection to the a/v pins.

(NTSC) SNES does s-video out of the box too, and it looks pretty damn good.

[Pulsar_t]

SNES - composite is better quality than RGB (I tried it a while back). Composite by connection to the a/v pins.

(NTSC) SNES does s-video out of the box too, and it looks pretty damn good.

How is composite better than RGB? The mind boggles. And yes you missed the Megadrive/Genesis.

Anyway I'm glad I'm past this kind of talk. I don't hook any old consoles anymore. Bilinear filtering ftw!

[CRTGAMER]

Anyway I'm glad I'm past this kind of talk. I don't hook any old consoles anymore. Bilinear filtering ftw!

One advantage of older console, no mice allowed:

[AARST]

How is composite better than RGB? The mind boggles. And yes you missed the Megadrive/Genesis.

Anyway I'm glad I'm past this kind of talk. I don't hook any old consoles anymore. Bilinear filtering ftw!

MegaDrive does RGB out of the box, you just need the right cable, both models.