Wanting Better N64 Video: No S-Video Port

[Hobie-wan]

N64 doesn't really make much use of those sorts of effects. I think what he's describing is just plain interference. I've never seen anything like on n64 that at least.

Yeah, I think that was mostly confined to the Genesis due to programmers trying tricks to simulate transparency and more colors that it lacked compared to the SNES.

[Jamisonia]

Can you make 16:9 content 4:3? Few TVs do that. I'm saying when the signal comes into the TV its already stretched, and the TV looks at it as though it was 16:9 content. Usually only higher end TVs can fix this problem.

Sure, I can squeeze ps3 games and blu rays down to 4:3 if I really want. Not that I'd want to of course. My TV is hardly high end, it's just a standard consumer model Samsung LCD.

to be honest my N64 looks better on my LCD tv with composite than it does with s-video, when i use s-video it has this horrible checkerboard pattern all over the screen.

This is probably due to the composite tricks the developers used. The checkerboard is what is actually in the game. Composite blurs those patterns together to make a transparency. Funny, I didn't know N64 did that though. I know that was quite common on the Saturn though. So what you're actually seeing is a more accurate representation of the game, for better or for worse.

N64 doesn't really make much use of those sorts of effects. I think what he's describing is just plain interference. I've never seen anything like on n64 that at least.

Well my advice is just horrible in this thread then!

Maybe better s-video cables???

[ninjainspandex]

Well my advice is just horrible in this thread then!
Maybe better s-video cables???

i did i actually bought monster cables and it did improve it a little bit but it was still very noticable, thats why i keep my n64 hooked up to my CRT, if i want to play n64 games on the big screen ill emulate

[AppleQueso]

Is the cable actually plugged directly into the TV or is it going through a switchbox of some sort?

[dtrack]

My LCD TV has every possible kind of input. so here are my experience with them regarding the N64:

- N64 composite gives worse signal than SNES composite -via the same Nintendo branded original cable. It's fuzzy, moving and washed colors.

- S-video gives sharp picture but there is some kind of chessboard that washes colors out too.

- S-video via the first (RGB capable) scart port is sharp, vibrant and no fuzziness.

I have no RGB modded N64 but since S-video over scart looks like other consoles on native RGB scart i don't feel the need of it.

All my consoles are PAL. Hope it helps.

[Jamisonia]

Can someone give an example of where one could find this checkerboard pattern on an N64?

[dtrack]

Can someone give an example of where one could find this checkerboard pattern on an N64?

http://www.micro-64.com/features/svideo.shtml

click on the images then you can see it

[dtrack]

Just ignore the BS about the combo cables. It has nothing to do with the checkboard effect.

[AppleQueso]

Just ignore the BS about the combo cables. It has nothing to do with the checkboard effect.

What does cause it I wonder?

[ninjainspandex]

Is the cable actually plugged directly into the TV or is it going through a switchbox of some sort?

i tried both directly into the tv and through a switch box, the checkerboarding seemed exactly the same.