Gamecube component cables$$$$$$$$$!

[corn619]

Why the hell are Gamecube component cables so fucking expensive? And do they work with models? I have a black GC and would love to have a component display. There so expensive would anyone know where cheap ones can be bought?

[skate323k137]

short answer, I'm almost positive that there was never an off-brand set, and only a limited number of the official ones were made. To know if your cube will work with them, look on the back for a "digital out" port next to the port your A/V cables are plugged into. newer cubes don't have the digital out for the component cables.

I remember hearing that you still have to use the a/v cable for audio, but that i'm unsure of.

[RadarScope1]

They're way more expensive than the console itself!

[MrPopo]

Yes, they're expensive. If you don't have a Wii, they're totally worth it (otherwise just run component on the Wii). And yes, you still need to use the AV cables for audio. The component cable only carries the video signal.

[elvis]

Why the hell are Gamecube component cables so fucking expensive?

The GameCube doesn't generate a component signal internally. It outputs a raw digital signal that needs to be converted by a small DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter [1]) inside the GC component cable [2]. The DAC itself is what you're paying for.

Nintendo took this measure as a way to make the core console cheaper. At the time their research suggested that customers wanting component out on the GC was a very small percentage ("less than 1%" [3]), and it wasn't worth the extra cost on the console itself for 99% or more of the market that didn't want/need the feature. As per the [3] link, they even removed the digital out all together post 2004 to reduce manufacturing costs even more.

The Wii, by contrast, does have the DAC internally (given that we live in a world of mainstream hi-def acceptance now). So the component cables for it are merely copper wires without a DAC.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to ... _converter
[2] http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:nintendodigitalav
[3] http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/system ... nt_faq.jsp

[baphomet_irl]

ahh

is that why the RGB cables are so expensive too?

[elvis]

is that why the RGB cables are so expensive too?

If they're using the digital out, then yes.

I'm not sure how the GC's standard analogue multi-out works. I know it takes the same connectors as a SNES and N64. But I also know that on the PAL SNES and all N64's by default nothing is wired to the RGB lines. Although it's trivial to break open the console and connect them directly to the internal chip.

I do know that the GC's analogue multi-out will not push a 480p signal. So RGB from it is limited to standard interlaced PAL/NTSC (576i@25/480i@30) signals.

[D.D.D.]

Why the hell are Gamecube component cables so fucking expensive? And do they work with models? I have a black GC and would love to have a component display. There so expensive would anyone know where cheap ones can be bought?

I guess I got lucky when I found NIB Nintendo-made component cables for $3 about 6 months ago.

[corn619]

Why the hell are Gamecube component cables so fucking expensive? And do they work with models? I have a black GC and would love to have a component display. There so expensive would anyone know where cheap ones can be bought?

I guess I got lucky when I found NIB Nintendo-made component cables for $3 about 6 months ago.

Very lucky

[Niode]

You are probably better off just getting a Wii. All the games that supported progressive scan mode on the GC will work the same on the Wii. Some games require you to hold A during boot up for it to work though others just detect the component cable and ask if you want to use progressive scan mode.
(remember to switch off the flicker filter in super smash bros for a nice smooth picture!!)