NES/SNES/N64 AV Wires

[darthmunky]

How long have you been gaming for? I was shocked that you just found this out now. I thought everyone knew about it. I think I noticed it when I first got N64 in 1996.

[NeverGoBak]

How long have you been gaming for? I was shocked that you just found this out now. I thought everyone knew about it. I think I noticed it when I first got N64 in 1996.

I had the SNES, but I didn't get another nintendo console until the GC, at which point my SNES' power cable broke, and I wasn't bothered to replace it since I wasn't as into retro gaming back then. By the time I got my SNES fixed, I had a Wii, and so the GC was shelved. I noticed after getting my first N64 last week.

[DinnerX]

My TV is very new, came out in the last few years I think. I just found an older tv that has one after rummaging around, so I unplugged everything and took my N64 back there to try it out. I see what you mean . I didn't even care that the TV was in lower quality than I'm used too, the vibrant colors made up for it. Since I only have a few games, I'm thinking of keeping my N64 back there from now on .

I'm going to have to choose between SNES and N64 for the time being though.

I know what you mean. Had an HD CRT TV I was playing my N64 on until that TV broke. Got a Standard Definition TV for free and connected my N64 to it and thought "Wow, the n64 looks way better on this 'junk' TV than on the HDTV." Later I got an Svideo cord and there was another large quality jump.

The main thing is the fact that, while new HDTVs can display very high resolution images, the N64, and most other game systems up until current gen, outputs a standard definition picture. HDTVs take this smaller, lower resolution, standard definition picture and stretch it to fill the screen. They usually do some awful smoothing to the image in some horrid attempt to make the picture look better. This can add lag and always makes the picture look worse to most people, especially for video games which are supposed to be sharp and crisp. Some TVs may have the option to shut this off and some don't.

So in the end a standard definition TV does basically no altering of the N64's standard definition video output, so things look fine and as they were meant to be. You get to see the whole picture as it really is. HDTVs on the other hand blur the N64's standard def video like nobody's business.

Also if you went from a plasma or lcd flatscreen TV to a big old CRT that could be part of the picture difference.