I need a primer on SCART

[retrosportsgamer]

Raising my hand - not the most technical guy out there. I've searched amazon and eBay for convertors but looking for some additional advice.

I have a SCART output on a modded system. How do I make this work on a CRT that has component (or s-video I guess)?

Thanks in advance.

[Bradtemple87]

Search google for a scart to component converter, but know usually these work as just a bypass

Scart or RGB is better than component anyway

[retrosportsgamer]

Any recommendations for a TV w/ SCART - or is this a monitor only gig?

[Hateshinai]

or is this a monitor only gig?

I assume you are referring to RGB SCART. Back here in Europe most (in not all) of the TVs currently sold have RGB SCART inputs. Finding a monitor with RGB SCART is more difficult. In fact the only one I have has been in my possession for 25 years. Still works like a trooper...
SCART as such is just the type of connector. It can be used to transmit RGB and/or composite signals.

[Anapan]

Depending on if your TV is a SD (up to 480i) CRT or a newer HD (720P and up), there are different transcoders to be able to view your game on it. Most consoles output a 240P RGB signal at 15Khz over the scart connection, some output 480I as well (PS2 for example).
Many newer TVs will not recognise a 240P signal over component, so you might need to use an upscaler on a newer TV. Only some really old computer monitors will accept a 15Khz RGB signal, so at the very least you'll probably need a transcoder.

Here's some info on some good SCART to Component transcoders - and under those are the upscalers:
http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:a ... ranscoders

Since I've tried a bunch of them I'll list the ones I tried in the order of the price I paid:

CSY-2100 - It does exactly what I needed. All my older consoles with SCART capability look perfect on my CRTs.

1084 Amiga monitor with SCART input - I got a good price and games look beautiful on it as well.

My flatscreen does not accept 240P signals over Component, so I needed an upscaler

ArcadeForge DIY Scaler Kit - I got this after my XRGB-3, since I wanted to try the parts separately (the SLG especially).

X-RGB3 - Expensive! Works perfectly as exeryone who has one says.

Of the 2 upscalers, I'd suggest the ArcadeForge one since it's easier to use and much cheaper. Both make my flat screen appear to have perfect CRT scanlines and a beautiful picture, and both can be made to show my games as if they were played in an emulator with large square pixels. Ths scalers only output VGA, so in order to connect them to your TV, you'd need to get an additional VGA to Component transcoder...

Here's some extra info on RGB stuff:
http://nfggames.com/atarilabs/meat/2000 ... imer.shtml

[Bradtemple87]

I run a Sony pvm monitor 20m4u with a scart to bnc breakout cable with external sync

[Anapan]

I run a Sony pvm monitor 20m4u with a scart to bnc breakout cable with external sync

Nice! I've tried to get some PVMs off ebay for a good deal but always get sniped.
You said that RGB is better than Composite; In what way? I can't tell the difference. AFAICT there's no interference, dot crawl, or fringing, and they're both analog so any signal noise could be cleared up by having better shielding and twisted pair wire.

[theclaw]

RGB goes head to head with component. All things equal near impossible to distinguish.

Composite by definition is lossy. The extent massively varies depending on input and output devices. Genesis and Neo Geo are known for their poor method of encoding composite, while HDTVs tend to show finer artifacts CRTs help blur out.

[Bradtemple87]

I couldn't explain it, but Xian Xi, out resident tech EXPERT on the Neo Geo forums swears by rgb. He wrote a big post on a thread somewhere about the differences.

[ApolloBoy]

In composite all the color and brightness information is all squashed together into one signal, so with composite you'll get things like color bleeding, dot crawl and rainbow interference. S-video goes one step further by separating the color and brightness for a sharper picture, but it's still not perfect. In RGB, all three color signals are separated and that provides an excellent picture. The brightness information is carried along with the color information for each channel (red, green and blue) and a separate fourth signal is used to sync the display up with whatever you have hooked up to it.

Component video is different in that it's more like S-video, except that the color information is split into two signals. The picture quality of component is about on par with RGB, although component video can support HD video because it can handle higher bandwidths than RGB.