Component cables get too much praise? Too hyped?

[Marc_LFD]

So I bought an official Wii component cable for my Wii, and a HD Retrovision for my PS2, plus a component box switcher, component cable to connect both, and a component box to HDMI converter (all that wasn't cheap)... But turns out the picture quality while it is better than composite, it didn't "WOW" me like I expected (read it was the "definitive way").

And here's one who says it makes it look "awesome":



I wasn't expecting a HD experience, just an improved PQ than that (it's sharpened, somewhat better detailed, and such).

If I really want to play it with better graphics then it's better on an old TV or via emulation:

 

[TyBlood13]

Kinda depends on the Component to HDMI converter you got. If it's not also an upscaler, your TV is going to do that to varying results. Your PS2 also has the disadvantage of being almost always in 480i so somewhere in your chain of devices that signal is getting deinterlaced which depending on the method can really messup the picture, even some upscalers made for video games don't do this well (My OSSC doesn't). I'd recommend the YouTube channel My Life in Gaming, they're videos do really nice side by side comparisons to show you the difference.


Overall it really depends on your preferences for original hardware. If you're okay with emulation, I believe you're more likely to have a better and cheaper experience doing that.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Kinda depends on the Component to HDMI converter you got. If it's not also an upscaler, your TV is going to do that to varying results. Your PS2 also has the disadvantage of being almost always in 480i so somewhere in your chain of devices that signal is getting deinterlaced which depending on the method can really messup the picture, even some upscalers made for video games don't do this well (My OSSC doesn't). I'd recommend the YouTube channel My Life in Gaming, they're videos do really nice side by side comparisons to show you the difference.


Overall it really depends on your preferences for original hardware. If you're okay with emulation, I believe you're more likely to have a better and cheaper experience doing that.

Yeah, it's at 480. I read GT4 runs at 1080i so I'll try that.



I got so excited thinking it'd look amazing, but no, it doesn't. I wish others wouldn't be tricked like I was.

 

[Zajumino]

Your expectations are a little high, I think. How things look is sort of subjective, and I would recommend against blindly trusting a random 14-second youtube video with no details or explanation.

All analog signals are going to have some degree of imperfection, but component is the most accurate, and therefore looks the "best"
Emulators should be basically 100% accurate, and you might be able to optionally emulate artifacts. So in a sense, emulation is actually the real "definitive way"

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

"worst graphics are actually better" Lol

To be honest, I don't think it should "Wow" someone. Component cables just allows for progressive scan signal that allows it to be more closer to digital output. Instead of the old interlace signal which most people probably remember from recorded vcr, vhs tapes or a camera pointed at a crt. It probably won't help as much for improving the look of things during the era of 240P/480P. Another thing to add is that it won't improve the graphics, just the visual quality that outputs from the console. No more jittery interlace.

During that era, that was the time where we American or as the systems would go by NTSC standards. Where me personally only ever had those RF or composite cables. Using those made the games what they are, and a product of their time. Now and days you can use RGB mod this S-Video and scart cable that, when I never even had those to choose from. Just use whatever the console came with. Good old Red white and yellow.

When I said they was a product of the time, there is theory or speculation that these games graphics especially 2D pixel games had been graphically designed so that when it's presented on a screen using composite cables, the "lower quality signal" will play a part in how it looks. Dithering is one of them. Some consoles didn't have true transparency effects. (Look at sega's consoles for example) So they use dithering in water that when seen on composite output tv, it looks transparent, or can even create rainbow effects. Using it in the sky could make color gradients that the console limitation itself was technically unable to as well. The composite signal blends the dither pattern, which basically breaks or reveals it with higher quality signals like RGB mods, S-video, component, or HDMI Also lots of ps1 games used dithering as well, and those include 3D games.

 

[smf]

Component cables are great because you can use higher resolutions and they still work with DVD player, while RGB cables don't support either.

Composite or svideo are a lot worse.

 

[krakenx]

I got an HDMI adapter and an upscaling cable for my Wii. It doesn't look anywhere near as good as Dolphin, but it's noticibly better than composite.

 

[toolazytosearchitmyself]

I haven't used retro hardware for ages now but I found the difference between composite and S-video to be huge. I was never able to use RGB because I didn't have a TV which supports it and for whatever reason the image would vibrate if I used component cables on the Wii.

Maybe you're having the same problem where your TV supports the signal but isn't really designed for it and doesn't display it all that well.

After fiddling with actual hardware, I concluded that I wasted my time and money and would have been better off using emulators.

 

[Hanafuda]

Does your TV not support direct component input? I bought Wii component cables off Monoprice a long time ago and the difference was huge, but those cables plug directly into the TV. No HDMI converter, no switchbox.

 

[DarknessPlay3r]

The TV/Monitor itself can have a huge impact on it as well. My Aorus FO48U (an LG C1) isn't great for low resolution/low refresh content. 1080p looks awful when compared to my old 1080p 52" Samsung.

 

[Xzi]

Yeah it's not at all worth the hassle if your TV/monitor doesn't have native component input. Even in the short period of time when those cables were relevant, it was clear they were nothing but a stopgap. If you wanna play PS2/Wii games on an HD screen, emulators make them look great after you bump up the internal resolution. If you wanna play them on original hardware, just get a display that supports native composite. After my flatscreen CRT died I picked up an early 2000s Dell monitor from a thrift store, and retro consoles look fantastic on it.

 

[JeffRuLz]

I use component cables on a CRT and I love how it looks, it's really clean and sharp. S-video is also very good but in my experience it tends to bleed colors, especially reds. I'd say the jump from composite to s-video is larger than the jump from s-video to component.

I've never tried to hook up an old console to an HDTV but SD content never looks as good as it should on a new TV. Whenever possible it's best to display video on a screen with the exact same resolution.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Does your TV not support direct component input? I bought Wii component cables off Monoprice a long time ago and the difference was huge, but those cables plug directly into the TV. No HDMI converter, no switchbox.

Nope. It's one of those newer TVs where they got rid of the component cable ports, I tried looking for it and couldn't believe they removed it.

Post automatically merged: Mar 6, 2023

Wow! Gran Turismo 4 in 1080i could have passed as an early PS3 game and PS3 players would have been happy to have a filler GT game at that time, too bad Sony didn't do it.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

As noted, it's more likely the component->HDMI converter you're using than anything. Modern TV upscalers are pretty much terrible, without something dedicated to it anything that's not natively 720p or higher just isn't going to look great on any modern TV.

It's why I prefer just having a CRT with native component/RGB support for real retro consoles instead of investing money into convertors and such, the results are never going to look as good as they could. Not a good option for everyone, since CRTs are huge and bulky, but if you have the room and you find one for free or cheap (though good luck with that, now that everyone and their grandma knows their value these days), it's definitely the best option.

 

[duwen]

Does your TV not support direct component input? I bought Wii component cables off Monoprice a long time ago and the difference was huge, but those cables plug directly into the TV. No HDMI converter, no switchbox.

^ this. My PS2 looks awesome via component output direct to the component input on my 4k Sony Bravia. As did my Wii using official Nintendo component cable (before it got replaced by my Wii U with HDMI).

Sounds like the issue is more likely to do with the HDMI adapter or whatever is doing the upscaling.

 

[Anxiety_timmy]

For me, component is actually a very good option for some of my older systems as I still don't have the skills for a hdmi mod on any of my consoles. I would use emulation but if I wanted too I wouldn't go out of my way to try and get the best output out of a PS2. I'm also kinda lucky in the sense that my tvs upscaler isn't complete garbage.

 

[Marc_LFD]

I had the image stretched to 16:9 so there's that which makes it worse and I've set it back to the original AR of PS2 - 4:3.

4:3 AR content stretched to 16:9 just doesn't look good, anyway. I'll set it to 16:9 when I play GT4.