- So if you’ve been getting into RGB hookups for your retro consoles, you’ve probably seen a lot of confusing terminology in your search for cables. Component, SCART, JP-21? and then there’s all this stuff about “sync.” Composite sync, raw sync, pure sync, boosted sync, sync strippers? Is one type good and another type bad? Does it even matter? Throughout our journey of getting RGB video quality out of our retro consoles, we’ve stumbled through this mess of cables and connections and made a few mistakes along the way. In this episode, we’re going to take a straightforward look at what sync really means, the different types, and how to know you’re getting the best type of RGB cable for your gaming setup. (Theme Music) - Video sync isn’t something you’re likely to hear about outside the world of RGB signals, but it’s actually present in all forms of video. You ever seen an image like this? It’s because something is throwing the sync signal outta whack. Sync is a series of continuous pulses that determines framerate, horizontal width, how many lines are in the image, and where each pixel goes along the way. Composite video, usually represented by the familiar yellow RCA connector, combines the color and brightness into a single cable? but it would just appear as an incoherent mess if it wasn’t for an additional signal telling your TV where all the pieces of the picture are supposed to appear. So composite video also includes a sync signal, and as you may already know, combining all of these elements into a single wire from your console to your TV, results in the pretty much the poorest possible image. S-video, which creates a much cleaner image by separating brightness and color information into two wires within the cable, also carries a sync signal? it rides along with the brightness information, more properly referred to as luminance or luma, and abbreviated as Y? for some reason. You might see S-video referred to as Y/C, meaning luminance and chrominance. Then there’s component video. Before we go deeper on sync, let’s take a look at what component video really means. The first thing that comes to mind is the set of red, green, and blue cables that you might use on a DVD player, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, or Wii. You might’ve even used them for HD in the early days of Xbox 360 and PS3, before you had a TV with HDMI. This is usually given the generic term “component video,” but is by no means the only type of component video. More on that in a minute. The color-coding on these RCA-style connectors is actually a little misleading. Under the plugs for component, you might see Y, Pb, Pr? some people call it “Yipper.” Remember how Y represents luminance? Basically, the green cable isn’t carrying green color information at all? it’s luma and sync. P stands for “phase,” and the blue cable isn’t blue color information... it’s the difference between blue and luma. The red cable is the difference between red and luma. The only color left is green, which is deduced by the display based on what it knows from the Pb and Pr signals. Hey, here’s a bonus tip: Need to hookup a DVD player in a pinch and all you’ve got are yellow, red, and white cables? Plug ‘em into different component video ports anyways. It doesn’t matter what color it is, an RCA cable is an RCA cable. You can get video out of a white cable and audio from yellow, blue, or green, it doesn’t matter. These are the analog video connections that are most familiar to people in North America. Most of the time, we don’t even have to worry about if they’re going to work. But there are actually many types of component video? component simply means that pieces of the picture information are carried over separate wires. And unlike the separate RCA cables, the wires are often bundled up within a thicker cable, like SCART. But even when the connectors appear similar, they could be different on the inside. If you’re going to delve into the world of RGB on retro consoles, it’s helpful to know that different types of sync can make a big difference in image quality, or might not even work with your equipment at all. (static) - We use SCART cables with the XRGB-mini, better known as the Framemeister? check out our first video on RGB if you want to learn more about video scaling or the Framemeister. SCART is an analog connector that was common in Europe. The acronym isn’t important? it just stands for the association that standardized it. I’m not even gonna try to pronounce that. SCART is not necessarily RGB or component video in and of itself? in fact, the 21-pin design was intended to simplify the hookup process by accounting for all possible types of video and audio signals within a single cable. If the best a console can provide is composite video, then the SCART cable carries composite video from the appropriate connector pins through to your display. Of course, SCART can also carry the RGB signal that we desire for our retro consoles. Before we move on, let’s briefly talk about this connector. SCART, right? Nope. It’s JP-21, a similar standard used in Japan that’s also capable of RGB video. On the outside, they look the same, but the way it’s wired up inside means that SCART and JP-21 are not compatible with each other. Basically, you should pick SCART or JP-21 and stick with one or the other. SCART is a good choice for us because the cables are more readily available, and it works with the systems that we own. The Super Nintendo is a bit of an unusual situation though, with the Japanese and North American systems being configured only for JP-21, while the European systems only support SCART. In spite of this, SCART is a viable choice for Super Nintendo fans thanks to creative cable-makers who have built Super Nintendo SCART cables specially equipped with capacitors. It’s also worth noting that since JP-21 carries the Japanese RGB standard, and the Framemeister is a Japanese upscaler, we did have to buy a SCART adapter for the RGB port on the Framemeister. With that out of the way, RGB through these cables is technically another type of component video, with the red, green, and blue pieces of the picture information being sent through separate wires within the cable. So the big question is, where’s the sync? Well, the standard for RGB over SCART is that the sync from a composite video signal that is also carried through the cable works for the separated RGB components as well? it borrows sync from the composite video signal without displaying its poorer quality video. Make sense? It’s a lot simpler than we thought at first. But again, the terminology can be very misleading, and here’s something that had us confused for the longest time? maybe you’ve seen terms like “sync-on-composite” or “composite sync.” Sounds like the same thing, right? Well actually, they’re completely different. And there’s more types of sync too. Based on what Coury said a few minutes ago, you can understand how S-video and the common YPbPr component signals use “sync-on-luminance.” The order of the words is very important here. It means that sync is riding along with the luminance. In a similar sense, “sync-on-composite” means that sync is carried along with the composite video signal. So then, what’s the difference between that and the very confusingly similar term, “composite sync”? Well, composite sync actually has absolutely nothing to do with sync riding along with other pieces of the picture information. In fact, in this phrasing, the word “composite” has absolutely nothing to do with composite video at all. Forget about composite video. In this case, what the word “composite” means is that the horizontal and vertical sync signals are composed together, and they run along on their own wire without any additional picture information. The composite video signal isn’t used at all. The reason “composite sync” has to use such confusing terminology is that there’s another type of sync called “separate sync.” This is part of the foundation for VGA, which you’ll recognize as the connection that you used to use on your computer monitor. VGA is also a type of RGB component video? the wires inside not only carry separate signals for red, green, and blue, but also separate signals for horizontal and vertical sync. VGA is also the best way to hook up a Dreamcast. Back to SCART? why use composite sync instead of sync-on-composite? Well, sync-on-composite, even though it is the SCART standard, can have artifacts introduced as the display or device receives and processes the signal? when using these standard SCART cables on our equipment, we sometimes see checkerboard patterns on certain shades of various colors. It still looks pretty great, but on the other hand, composite sync cables clean up the image quite nicely! In addition, Matt Buxton of Video Game Perfection tells us that CSYNC cables fix display issues with older XRGB scalers like the XRGB-2 or XRGB-3? but also warns us that a small number of SCART-equipped TVs might not accept the signal. While searching for composite sync cables, you might see them referred to by various other names? CSYNC, raw sync, pure sync, boosted sync? it’s all the same thing. In our case, we both use Framemeisters with SCART adapters to send the signal into the RGB port. Composite sync and sync-on-composite cables both work in this setup, but we get cleaner results from CSYNC. On the other hand, my RGB-modded N64 can’t output composite sync, only sync on the composite video signal. It’s not really a problem in my current setup, but if I ever implement a switcher or other device that might require composite sync, then I’ll need to do something like get a cable that converts the N64’s sync, or a device like a sync stripper. The bottom line is, if you’re considering RGB equipment, whether it’s a console or a device to receive the signal, do some research on what type of cables and sync might be required. (static) - Now, we are by no means the experts on video sync. Our understanding of it that we’ve presented in this episode is largely thanks to conversations we’ve had with people like Matt Buxton of Video Game Perfection, Retro Console Accessories on eBay, and Artemio Urbina, the developer of the excellent 240p Test Suite. And just like us, you certainly don’t have to understand all of the inner workings to enjoy retro gaming in RGB. But it is helpful to know that while your Super Nintendo, Dreamcast, and PS2 may all technically be using a type of component video, the color and sync information is transmitted differently. And that two SCART cables that look identical on the outside might not necessarily be wired up the same on the inside. We hope that we’ve provided you with enough information to help you get a stronger grasp on what’s going on with all of these analog video connections. Going RGB isn’t an easy journey, but it’s always fun to see these old consoles perform beyond what I used to think was even possible. (Smooth Techno Music)
