Do retro games absolutely need to be played with s-video/component? 99% of players used composite back then, but now everyone seems to think it's awful.
CRT vidya
just use a CRT shader and emulate like a normal person.
Get an OLED if you're feeling fancy.
We had an RF convertor box that plugged into the antenna port on the TV. We had to tune our games in like a station.
Composite and s-video didn't come out for several years.
shader
Shaders could never
composite looks awful but if it's the only option you have then go for it.
what console are we talking about here?
s-video/component is not necessary at all. They look better than composite, but composite is still nice.
No thanks, I like using the actual hardware.
Do retro games absolutely need to be played with s-video/component?
No, but they look better. So if you can get them, it's worth it as long as they don't cost too much. S-video on N64/Playstation games on a CRT is like putting on glasses for the first time if you're nearsighted. But on my Sega Genesis, Composite doesn't really look that much worse than Scart w/ an S-video adapter. And my RGB modded Famicom was the worst financial mistake of my life.
NES, SNES, Ps1, Ps2.
all of those either have RGB mods or support RGB/Component out the door.
if you want the best picture, I truly recommend outputting to a crt or bvm with some properly shielded cables, but honestly even the shitty cables you can get from amazon will look better than composite or rf.
you can still do some pretty cool stuff with rf tho, like wirelessly connecting to it if you plug in an antenna, looks like absolute shit but you can output to multiple crts at the same time.
They used composite because the cable came with the console and for most people that was as far as they thought about it. You in 2025 don't have to follow their ignorance.
What do you mean "need"? Many retro systems don't even support those.
If you mean "should I use them", then yes, you should. If you're going to the effort of buying old consoles and hooking them up to a CRT, you should use the best video format available.
unironically this
t. gdm-fw900 enjoyer
poor
For me it depends on what I'm playing. I flick between composite, s-video and SCART depending on what I'm doing and how I want it to look at the time. Sometimes I want my anime razor sharp, sometimes I just want to watch 80s anime in composite. Just do you.
Absolutely not. Older games were meant to be played with composite/RF. Using component makes them look really weird and breaks certain dithering effects. This applies to come consoles more than others, like Genesis. I only use component for tv/movies/anime or PS2/Gamecube. To improve composite, use a premium rca cable to reduce possible signal noise and turn down the sharpness setting in menu to hide dot crawl.
Also some tvs have better composite than others, it depends on the comb filter and other things.
The Genesis itself has terrible composite output, and every revision is worst than the last.
Some transparency effects on a waterfall and in some tubes in Sonic is not worth the awful picture quality. Especially if you don't even really play Sonic.
Psst...nothin' personnel, kid...
Sonic isn't the only game and it's not just a few effects here and there that break, everything looks rougher.
everything looks better
I've never really understood the whole PVM/BVM craze (mostly because i'm a emufag and don't care for original hardware) when you can cop plenty of high quality CRT PC monitors off facebook for pretty much nothing. You get the high resolutions you get crazy refreshrates you get the amazing geometry. Why are people so fixated on these things?
I've used composite for the longest time and I've never felt the need to switch it up.
I don't really see what I'd be missing out on when I'm just wanting to enjoy the games.
Because they're the best CRT's ever made.
You can appreciate the sprite art with a clearer picture. Genesis bleeds reds like crazy over composite. Very messy picture.
I'm not autistic or anything about it, I like the compromise look of S-Video. It is warm and kind of fuzzy, but doesn't bleed and the details are all there. Have my SNES/64 set up that way.
Genesis doesn't support S-Video though, so it is either an extremely rough picture, or razor sharp RGB. I choose the latter.
PVMs and BVMs (BVMS in particular) are the pinnacle of CRT technology and objectively the best way to play original video game console hardware (Gen 1 - Gen 7). If you're emulating on a high-end PC, the sky is limit and you can play that on a high-end 4K OLED.
No.
If anything, you will be losing some probably purposeful effects from the developers abusing from the low resolution.
For example the FF5 introduction goes from a blurry picture to a sharper one when it goes from full blue to color.
99% of players used composite back then
Lol, no. Like 75% used RF. Most of the rest used composite.
That said, s-video looks great and isn't usually all that difficult to get as opposed to component or RGB.
objectively the best way to play original video game console hardware (Gen 1 - Gen 7)
No, that's your subjective opinion.
cope
Genesis is pretty easy to S-video mod.
A good comb filter can make composite more bearable. Lots of 2000s TVs had them.
They also tend to have been fucked half to death with insane hours on the tubes and the "i know what I have" kids will still put them up for sale with pictures showing the thing undergoing vertical collapse and extreme misconvergence and warping on the corners. Meanwhile I bought a new in box 19" monitor for next to nothing the other day and it's mint.
I mostly emulate onto a TV with a CRT Emudriver set up I have but plug it into a monitor when I want 480p (for dreamcast or wii or something) or the game I'm playing highlights the pretty shitty horizontal linearity my TV has. I would own a PVM/BVM if all the ones in my area didn't obviously need me to do a full recap and service on the thing just to get it to look as good as my PC monitor.
Unironically playing on component or RGB complete ruins any argument for playing on CRT in the first place.
svideo is fine.
I've been playing PS1 lately, suppose it wouldn't hurt to see if it does make it look any better beyond placebo
No, but I like to play them on s-video. I had never even used it before until I snagged some s-video cables for my PS2, and the jump in quality appeared so drastic to me that I only use composite when I have no other choice now.
Buying a PVM (well, an SSM) is some of the best money I've ever spent on old video games. Everything I play on it looks great.
Why are people so fixated on these things?
They look cool.
They're also very, very nice CRTs that are easy to plug old consoles into. That's definitely what pushed me to get one vs. just using a VGA monitor instead.
Composite is really where you want to be for the PS1 because the PS1 had a chip dedicated to slathering the entire screen in dithering to make up for its 15bit colour output. The intent with the dithering was to cover up the colour banding by having the lower quality video signals smear it together.
Try S-video/Component with MGS1 or Silent Hill and you'll see just how much the composite input is doing for the presentation of the game. In Silent Hill's case it quite literally breaks the visuals.
I played MGS on s-video just the other day and found it didn't really ruin the presentation at all, but you're obviously right that the dithering is there with composite in mind.
They also tend to have been fucked half to death with insane hours on the tubes and the "i know what I have" kids will still put them up for sale with pictures showing the thing undergoing vertical collapse and extreme misconvergence and warping on the corners. Meanwhile I bought a new in box 19" monitor for next to nothing the other day and it's mint.
Ok and some random tv might have an old rats nest inside it, shit examples are shit examples. PVM's were very expensive and they were made with best components available and made to last. The companies buying them wanted top of the line equipment and that's what they got.
Yeah I could see how Silent Hill would be messed up but I can't remember any particular visuals in MGS1 that wouldn't benefit from being a bit sharper
No and don't believe the nerds who tell you otherwise. The difference is basically imperceptible unless you're an sperg.
it's like night and day
S-video looks way better than composhite. You're blind if you can't see it.
No and don't believe the nerds who tell you otherwise.
Truth.
The difference is basically imperceptible unless you're an sperg.
Lies. It's easily perceptible, just mostly negligible.
Try S-video/Component with MGS1 or Silent Hill
Done. It looks great. Composite is a shit cheap cable they stuffed in every box. Nobody who was into home theater stuff in the 90s would be caught dead using it.
Composite isn't the cable, the cable is RCA. And home theaters have nothing to do video games.
Anyone doing HT moved to HDMI as soon as possible.
HT != videogames
If you're using Component or RGB for consoles, you might as well be using HDMI on a flat panel. You've already lost all the advantages of a CRT with exception of speed.
And home theaters have nothing to do video games.
I knew that would trigger someones autism. Anyone who was into tech and getting the most out of their set up did not use composite. It's a trash signal for the soccer moms of the day. The dads who went to radioshack twice a week and were interested in what their TV could do upgraded their cable.
you might as well be using HDMI on a flat panel.
Looks like shit.