SVideo on TV any good?

[shfifty]

i think s-video would look fine with mame. component or rgb would be nice, but s-video seems to be a lot more common. I'm using s-video with my snes and it looks great, so i'm guessing mame will have a similar look too

[Epyx]

There is a big difference on a TV-out circuitry quality in video cards. The video cards could accelerate the images, and it produces a higher quality of the media.

True but the thing all tv-out circuitry shares is that it is a compressed/squished image that doesn't look as good as the native arcade RGB.

i think s-video would look fine with mame. component or rgb would be nice, but s-video seems to be a lot more common. I'm using s-video with my snes and it looks great, so i'm guessing mame will have a similar look too

If you *have* to settle for S-Video fine...it is ok...not great but passable...just don't visit any real arcade machines or play on your friends if he has a real monitor...the difference is night and day.  If you are going to spend the resources on an arcade cabinet then buy an arcade monitor or at the very least an LCD...my order of preference would be:

1) Arcade Monitor RGB/SCART TV
2) LCD Monitor
3) Component TV Out
4) S-Video TV Out

But really I would never really consider 3 or 4 again after having experienced 1...and failing 1...i would just go for an LCD.

[WhereEaglesDare]

Well I just got my cab working and I had to use SVideo out of not being able to find an affordable alternative and I dont see anything wrong with it, the cab had a arcade monitor in it when I got it and to be honest I dont think I can tell the difference, in fact I think that the svideo may look better than the monitor did, well I know it did because the monitor had some brightness issues, but if Component is much better than it has to be phenomenal because this looks really good.

[Epyx]

So if you took a screenshot of Castlevania on Nestopia on your tv it would look as good as what I posted earlier in the thread to your eyes?  Same with the Rygar intro?

If you can't see the difference then everyone else's opinion is a moot point and just enjoy it

And I mean that...not intending to sound like an ass...the difference to me is obvious, if it isn't to you...who cares just have fun! 

[WhereEaglesDare]

So if you took a screenshot of Castlevania on Nestopia on your tv it would look as good as what I posted earlier in the thread to your eyes?  Same with the Rygar intro?

If you can't see the difference then everyone else's opinion is a moot point and just enjoy it

And I mean that...not intending to sound like an ass...the difference to me is obvious, if it isn't to you...who cares just have fun! 

good point I forgot that you posted those screen shots...  I am keeping my eye out, and I still have the monitor from my cab (needs work).  I might build a cab around an LCD but there is no reason to put a LCD in a full size cab and have even more empty space.

[erictrumpet]

Everyone seems to categorically reject composite (RCA) as an option. I was just given a free 27" Sharp TV with only RCA video in, and was planning to put it in a cab. The reason I like this TV is that it fits perfectly into the project cab, it has extreme screen curvature (authentic-looking), and has a very shallow tube so it will fit in the cab without sticking out the back. Also it would be the largest screen I have ever put into a cab, so I am excited about that possibility. I have not tried it yet so I don't know how it will look using composite video in. Oh yeah, and my vid card outputs S-video, so I would have to use a converter box! Should I even bother, or will it look absolutely terrible?

Eric.

[Epyx]

or will it look absolutely terrible

Composite will look terrible and S-Video will be "ok" but....

so I am excited about that possibility

who cares...you are excited and that is what this hobby is about!  

[dgame]

Seeing is believing. Pictures online usually don't show how good a proper standard res RGB CRT can be for our hobby.

However, I can remember the first time I hooked up a MAME computer to a TV using composite. I was completely blown away.

It was less than arcade quality but better than a LCD. I say use the best of what you have or can get.

[Epyx]

Seeing is believing. Pictures online usually don't show how good a proper standard res RGB CRT can be for our hobby.

Agreed.  Although, I would love the "S-Video is as good as RGB" crowd to take the same pics I did of Castlevania (including the zoom ins) and post them for a comparison. I am confident that the results would be easy to see without having to be in person.

I know it sounds stubborn and really i have said that if it makes you happy fine (and I mean it) ...but throwing out a "S-Video is barely different from RGB" is just getting peoples hopes up and not good relaying of information.  The Rygar picture on page 1 shows it as well.  The OP question was "SVideo on TV any good?" and we have all rushed to give our opinion...all opinions are valid as opinions but fact is fact

[Smeghead]

Now that my cab is finished more or less, I can tell you my opinion, and that is that S-video rules!

I was worried about blurryness but I needn't have
Sure, windows desktop in 640*480 looks fuzzy and its hard to read, but all the games including laserdisc games are as sharp as ive ever seen at an arcade.
Im very happy with my setup - 25" tv and cheap PCI-E video card over S-video

For the price, you cant beat it

[Epyx]

Now that my cab is finished more or less, I can tell you my opinion, and that is that S-video rules!

Opinion - Valid

but all the games including laserdisc games are as sharp as ive ever seen at an arcade.

Opinion - Valid...only if the arcade you visited used S-Video tvs in their cabs...which may be a possibility?

If this isn't the case it borders on misinformation as I stated above. S-Video is NOT as sharp as RGB arcade -> Fact

FACT Support

- S-Video is compressed and/or squished and/or stretched and Interlaced and does not match colours perfectly
- Arcade RGB is progressive and pixel perfect and displays colours as programmers intended


Yes, I can be a stubborn ass but people new to the hobby read these threads and I just want to be clear on the separation of fact/opinion.   

[Smeghead]

well ok then, thats why i was careful to use the word opinion

maybe its the spit, gum, grime and cigarette ash on the real arcade monitors, but my s-video connected tv is as sharp as I can remember them being

Certainly would qualify as "any good" as the topic was questioned

Getting all techinal, sure RGB has to be better, I can see that difference on my HDTV using gold plated components vs Svideo

[Epyx]

Certainly would qualify as "any good" as the topic was questioned

I agree.

Getting all techinal, sure RGB has to be better, I can see that difference on my HDTV using gold plated components vs Svideo