1986 (!) TV with (weird) RGB input (!) ... Should/Can I use it for my cab?

[ARTIFACT]

... and if so, how?

Here is the story.

My neighbor had bought a high-end TV in 1986 and had used it until about 4 years ago, when she bought a new one.

The TV has sit in a garage for years but still works.

It has "wood" panelling (!) and everything... looks classic... anyway the COOL thing is that today I realized it has an RGB INPUT! I have never seen this specific type of connector model though, so I'll probably go take a picture and post it here to see if one of you knows the connection diagram to possibly replace it with a standard RGB output.

Perhaps it's even the type found inside arcade cabs, I don't know because I am an arcade newbie and haven't seen the guts of a real arcade monitor yet.

It's a Mitsubishi, and looks like it is a 27".

The big question is: would I get a better result than with my cab's 27" Sony Trinitron w/ S-Video.

[ARTIFACT]

funny, Wikipedia says that RGB was designed in 1987, and this TV has "1986" written on it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VGA_connector

Gotta go take some pictures..

[MonMotha]

Yes, it will look better: quite a bit better for many games.  If it's a (rare) US TV with a SCART socket, be aware that most such TVs do not actually support RGB via the socket (many don't even support S-video).

The connector was only designated in 1987 perhaps (though I gather it had been in use by the studio industry for a while before that), but the RGB colorspace goes back to the beginning of color video reproduction.

[ARTIFACT]

ok

the connector label actually says "RGB CONNECTOR" in big letters

I know SCART from my time in Europe, and this is no SCART ... it's very small... kind of like a PC RGB connector, but smaller it seems, 2 rows of pins and it looks like it's only slanted on 1 side.

I need to go over there and check it out... I wonder how hard it'd be to hook up to my laptop to "test" things there (and not kill myself carrying it home only to find that it won't work for me)

[johnnya]

It's probably some sort of VTR connection. I doubt it can do analog RGB, only digital. I have a TV with a VTR connection, and I was sad to find out it wouldn't work for me.

http://www.labguysworld.com/Connectors.htm

[ahofle]

It's probably some sort of VTR connection. I doubt it can do analog RGB, only digital.

Digital RGB in 1986?

Please take a picture of the connector.  Maybe it's DB9.  I just got rid of a presentation monitor that had a DB9 RGB input.  I had to hack a VGA cable and splice it into a DB9 cable using the pinouts from the monitor.  Worked like a charm though.  You will definitely need to somehow find the pinouts for that thing.  If it works, you basically have an arcade monitor there. 

[ARTIFACT]

woow

ok next thing will be some pictures of the thing

stay tuned

[Level42]

Of course you will get a MUCH better picture compared to S-Video. S-Video has all the color info mixed. RGB is every color seperate, exactly how the CRT "wants" it.

That is also why RGB signals have been around from the very start of color TV's, in the end fase, where the TV signal are completely decoded, there you have the RGB signals that were amplified and then run to the electronbuns on the CRT.
However, since there was no devices providing these kind of signals until much later, there was no connection made for it (in the US even untill today, regretfully for you guys).

The first SCART connectors appeared on TV-sets in 1977. SCART has been mandatory on every TV-set sold in France from january 1980. I think it's one of those times that government enforcement was a fantastic thing happening ! Since then, the SCART connector became the main connection on all TV sets, VCR's, DVD players etc in Europe and still is today. HDMI is just starting to take off now...

Anyway, let's have a picture of that connector. Remember you won't be able to directly feed it with a VGA signal unless you use software like Soft-15Khz !!

I've replaced the monitor in my Galaxian with a regular TV-set and connected it through SCART and I promise you that there is NO way you can tell the difference between an arcade monitor and this picture. After all, an arcade monitor is just a TV-set without a tuner. Since RGB bypasses the tuner completely, you have exactly the same.

In fact, using TV's is about the best option for replacing/using monitors on cabs here in Europe. First, real "arcade monitors" are hard to get AND very expensive here. Second, CRT TV's are VERY cheap (both new (€100) and used(€30)) and are plenty around since people are buying flat TV's like crazy.And ALL of them have SCART

I remember that Mitsubishi was a well known brand for multi-standard TV's back then, so it would figure that they included RGB...let's have that picture

[ARTIFACT]

picture coming asap ... give me a day or so

Yes I had PERITEL stuff for YEARS... I know what you are talking about

I'll definitely use Soft-15Khz if I get to plug to this TV to test things.

THANKS for the support!