Is the JVC TM-13U any good?

Video Games
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Sorry this turned into a “Help Heyman980 find a CRT” topic.

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Would you guys recommend using scart cables and transcoding them to component or getting component out of the console?

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If it’s easier to get component then do that. Visually there’s very little difference to the naked eye between the two, so whichever is cheaper and easier, do that.

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Are component switches easier to find than scart switches?

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not sure, perhaps someone else can answer that. from my limited experience, I would say no

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In that case, I may transcode scart.

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I will! Would you rather me share it earlier with composite video, wait until the component cables arrive, or both?

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As for sharing, I think comparisons are always great so you could take some shots of games in composite as well as component!

RE: RGB vs Component
I do a mix of component and s-video myself. I chose component because A) I already had cables for Wii, PS2 and Xbox/360 B) it was what was on the TVs I was using and C) component switches sometimes also support s-video and composite which I use for N64, NES, and my VCR. I bought three HD Retrovision cables and a Saturn adapter for about $200, which was cheaper for me than buying a GSCART, Transcoder, and cables at the time.

I can see the merits of using RGB if there is no good component option (does PC Engine support it?). Otherwise, I’d go with component.

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Oh, in North America, I disagree with that. Component switches are a lot easier to find than scart, especially used on ebay.

Personally, if this was 10 years ago, I’d say use a transcoder to go from SCART to Component.

But today, a lot of aftermarket solutions have come out to get component straight out of your old consoles. Personally, I would see whether the consoles you intent to hook up have an aftermarket cable that could handle it and just go with that.

HD Retrovision is a great option.

If there are really any old consoles that could do SCART only and there is no aftermarket solution, then I stand corrected (I actually haven’t researched this myself). But component in NA was so much more ubiquitous, and so much more progress has been made over the years to produce Component-native cables, that it will be more convenient in the long run.

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There are some very obvious pros to both an all-scart and all-component or a mix of svideo/component setup:

SCART:

  • Most enthusiast products are geared towards using RGB SCART – buying into that ecosystem means you’ll have an easier time finding high quality cables, transcoders, switches, etc
  • If you are swapping in systems it’s just one quick connection
  • Easiest to transcode to other formats if you end up with a non-component TV down the road, for example Axunworks makes an excellent SCART to s-video transcoder

Component / mix with svideo:

  • Can easily get OEM cables for most systems that natively supported it
  • There are very high quality cables for non-native systems from HD Retrovision, which are only a bit more than the most commonly recommended SCART cables
  • If you’re in the US/Canada it’s more common
  • Cable connectors are more robust and designed for abuse
  • Can usually go no-mod, for example N64 and GameCube both natively do s-video if that’s an option
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I’ve heard of the Monoprice switch being ubiquitous a while back and fairly cheap but now that’s not being manufactured anymore and hard to find when I did my cursory search

but yeah, the only console I can think of not having a component option is the Dreamcast, and even that has a cable in the works by HD Retrovision. the only reservation I have about them is the cost of their cables. comparable quality SCART cables tend to be much cheaper

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So scart equipment is easier to find but component is more universal?
I also don’t mind modding.

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SCART equipment from enthusiasts is easier to find brand new but tends to be expensive. Vintage component stuff is easier find used (in the US) but quality is inconsistent.

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I own two of those Monoprice component switches. They aren’t good. Audio gets messed up and video that has sudden cuts to bright white screens causes sync dropouts.

Since then I’ve switched to using Philips manual switches model SWS2325W/27 – they’re a lot better and do s-video switching as well, which is great because I tend to use s-video more than component these days.

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There’s that sure.

But BNC switches are a dime a dozen. And all of those are basically as good as native component switches.

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Would you suggest scart or component?

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I don’t think you can go wrong either way to be honest. At the end of the day, the image quality will be identical. It’s just taking different roads to get to the same destination.

Maybe list all of the consoles you want to hook up to it in the future? It could help to determine what would be the easiest setup.

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I don’t have all of these consoles, but here’s the list:
PS1, Sega Genesis, SNES, PC Engine, Neo Geo, NES, SMS, Saturn, N64
Any of your favorites missing?

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It would probably be easier to grab SCART cables and then convert to component at the end of the chain with this selection of consoles.

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Do you know of any good convertors?