Hi all,
I’ve recently been getting to all the amazing games I missed in my childhood due to being in ‘a Nintendo household’. It’s been amazing experiencing these time capsules of entertainment on their original hardware.
The ‘trouble’ I’m however having is the age old issue of video inputs and outputs. I picked up an old Sony TV that has a bunch of inputs so I can connect all my systems at once and don’t have to replug things. The issue is that it’s become a bit of a mess due to the TVs limited inputs:
- Dreamcast -> Composite
- PS2 -> Component
- GC -> Composite to SCART
- Wii U -> HDMI
This results in wildly different video quality across all systems.
How do you keep your consoles connected? HDMI mod them all and connect them to a modern TV? Do you even do that or do you just swap out whatever you are playing at the moment? Or should I just play everything on PC.
Most online posts talk only about getting the best video quality from one connected console, but the prospect of having to buy 4 OSSCs seems a bit daunting.
Bonus question: hoe do you manage the Audio?
Dreamcast could do more than just composite, but if you don’t have the necessary cable for it already it’s gonna be hard af to get now.
I use an RCA switch. 4 input and 1 output. Also easier to change an input on this box than on the TV.
Has a very satisfying tactile click to the buttons.
Something like the retroTINK?
https://www.retrotink.com/shop/retrotink-2x-pro
The 2x accepts component, composite and s-video and outputs HDMI.
You can get adapters for the PlayStation and GameCube that go right to HDMI, just plugs in to the port in the back.
There is also a dongle for the SNES that works the same but requires usb power. It works well.
Personally, I emulate anything that I play on a modern display and run that straight through HDMI, or DisplayPort depending on what the display accepts.
If I am playing something older, I usually have a working console for it, but if I don’t I still emulate it. If I have a working console, I plug it into one of my CRTs via composite (RCA) as that is the input my CRTs accept and the most common output on consoles of the time (like HDMI is today). If the game I am playing is on a console that I have that no longer functions, I emulate it and output via HDMI to an RCA adapter and plug that into one of my CRTs. This has some delay but it is not noticeable to me.
Sometimes I have fun playing modern games on a CRT in 480p with the same setup. The graphics look really good since I can max everything out with a good framerate, but the text and UI is basically unreadable, even with max UI scaling in most games. They just don’t make them with low resolutions in mind.
I used to have an a/b switch that I kept my n64 and ps2 plugged into. Just had to hit the button on the box to change inputs. Nowadays I just use my Steam Deck docked to my tv.
I don’t have all my stuff plugged in right now, but when I did I used an AV switch or an AV receiver. For Dreamcast and Xbox, I recommend using VGA video if you can swing it, significantly improved video quality. But it’s getting difficult to find screens that take it as an input anymore.
I go component or svideo for everything, whatever is easiest. Get a svid or component switch box and hook everything up.
Replying so I don’t lose this thread- I am genuinely interested in an answer.
Theres some interesting all in one machines on amazon. Take a look and see what applies.
