S-video connections for DC + Saturn

Alexvrb

Established Member
OK, so I purchased a new TV the other day. It's not a high end TV by any means, but its pretty sharp and a huge improvement over my old TV. It's a 24" Apex Premium Pure Flat. I only paid $200 for it new at best buy. The main reason I bought it is because of the large amount of connections it offered, most TVs in the 200-350 price range don't have 2 s-video connections. The cable TV reception is of course the same, but the picture is clearer. There are no problems there.

Anyway, I don't know if its the TV or my cables, but I'm having issues with connecting my Saturn and Dreamcast to it. I'm going to have to eventually test it on the other TV downstairs with s-video (it's in a TV cabinet, so its a pain). I've got a Saturn s-video cable with 3 connections (L, R, S-vhs) and the Dreamcast one has 4 (L, R, video, S-vhs). I don't think either one is first party. The Saturn looks spectacular on the TV. I'd declare it perfect - but a teeny bit of the screen on the left is CUT OFF! Not enough to cause any big problems, but it annoys the hell out of me. As for the Dreamcast, its not cut off anywhere as far as I can tell, but the image is screwy. It is not that it isn't sharp. I can't describe it, and I have to get to work soon. Bah, I'll take pictures with my digicam later. It almost looks like its trying to display something interlaced on a progressive TV, perhaps, if that's what I'm thinking of.

Could the cables be the problem, and where would be a good place to buy first party s-video cables (saturn and/or dreamcast)? Also, why do some Dreamcast S-video cables have the video connector (in addition to S-vhs), and others do not? If anyone can think of anything or has experienced similar problems, I'd appreciate any info. Like I said I will take pictures later, I don't wanna be late.
 
well I would definately like to hear the results of the testing on the other TV

that will really narrow down where the problem is coming from

but no, I haven't had any problems with mine. and I use Svideo for both DC and Saturn
 
Remove the video cable eh? Why, is the cable a dual A/V and SVHS? Well, i'll try that now regardless!
 
Sweet, that worked! Thanks KiDdErZ!! I tested it without the SVHS cable, and it worked just as a standard RCA cable. So I guess it is a dual RCA / SVHS after all. I guess the only other TV I used it on simply ignored the video cable while the SVHS was plugged in. Wow, for $200 new this TV is excellent! It has something called "Velocity Modulation" that makes everything sharper and clearer. Very nice. I didn't know Saturn could look so good.

The only problem left is that my Saturn SVHS output still has the left side cut off a bit. I've switched the inputs its using with the Dreamcast, so I know its not just those inputs. Since all my other devices work fine, I'm thinking it might be the cable. I'll eventually test it on the other TV, but my main concern (the screwy DC visuals) has been taken care of. Although, while I'm here, does anyone know where I could buy a nice brand-name set of SVHS Saturn cables?
 
Umm...if the image looks perfect OTHER THAN for being cut off on one side then there is nothing you can do about it. The TV is just overcompensating the overscan on the side and as such is cutting some of the image off. A new cable would not help at all. Just a new TV.
 
Most tv's have a service mode which you can enter, usually by patching in a secredt code into the remote. This opens up all sorts of crazy options, particularly handy are screen geography options where you can move the image around, and change the vertical and horizontal stretch amount. This would be handy fo you to get the screen centrered, it's also handy for pal gamers (like me) because you can stretch the image out and git rid of nasty boarders. Do a search on the net to find the code for your TV and please be careful - if you don't know what a certain option does do not save it after you have tweaked it, you can permanantly fuck up your tv.
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As for the actual cable - i have a few cables like that which have both svideo and composite connections, just leave the composite out if you're using svideo, it's just there in case you want to use one or the other like if you take it to a mates place and he doesnt have svideo etc.
 
For the record, the 'cut off on the left' issue is an inherit problem of the Saturn itself. I get it on my SCART on all TV's I've ever used it on.
 
Originally posted by Shakey Jake33@Jun 30, 2003 @ 02:14 AM

For the record, the 'cut off on the left' issue is an inherit problem of the Saturn itself. I get it on my SCART on all TV's I've ever used it on.

Hmm, i'm using a PAL saturn too.. but i only get that in some tvs.. can't really find a pattern though.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I'm not terribly sure what to do, I've had it work fine on one of the other 2 TVs I tested it on. But again, no pattern. Also, none of my other consoles show any such issue with S-video. I'm going to test it with composite and eventually plain RCA - do you think that'd solve the issue? I'm loath to even downgrade to RCA, I may just live with the slight cut-off. It produces excellent visuals. Now all I have to do is get component cables for my new Xbox + PSO.
 
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