I’ve always been very particular about getting the most from my consoles. Case in point: RGB SCART connections. Ensuring my PS2 is kitted out with a proper 21-PIN SCART and plugged into the RGB compatible SCART socket of my TV is of genuine concern to me. The visual difference between a composite signal and an RGB output is, to my eyes, black and white. Anyone who regularly turns on their PSX and watches the red ripples travelling down the side of the ‘P’ of the Playstation logo will understand what I mean here. It’s the same effect that I noticed when I first turned on my Amiga 500 and observed the side of the blue workbench disc icon gently undulating. I was positive that this was not a deliberate choice on the part of the manufacturers but some kind of compatibility issue betwixt console and telly and it bothered me like an unpicked scab on a child’s knee.
Years passed before I had the savvy to take action against this visual annoyance and even then the epiphany was a result of nothing more than happenstance. I lost my old PSX composite cable to the same vortex that greedily gobbles up all my stationary and plectrums, bought a new, non-Sony SCART replacement, plugged it in and bam: crisp, ghostless edges and pure, vibrant colours. A brief period of ‘WTF?’ followed, after which I did some research and discovered the explanation was as simple as the right SCART in right socket. From that moment onward I became obsessed with ensuring I had the correct cables and console settings to get the best image possible out of my games machines.
Now, I’m sure there are many of you who won’t understand why the hell I’m bleating on about what is essentially a very small aesthetic difference. After all, graphics are but one tier of the delicious, multi-layered sponge cake we call video-gaming, so why should I let some slightly saturated hundreds and thousands spoil my birthday party?
I do have some justification to offer for all this superficially anal wire-worrying. If I spend £280 of my hard-earned English pounds on something, I want to make damn sure that I’m getting my money’s worth out if it. If I were to make an analogy (which I are), I would say that playing a poorly wired console is similar to buying an original Rembrandt, hanging it in the western wing of your private gallery (which I assume you possess if you are in the position to afford an original Rembrandt) and then stretching a layer of clingfilm over the front of the canvas. The beauty is still apparent, but a barrier has been erected, a misty shroud that distorts its purity. You can still gaze and admire, but at the same time you long to tear the film off and let the true, unsullied glory shine out.
Composite
RGB
Nowadays, with so much time and money pumped into making games eye-meltingly gorgeous, it rankles me to know that, for the lack of a few pins and a couple of tech pointers, I’m not seeing what the console is really capable of. Without the appropriate connectors, the viewing experience is something akin to wandering around all day wearing someone else’s prescription glasses: it’s all there, only muddier and slightly out of focus.
Of course, it’s all about HDMI now, with SCART becoming a relic, a geriatric uncle shaking his fist angrily at the youths on the street playing with their hoverboards and 1080P Etch A Sketches. This means ‘True HD’ LCD screens are now required if we are to unlock the full graphical prowess that lurks within the current generation of consoles. Unfortunately, it also means that a lot of gamers find themselves priced out of the high definition market. However, if anyone still uses their PSX/2 (or even their 360 or PS3 through composite connectors) on a standard CRT TV and has never heard of an RGB SCART before, a £10 cable and 20 seconds in the settings menu will let you see your entire games library in a new light. Go on, spoil yourself. Your eyes will thank you.
Click here for a head to head comparison of RGB vs composite over several platforms.
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