but we'd have entirely new astonishing technologies now, and the rate at which things progress, they'd be 10 times more astonishing than what we have now.


if only I could get my time machine to work... :P

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I'm sorry if I'm replying to a really post but I came across this thread while search for some projects I could do with my old NES.

Just to clear up what you are talking about...

No the European NES does not have RGB output. From what I've read so far our NES is indenticle to the NTSC version. It has RF and composite video output and mono audio output.

The cable shown on ebay is simply a composite cable (composite and mono audio to SCART).

For those who are wondering about the higher quality picture and where a SCART socket comes into it.....

The SCART socket is a 21 pin connector which is now standard on all TV's within the UK and europe. It used to be bright blue and was called a euroconnector.

The SCART socket was first used in France and was designed to be a connector that could carry almost every signal ever needed by a TV.

As you know there are different ways of feeding a video and audio signals into a TV, but for those who arent sure what those ways are, read on (dont worry, I'll keep it simple) :-)

Ther most common ways are:-

RF - Both the video and audio signals are mixed together and are outputted as a radio frequency that you tune your TV set into. RF signals suffer badly from interference and also take some time for your TV to decode (its still that quick your eyes dont see it though). This overall gives quite a bad quality picture and the sound isnt as clear as it could be.

Composite - All three colours required to make a full colour picture are mixed together using a certain encoding/compression. The encoding method is what we know as PAL, NTSC, SECAM... so fourth. This is why when you plug an NTSC system into a PAL TV the picture is displayed correctly but it in black and white; simply the TV does not understand how decode the correct colours and thus does not use colours. All three colours are transmitted down one single wire (and a ground ofcourse).

S-Video - Svideo signals are again mixed together but this time using two signal wires (Luma and Chroma). The colour encoding/compression in this method also applies in the same way as with composite output, but with an svideo signal, brightness levels can also be read, giving a sharper overall picture in comparison to composite and RF. With svideo you can clearly see the bleeding colours of a composite signal are greatly reduced. Because the colours are compressed into only two signals this is easier and quicker for your TV to decode, also adding to the higher quality output.

RGB - This is the best quality output you can get before you start using digital signals. All three colours are sent to the TV fully uncompressed using no encoding at all, in effect a raw signal. The picture is as sharp as you'll get. To use an NTSC console here in the UK, we need to use an RGB cable so our TV's can read the signals being outputted from the console (unless we have an NTSC compatible TV) otherwise a black and white picture is displayed.

Its late so I'll leave it at that for now. Now I will say that I have used alot of the wrong terminology, I have done this deliberately so noobs will understand what I've said a bit better :-)

I hope that clears up a few things.

Yeah thats right, it doesnt give any higher quality. Its just a plug that carries alot of different signals.

Have a look at http://www.pinouts.ru/data/Scart_pinout.shtml

That will show you everything a SCART socket can carry.

As far as I've been reading, the SCART socket isnt used in north america?

I think there is a variation of the SCART socket used in japan but I think it has a different pinout.

If I am right in saying that SCART isnt used in the USA, how do you american guys get RGB output on your TV's?

To be 100% honest with you, I never took the time to learn about the different hook-ups that made my television go. I only learned by colors :oops:

However, I did take the time to search Google for you, and came up with this link. Look about half-way down the page. There is a bold header called RGB. I'm guessing that's how we get ours. Have a look see:

http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?print_page=y&section_id=2&article_id=417&page_number=1&preview=

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http://robertlbryant.com

Where are you from, KeepGood?

It's also a bit rare here in Germany, but it's on its way.
HDTV is a big hit in Japan for years already. Great thing.

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May 16th...

In Germany there's a sports broadcaster that provides HDTV, it's called something-1080 or so, I don't really remember.
Two other TV stations are going to send HDTV in the next time. And the plans say that the games of the soccer world cup should all be broadcast in HDTV. Would be fine, but I'm sure I can't afford a HD TV set. :(

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May 16th...

I would love to get one. My friend has a 42 inch 16:9 plasma HDTV.

I couldnt believe my eyes when I saw games running at 1440 by some other crazy rez :)