What's the benefits of a SCART to HDMI upscaler over just SCART?

For example:

Saturn - RGB SCART - upscaler - LCD HDTV,
compared to
Saturn - RGB SCART - LCD HDTV (with RGB SCART input)?

When I've compared the quality of my Saturn using SCART on a TV with SCART input against YouTube footage of the same game through an upscaler I see little difference. I heard modern TVs upscale analogue signals like SCART anyway? Although my Saturn wasn't giving the exact same result as the footage, it was pretty close, and adjusting the sharpness on the TV reduced jaggy graphics a little more.

I get the benefit of using the upscaler if the TV doesn't have SCART though.

 

Im not going to pretend to know much about it but i dont think there is much, if any advantage if your tv already accepts scart. It most likely depends on thecquality if the converter but even then Im not sure if tgere is any advantage. If i understand correctly, the cadapter will take the scart signal and convert it to digital. Depending on the converter, it may convert it to a higher resolution signal but not actually upscale it, resulting in a blurrier picture. But your tv would most likely do this anyway if it already has scart port. The converter may also introduce some additional input lag on top of what the tv already adds.

If your tv has a scart port, id just use that, else invest in a proper upscaler like an xrgb unit. Granted the cost might be a bit prohibitive for most people but imho, well worth it if you play your retro systems frequently. The xrgb units also add a tiny amount if lag but not nearly as much as a run of the mill converter, and youll get a much clearer crisper image the very closely resembles playing on a crt.

 

Thanks. Those xrgb units are expensive. To be honest, im happy with the results with scart just now. I'd like to get a vga cable/ box for my Dreamcast, but my current TV is a Samsung 5 series 530 one where I've heard it would not likely accept the Dreamcasts vga signal like most TVs do.

 

Are there any modern HDTVs that have a SCART input that accept 240p RGB? Such a thing certainly doesn't exist in the USA. This is one of the reasons why the XRGB Mini is so commonly imported over here.

I was under the impression that the SCART inputs that still exist on modern European TVs just use the composite video line. In that case, you're not really using RGB at all.

 

If that is the case, then sonicboom should get a better picture with richer colors, etc by using the scart to hdmi converter.

 

I believe it's 480i with SCART on Dreamcast (576i PAL), and the Saturn is 240p through scart cables. PAL might be 288p (with borders). A few days ago I wondered, as I'd heard about some scarts cables only contain composite, if any of mine were like that. But, nope, I opened up both Saturn and Dreamcast scarts and saw they were RGB. The pins used for r g b had wires to them. My TV says RGB SCART next to the scart socket. I've not heard that european tvs might just use composite. The picture quality looks to good to be composite imo.

Did you mean that the TV might just take the composite for 240/228p footage, or for all scart footage?

 

It depends on the device and cable being used. SCART is a thing I had to get used to when I moved to England (originally from New York). It can carry composite, S-Video or RGB.

 

Actually we do have RGB SCART TVs here in the USA but they are extremely rare. It was limited to a few models in the RCA Dimensia line and the port was called "EIA Multiport - Stereo". Those were CRTs and not HDTVs. I'm sure there are a couple USA HDTVs with it but its probably a professional HDTV and not commercial.

 

I don't live in Europe, so I'm not an expert on what the "norm" is these days. The point that I was trying to make was simply that each component of the chain has to support RGB input. The TV has to support it, the cable has to support it (as in has the wires running to the correct pins), and the system has to output it. It looks like you've checked everything in the chain and it all supports RGB.

That's exactly what I was trying to point out. Just because you are using a SCART cable does not mean that you are using RGB. Since these cables can also carry composite, a TV with a SCART input that doesn't support RGB would work via the composite pin.

That's pretty interesting. I know if I ever came across one, I'd probably buy it for the novelty of saying "I have an American TV with RGB SCART!".

But back to the original question...yeah, if you're happy with the video output, the XRGB mini seems like an unnecessary expense. I personally think the XRGB mini is so popular because it not only upscales, but also converts analog RGB to digital HDMI, and this conversion function is what actually creates the convenience of plugging your retro consoles into an HDMI port. Upscaling isn't magic, but it solves a problem when your TV only plays nice with 720p or above HDMI signals.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Up until this week I knew nothing of RGB scart, or even what composite was., I think every TV I've had over the years has been scart. I used to think scart wasn't that great quality, and I had no idea in the US you guys didn't have it. I'm surprised at the quality of the old consoles on HDTV using scart. I'm not sure how many of my TVs were RGB scart, but I think that's the standard. Not sure if cheap HDTVs have it though.

Although there's 21 pins on almost all SCART cables I've seen, my Dreamcast one (not sure if it's official but prob is) has 9 pins (10 including outer 21). It seems that all the ground pins bar the outer number 21 are missing. It still has the RGB pins. I originally thought it must be composite, until I took it apart. I did read others who had Dreamcast with official scart leads had the less pins version. I've no idea what that means to quality if anything.

 

Composite video is present on RGB scart cables as it is used for video sync where a scart socket is RGB compatible. If a scart socket is not RGB comptible then it will display composite video.

 

Those cheap chinese SCART to HDMI converters seem to be actually "decent", but they need to be fixed

 

Mine didn't have that issue and the cable he is using in the video was the issue and not the converter. The converter even supports S-Video over SCART. They work fine as long as your cable is setup right. He would get the same result if he plugged it into a TV without the resistors soldered to pin 16.

 

Thanks for posting that. I don't know much about RGB Scart to be honest, but i was thinking on getting one of those for using with a PS1 (none of my TVs support 240p over the PS2 with component cables). I do plan on getting a framemeister, but not only it is expensive, the huge raise of the Real to Dollar conversion made it even worse.

 

Your welcome. His cable wasn't fully wired for RGB. I can't even begin to imagine how much the XRGB Mini costs when converted. I plan on getting one to but it is really expensive. Since your TV doesn't support 240p over component then I suggest getting that converter I have and a RGB SCART cable for the PS1/2/3. A seller on eBay I get my SCART cables from tends to hand make and sell RGB JP-21 (same as SCART but with a different pinout; its used on some Japanese TVs) and RGB SCART Sync on Luma cables for the PS1/2/3 that are said to be better than the official Sony SCART cables. Seeing their SCART cables for the NTSC SNES and the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Model 2/32X/CDX work wonderfully, those PS1 cables should work just as good or better. I can provide links to the amazon.com listing and retro_console_accessories's eBay page if you want.