Author Topic: Wii S-Video/Component Cables, aka NINTENDO PHAIL REPORT (Read 69129 times)

ShyGuy · « **Reply #100 on:** December 16, 2006, 05:37:06 PM »

The colors, the clarity. S-Video makes it NEXT GEN!

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #101 on:** December 22, 2006, 10:00:25 AM »

Updated info with re-written opinions and listings for new cable makers.

Smash_Brother · « **Reply #102 on:** December 25, 2006, 07:52:35 PM »

Just got the React cables and it looks so much better for it.

Though, I had to whittle the plastic around the s-video connector to get it to fit, it works fine otherwise.

Is there a visual quality difference between React and Blaze?

IceCold · « **Reply #103 on:** December 25, 2006, 08:57:24 PM »

Damn, I just read the first post - nice work Pro!

I also found a good deal for his recommended Blaze S-Video Cables on eBay - $14 US and only $7 US shipping to Canada and the US..

EDIT: I think that's the last one.. you'd better hurry!

Caterkiller · « **Reply #104 on:** December 26, 2006, 04:26:23 AM »

I found the Madcats cables and just decided to pick them up, even though I don't have an HDTV. Though I tried plugging them in anyway, my TV goes black and white. Are there any non ful on HDTV's that could get better picture from these things?

Ghisy · « **Reply #105 on:** December 26, 2006, 05:18:02 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: IceCold
I also found a good deal for his recommended Blaze S-Video Cables on eBay - $14 US and only $7 US shipping to Canada and the US..

Thanks a bunch for the link!
I've been looking for a good & cheap s-video cable so I just bought it

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #106 on:** December 26, 2006, 06:51:03 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Caterkiller
I found the Madcats cables and just decided to pick them up, even though I don't have an HDTV. Though I tried plugging them in anyway, my TV goes black and white. Are there any non ful on HDTV's that could get better picture from these things?

Please explain this in greater detail. Then we can better help you.

Quote
Originally posted by: Smash_Brother
Just got the React cables and it looks so much better for it.

Though, I had to whittle the plastic around the s-video connector to get it to fit, it works fine otherwise.

Is there a visual quality difference between React and Blaze?

In a room theoretically free of EMF interference, there should not be an appreciable visual difference. As far as I can tell, my Blaze and my React do their job, and I don't have any seriously bad EMF sources. If I'm going to really compare them, I'd take screenshots using both cables, but I'm satisfied with them both so I'm not gonna bother.

In the event there IS a bad-enough EMF around, I expect the Blaze cables to keep a clean picture while the React may have faint shimmerings and zig-zags in the picture due to lack of shielding. Good shielding and conductivity also help eliminate noise in the audio cables (in reality, an extremely low level of noise still exists, but low enough such that it will hardly show up in your typical WAV editing software).

Depending on the materials and workmanship, poorly made s-video cables can have weak color saturation, or a black & white picture, or lose half its resolution as if it was a GBA game running at 480p with no filtering (these are all defects).

Myxtika1 Azn · « **Reply #107 on:** December 26, 2006, 07:54:04 PM »

I have a 20 inch television that I play my games on. My question is, if I use the component cables with this tv, will I be able to see any difference? Would the text be easier or harder to read? While playing Prime 2 on the Cube using S-Video cables on the same tv, the text is almost unreadable to me. Will component make it worse?

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #108 on:** December 27, 2006, 06:09:53 AM »

If using S-vids on your TV makes text look worse than with composites, your TV is HORRIBLAY. Sorry.

S-vid is supposed to be clearer than composite, component is supposed to be clearer than S-vid. S-vid cables perform best on traditional CRT monitors (native 480 vertical rez), NOT LCD screens, plasmas, and other HDTV type sets that have to upscale their picture to properly fill up their screen.

Check your TV settings so the picture is bright enough, not too sharp (not intensely pixelated or ringed), but sharp enough (not fuzzy). The larger the screen, the farther you can comfortably sit, depending on your eyesight.

If switching between s-vid and composite shows no real difference, either your cables are defective, or your TV is made of phail (i've come across TVs whose s-vid ports did not make a difference, no better than composite; so these TVs do exist).

RickPowers · « **Reply #109 on:** December 27, 2006, 10:09:41 AM »

Imported the Blaze cables on your recommendation, Pro. I'll let everyone know what I think when they come in. If anything, it'll be nice to get rid of the kludgy setup I have now.

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #110 on:** December 27, 2006, 10:18:56 AM »

Please inform me of any apparent defects (bad picture, bad audio, interference, etc) you come across. Thanks.

wandering · « **Reply #111 on:** December 27, 2006, 10:19:32 AM »

Quote
If switching between s-vid and composite shows no real difference, either your cables are defective, or your TV is made of phail (i've come across TVs whose s-vid ports did not make a difference, no better than composite; so these TVs do exist).

I was hooking up a dvd player to a 50 inch plasma recently (not my 50 inch plasma). I couldn't see any difference between 480i/composite and 480p/hdmi. Which is made of phail, the tv, or my eyes? Or is the difference in picture quality not as big with dvds?

RickPowers · « **Reply #112 on:** December 27, 2006, 10:34:20 AM »

Let me see if I can explain something, and then diagnose Wandering's eyes.

The main difference between S-Video and Composite on a decent TV would be improved color definition and a slight increase in sharpness. S-Video separates the color from the brightness in the signal, which leads to the better saturation and more defined edges. However, this is not to say S-Video is always better! Some TVs and/or receivers can actually do a better job of separating the luminance and color (by virtual of an excellent comb filter) from a composite signal than the device can with an S-Video cable. This could be why some people either can't see the difference or why they think composite looks better.

As for Wandering's issue, it's possible that you have a DVD player with cheap scaler, or that your HDTV is particularly good at scaling (or even particularly bad, which would explain the similarities). However, I suspect that it's more likely that your eyes are made of phail.

Seriously, a clean digital signal in progressive scan over HDMI should yield a noticably cleaner and sharper picture, even after the HDTV scales the picture than a composite signal with half the picture data over an analog connection which your TV would need to both deinterlace and then scale in order to display properly.

Athrun Zala · « **Reply #113 on:** December 27, 2006, 10:40:45 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Professional 666
If switching between s-vid and composite shows no real difference, either your cables are defective, or your TV is made of phail (i've come across TVs whose s-vid ports did not make a difference, no better than composite; so these TVs do exist).

ondeed, that happens with my tv (it was dirt cheap, so whatever)...... it's interesting that the jump between composite and component (especially with good cables) is ABYSMAL though.....

When ("if" more likely ¬¬) I get a Wii, I'll try to get those Blaze cables

awesome work Pro ^^

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #114 on:** December 28, 2006, 05:30:35 PM »

Updates on cable lengths and minor new info.

IceCold · « **Reply #115 on:** December 28, 2006, 07:14:41 PM »

Hmm.. hey mods, any chance of making this thread a sticky in the Technical Discussion thread? At least the first post.

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #116 on:** January 02, 2007, 09:23:24 AM »

FIRST PAGE: updated with new comments and findings.

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #117 on:** January 02, 2007, 11:38:38 AM »

To respond to Nosferatu:

The state of retail component cables is this: they're selling out everywhere. I've seen them selling out at stores all up and down I-80 from Vallejo to Citrus Heights/Sac.

The ones I see most available are $25 React cables and $60 Psyclone cables in Circuit Cities and Best Buys -- all gone. I luckily came across 2 React sets at Best Buy in Vallejo, and immediately picked up one for my friend.

I have not seen my local EB/Gamestops stock any Wii cables whatsoever, and they have no clue when they'll come in. I wouldn't trust them to carry a variety of brands, either. Historically, I've noticed different stores "play favorites" when it comes to brands. Like, EB would sell Madcatz products, while the Gamestop on the other side of town would only sell Pelican products -- and that forces me to play favorites among stores. Best Buy happens to LOVE React products, across all consoles.

Cables aren't being shipped fast enough to satisfy in-store demand, but there's plenty available online. Certain online stores sell-out periodically; Bestbuy.com has none in stock at the moment. Gamestop.com gets new stock about every week for the brand it maintains. eBay has a never-ending supply of cables. I'm sure EB/GS stores will have some cables (including their own $50 "Gamestop brand" cables, which I think have priority over any other maker, including Nintendo) by the end of the summer, but at this point in time it's already too-little-too-late for me to care -- I already know about so many other suppliers online.

I've never seen Nintendo-brand S-video cables or component cables in stores, and I don't expect to see Wii component cables in-stores for another couple months. A month ago, Gamestop.com would tell you Nintendo-brand cables would be arriving Dec. 30th. Never happened. Right now, Gamestop.com says they'll arrive at the end of effing January. Waiting previously was harsh, waiting some more is just stupid.

Nintendo was never ready to sell their component cables in-stores, and probably still isn't. I ordered their cable at around the time of the Wii launch after the Nintendo Store link was leaked on GoNintendo/IGN. My cable was part of the first shipped batch. Now, you could tell Nintendo wasn't ready to sell these suckers cuz they came 1) in a clear plastic bag, and 2) with a single sheet instruction printout. THAT'S ALL. I wouldn't be surprised if these were leftover stock intended for E3 or other tradeshows/demos. Only a half-month later did the 2nd online batch of cables have proper retail blister packaging. I paid $30 plus $10 courier shipping for a cable in a plastic bag?! Not to mention they're cheaper to make than the GCN cables yet I still pay the same stupid $30 Nintendo Store price?

I think Nintendo's component cable is an overpriced product whose distribution is poorly managed. Delayed shipments and backorders? UNACCEPTABLE. I don't want people giving their money to Nintendo in this case. I want to help make finding these cables easy for those who seek them, which is why I direct to so many 3rd party products. Seeing all these retail sell-outs, the cable business is pretty hot right now, and Nintendo failed to capitalize on it. And I want Nintendo to notice sales they're not getting and to notice their own fukk-up (the origins can be traced to the GameCube Component fiasco). People thought the 2006/4million Wii promise was bad, but the "component cable in-stores" promise was a complete joke.

That's why this thread exists.

~~~~~

Later this week I'll make an update about what matters in A/V cables, in practical terms (what shielding, etc. is meant to do, why you want premium this and that).

utarefsoN · « **Reply #118 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:31:50 PM »

SCORE, i just got the penguin united component cables off ebay (they were sold out at the link 666 provided) for 30.99! That folks is shipped to my house. Got raped on shipping (13 bucks) but considering i got the cables for 17.99 i think i did the raping. Seller was yualfred. I think i saw a few more. One must be out there mind not to get these over Nintendos, but like everything else to each his own.

utarefsoN · « **Reply #119 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:41:43 PM »

Just read your reply 666, thanks for the thorough repsonse. Yea i got tired of looking around. I needed one to play at a friends house who has a very nice TV. Needless to say, we played with the jankie stock cables. Well, i got the penguins, or the ebay bootleg version(god forbid). If your ever in town, near Vacaville, ill let you borrow them to do a test report. I dont play much now, as im studying my azz off, so you can use them for the benefit of us all. Thanks for this thread. Ill do my part to contribute. So let me know when your around, ill let you have a go with them.
Peace Nosferatu

RickPowers · « **Reply #120 on:** January 02, 2007, 12:51:49 PM »

Blaze S-Video cable just arrived today. As expected, there's a notable increase in sharpness and color vibrance, but really only something that I would notice. In fact, my wife couldn't tell any difference at all. Cleaning my TV screen produced a far more noticable reaction. In fact, I'd recommend that everyone go take a Swiffer and some Windex to their TVs right now. It's probably grimier than you think.

That said, the cables did precisely what I expected, and that was to get rid of the kudgy composite/S-Video thing I had going on that required me to switch both my receiver and TV's inputs in order to play Wii games. And that made the $30 totally worth it to me.

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #121 on:** January 02, 2007, 01:03:22 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: RickPowers
Blaze S-Video cable just arrived today. As expected, there's a notable increase in sharpness and color vibrance, but really only something that I would notice. In fact, my wife couldn't tell any difference at all. Cleaning my TV screen produced a far more noticable reaction. In fact, I'd recommend that everyone go take a Swiffer and some Windex to their TVs right now. It's probably grimier than you think.

That said, the cables did precisely what I expected, and that was to get rid of the kudgy composite/S-Video thing I had going on that required me to switch both my receiver and TV's inputs in order to play Wii games. And that made the $30 totally worth it to me.

GAH, YOU BEAT ME TO IT. =D

I was going to mention that in the future.

utarefsoN · « **Reply #122 on:** January 03, 2007, 12:16:42 PM »

Pengiun United premium component cables are now available in white! you need to call them as its not on their website. The site does have a picture of them in white.
Yea my dumb ass bought em, had to have them in white... anyone want the black ones i got?

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #123 on:** January 04, 2007, 05:46:23 AM »

*SIGH*

Why do I feel inclined to buy them? I didn't set out to buy every cable on the market, but it feels like my destiny.

Darkheart · « **Reply #124 on:** January 10, 2007, 02:26:41 PM »

Question:

My tv is roughly 2 and a half feet away from my stereo reciever, Tv is on a high dresser and reciever on a night stand. Now normally with composite cables I can tear them apart and run the audio cables to the reciever while having the video sent up to the tv. My question here is that most component cables i see dont allow the tearing to go beyond 6 inches from the cable ends. What would you suggest? Should I just move my entertainment center around?

News:

Author Topic: Wii S-Video/Component Cables, aka NINTENDO PHAIL REPORT (Read 69129 times)