# Retro gaming questions regarding AV to HDMI.



## TTheuns

Hello OCN,

I'd like to connect my GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Sega Mega Drive through HDMI, _at the same time_. I'd like to play the systems at my desk, and I don't have a display with scart or separate AV ports.

I know AV to HDMI adapter exist, but I wasn't successful in finding one that can accept all three AV signals and switch between them.
Since I might be looking the wrong way, and since there's probably people here with experience in this field, I thought I'd ask here.

If there is no such device, would it be a good idea to buy three AV to HDMI adapters and plug those in to a HDMI switch?
If so, which model would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. I know most of the games on there can be emulated using the PC, but that's not what I want. I have the consoles already and do not intend to make them obsolete.


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## lovetobuild

It would probably be cheaper to buy one AV to HDMI adapter and an AV switch.


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## TTheuns

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lovetobuild*
> 
> It would probably be cheaper to buy one AV to HDMI adapter and an AV switch.


That should have been obvious to me. It wasn't.

Thank you!


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## lovetobuild

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *TTheuns*
> 
> That should have been obvious to me. It wasn't.
> 
> Thank you!


You're welcome. I think you just contributed to my first flame, thanks!


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## TTheuns

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *lovetobuild*
> 
> You're welcome. I think you just contributed to my first flame, thanks!


No problem!
I think help deserves to be rewarded.


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## spydersvenom

Just a fair warning as a big time retro gamer who's set up to play all retro consoles on both CRT and modern HDTVs, depending on what game you want to play you may not want to convert AV to HDMI due to input lag. The average $20-$50 upscaler on eBay that takes in standard video (composite, s-video, RGB Scart, component, and even VGA) will add up to 100 ms of input lag and that makes many popular retro games unplayable. Anything that's timing-intensive (mario, sonic, punch-out, even Conkers on N64) is brutal, but old turn-based RPGs and even action titles like Zelda or a brawler are perfectly serviceable. If you can handle that, sweet, otherwise feel free to hit me up and I can tell your options (outside of the standard "buy a $500 XRGB Mini Framemeister" because people don't have that kind of money). I will warn that to get a retro console to HDMI without dropping some lump sum is pretty hard to do.


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## subassy

Sound like you already resolved this but I came across this the other day:
PS2 HDMI adapter - there are other brands as well.

Keep in mind there's a more than good chance it will look terrible. But at least it's affordable.

There's also an equivalent "adapter" for the Wii and...just speculating here...could be the wii thing works with gamecube since the two devices are so similar. Or not, I don't know. Again, take your own risk/whatever it's worth.


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## spydersvenom

These devices do not upscale, they just convert, so keep in mind on the PS2 it will be in 480p (assuming you update the PS2 settings for it) and if you play PS1 games they will be in 240p. While 240p is awesome for retro gamers on CRTs, it's not a resolution often supported by modern displays (especially via HDMI) so there's a good chance you'll get "no signal" when you boot a PS1 game (Mega Man Collection and Ico are also only in 240p).

The Wii one is another story. If you set it to 480p Widescreen, it should look decent on a modern HDTV. Depending on your TV's scaler, 480p isn't so bad. Sony, LG, and Samsung in particular do a rock solid job upscaling 480p to 1080p or even 4K. You'll still be able to tell it's a 480p signal, but it'll look better than you think (DVD quality). If you swap to 480i and run virtual console games, you'll run into the 240p problem again, but if you keep it on the logical 480p setting everything will get deinterlaced and line doubled to 480p, which is supported by just about every HDTV in existence.

Again, you will get input lag, probably between 30-100 ms, but PS2 and Wii games were much less twitch-based and therefore lag isn't as much of an issue. Virtual console games and a handful of PS1 titles, on the other hand, may give you some issues.


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## subassy

You can always do ps1 discs on a ps3. Although they don't look so good usually for the reasons mentioned.

Sometimes I wonder if the ps1-via-ps3 is some kind of lost detail.


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## Aaron_Henderson

How about a TV Tuner / Capture card for your PC, and a cheap composite input switcher? You could even play games in a window on your desktop. This way you can use PC software for things like up-scaling and post processing. I have tried this, and it works quite well, better (looking) than hooking composite up to my HD TV (which has ports). Also, depending on the capture card, input lag may or may not be an issue, but I was able to play without noticing much lag on my older MSI capture card. Also...you're best bet for PS2 is the component out cables, so you might want to consider using that for PS1+PS2, with some type of capture card or component to HDMI converter at the other end.


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## frostbite

Would the ps3 component cable work on a ps2/ps1?

Or just stick with RCA


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## subassy

Sounds like you have a "phat" ps3. And the answer is I have no idea. I'm not sure what the A/V out looks like on those consoles since I only bought slim version with the HDMI output.

But there are already component cables for PS2 readily available. And PS2 can play like 99% of ps1 games. PS1 won't necessarily look that much better via component, especially on a flat screen (since games were made with 4:3 CRT in mind) but they will work.

Of course PS3 can play almost all PS1 games as well.

Not sure if this is what you were asking or if you just had PS3 component cables and a PS2 and wanted to know if they would work.

I can say since the actual PS1 console pre-dates component technology by several years component cables will not work with a PS1 console. I'd say just play PS1 games on a PS2.


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## frostbite

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *subassy*
> 
> Sounds like you have a "phat" ps3. And the answer is I have no idea. I'm not sure what the A/V out looks like on those consoles since I only bought slim version with the HDMI output.
> 
> But there are already component cables for PS2 readily available. And PS2 can play like 99% of ps1 games. PS1 won't necessarily look that much better via component, especially on a flat screen (since games were made with 4:3 CRT in mind) but they will work.
> 
> Of course PS3 can play almost all PS1 games as well.
> 
> Not sure if this is what you were asking or if you just had PS3 component cables and a PS2 and wanted to know if they would work.
> 
> I can say since the actual PS1 console pre-dates component technology by several years component cables will not work with a PS1 console. I'd say just play PS1 games on a PS2.


Sort of lol, I have a slim 320gb.

The av multi out is the same shape and size, I know its not going to make better graphics, was just wanting to know if it could be hooked up to a tv without rca's

I might give it a go and see

EDIT: The connector is the same size (slightly tighter fit), it wont output anything from the ps1/2

Looks like either A/V or scart.
My slim silver ps2 cant play ps1 games, it cant read them.


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## subassy

Sorry I couldn't be of any further help then. Not sure on the silver PS2. So far as I know there were no versions of the PS2 released without PS1 backwards compatibility so would likely be an issue with the drive lens or some other piece of hardware.

But if you have a PS3 _it_ will play PS1 games. There's always that. May not look good but at least there's infinite memory cards and wireless controllers...


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## PsikyoJebus

I second the use of component cables for the PS2 and GC (if your TV has component inputs). These should increase the quality of the picture. I'm not too sure about input lag, though. Theoretically, if your console is spitting out a 480p signal through the component cables, it should not need the 240p upscaler built into the TV (usually the cause of the input lag), however I'm no expert on this subject and there could be something I'm missing here. Component cables are pretty cheap for the PS2, not sure about GameCube. I do remember something along the lines of official nintendo gamecube component cables commanding high prices, however, for whatever reason.


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