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WTF do consoles use proprietary AV cables?

O

Odoul

Member
Is there a legitamite reason for this besides making money?

I've got a standard TV with component jacks. My brother's had all my systems for awhile until this weekend.

I already have component cable. Why in the fuck do I have to come out of $50+ per system for no damn reason? Different DVD manufacturers don't pull this crap.
 
The old Playstation 1 systems (Japanese ones anyway) used to have the standard yellow white red inputs on the back of the console. The good old days...
 
mutsu said:
The old Playstation 1 systems (Japanese ones anyway) used to have the standard yellow white red inputs on the back of the console. The good old days...
Click to expand...

the first american consoles had composite jacks too. japanese launch consoles had s-video jacks! :o

afaik ps3 will have hdmi ports. which is nice for those of us who can use them.
 
mutsu said:
The old Playstation 1 systems (Japanese ones anyway) used to have the standard yellow white red inputs on the back of the console. The good old days...
Click to expand...
I remember the NES had standard AV inputs too.

Infact somehow the original chords got destroyed. I was able to use some old VCR composites even though the NES only two outputs with no stereo, so there was always an extra jack hanging.
 
If there were other manufacturers of the Playstation, I'm sure the competition will push them to use the standard stuff, but right now, since nobody is making the Playstation systems except Sony, they can do whatever they want and we have to live with it.
 
Don't they all stick to the same connectors though? ie:
snes,n64,gcn all the same
psx, ps2 the same

I think that is cool if your tv has limited inputs. I also think that they do it to make the console look more tidy in the back as typically they are seated on living room floors and such.
 
biggreenmachine said:
Don't they all stick to the same connectors though? ie:
snes,n64,gcn all the same
psx, ps2 the same
Click to expand...
Almost. Nintendo warns against using Super NES or N64 AV cables with a Cube. (Although it says the opposite is not a problem.)

No idea why or what could happen if you did.
 
SKOPE said:
Almost. Nintendo warns against using Super NES or N64 AV cables with a Cube. (Although it says the opposite is not a problem.)

No idea why or what could happen if you did.
Click to expand...

Ya but Nintendo also warns about giving your DS friend code out online cause you might get abducted by someone you are playing in Mario Kart. :lol
 
biggreenmachine said:
Don't they all stick to the same connectors though? ie:
snes,n64,gcn all the same
psx, ps2 the same

I think that is cool if your tv has limited inputs. I also think that they do it to make the console look more tidy in the back as typically they are seated on living room floors and such.
Click to expand...

MS changed the connector in the transition from xbox to xbox 360.
 
SKOPE said:
Almost. Nintendo warns against using Super NES or N64 AV cables with a Cube. (Although it says the opposite is not a problem.)

No idea why or what could happen if you did.
Click to expand...
i've been using my SNES cable with my N64 and now Cube since forever...
 
The original NES had RCA outputs built in :P

Damn, I should have read the thread before posting this. Well anyway, yeah they were on the right of the console.
 
well, if they used standard connectors, it'd need a composite out, s video out, component out, hdmi out, vga out, etc...
 
I really hope the Revolution will use the NGC component cables I gave Nintendo 30 bucks for...
 
PG2G said:
well, if they used standard connectors, it'd need a composite out, s video out, component out, hdmi out, vga out, etc...
Click to expand...
Just what I was going to say. It would really be quite a wasteful solution. This isn't something like a DVD player where you buy one of dozens of different models depending on your needs.
 
Odoul said:
Is there a legitamite reason for this besides making money?

I've got a standard TV with component jacks. My brother's had all my systems for awhile until this weekend.

I already have component cable. Why in the fuck do I have to come out of $50+ per system for no damn reason? Different DVD manufacturers don't pull this crap.
Click to expand...

Why are you paying more than $50 for component cables? My PS2 component cables cost less than $25, and Xbox component cables cost $19.95.

Nathan
 
Thaedolus said:
I really hope the Revolution will use the NGC component cables I gave Nintendo 30 bucks for...
Click to expand...

Whoa man! $30 is cheap!

MS changed the connector and my feeling is that they had to for HDMI support in the future.
 
biggreenmachine said:
ya, and thats the reason they are having problems with backward compatability.
Click to expand...
Don't forget that the more advanced the machine is, the more difficult it is to program for. 360 is a lot of bits.
 
mutsu said:
The old Playstation 1 systems (Japanese ones anyway) used to have the standard yellow white red inputs on the back of the console. The good old days...
Click to expand...
Composite is old but it was never good to begin with... rgb thx.
 
gblues said:
Why are you paying more than $50 for component cables? My PS2 component cables cost less than $25, and Xbox component cables cost $19.95.

Nathan
Click to expand...
That's the point.

I'm NOT paying that. $50 is the cheapest I've seen any brand.
 
SKOPE said:
Almost. Nintendo warns against using Super NES or N64 AV cables with a Cube. (Although it says the opposite is not a problem.)

No idea why or what could happen if you did.
Click to expand...
There IS a reason to this, SNES doesn't exactly follow the specification for the video signal, and there is a capacity in the AV cable that do the job. It's probably not true for all signals, but at least RGB overt Scart may be a problem.

I didn't try the SNES cable on my cube, but I dit the opposite (by mistake) : GC cable on SNES. And while Nintendo said it would work, I lost the picture after a few seconds (fade to black). I thought that my SNES broke, but with its own cable, all works well. So be cautious...


As for the original question, I think putting composite, S-video, component, RVB, audio and such in the back would be more complex than needed... Scart could be a solution in some countries, but I think that's not such a big deal. Moreover, we managed to build a AV cable with a RJ45 cable, a broken scart, a sheet of paper and some adhesive tape for a N64 (I had forgotten my AV cable) :lol .
 
Odoul said:
Is there a legitamite reason for this besides making money?

I've got a standard TV with component jacks. My brother's had all my systems for awhile until this weekend.

I already have component cable. Why in the fuck do I have to come out of $50+ per system for no damn reason? Different DVD manufacturers don't pull this crap.
Click to expand...


my guess would be to cut down cost on the system

instead of having

RF
Composite
S-Video
Componet
etc and shit they just have one connector

probably not a HUGE savings but a savings none the less
 
Farore said:
Thaedolus said:
I really hope the Revolution will use the NGC component cables I gave Nintendo 30 bucks for...
Click to expand...
I paid $60... so I'm hoping the same...
Click to expand...
Isn't the Digital Out port (the same Digital Out port that Nintendo cut from the GameCube) the only port that's known to exist on the back of the Revolution?

(And by "known to exist" I mean like how Bigfoot's known to exist.)

If that's true, then the NGC Component Cable is going to be the only possible way to hook up a Revolution. Unless the Rev wirelessly broadcasts to a TV using radio waves if you want anything less than progressive scan.
 
You know what I just realized? The Rev's are going to be made from all the spare parts that Nintendo has collected over the years!

Think about it.

Digital Out Port - stolen from the GameCube production lines.

Revolutionary Dual-Media GCN/DVD Drive - Lifted from unsold Panasonic Q units.

Analog Nunchuck - Reclaimed C-sticks from GameCube controllers that wore out the main analog.

I'm sure there's a lot more.

Revolutionary MSRP = $50 after assembly and shipping! Cash back for providing your own parts! Remember, you heard it here first (or maybe not).

:D :D :D
 
Proprietary A/V cables for most consoles are in the $15-$30 range. A good set of standard composite/S-Video/component/audio cables cost about the same, if not more. While it'd be nice to interchange, it's not that big a deal. I'd rather have 1 or 2 output ports on the back of my console instead of possibly 5-10 plugs for the various video and audio standards. I don't want it looking like a TV input panel back there.
 
Proprietary A/V = $$$:

1) Probably cost them < $1 to make in 3rd world. Huge profits.

2) Proprietary means they got a piece of the pie even from 3rd parties producers. If standard, M$, Sony, and Nintendo could get nothing.
 
As has been said, it simplifies the system to offer one port with multiple pinsets. You're also less likely to break something plugging and unplugging cords, and it breaks from the system a little easier (though the power won't pull, so I don't know that they care there -- I just know I've seen some HORRIFIC cases of kids running through the halls and tripping over game system cords, sending system and stacked jewel cases flying everywhere.) While I like the accessibility of having individual plugs, I also like the simplicity of one plug. Too bad there's no standard. I wouldn't mind a DVD player with a PS2 plug.
 
I've been using the snes hookup for my gamecube for years...

never even knew there was supposed to be a compatibility problem. Watch it blow up in my face tomorrow now that I know. Thanks you douchebags for telling me. It'll be all your fault.
 
kpop100 said:
The PS3 will take a standard HDMI cable wont it? Or is it some type of proprietary PS3 HDMI cable?
Click to expand...
Standard; any HDMI cable will work just fine. And don't forget unlike all other analog cables before it, HDMI is pure digital, which means there will be little difference in the quality of the picture depending on which cable you use.

IE. don't get suckered into grossly overpaying for a Monster HDMI cable.
 
Heian-kyo said:
Standard; any HDMI cable will work just fine. And don't forget unlike all other analog cables before it, HDMI is pure digital, which means there will be little difference in the quality of the picture depending on which cable you use.

IE. don't get suckered into grossly overpaying for a Monster HDMI cable.
Click to expand...
Word.

So many 'premium-brand' HDMI cables are ridiculously expensive, many starting at $100(!)...I was able to find a 2-meter cable for $25 by Accell UltraAV at Fry's last weekend.
 
ghibli99 said:
Proprietary A/V cables for most consoles are in the $15-$30 range. A good set of standard composite/S-Video/component/audio cables cost about the same, if not more. While it'd be nice to interchange, it's not that big a deal. I'd rather have 1 or 2 output ports on the back of my console instead of possibly 5-10 plugs for the various video and audio standards. I don't want it looking like a TV input panel back there.
Click to expand...

The hell does it matter? Do you frequently find yourself staring at your console's ass? There's no real reason for a modern console not to have at least an HDMI output port. Alas, Microsoft decided otherwise. Thankfully the PS3 will pick up the slack in the output options department.
 
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