Video outputs on different consoles

Consoles have had to adapt to the televisions of their time. Therefore, their video output system has evolved over time towards a higher quality.

Let's look at the different video output systems from those that offer a lower quality to those that offer a higher quality on screen.

Radio frequency (RF)

This is the primitive output that the first consoles incorporated. In which the video signal was introduced to the television through the antenna connector.

The audio and video are encoded as if they were broadcast by a television channel. And to receive the signal it was necessary to tune the console's frequency on our television.

Its quality is the worst we can get.

RF cable — A single connector that goes to the antenna input of the television.

Composite video (CVBS)

This system emits the video through a single yellow RCA connector.
Two other red and white RCA connectors are used for stereo sound.

All the video information travels through a single cable, so its quality is very low.

Composite video cable — The connector The yellow connector contains the video information, while two other red and white connectors transmit the left and right stereo sound.

S-Video (Y/C)

The Separated-video system separates the video signal into brightness and color, sending them separately to the television, as its name suggests. Therefore, its quality is superior to that of composite video, which sends this information all at once.

Component video (YPbPr)

In the component video system, the video signal is further subdivided, up to three components, to offer a greater bandwidth and therefore a higher quality.

The information of each of the basic colors (Red, Green & Blue) is separated to obtain a purer and clearer signal (without compression and without losses). This is why it is also known as an RGB output.

RGB — The three color components are divided into red, green, and blue connectors.
The audio travels on two other cables with red and white connectors (which are usually connected together so as not to be confused with the red of the video)

RGB+audio St. — The three color components are divided into red, green, and blue connectors.
The audio travels on two other cables with red and white connectors (which are usually connected together so as not to be confused with the red of the video)

VGA

The Video Graphics Array output is typical of computers, but some consoles and televisions also had it.

It usually allows a higher resolution than the classic component system.

The 15-pin VGA connector does not include the audio signal.

HDMI

HDMI is already a digital signal transmission system, which includes audio and video in a single connector.

The different versions allow the image quality to increase progressively in terms of resolution.

This is the way to obtain the highest quality and the one used by current consoles.

HDMI cable with pins for digital video and audio signals.

The Euroconnector or SCART connector

This is a 21-pin connector that allows different types of video encoding and stereo audio to be input to the television.

Most of the above-mentioned systems can be adapted to the 21-pin connector using a simple physical adapter (without the need for additional electronics)

Composite to SCART — Composite video adapters for SCART input on the TV.

S-Video to SCART — S-Video (and composite video via the yellow connector) adapters for SCART input on the TV.

Components Video to SCART — Component video adapters for SCART input on the TV.

The adaptation to the VGA signal requires simple electronic components.