Component output to my new TV

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
Can anyone recommend any way to get the component video and audio outputs to be used with my new TV which annoyingly only has HDMI?
Do you put adapters on the consoles themselves or just run the cables through a component-HDMI converter device?
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
A Wii, a PS2, and an original XBOX.
But you know, I just found out upon further exploration that my receiver will actually convert analog video sources to HDMI. So I think I'm good. But I haven't tried it yet so in the meantime I think I do want to explore converters anyway.
 

reallyscrued

Platinum Member
Jul 28, 2004
2,618
5
81
You have a couple of options.

As sdifox said, you could get a home theater receiver to do it, it's kind of a nuclear option as you'd be adding a big component to your setup but it's probably the most flexible. A cheap second-hand Denon receiver with component in and hdmi out is your best bet - then get a 3 in 1 component cable on eBay or Amazon that lets you hook up Wii, PS2, Xbox to minimize the number of cables.

Then there are component-to-hdmi active converter boxes on Amazon/eBay for like $20 - I don't recommend these. They are usually made of low quality components and result in a fuzzy picture.

There are HDMI converters at the source (Wii and Ps2 - see wii2hdmi and ps2 to hdmi adapters) - these work alright.

The extremely expensive and best option would be something like a RetroTink (or find some alternatives to this).

...all in all though, Wii and PS2 especially look bad on digital televisions, so be prepared for how odd <720p looks stretched out to modern resolutions without CRT fuzz blending everything together. I almost prefer emulating things these days and applying a CRT filter over playing them natively if the final video output device is going to be a digital television.

Hope this helps.
 

Fallen Kell

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,093
455
126
As others have already said, you really do have limited options. If you are a quality stickler and retro-gamer enthusiast that really do want to get the best they can from the consoles they own and play, then your options are even more limited. Ideally with this many systems, you will probably be best off getting an external scalar such as the retrotink 5x (or 4k if you have the money, but really these are both for enthusiasts), or a XRGB-mini Framemeister (hmm... getting harder to find these as they discontinued them), or OSSC.

After that you are looking at modding the individual consoles themselves. Each of which will be costly to get a high quality output, but can sometimes be done on the cheap with something that will "work", but knowing it will not look as good as the original on TV's that had analog inputs.

The best quality way to deal with the Wii to get HDMI is with a fairly recent mod called "AVE-HDMI". This bypasses the internal digital to analog conversion that occurs and creates a direct digital to hdmi conversion, providing the cleanest looking outputs possible on the Wii. That said, it does not scale the output, as it is making a direct digital representation of the original output. It is recommended that you then scale this output with a hardware digital scalar to get 1080 and/or 4k output for modern TV's.

That being said, it is a lot easier to just pickup a Wii U which has HDMI output already and is backwards compatible with all Wii games (you do need to use the wii-mote and/or nunchuk, and need the sensor bar), but you will lose the ability to play Gamecube games on the Wii U vs on the Wii. Alternatively, if quality isn't that much of a factor, there are output adapters such as the Wii2HDMI, but the output quality is far inferior to the internal mod or simply using component and a quality scalar.


The easiest method for the PS2 is simply to get a PS3 60gb fat model that has hardware backwards compatibility that is in working order (and prepare to open it up, dust it out and re-apply thermal paste to the CPUs and GPUs). Now while this is the easiest way, it will also be a fairly expensive way as there is huge demand for these backwards compatible PS3's and there are also risks as they are prone to the "yellow ring of death" usually due to thermal damage (these can still go for almost $600 at times, but you can periodically get one for 200-400). This is the price you pay for having a single console that will still work with modern TV's and had full backwards compatibility to PSX, PS2, and PS3 catalogs....

As for the best output on the PS2, you will probably want to use RGB scart (there are several cables out there that will connect to the output) or component and connect to one of the aforementioned scalars.

The original XBOX is a little tricky since it's games used so many different resolutions. Probably the easiest is simply component cables with one of the scalars (although you may need to tweak settings on a per-game basis since as mentioned, as there are games that used everything from 480i, 480p, 576i, 720p, and 1080i). Alternatively there seems to be a HDMI mod that most people prefer (Stellar XboxHD+).




--------------------------------------------

Personally, I have an XRGB-mini Framemeister, and have modded most of my early consoles (NES, SNES, Sega Genesis) for RGB SCART output which is ideal for the XRGB-mini. For N64, I have the N64 UltraHDMI mod. My Dreamcast has the RGB VGA mod that I connect to the XRGB-mini. When I do use the PS2 (as opposed to the PS3), I connect via component to the XRGB-mini (I have been doing this more lately for PS2 and PSX games since the PS3 has been getting harder to obtain and I want to keep mine working, so putting less hours on it is a good thing). For my Gamecube, I connect via component cables (yes, I am one of the proud owners of the real component cables that were for the system, very few were made as almost no-one purchased them at the time, and now you will see that those original cables are worth more than the console itself, even now with a true alternative cables, the real ones still go for $200-450...).

The XRGB-mini had been the king of 480i and other interlaced content. While it isn't completely lag free like some of the other scalars (like the OSSC), it will de-interlace properly. Doing that usually saves lag overall (as the TV itself will then need to do the de-interlacing, and most of the internal processing on TV is not very good with interlaced video adding significantly more delay than what the XRGB-mini adds).

Today, if I had to do it all over again with today's prices on stuff, I would probably look at the retrotink 5x or the 4k. The stuff I have done and use was because I owned all those consoles initially and purchased most of those cables originally back in the day (especially the Gamecube). The RGB SCART mods were all very easy on the early consoles that I owned because most of those had intentions of possibly releasing with RGB SCART as an output, so I could easily mod the systems myself for just a few dollars in most cases. This made the XRGB-mini framemeister a logical choice once it released (and was only like $150-200).
 
Last edited:

ZoeAndersen

Member
Aug 5, 2024
26
4
11
I totally get the frustration with new TVs ditching those trusty old inputs. Honestly, your best move is to grab a component-to-HDMI converter. You just plug your component cables into the converter, and it’ll output everything to HDMI for your TV. Super simple.If you want to get fancy, there are also HDMI adapters designed for specific older consoles, which might give you a slightly better signal. But honestly, the converter box is probably the easiest and most straightforward solution. Just set it up, and you’re good to go with minimal hassle.That way, you can keep enjoying your old-school consoles on your new setup without any major headaches.
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
Just to update everyone... I recently picked up a new old receiver and it allows for inputting of analog signals and exporting them via HDMI to a TV. There are plenty of component, S-Video, RCA so I can keep all my original devices and geek out on old formats to my heart's content.
Slightly related issue I know have is that I've tried outputting some PC games (20 years ago, 4x3, etc) and the TV insists on stretching the 4X3 games.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,815
16,129
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Just to update everyone... I recently picked up a new old receiver and it allows for inputting of analog signals and exporting them via HDMI to a TV. There are plenty of component, S-Video, RCA so I can keep all my original devices and geek out on old formats to my heart's content.
Slightly related issue I know have is that I've tried outputting some PC games (20 years ago, 4x3, etc) and the TV insists on stretching the 4X3 games.
You should be able to change that with the tv remote.
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
You should be able to change that with the tv remote.
You mean with a 'fill/stretch/maintain ratio' type button, I know but I don't have anything like that. I feel like this has something to do with the GPU and what it sees the TV as. I've told Windows and the GPU that it's a display of a certain resolution and refresh rate that matches the PC (1920 x 1080, 60Hz). And I can't tell JUST the signal that goes to the TV what to do because I can't successfully send a signal only to the TV.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,815
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You mean with a 'fill/stretch/maintain ratio' type button, I know but I don't have anything like that. I feel like this has something to do with the GPU and what it sees the TV as. I've told Windows and the GPU that it's a display of a certain resolution and refresh rate that matches the PC (1920 x 1080, 60Hz). And I can't tell JUST the signal that goes to the TV what to do because I can't successfully send a signal only to the TV.

err, I thought you were talking about consoles? You should be able to set the computer output to TV to the exact native resolution no?
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
err, I thought you were talking about consoles? You should be able to set the computer output to TV to the exact native resolution no?
I was. Separate issue over there I thought you might have insight on.
Apparently setting everything the same, which I thought would do it, isn't working.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,815
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I was. Separate issue over there I thought you might have insight on.
Apparently setting everything the same, which I thought would do it, isn't working.

you should be able to set dual display (span), with each display having different resolution without any issues. I was doing it in the late 90s
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
you should be able to set dual display (span), with each display having different resolution without any issues. I was doing it in the late 90s
Ok, I'll try that. In fact I'm doing it right now and whatever I do to the second display it doesn't seem to have any bearing on what happens when I select TV only. Completely clueless.
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
Are you connecting two displays or just the tv?
I've got the tower sending out a DVI signal to my PC monitor and an HDMI signal to my TV through my receiver.
It can send it just fine extended and duplicated. Just won't do it TV only.
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,815
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Yeah, that's the extended display. I wanted to do what I used to do before I ran through the receiver which was to output ONLY to the TV.

HDMI out from computer should give you 1:1 signal out to display no?
 

tinpanalley

Golden Member
Jul 13, 2011
1,474
22
81
HDMI out from computer should give you 1:1 signal out to display no?
It should. But when sent on its own from the computer to the TV, the TV doesn't want to display it.
I can't explain it. I'm trying so many things...
 

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
96,815
16,129
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disconnect monitor, just connect to tv and set to 1080p. then show that page. Display.
 
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