Just a quick heads-up, I found a Hama AV Selector 100S SCART switch in the attic and I’ve now reviewed it and added it to our SCART Switch Roundup page.

If you have read our gamers guide to SCART cables you might be aware that almost all the SCART cables available for retro gaming systems use composite video for sync. While this isn’t normally a problem, it can cause dot-crawl on an otherwise perfect RGB picture or, in the case of the XRGB3, cause the picture to disappear for a second when the screen gets too bright.

It’s taken a while for the retro-gaming community to cotton on to the fact that most of the old consoles actually offer pure or raw sync output as well as composite video. For users that needed pure sync cables, usually the only choice was to modify an existing cable or create a cable of their own. Not easy in many cases, try finding those 10 pin mini-din connectors the Saturn uses, for instance.

Luckily, a seller who goes by the name of Retro_Console_Accessories on E-bay has come to the rescue, offering pure sync cables for both SNES/Super Famicom and the Sega Saturn. I purchased these cables to test and I can confirm they are perfectly wired for pure sync, there’s no picture dropout problems when using the XRGB3 and no dot crawl effect. The cables themselves are good quality though there is still significant audio noise on the SNES cable (this might actually be picked up internally rather than as the signal goes down the SCART lead since noisy audio on the SNES seems very common). The Saturn cable had next to no audio noise added at all. Picture wise, both cables worked perfectly and gave a crisp, perfect RGB image. If you need a pure/raw sync cable for your SNES or Saturn these come highly recommended. Hopefully Retro_Console_Accessories will start offering pure sync cables for the Genesis soon too.

Use this link to jump directly to Retro_console_accessories E-bay page.

I’ve just uploaded this quick video comparing the Hama SCART switch box with one of those horrible push-in button SCART switches you see on E-bay. The difference in brightness was not as noticeable on the video as I hoped it would be, but hopefully it still proves the point.

I’ve added a couple of new reviews to the SCART switch page. One for Bluedelta Smart-SCART and one for the SC-AMP2 1×2 SCART splitter (not actually a switch, but related). Later in the week I hope to obtain a Thor 6 way SCART switch for review too. Click here to go to the review page.

I’ve just added this SCART switch to our SCART Switch Round up page and I’m happy to say it performed splendidly. If you’ve been looking for a videophile grade SCART switcher for your setup then the Thor is well worth considering. Check out the review on this page.

Did you know that you can route component video over SCART? Apparently a lot of people do not. Using an adapter like the one shown on the left here, you can feed component video through your SCART switch. Of course, this doesn’t convert component into RGB, but lots of video processors (DVDO Edge, Optoma Themescene, XRGB3 to name but three that are popular with videogamers) can actually handle both component and RGB scart on the same inputs. On the XRGB3 it’s just a matter of choosing what type of signal is being fed in, while other processors will recognize the signal and switch automatically between the two. This is especially useful for the PS2, for example, where RGB seems to give a better picture but component is the only way to get 480p.

Keeping this in mind might help you reduce cable clutter in the future. Remember that although you can route component through a SCART switch, the reverse is usually not true, you cannot route SCART through a component switch, even if you find some way to carry the sync signal, there usually isn’t enough bandwidth for the full range of RGB through a component switch, unless it’s designed for component and RGB.

One trick I used when recently refurbishing my games room was to use quick connect wall plates. Placing these in the bottom of my games console rack, I then routed the AV cables underneath the unit thus keeping them out of the way of the rest of the setup. Anything that helps reduce cable clutter is always worthwhile for the retro game enthusiast, so if you’re interested in using wall plates in your games room, check out this article.

It’s sadly getting harder and harder to get a high quality SCART switch. One model that’s still available is the Keene SCART Commander. I’ve recently added one of these to my setup to replace a broken BlueDelta Smart SCART. Find out what I thought of it over on the SCART switch roundup page.

If you’re looking for the very best quality SCART cable for your Sega Megadrive/Genesis console, you should look no further than the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis 1 RGB AV Stereo Scart Cable (Pack-a-Punched!) from Retrogamingcables.co.uk. Is this cable worth the hefty £45 price tag though? Find out in our review.

Thanks to the PEXHDCAP capture card it’s now possible to take some comparison shots of various SCART switches, to see how they effect the picture quality when in use. I’ve tested all the switches I could get my hands on (except my Trilogy 1, as testing that would require a half day just to unwire it all) and the results can be seen on the following pages.

Hama 42957 SCART switch gallery
Keene SCART Commander SCART switch gallery
Mad Katz System Selector SCART switch gallery
Thor AV Control Centre AVC-100 SCART switch gallery

Thanks to Srrae from the Sega Saturn UK forums for lending me a Shinybow 6:2 SCART switch to review. Considering these switches have such a good reputation, I was surprised when I encountered some issues using it. Head on over to the SCART Switch roundup to see the full review, including screenshot gallery and a video demonstrating the problem I encountered with the unit.

The pictures below show the Shinybow/Skytronic 6:2 Matrix Routing Switch Box (SB-5525) SCART switch in action. The shots are of the 240p test suite running on a NTSC/Japanese Sega Megadrive with the Pack-a-Punched raw sync SCART cable. They were taken using the Startech PEXHDCAP capture card and uploaded manually to the website to avoid any picture processing WordPress might do. By default the pictures show the Mega Drive connected directly to the capture card, mouse over to see the difference the SCART switch makes.

Due to the strange issues this particular switch had with the raw sync cable on the Megadrive, I’ve included an extra screen shot below, comparing the Shinybow using a regular Megadrive SCART cable.

This video shows the wobble effect that the Shinybow adds to the Megadrive when using a raw sync cable:-

Back from Shinybow/Skytronic 6:2 SCART switch gallery to SCART switch roundup

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Hama’s wedge shaped AV Selector 100s certainly wouldn’t win any prizes for aesthetics. Offering three SCART inputs, one SCART output and two composite video and stereo audio outputs, this switch is designed with VCR users in mind. The switch offers the option of passing one of the SCART inputs over to another for recording, but of course this is useless to you when just trying to play games. Fortunately we can just ignore these features, as long as the RGB button on the far left is pushed in, we’re good to go.

The buttons on the unit make a satisfying clunk when pushed and feel as if they are good quality. The audio from the composite video outputs can also be used to route to an external amplifier if necessary. Since output is via a SCART socket rather than a moulded wire, you can use any cable of your choosing with the unit and the sockets are spaced sufficiently apart that using more bulky SCART plugs will not be a problem.

Brightness/noise test:- Passed, no noticeable noise added, no noticeable brightness lost from picture.

Isolation test:- Passed, zero crosstalk from other inputs.

Conclusion:- Despite being told to avoid this switch by a poster on the Shmups forum, the AV Selector 100s actually passed all our tests easily. If placed next to your TV with cables spewing up from it, it’s unlikely to please spouses or girlfriends, but performance wise there’s no faulting it. It’s just a shame Hama don’t make a model with more inputs.

Mad Katz are a well known third party peripheral manufacturer, making everything from controllers to cables for all kinds of consoles. The quality of their peripherals varies widely, but their Universeal SCART selector is cream of the crop.

Offering four inputs, the device is housed in plastic with the Mad Katz logo on the front and a simple 4 way sliding switch to select the input. The switch looks a little small when seen on a picture, but in practise it works well and feels solid. The unit also has four suction-cups on the underside, which stick relatively well to smooth surfaces (apply a little water for best effect). Output is via a moulded SCART cable and plug, so no using your own cables this time. The cable is only 1 meter long, but you can always use a SCART coupler and another cable if the supplied cable just won’t reach.

A word of warning if you do manage to find one of these switches, they are very hard to open if you ever did need to service them. The plastic trim tends to crack or deteriorate as you try and break into it.

Brightness/noise test:- Passed, no noticeable noise added, no noticeable brightness lost from picture.

Isolation test:- Passed, zero crosstalk from other inputs.

Conclusion:- A real little bargain, cheap but engineered with videogames in mind, this little switch outperforms many more expensive switching solutions. Highly recommended, if you can find one snap it up.

This switch has now been tested for picture quality using a capture card, click here to see how it performed.

This often unbranded switch goes by several names, including “Nedis Silver Scart Switch Box 5 Way”, “5 Way SCART Selector SLX Gold”, “Professional 4 Way Scart Switching Box” and probably several others. The review here also applies to similar models with 3 or 4 inputs and/or phono/RCA connectors. Switches like this are easily identified by the black or silver case and push button switches. To select an input you press in the button, to deselect it you simply release the button. Like most other budget switches, output is via a moulded cable with a SCART plug on the end.

Brightness/noise test:- Failed. Significant noise added to the picture, picture significantly dimmed.

Isolation test:- Failed, deselected inputs were not isolated from current input at all.

Conclusion:- Cheap and nasty. Not suitable for videogamers or anyone concerned with picture quality.

Big thanks to Srrae from the Sega Saturn UK forums for lending me one of these SCART switches to review. In the UK, Shinybow’s switches are often re-branded and sold as Skytronic, though the hardware itself is the same, right down to the packaging, which simply has a yellow Skytronic sticker added to the side of the box.

The Shinybow switches have an excellent reputation around the web. The unit itself is constructed from sturdy metal and has a quality feel to it. The SCART plugs on the back of the unit are positioned vertically. This means the unit can look untidy when fully populated, but the sockets are well spaced, meaning no problems fitting fatter SCART cables/plugs next to each other. Switching between inputs is done either via a push button on the front, which cycles through the available inputs, or via a remote control. The unit has two SCART outputs, each output is independent and can be assigned to any of the six inputs. For instance, if you had a dual display setup you could route console 1 to TV 1 and console 2 to TV 2 through the Shinybow.

Brightness/noise test:- Failed, no noticeable brightness lost from picture but picture instability/wobble added, but ONLY on the Sega Megadrive (see below for more details).

Isolation test:- Passed, zero crosstalk from other inputs.

Given the units excellent reputation, it came as a little bit of a surprise that I had some issues with it. I normally test using the Sega Megadrive and the pack-a-punched SCART cable I reviewed here. In this setup, the Shinybow caused significant picture instability. There was a noticeable wobble to the picture. Strangely this was eliminated by switching back to a standard, composite video for sync SCART cable, but of course when using something like an XRGB3, the raw sync cable is essential. I also tested the Sega Saturn with a raw sync SCART cable and had no issues with that system, so the Megadrive seems to be an anomaly. Srrae also reported issues when using a Shinybow 4:2 switch with a Commodore Amiga computer (which has raw sync as standard).

Since we first reviewed the switch, it has become significantly harder to obtain too. They are still for sale on Shinybow’s website here, but for an eye watering 161.33 Euros, plus shipping.

Conclusion:- A quality switch, but not without issues and at these prices rather too expensive. Go for the Keene SCART Commander if you can find it, unless you need the 2 way SCART outputs.

This switch has now been tested for picture quality using a capture card, click here to see how it performed.

The Trilogy 1 is an auto SCART switch with push button manual override. It’s features put it in a class above most SCART switches and a full review of the device could cover an entire article in its own right. It’s the kind of high quality SCART switchbox that used to be readily available before most high-end AV equipment changed over to HDMI. The Trilogy has five SCART inputs and can even output the same signal to two displays at once, ideal for more complex setups (the XRGB3 and DVDO Edge tandem set-up for instance). Switching is automatic, or by push button on the front or on the remote control where a manual override is needed. There’s also a separate analogue audio output connector for routing the audio to an amplifier.

The unit has several functions to make it easier to record sources on a VCR, but that’s nothing that gamers are interested in so we’ll skip over that. It’s all housed in an attractive silver case that admittedly can look a little retro when paired with more modern AV equipment.

Brightness/noise test:- Passed, no noticeable noise added, no noticeable brightness lost from picture.

Isolation test:- Passed, zero crosstalk from other inputs.

Conclusion:- I’ve personally owned a Trilogy 1 for many years. In my games setup it forms the central hub from which all my other switches are chained. I even use it to route component video (480p and 720p) via a simple adapter. The device has always been flawless in operation (as long as the cables at the back are properly seated) up until recently, when it developed a fault with the matrix switching (basically, it would no longer function as a 4 in 2 out device). If I had to pick a fault, it’s that the SCART sockets at the back are quite close together, meaning that bulkier SCART cables tend not to fit. Find yourself some quality flat headed cables however and this problem is solved. Highly recommended.

Easily the most aesthetically pleasing switch in our round-up so far, the Thor AV Control Centre is a completely superb bit of AV kit. Housed in an attractive metal chassis, measuring 47.5cm long, 25.5cm deep and 4.5cm high.

Before we get into this review, it’s worth mentioning the different models of this switch that Thor have released. There are actually two models of this switch in existence. The AVC-100/28570T we reviewed here has unfortunately been discontinued. This model has 5 SCART inputs and one output. The more common model, the HDC200, swaps 2 of the SCART inputs for 3 HDMI inputs instead (the HDMI and SCART inputs and outputs are independent, the device doesn’t covert/upscale). The HDC200 is reported to have the same great picture quality as this model, so if you only need a 3 way SCART switch it is well worth considering.

the most striking thing about the Thor switch is is the super-bright LCD on the front of the unit. When I first got the switch in to review, I actually thought it was faulty. What I didn’t realize was it was powered off, the LCD goes from bright to really bright when you actually power it on. The neat thing about the LCD is that it’s programmable and rather than displaying which number input is selected, you can actually change it to DVD, XBOX, GAME and a number of other things. Sadly you have to pick from a number of pre-sets and you can’t enter your own names for devices, but it’s still a very neat feature. Note that these pre-sets, as well as the LCD clock on the unit, are lost if the unit is powered down, so keep it plugged in if you want to maintain them.

The SCART sockets on the back of the unit are all RGB enabled and the switch will work as a 5 in 1 out or 4 in 2 out switch (though I have not tested it in this mode). Over on the far right there’s even a couple of analogue audio outputs so that audio can be routed directly to an amplifier, along with an S-Video output too.

Brightness/noise test:- Passed, no noticeable noise added, no noticeable brightness lost from picture.

Isolation test:- Passed, zero crosstalk from other inputs.

Conclusion:- The Thor switch is fantastic, no two ways about it. It supports every kind of signal you might want to throw down a SCART cable (including component video). Quality wise the switch is faultless. On equipment that is very noise-prone, such as component video from the PS2, the Thor outperformed other powered switches and produced an image that was almost completely noise free. Even chaining other switches from the unit resulted in no quality loss whatsoever, making this an excellent choice for a central hub in more complex switching set-ups. If I had to pick a fault with the unit, it would be that the sockets are quite close together, meaning that more bulky SCART connectors may have difficulty connecting next to each other. In practice however I don’t see this being a problem for most users and the Thor is still absolutely 100% recommended.

This switch has now been tested for picture quality using a capture card, click here to see how it performed.

More complex gaming setups often have multiple displays, video processors or capture devices. This means that often there’s a need to split one signal between several devices. Ideally of course, we want to do that without any signal degradation. While there are a number of solutions for digital/HDMI connections, in the retrogaming world where analogue RGB is king, there are unfortunately far fewer choices. If you need to split a RGB SCART signal to up to five different devices, the 1×5 SCART Distribution Amp from UK based Keene Electronics might be just what you’re looking for.

Housed in a sturdy metal enclosure, the device is a simple looking slab of metal with six SCART sockets in the front. You connect your input to the first SCART socket and your outputs to the others, then connect the supplied 15 volt DC adapter to the side of the unit and plug it in. Really, it couldn’t be any simpler to set up. Each SCART output is fully wired, meaning you can route RGB, S-video, composite and component signals through the device, including HDTV and EDTV component video resolutions not normally carried by SCART. Of course the device does not transcode, meaning you will need to route the signals to an appropriate device and input that can display them.

In use the device performs superbly, with no trace of signal degradation and no crosstalk from multiple inputs. In short, it just works exactly as you would expect.

At £99 plus shipping, this isn’t the cheapest SCART splitter ever produced, but it is readily available and if you do need more than a couple of extra outputs then the Keene 1×5 SCART Distribution Amp is an excellent, high quality choice for your games room.

Test captures

Below are some test captures taken from a Sega Megadrive with a raw sync RGB SCART cable. They were captured using the PEXHDCAP (in YUY2 16 bit mode). They were then size-doubled using a simple nearest neighbour algorithm. By default the pictures show the Megadrive connected directly to the capture card. Mouse over to see if the Keene splitter makes any difference.

The world of RGB and SCART can be a confusing one. Understanding the difference between RGB with composite sync, sync on green, composite video for sync and the myriad of other types of signal that might come down a SCART cable often leads consumers to cable their systems up in a sub-par fashion. Even when you understand the basics, connecting things up isn’t always as simple as it should be. What if, for instance, you have a device such as the Playstation 2, that outputs sync on green when running in 480p/EDTV mode? If you’re not fortunate enough to have a display or processor that can handle sync on green, you’re going to need some kind of converter. Luckily, UK based AV experts Keene Retail Limited may have just the solution you’re looking for.

Getting that syncing feeling

Cased in a sturdy plastic shell measuring roughly 9cm by 7cm by 4cm, the SyncBlaster Black Box is a versatile RGB sync cleaner, splitter and converter. The unit has a standard SCART input and output, rather than the D-SUB15 (VGA style) output you would find on ArcadeForge’s popular Sync Strike. As well as the two female SCART sockets, the exterior of the unit has two banks of DIP switches and a 12 volt DC power connector. There are also several LEDs that light up to indicate what kind of incoming signal the unit is detecting. Unlike some other sync processors the Black Box cannot run by drawing power from the SCART cable itself, though considering how unreliable this can be it is probably for the best. On the top of the unit there’s a raised “Keene Electronics” logo, while on the bottom of the unit there are some handy instructions on how to configure the DIP switches. Frustratingly for UK buyers, it seems that the unit is only available with a 2 pin power connector, despite Keene being located in the UK. You can order a UK AC adapter at the time of purchase for an extra £5 or simply use any compatible 12 volt power supply you may already have. While the basic pack doesn’t come with any cables, if you need output cables to RGBHV or a D-SUB15 with separate sync, Keene can provide those too at extra cost.

When compared to the Arcadeforge Sync Strike, Keene’s sync processor has one major advantage. The Black Box is capable of converting to and from sync on green. Feed in a RGsB (sync on green) signal and the box will happily convert it into an RGBs signal for you. By setting the DIP switches on the unit you can also strip composite video from an incoming signal, leaving just clean sync. This makes the Black Box an ideal match for the PS2. XRGB Mini users in particular have bemoaned the fact that when using a PS2 with the Mini, they must choose between component video output and 480p compatibility or RGB output and a cleaner, more vibrant picture. The Black Box promises to change all that, but does it work?

We placed the Black Box between our PS2 and the XRGB Mini’s RGB input, configured the DIP switches according to the instructions and fired up the console. 480i screenmodes worked exactly as before and we eagerly fired up Open PS2 loader with its new, built-in GSM mode selector tool. Switching to 480p the Black Box did as promised and converted the signal into a 480p RGBs signal that the Mini could understand. However, the colours were incorrect. It was as if the sync on green signal was still left on the output. Frustrated, we tried changing the DIP switches and discovered that changing DIP B4 into the downward position cured the colour problem. According to the instructions on the base of the unit, when DIP B4 is down sync on green is not removed, which is somewhat puzzling. Perhaps the instructions are wrong in this instance. Whatever the reason, once the switch was correctly configured the results were great. The 480p picture was vibrant and noise free and after tweaking the scaling on the Mini everything looked great.

While picture quality was generally excellent, it’s not quite perfect. On the far left of the screen there’s a band that’s slightly discoloured compared to the rest of the image. It’s definitely not a deal breaker in our opinion but nevertheless worth pointing out. This band was present when we checked the image using the DVDO Edge and XRGB3 scalers too, though we’ve only tried one PS2 console (a PAL fat model with a O2 modchip and a luma for sync RGB cable). We’ve tried to illustrate the problem with the digital camera shot on the left. You may need to click the picture and zoom in to actually see it.

Other than this strange band of discolouration, we encountered just one other issue with the unit. In order to test the device as a general purpose sync cleaner, we placed it after our SCART switch box. In this position the unit worked, but every so often the LED for composite sync input would flicker. When it did, the Mini would lose sync with the input and blank the screen. Perhaps this was caused by stray voltage from the sync amplification on our SCART switch. These issues went away when we placed the unit before the switching matrix, though by doing this of course you limit its usefulness to just processing the one device.

Is this a box worth buying?

There’s no doubt the SyncBlaster Black Box is a neat little device. There aren’t many sync cleaners on the market that can handle such a wide range of signals. If you need to convert RGB with sync on green from a PS2, the only other alternative we’re aware of is to use an Extron interface. This is much more complex, since the Extron interfaces require a clean sync signal when using RGBs, so you can’t just plug in your PS2 SCART cable and expect to get a picture with every possible PS2 screen mode. If you just require a simple sync cleaner there are cheaper options on the market, such as the popular Sync Strike, which we can also confirm doesn’t have any problems when placed behind a SCART switching matrix. We’re not entirely convinced the small improvements in convenience and picture quality really warrant the £80 asking price, but if you are willing to pay the premium the Black Box will work perfectly as a PS2 RGB problem solver.