Gamecube & digital AV out - mysteries revealed
05-12-03, 11:20 AM
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Gamecube & digital AV out - mysteries revealed
Sorry if this is old news, but I recently bought a Gamecube & Nintendo's component video cable, and stuff like this is new to me.
When I got my GCN, I was wondering why the component video port on the back of the system was labelled "digital AV". We all know that component video is analog, not digital. Also, the port is used only for video, not audio. So I thought the "AV" part was mislabelled as well. After some research I now know that the port is in fact labelled correctly.
There's a DAC (digital-analog converter) inside the component cable. Check out the cable internals here:
http://www.rgbcube.co.uk/Main.html
Too bad Nintendo was too dumb/cheap to include SPDIF audio output!
Having a DAC built into the component cable also helps explain why the component video cables for Gamecube are so expensive compared to the first-party offerings from Xbox and PS2. In order to make the GCN smaller and cut production costs, not only did they put the AC/DC converter outside the Cube (in the form of the power brick), they put the DAC outside as well. This also helps explains why no other manufacturer builds component video cables for GCN; they probably don't know how to integrate a DAC into the cables.
When I got my GCN, I was wondering why the component video port on the back of the system was labelled "digital AV". We all know that component video is analog, not digital. Also, the port is used only for video, not audio. So I thought the "AV" part was mislabelled as well. After some research I now know that the port is in fact labelled correctly.
There's a DAC (digital-analog converter) inside the component cable. Check out the cable internals here:
http://www.rgbcube.co.uk/Main.html
Too bad Nintendo was too dumb/cheap to include SPDIF audio output!
Having a DAC built into the component cable also helps explain why the component video cables for Gamecube are so expensive compared to the first-party offerings from Xbox and PS2. In order to make the GCN smaller and cut production costs, not only did they put the AC/DC converter outside the Cube (in the form of the power brick), they put the DAC outside as well. This also helps explains why no other manufacturer builds component video cables for GCN; they probably don't know how to integrate a DAC into the cables.
05-12-03, 12:49 PM
#3
Retired
It's a good idea IMO. It keeps people that don't use the component cables for having to pay for the DAC in the system.
I'm not too picky about how my games looks, and I'm on a tight budget and don't feel like buying a component switcher or dealing with the hassle of having to get up and push the buttons on it to switch between things. So I just use S-video for my GC and component for my DVD player.
I'm not too picky about how my games looks, and I'm on a tight budget and don't feel like buying a component switcher or dealing with the hassle of having to get up and push the buttons on it to switch between things. So I just use S-video for my GC and component for my DVD player.
