db27

for those of you that are using S for your GC, what brands are decent?

INteract, madcatz and the like are all readily available on eBAy for next to nothing. I'd like to get a set with gold jacks. The Monster Cable is nice looking, but I can't seem to find it any cheaper than $29.99 and that seems steep.

What say you?

PixyJunket

Get the official one from www.nintendo.com. There is no other option.

Josh H

Yeah, the Nintendo one is best (other than maybe the Monster cables, but they cost way to much for any slight advantage they may offer).

BTW, if you have a SNES or N64 S-video cable, you can use it on the GC as all three of consoles use the same video cables.

PixyJunket

Synonyms for 'Poor Quality.'

db27

cool thanks! is the nintendo brand in stores at all or just through the online store?

also, does it have gold connectors?

PixyJunket

Only through the online store for some damn reason.

But it is worth it, there have been threads here before where somebody got a Brand X S-Video cable and it ended up looking worse than the composites. They ordered the officials per my advice and came back saying it looked great.

No they don't have gold connections as far as I remember.

discostu1337

I stepped up to S-Video a while back with my cube and barely noticed any difference...perhaps you don't even need one. Definitely do not spend $30 for it. My PS2, however, greatly improved...as well as DVD players/DC etc...the cube just didnt seem to do anything.

young

yeah, i don't know which one exactly, but i have universal ones - S-video to xbox, gc, and ps2. works fine. it's just cables - not sure why 1st party is critical.

warcp

c'mon now. The diff between composites, S-Vid and component is dramatic. The diff between different brands of S-Vid cables can't be that noticeable. Can you really see a difference? I had three different brands of PS2 Component inputs and absolutely could not tell the diff after switching them for around for hours. The diff between my GC included composite and the MadCatz S-Vid input is very noticeable and good enough for me.

Josh H

Depends on a lot of things. If you're a videophile (I'm not), you know what to look for and will notice more improvement with better quality cables, and more flaws with cheap ones.

The size and quality of you're TV matters as well.

I just went first party after reading reviews, plus I pretty much try to avoid any and all third party hardware.

shumway

I was the one that Pixy was talking about with the Brand X (Pelican) cables and, the picture wasn't even clear, it was completely fuzzy, had this problem with 2 sets of cables from them. Nintendo cable had no problem whatsoever and a crystal clear picture. FYI, I have a 27" Sony Wega FS. Don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.

young

i have both the 1st party nintendo and the universal cable. i use the universal one b/c it's more convenient - i sort of used to switch from tv to tv and console to console. imo, there is no discernable difference between the nintendo and the universal cable. same w/ the sony 1st party cable. they both look good. i thought it was good enough that when i misplaced the sony svideo cable, i bought another one of the universal ones rather than a sony one (which i found later )

but then again, i don't see the difference between the monster, Acoustic Research and Radio Shack (gold plated) video/audio cables as well. maybe someone w/ pickier eyes than mine will notice differences.

for me, there is definitely an improvement from a composite to svideo, much less so from svideo to component.

anyway, its not a big deal. if you want a nintendo cable, go for it. i bought the component cables b/c, afaik, nintendo is the only company that makes it.

--
btw, this is the one i have - madkatz. i thought i had bought it for $10 but it's $13 according to the web. i don't remember where i got them from.
http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/225046.asp

--
ps i consider myself a huge videophile!

warcp

I have a 50" Sony LCD Grand Wega and the picture is very clear, much clearer with the S-Vid than the included composite. I suppose the official ones might be better, but it looked good enough for me. I may have to spring for the composite cables direct from Nintendo though, because I'm sure those'll look better than my S-Vids- but again, when dealing with different brands of the same type of connection, my eyes just don't see the diff.

young

don't get the composites, warcp. you want the component cables.

sdcrym

I got mine off of ebay and was very satisfied with it.

warcp

yup yup typo- I meant component.

flix1

I forked it over for the Monster Cables. They ROCK!

Apocrypha

I need to update but I got some S-vid cables for my GC for 1.99 from KB kids and they improved the image on my RPTV significantly over the included RCA cables (alot less hazy)

Chris_D

I haven't seen much different between the cheap cables and the high end ones (currently using component on a LG set, but previously was using svideo on sony). You'd definitely need a higher end setup to appreciate them I'd say.

I have had dud s-video cables before where the pictures been all rainbowy.. you just need to take the offending cable back and get a replacement. If your s-video cable (even a cheap one) doesn't look better than your composite then then it's almost definitely a dud and should be replaced.

I presume cheaper cables have a higher dud rate which is why their rep is so bad..

KenKeith

I have the Monster S-video Cables for GameCube and they seem pretty nice to me (only using them on 27 inch tv tho... very noticeable upgrade from the cheapo multi-system s-video and the composite cables). I'll be willing to part with them for a discount off the lowest price you can find online if you're interested... $20-25$?

I'm going to upgrade to the first-party Component cables since I'm getting an HDTV and want to try out the progressive scan features.

jediwicz

I bought the Nintendo components for my 46" Sony widescreen and couldn't be happier. I actually refuse to hook my Xbox up to it because having to decide HD formats blows. With my GCN I just hold down B (on my Wavebird) and BAM-progressive scan. Metroid Prime, Zelda, F-Zero, Viewtiful Joe and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (plus a list of others)-it's breathtaking.

KenKeith

I just placed an order for the official Nintendo Gamecube component cables, so if anyone's interested in my Monster Gamecube S-Video Cable let me know.