What are your predictions for how many more years this grossly-outdated yellow picture-transfer format from the 80's and 90's will be supported before we finally outphase it completely?

its like stereo,,, sure we have 5.1, 7.1 and all that jazz for people who dont have to worry about their pets chewing thru their entertainment system wires,, but plain old 2 channel audio still works just fine...

And people wonder why i'm so angry at Monaural Compilation Discs  (MCD's)  still being released on next-gen systems as recently as 2008 and 2009...

Is it really and truly THAT difficult to emulate 2-channel Stereo on a different console, or are the programmers just lazy..?

"Arcade-Perfect, huh?"

"Yeah, Arcade-Perfect my ASS!!!"

I think it ought to be illegal to include composite cables with electronic products. The amount of material being wasted is significant, since most people either throw them away or don't use them. By not including those cables anymore, enough money could be saved to fly the President of the U.S. across 3 whole states.

Yeah, that would be a FAR more useful thing to do with money

I have to agree.

Now that we're here in the 21st cent, S-Video should be the mandatory minimum.

Haha! Wonderful comment! Will save it for later.

The problem is there are way too many different types of cables out there for video connections, and none of them have been implemented consistently enough for a long enough period to come as a standard pack-in yet.  We've got...

-composite
-S-video
-component
-D-link (Japan only?)
-HDMI

...plus whatever else they will undoubtedly throw at us down the road.  Assuming HDMI has high enough bandwidth (that's probably not the right word) to carry a 3D video signal in full HD I suppose it has a decent chance of becoming ubiquitous.

Agreed that it's such a waste to package composite cables with video gear nowadays, that should really do away with that.

Hey we have made a little progress though.  I still remember the days that consoles came standard with an RF adapter... did the Genesis even ship with component cables originally?

I don't really hate composite cables as much as RF adapters where interference was way too common; still, the most annoying thing about component cables is having too many of them running to the same damn ports. I've about ruined the inputs on the front of my TV pluging and unplugging gaming consoles/DVD players thoughout the years.  Fixed that by buying a three button switch box they all plug into to end that and make sure my next TV doesn't get damaged in that manner.

My mother keeps bugging me about getting a new TV. I really don't have any desire to get a new one as I'm worried about my older games looking like crap on them, but I honestly don't know how big of an issue that is outside of what I've read on here. If it is, I think I might have to shell out for one of those upscalling boxes the_miker posted about.

A lot of hicks out there still prefer the Composite standard (or they just don't care to learn about higher quality video transfer, as long as they can see a picture on their screen is all that really matters to them).

I think the first Genesis model came with a Mono/ Composite cable.
Thankfully the seller Neotropolis on ebay made these obsolete by coming out with his own S-Video/ Stereo cable (also compatible with Neo-Geo AES systems).

I hate most hicks and can't wait until they defect from the rest of the US.

*patiently waits with baited baby's breath*

I have a first generation Genesis and it only came with the RF switch. This hick would gladly trade it for a composite cable. I have to constantly adjust the jack for the RF switch to keep the signal. Actually, I hope to get one of those cart/ CD combo units some day. My poor old Genny.

I must seek this Neotropolis you speak of.

http://www.neotropolis.net/33401.html

Bookmarked. Thanks!

No problem, bro.

( :

I still use composite and coaxial exclusively.  I also record television shows using a VCR instead of a DVR.  I wouldn't call myself a hick, though.  I don't really care about the picture quality of television shows, and I don't have a PS3 or Xbox 360, so I don't feel as though the graphics of my games are going to waste because I'm using composite.

I've been using S-Video for my SNES since 1997.

(had to special-order the cable directly from Nintendo in Redmond)

That's what got me into JVC TVs. I'd like to get one of their S-Video capable VCRs. I've already done most of my VHS to DVD conversions in composite, though.

Kinda pricey at $350, but it looks like money well-spent to me:

http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-HM-DH30000U-D-V … 7C294%3A50

Yeah, that looks very nice. I was thinking about something simpler and cheaper. I used to see these in the Sunday fliers all the time...

http://cgi.ebay.com/JVC-HR-A591U-S-VHS- … 7C294%3A50

Have you seen this? It's a switch box that upconverts S-Video to component! I love JVC.

http://av.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=M … d=3&page=1