o.pwuaioc wrote:he TV stand has a drawer to the right of the shelves where I store the cables, and then the rest of the consoles sit on the shelves of the TV stand. However, I've found myself often unmotivated to hook up a console, and figured that if they're easier to turn on, I'd be more inclined to play. So that's where I am today.
Yeah, I here ya. When I was in my 20's, this system was fine and I had no problem hooking up a console as needed. But in my 30's, I don't know, I've either grown lazy or just don't have enough motivations anymore, but I do find myself sometimes not feeling like hooking up a console on the fly.
o.pwuaioc wrote:That's good to know. I have a Trinitron, so maybe I'll nab just whatever. At this point the component cables I need are all for modded systems.
Yeah, definitely try out cheap(er) cables first and see if they work for you. By that I mean, get decent cables and not cheap CHEAP cables that'll break or are possibly wired incorrectly. But there's no need to speed a lot of money on expensive cables if you don't need them.
o.pwuaioc wrote:Here's where it can't work for me. The svideo and component cables are only in the back of the TV, so I have to move this damn heavy thing every time I want to plug it in. That doesn't help with the motivation at all. You're satisfied with the composite look?
Actually, I have a work around for this! My Samsung 27" CRT has a side AV input, and it's a composite/S-Video combo input. That was very useful. I don't use component with my retro consoles on the CRT. Maybe the PS2 I would, but I'm too cheap to buy the additional cables. To be honest, for these 240p retro consoles, I don't notice a difference between S-Video and component so I never felt the need to bother with that. On my PVM I use RGB, of course. But on the consumer grade CRTs I have, I use S-Video and composite. I try and use S-Video whenever possible, but I'm still using composite for NES (I have an RGB kit but I haven't gotten around to installing it yet) and I like to use composite for the Genesis every now and then to see those fake transparencies and dithering effects that some games have.
Anyway, there's some switch boxes that have front AV inputs that you can use for this purpose. I have one that has front composite, S-Video and component inputs. I got it originally for the PSP so I could easily hook up the TV out cables. It would be perfect for this "on the fly" hook up system as well. The only downside is that it requires power, but the benefit of that is auto switching. I forget the make and model, but I can dig it out if you're interested. But my other idea is basically just glorified extension cables. I was going to build a little box that has composite, S-Video and components jacks, then has cables running out the back of the box to the inputs on the back of the TV. Essentially giving you front AV ports. I actually bought all the parts to make this years ago but never got around to it LOL. You could also just use straight up extension cables, but the box gives it a nicer aesthetic.
Sorry if this post isn't too well composed, and if it is, beer is to blame.