Any Solid SCART Switches Out There?

[mookie3three]

What would people choose between these two cheapies?

Fairly generic 5 way scart switch:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300715277062

Or

Hama clone 3 way scart switch
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221439174958

 

[MtothaJ]

What would people choose between these two cheapies?

Fairly generic 5 way scart switch:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300715277062

Or

Hama clone 3 way scart switch
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221439174958

The Hama clone is the safer bet particularly if number of inputs is not the main factor. Additionally it can easily be modded to outpus rgb via the rca terminals which facilitates easy hook up to a pvm via rca cable and bnc adapters.
The 5 input switch looks exactly the same as the Carrefour switch i posted a pic of only with more inputs. I am pretty confident you wouldn't have any problems with that one either.

 

[mookie3three]

The Hama clone is the safer bet particularly if number of inputs is not the main factor. Additionally it can easily be modded to outpus rgb via the rca terminals which facilitates easy hook up to a pvm via rca cable and bnc adapters.
The 5 input switch looks exactly the same as the Carrefour switch i posted a pic of only with more inputs. I am pretty confident you wouldn't have any problems with that one either.

Thanks for that. Might just pick the one with more inputs.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

I have one of the ELRO SCART switches. I get a bit of audio buzzing when using it, but it works decently otherwise.

I also own a mad catz SCART switch. I've noticed it has some audio buzzing on a few of my PVMs. However, I have an NEC RGB monitor that has a sync stripper on the breakout cable, from the switch to the breakout cable I don't notice the audio buzz. So improperly grounded line must be on the composite line that it's pulling sync from.

 

[MtothaJ]

I have one of the ELRO SCART switches. I get a bit of audio buzzing when using it, but it works decently otherwise.

I also own a mad catz SCART switch. I've noticed it has some audio buzzing on a few of my PVMs. However, I have an NEC RGB monitor that has a sync stripper on the breakout cable, from the switch to the breakout cable I don't notice the audio buzz. So improperly grounded line must be on the composite line that it's pulling sync from.

Concerning audio buzz more often than not the problem is a ground loop and or poor screening. Have a look here: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showt...or-audio-out&p=3754746&highlight=#post3754746
The external gròund for audio is something that works as does running your audio out of the scaft plug in a seperate cable e.g. standard headphone extension cable.

Btw I got the below switch today:



Bandridge 3 slot auto with Psu. They didnt have any 5 slotters so i grabbed the last 3 slotter remaining. Bandridge switches stocks are all but depleted so good luck to anyone looking for one.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

Concerning audio buzz more often than not the problem is a ground loop and or poor screening. Have a look here: http://www.neo-geo.com/forums/showt...or-audio-out&p=3754746&highlight=#post3754746
The external gròund for audio is something that works as does running your audio out of the scaft plug in a seperate cable e.g. standard headphone extension cable.

Btw I got the below switch today:

View attachment 26987

Bandridge 3 slot auto with Psu. They didnt have any 5 slotters so i grabbed the last 3 slotter remaining. Bandridge switches stocks are all but depleted so good luck to anyone looking for one.

Thanks for the background info.

I'm curious how well the bandridge works.

 

[MtothaJ]

Thanks for the background info.

I'm curious how well the bandridge works.

OK, got it home and did some testing:



Summary:
+ appears sturdy and well made
+ scart plug sockets are very tight
+ can be used horizontally or vertically
+ autoswitching works great, much more convenient than throwing switches.
+ 9V DC power supply onboard, could be useful for e.g. proper RGB input selection and aspect switching (the idea would be to mod it so that pins 8 and 16 are never forwarded from the inputs to the output and just put the 9V to pin 8 and from pin 8 a 330ohm resistor to pin 16 on the output so as to always have rgb selected and 4:3 aspect ratio enabled)

Now for the major bummer:
- the picture is slightly less bright / duller than when using a standard cheapo manual scart switch (such as e.g. the Carrefour one also visible unplugged in the photo).

For the above reason I can not recommend this switch and will either be putting it up for sale or maybe opening it up and seeing if I can utilize it for something / mod it.

 

[DragonmasterDan]

OK, got it home and did some testing:

View attachment 26989View attachment 26990View attachment 26991

Summary:
+ appears sturdy and well made
+ scart plug sockets are very tight
+ can be used horizontally or vertically
+ autoswitching works great, much more convenient than throwing switches.
+ 9V DC power supply onboard, could be useful for e.g. proper RGB input selection and aspect switching (the idea would be to mod it so that pins 8 and 16 are never forwarded from the inputs to the output and just put the 9V to pin 8 and from pin 8 a 180ohm resistor to pin 16 on the output so as to always have rgb selected and 4:3 aspect ratio enabled)

Now for the major bummer:
- the picture is slightly less bright / duller than when using a standard cheapo manual scart switch (such as e.g. the Carrefour one also visible unplugged in the photo).

For the above reason I can not recommend this switch and will either be putting it up for sale or maybe opening it up and seeing if I can utilize it for something / mod it.

That's too bad on the brightness.

The best one I've used so far is the Mad Catz, but as mentioned on a non-sync stripped monitor there is some audio/buzz and hum. I didn't notice any deterioration in color, brightness or overall image quality though.

 

[Wachenroder]

I'm making my own.. they're about 8 bucks a piece if I make them myself.. just get a double sided RGB BNC cable from monoprice, cut it in half, and put a female SCART socket on it. You will need to Run L/R/Gnd wires up the length of the cables, I have the entire cable covered in techflex so you can't see the wires outside of the main cable. It's not too bad to wire them up.. only takes 45 minutes for each cable.

Seems like all the ones ive had on my radar are sold out. Now a new cheap ass Chinese one is on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311498053921

The price is great but itll probably catch fire when I'm plug it in. Still I'm wondering if this would make for a decent base to build my own. I know you suggested hitting up monoprice for the rgb bnc cables but where would I find everything else or would you recommend using these female scart ports? Also what are some pitfalls to look out for when trying to build a quality switch box?

 

[MtothaJ]

Seems like all the ones ive had on my radar are sold out. Now a new cheap ass Chinese one is on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311498053921

The price is great but itll probably catch fire when I'm plug it in. Still I'm wondering if this would make for a decent base to build my own. I know you suggested hitting up monoprice for the rgb bnc cables but where would I find everything else or would you recommend using these female scart ports? Also what are some pitfalls to look out for when trying to build a quality switch box?

Don't quite know what you would be planning to do with that scart extender but I highly doubt you will get any sort of satisfactory results using that contraption. For one it has no switching circuitry.
In terms of 5 port switches, the Carrefour ones - like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCART-BOX-5...227959?hash=item35f78928f7:g:Nk4AAOSwu4BVpXQh - are IMHO currently the best bet, given that the Bandridge 5 slot is no longer available.
I have written a little bit about the 3 slot version of this switch in this thread and after using it for some time I can say that:
- the switching circuitry is fine, it isolates the selected input from the other inputs, there is no interference etc. so the basics are covered.
- the scart plug on the output cable side was at least in the case of my switch of a particularly crappy quality - the pins were misaligned and the plug was difficult to insert in a scart socket without bending anything. I have since threw the stock plug in the garbage and just soldered in a replacement male scart plug. Equally well, you can dispose of the plug and rewire the output side for BNC.
- the female scart input connectors on the switch side are so-so: when using certain scart plugs it is not as snug connection as one would hope for or as is the case in e.g. the Bandridge switch. This is not really anything too dramatic, but if you are often changing cables etc. you may find that every so often you need to reaffirm that the scart plugs are fully seated in the switch.

 

[xsq]

OK, got it home and did some testing:

thank you for sharing your experience. I was looking at that switch as well some time ago.

 

[MtothaJ]

thank you for sharing your experience. I was looking at that switch as well some time ago.

Not a problem. It is really a shame, because otherwise it feels like a quality product and the auto input selection is very convenient and works seamlessly.

 

[Stellarola]

Another alternative would be to get an Extron video switcher. It's not SCART, but RGBHV/BNC. It would require more adapters and crap, but these things are DIRTY cheap.

^ Video above showing the Extron System 8 Plus. I bought one and also a newer auto-switching model too. I'll keep you all informed how it works out. These are available on eBay for about $15-$30 + shipping.

Female SCART to RGBS BNC adapters would be required. That is really the costly part in this setup.

Also check out RGB Rob's channel on Youtube. Here is a video of him using an Extron Video Matrix switcher in his setup. Its badass and allows multiple inputs to be directed to multiple outputs. Great for folks with multi-monitor setups.

 

[Yodd]

edit: Damnit, Stellarolla beat me to it.



My next switch is going to be something like an Extron Crosspoint 300.

Building all the necessary Scart to BNC cables will be a hassle, but will be worth it for the flexibility this type of device brings to the table.


One switch connecting multiple consoles and retro computers to any number of different displays. Route any signal to any output and even have multiples going at one time. Independently route audio to any of the outputs.

Imagine having your consoles ran into this and then having a couple different displays hanging off of it. Maybe a large monitor for regular Horizontal stuff, another flipped on its side for vertical/Tate shooters and yet another, smaller display sitting on your computer desk off to the side. With the click of the buttons on the front you can route a Tate supergun shoot'em up to the Tate display, a Neo Geo game to the large Horizontal display and something else to the display sitting on your desk. ALL at the same time. Or route the same signal to ALL of the displays AT THE SAME TIME. Same thing with the audio. Huge flexibility.


I'm tired of fucking with the amateur hour cheap junk scart switchs. I'm personally going to the pro gear. Best of all, these things can be commonly bought used for under $100.

 

[RAZO]

Damn! Those are massive. Stupid question but will this work if you have some inputs connected via scart and bnc and others just component with the necessary adapters.

 

[Yodd]

Damn! Those are massive. Stupid question but will this work if you have some inputs connected via scart and bnc and others just component with the necessary adapters.

Yes.

It can route about any kind of signal and different ones all at the same time. Of course it doesn't magically convert RGB inputs into Component outputs (or vice versa), but you could have several devices attached via RGB, a couple more via component and a few more via s-video (or composite). Then have the outputs ran to RGB, component and svideo displays and switch them back and forth to the appropriate displays. As long as you are routing the same video format to the same kind of output, you are good to go.

 

[Larrs888]

I had a Brandridge 2 port SCART switch and like the 3 port unit mentioned above I also had a noticeably darkened image, I also tried a MadCatz which seemed good but it didn't like my PS1 for some reason and now I have a Hama 3 port manual switch. The Hama had to be modded slightly and seems OK but my SNES displays noise on the image which isn't present when connected directly to my XRGB Mini My Omega CMVS and PS1 work fine with the Hama with no noticeable interference unlike the SNES. Essentially I have yet to find the perfect Scart switch and just manually swap cables over with my XRGB since I only have my SNES and Neo out at the moment.

I have a Jap Model 1 Mega Drive on its way so will test that with the Hama once it arrives.

 

[RAZO]

Yes.

It can route about any kind of signal and different ones all at the same time. Of course it doesn't magically convert RGB inputs into Component outputs (or vice versa), but you could have several devices attached via RGB, a couple more via component and a few more via s-video (or composite). Then have the outputs ran to RGB, component and svideo displays and switch them back and forth to the appropriate displays. As long as you are routing the same video format to the same kind of output, you are good to go.

I'm going to look into this. The System 8 doesn't go for much money either.

 

[Stellarola]

I'm going to look into this. The System 8 doesn't go for much money either.

Be sure to find a unit with the Phoenix audio adapters already attached. Otherwise you'll spend more on extra adapters than the actual Extron itself!

I believe the System 8 and 10 use the 6 pin style.

 

[MtothaJ]

Building all the necessary Scart to BNC cables will be a hassle, but will be worth it for the flexibility this type of device brings to the table.

A while back I was thinking about what would be the best / easiest way to do this. IMO female scart -> bnc for each input is an option, but a better way could be to utilise Hama clone scart switches. One could open the switch , get rid of the switching circuitry so that you essentially are left with a block with four independent female scart sockets and then solder RCA cables to the solder points for the respective pins in the scart switch and use RCA to BNC adapters to link up to the Extron switch.
Would be keen to learn of your thoughts if you see a better / simpler way to go forward with this.

It would also be good if somebody had the opportunity to properly test one of those switches - just to make sure that there is no interference, the picture doesn't go dim etc. Obviously this is pro gear and it shouldn't happen but its better not to take anything for granted - it would be a shame if we would all jump on this bandwagon, put in the time and money to adapt our cabling and then it would turn out that the overall solution sucks in one way or another.

From my perspective, a downer with these switches is that they do not pass scart pins 8 and 16 so auto input switching and aspect ratio selection if needed would be needed to be done another way. Obviously this is nothing difficult, but its yet another additional thing to take into account.

As for the switches I have seen different ones - some do not have the audio switching capacity (just video) and on a lot of them the audio connectors are missing - as has been pointed out here they are quite expensive so in any case this should be factored in when buying the unit.

 

[Lemony Vengeance]

I mentioned picking up a system 10 switch earlier in the thread. I think I paid like $25 before shipping on eBay. It's been a solid switch, but now that it's fully populated, I kinda want to upgrade...

 

[Wachenroder]

I mentioned picking up a system 10 switch earlier in the thread. I think I paid like $25 before shipping on eBay. It's been a solid switch, but now that it's fully populated, I kinda want to upgrade...

Yeah I saw that but didn't know what you were talking about lol. Thanks for tips Lemony and MtothaJ.

 

[Stellarola]

I mentioned picking up a system 10 switch earlier in the thread. I think I paid like $25 before shipping on eBay. It's been a solid switch, but now that it's fully populated, I kinda want to upgrade...

What else ya hooking up?

 

[Wachenroder]

What else ya hooking up?

Oh and thanks for your suggestions as well. That setup looks beastly

 

[Stellarola]

From my perspective, a downer with these switches is that they do not pass scart pins 8 and 16 so auto input switching and aspect ratio selection if needed would be needed to be done another way. Obviously this is nothing difficult, but its yet another additional thing to take into account.

As for the switches I have seen different ones - some do not have the audio switching capacity (just video) and on a lot of them the audio connectors are missing - as has been pointed out here they are quite expensive so in any case this should be factored in when buying the unit.

I don't think there is anything to worry about with pin 8 and 16 unless someone has a SCART enabled set. The switcher does all the work.

Connecting a SCART switch and wiring into it would be one idea, like you suggested...but I have no plans on doing that. I'm curious how Lemony has his wired up...

My thoughts?

-Female SCART to RGBS BNC with male phono RCA style (L,R audio) adapter (pre-made, i'm not going to do all that soldering)
-Connect female phono with attached - + terminal screwdown to Phoenix terminal adapter to the Extron