Some people confuse composite with component. Please do NOT get them mixed up seeing as the both of them are very different from each other. Component is far superior and separates RGB whereas composite blends in all video together into the single familiar yellow RCA cable.
The picture on my Sega Genesis looks crystal clear with no color bleed at all, which is usually evident in RF/AV cables. The Sega Genesis outputs RGB thankfully so I didn't need to do any mods to do this. You just need a Mega Drive 1 or II scart cable to draw out the RGB signal and a scart to component converter (for those who live in the UK, you would just need the scart cable and you'd be set, lucky you). If you want, you can go the extra mile like I did and get a 3-way scart switcher so you can hook up multiple consoles via component/RGB. Also, getting the scart switcher is important to draw audio from your consoles since it comes with audio outputs for the sound because the scart to component converter will only take in the component video cables, not audio. You can however, forget the switcher if you plan to draw audio out of the headphone jack of the Model 1 Sega Genesis or the Line Out Jack on the Sega Genesis CDX.
The ones I mainly look to include in my component set before adding anything else are Sega Genesis/CD/32X (done, it's up and running and works will both add-ons), Super NES (I'll have to buy one of these), and Sega Saturn. The SMS outputs RGB and uses the same cable as a Genesis Model 1 so 'tis all good. I believe it's worth going through this "trouble." It's really no trouble at all. It beats S-Video modding your consoles. Not only is component better (obviously since it separates RGB color than just color and black/white like S-Video) but you won't have to pay an expensive fee to get someone to mod your console. You can keep your console intact in it's original state whilst drawing out the best possible picture. I believe it turns out to be 480i which I must say is impressive for the Sega Genesis. The colors are very vibrant and sharp. This is a must if you are playing games that run on an old analog signal (and can output RGB like the Sega Genesis, Saturn, and certain SNES consoles) on a high definition TV, otherwise it's not really necessary if you're playing on a CRT TV, but it still will be better on both types of television sets. Hopefully this explains why older game consoles look terrible on HDTV sets, but component can remedy the situation and make it look fantastic.
Here are some pictures of my Genesis CDX in component video. The cell phone picture does not do the image quality justice. I chose S3K because the environments are colorful. Also, pay special attention to the font. It's not blurred, smooth, or blended. It is very sharp and displays all pixels perfectly. Also, pay attention the to HUD (Score, Time, Rings font). It's very sharp and looks great. Ignore the reflection of the lamp in the background in the pics of the final Death Egg boss (where you break his fingers).
NOTE: Any warped, blurry, or wavy lines are a result of the cell phone camera, so pay no attention to them.
Just a few more pictures to show. The year 1991 is well read-able in the first stage of Shadow Dancer and the star in Sonic 2 in the options menu is not blurry and not blended/smoothed on the edges. NBA Jam has to be one of the biggest improvements. The numbers in the stats were often hard to distinguish between certain numbers.
Right now I'm not using the 3-way switcher yet but bought it for when I need to draw out audio from consoles that do not have headphones jacks/line out's, and because of course I only have one console set for component video. I just need to buy a scart to scart cable to go from the switcher to the scart to component converter and I'll be set. I'll just need to buy scart cables for the Saturn and Super NES (when I get one). Here is what you'll need:
The picture on my Sega Genesis looks crystal clear with no color bleed at all, which is usually evident in RF/AV cables. The Sega Genesis outputs RGB thankfully so I didn't need to do any mods to do this. You just need a Mega Drive 1 or II scart cable to draw out the RGB signal and a scart to component converter (for those who live in the UK, you would just need the scart cable and you'd be set, lucky you). If you want, you can go the extra mile like I did and get a 3-way scart switcher so you can hook up multiple consoles via component/RGB. Also, getting the scart switcher is important to draw audio from your consoles since it comes with audio outputs for the sound because the scart to component converter will only take in the component video cables, not audio. You can however, forget the switcher if you plan to draw audio out of the headphone jack of the Model 1 Sega Genesis or the Line Out Jack on the Sega Genesis CDX.
The ones I mainly look to include in my component set before adding anything else are Sega Genesis/CD/32X (done, it's up and running and works will both add-ons), Super NES (I'll have to buy one of these), and Sega Saturn. The SMS outputs RGB and uses the same cable as a Genesis Model 1 so 'tis all good. I believe it's worth going through this "trouble." It's really no trouble at all. It beats S-Video modding your consoles. Not only is component better (obviously since it separates RGB color than just color and black/white like S-Video) but you won't have to pay an expensive fee to get someone to mod your console. You can keep your console intact in it's original state whilst drawing out the best possible picture. I believe it turns out to be 480i which I must say is impressive for the Sega Genesis. The colors are very vibrant and sharp. This is a must if you are playing games that run on an old analog signal (and can output RGB like the Sega Genesis, Saturn, and certain SNES consoles) on a high definition TV, otherwise it's not really necessary if you're playing on a CRT TV, but it still will be better on both types of television sets. Hopefully this explains why older game consoles look terrible on HDTV sets, but component can remedy the situation and make it look fantastic.
Here are some pictures of my Genesis CDX in component video. The cell phone picture does not do the image quality justice. I chose S3K because the environments are colorful. Also, pay special attention to the font. It's not blurred, smooth, or blended. It is very sharp and displays all pixels perfectly. Also, pay attention the to HUD (Score, Time, Rings font). It's very sharp and looks great. Ignore the reflection of the lamp in the background in the pics of the final Death Egg boss (where you break his fingers).
NOTE: Any warped, blurry, or wavy lines are a result of the cell phone camera, so pay no attention to them.
Just a few more pictures to show. The year 1991 is well read-able in the first stage of Shadow Dancer and the star in Sonic 2 in the options menu is not blurry and not blended/smoothed on the edges. NBA Jam has to be one of the biggest improvements. The numbers in the stats were often hard to distinguish between certain numbers.
Right now I'm not using the 3-way switcher yet but bought it for when I need to draw out audio from consoles that do not have headphones jacks/line out's, and because of course I only have one console set for component video. I just need to buy a scart to scart cable to go from the switcher to the scart to component converter and I'll be set. I'll just need to buy scart cables for the Saturn and Super NES (when I get one). Here is what you'll need:
