GameCube Connections Part II / nsidr

Part 2 - Reader Responses

Hopefully more readers who still had some questions after reading the original article may find some answers below, although if you have any other queries, don't hesitate to send your questions to the usual address.

So without further ado

From Danny Neyman:

Hi Mark,

First of all, great article and great site!

OK, here's my question:
I live in israel and I was wondering: would a U.S. bought gamecube would work on my TV? From your article I sort of realised that it wouldn't but the thing is, I had a U.S. bought N64 and it worked just fine, so i'm not really sure.... Also, between super smash bros. and super monkey ball which one should i get? I know it's a dumb question but i NEED an answer! i just can't decide on my own...
PLEASE HELP!
Thanks,
Dan.

A: I'm guessing since your US N64 works "just fine" on your current TV, then so will the US Gamecube. The NTSC signal being output by the N64 and the Gamecube is the same, so any console you buy from the USA should theoretically work with your TV. Just for your assurance, it should be comforting to know that the US N64 AV cable (and S-Video cable, etc.) also works with the US Gamecube, therefore in all likelihood, a US bought Gamecube should work on your TV.

To answer your dilemma between those two games in particular, perhaps a visit to the N-Sider Gamecube Games page will help you out. ~~Currently only Super Smash Bros: Melee is reviewed, but rest assured within the next few days the Super Monkey Ball review will be posted. Stay tuned.~~ Read both reviews to help you with your decision.

Personally, I love Super Monkey Ball and would take it ahead of Super Smash Bros: Melee but that's just me, you and a lot of other people out there might prefer otherwise. Read more reviews, or try renting both games, to be sure you spend your money on the right game for you.

From Rob Boniface:

Hi Mark,

Hopefully you can help me. Currently I'm running a US gamecube on an (ntsc compatible) English TV through the standard AV cables plugged into a scart adaptor... can I improve the picture by using an RGB scart? Do RGB scarts work on ntsc machines?

Also, just to satisfy my curiousity...I own a DPLII compatible amplifier, but i was wondering if games that support "dolby surround" would work on a DPL amp. Is the encoding that different? and would games that support DPLII work in DPL on a DPL amp?

A: RGB SCART cables do indeed work on NTSC consoles, the good old US SNES worked wonderfully via SCART on European/Australian TV's. RGB SCART will indeed offer much better picture quality than the AV-SCART adaptor that you're using, simply because, you're only using AV through the SCART socket and you're not fully utilising the advantages of the SCART socket, which you would be if you used the RGB SCART cable.

Having said that, without personal experience with a US GC, a RGB SCART cable, and a SCART-compatible TV, I can't fully say it will work. In theory it should work, but someone out there should indeed be running this setup and will be able to 100% confirm that it works.

Onto the DPLII question. First let me congratulate you on actually owning a DPL2-capable amplifier! Dolby Pro-Logic II is backwards compatible with the original Dolby Pro-Logic. So yes, those "Dolby Surround" games (such as Super Monkey Ball) will play back in standard Pro-Logic on your DPL2 amplifier. And obviously all "Dolby Surround" games play back on DPL (non DPL2-equipped) amplifiers.

Games that support DPL2 (such as Rogue Leader and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem to name just two) should indeed run in DPL on a DPL amplifier (non DPL2-equipped). I myself "only" have a Pro-Logic amp, and I get Pro-Logic sound from Rogue Leader, though I do wish I could afford a Pro-Logic II amp to get the full effect, but I'd rather buy a couple of games than the one amplifier.

From Michael Vigil:

Q: Will having the GameCube hooked up via Component cable improve (or allow play of) all games or will regular A/V or S-Video cables have to be hooked back up in order to see it? I know you don't get progressive unless it was designed that way, but what benefits do you get, maybe a higher resolution interlace? Also, does the digital (HDTV) format make jaggies pronounced and the resolution bad on games not designed for it? Is it similar to S-Video in that you get a sharper more colorful picture regardless of what game is on?

A: When hooked up to component, all games will work, you won't need to also hook up s-video or AV or whatever cables, one cable is fine for all games.

The benefits of component over s-video is indeed higher res, cleaner picture, overall better picture quality.

In regards to HDTV, I can't say without actually seeing it on a HDTV, and since i'm in Australia, HDTV's are VERY hard to come by, let alone having the opportunity to test my GC with it. So, you'd have to check that one out yourself to be sure.

The advantage of HDTV and component is that games specifically written with progressive scan and all that jazz will work, whereas AV and whatever "lesser" TV wouldn't display it as well, for obvious reasons.

Regardless, as long as a gamer isn't forced to run on RF, then all is well in my opinion.

I myself am happy enough with AV (until of course I can afford a new Component-capable TV)

From David Anton:

Hi,
I read your great article on Gamecube connections and was wondering if the Component cable is worth getting for a TV that supports Component video but isn't high definition. The cable is quite expensive at $30 and just wanted to know if I should even bother.

A: That's basically really up to you. Even though the TV isn't HD, component still offers the highest picture quality and resolution. i.e. it's better than S-Video, AV, and obviously RF.

Whether or not you should even bother is, again, really up to you. If you're already running, say S-Video, then I myself wouldn't bother. Though if youre on AV or less, the jump to Component is recommended, whether or not the TV has HD capability.

From Christian Auby of Norway :

Great read!
I have some questions.

1. I live in Norway (same standards as the UK), and I was wondering if the UK gamecube supports component, and if any PAL TV's do.

A: Yes, the UK (and Norway and any PAL) Gamecube supports Component with the Component cable. On sale officially and 3rd party, you can find plenty of stores (online and street) that will stock them.

Yes, a lot of TV's bought in PAL countries, such as Norway, have TV's that support component.

Just ask the salesperson if it supports component video, and they'll be able to tell you if the TV does. (Component is Component whatever the country, and since you're in a PAL country, the TV will work in Component in PAL for your GC)

2. Since the answer two number 1 probably is no, my second question is: If I go for rgb (which then would give me the best picture quality) how am I supposed to get surround sound then? There are no sound-out cables on the rgb cable. I want both :)

A: To get surround sound, you would use the normal cable that came with your Gamecube (the AV one), and it would work like this:

The video would come from your RGB cable, while the sound would come from the AV cable. So, in effect, you'll have two cables running from the back of the gamecube.

To get surround sound, the AV cable would plug into the surround sound amplifier, which in turn would have speakers connected to it.

As the article states, the amplifier would need a DPL2 decoder chip on it to be able to "understand" the DPL2 audio coded in the game (for example Rogue Leader).

From C S:

Q: I currently connect my Gamecube to my TV by S-Video cables! Now...I'm buying an LCD monitor (hopefully 17" in)...should I connect it to this using a VGA Box or via Composite? And if I do...where I can I get the right materials (that box) and is there a difference between boxes (like how much it's frequency is...or how much 480p or whatever...) Also...how would I get PLII 5.1 Surround Sound off of it if my computer speakers are 5.1?...just please help me out! LOL! Thanks!

Also, I forgot...how do I know if my moniter is VGA, too!?

A: Without having any first-hand experience whatsoever of the VGA boxes that are out there, I can't really comment on how it will perform relative to your existing S-Video setup. There are differences between them, as the original article says, there are different ways to connect a Gamecube to a monitor through VGA. Incidentally, all current monitors nowadays are VGA, so don't worry, your shiny new LCD monitor will operate through VGA.

Honestly, I would stick with the S-Video setup you've currently got anyway, purely because I've yet to see any of the VGA boxes in action right in front of my very eyes.

However, if you do decide to use your new LCD monitor for the Gamecube, don't bother with Composite, go with VGA.

Moving onto the PLII question, while your speakers may be 5.1 it doesn't mean that you'll be able to full enjoy PLII. Again, what you need is a separate decoding chip typically found on Hi-Fi receivers/amplifiers that specifically supports Dolby Pro-Logic II processing. More and more new receivers are equipped with DPL2 chips, but it's still not as prevalent as Dolby Digital AC3, or even DTS.

So, the short answer to the sound question is to make sure you've got a receiver/amplifier that has a DPL2 decoding chip, and run 5.1 speakers and the Gamecube through it to get full 5.1 Dolby Pro-Logic II sound from both the game and the speakers.

From Player Guy Forever:

I recently read your GameCube connections article and found it quite interesting.

Q: I am thinking of acquiring a S-VHS connector for my GameCube and I have one question. Will I notice a difference between S-Video and the generic A/V cables that came with my system?

Thanks.

A: In a word, yes. S-Video is superior to AV, therefore you should notice better colour definition and a cleaner picture on the TV.