RGB and Component Switchers - gscartsw, Hydra, and Extron :: RGB308 / MY LIFE IN GAMING 

Me as a kid: "Just plug the yellow and white cables into the TV and the other wire for the wall" Me as an adult: "Gotta make sure my house is grounded before using my consoles"

These guys are like the digital foundry of retro gaming.

These guys deserve more subscribers.

Your channel is one of the highest quality channels I have ever seen. I've learned a whole lot from your videos, and this channel is my number one source for retro gaming information. Keep up the great work!

Didn't even know I was doubling my low pass filter using the GSCARTSW and OSSC... Disabled it in the OSSC settings and yes, it's noticeably better now. Awesome stuff!

Man, this episode must have taken an insane amount of time dedicated to just the testing phase alone. Great work as always, guys.

I've got a 16x8 Extron crosspoint. I made an array of 16 SCART to BNC converters to use it. It was a lot of work, but sooooo worth it. The whole set up only cost me about £80. I love it :)

Thank you for all the time you guys invest in these videos. I have such a mess of cables I have to deal with any time I connect a console. I've been holding off on buying the switchers I need for years because I didn't want to be a guinea pig testing junk. I will be changing my set up now that there is solid information by people I trust to go on.

You guys provide some outstanding content that is meaningful and informative while maintaining zero clutter in communication. Seriously, you guys are amazing.

Holy balls thanks for this. Just ordered the Extron 84HVA and the Impact Acoustics. The Extron will go great in my server rack. just waiting on the Audio cables to come back in stock, though it looks like they might be easy to wire myself.

I'm glad that I have finished my setup when I see you do vids like this. The gscartsw was tricky enough to get when not as many people knew about them :) Great vid though

THANK YOU ! THANK YOU , THANK YOU! I have been looking for ideas on scart switchers for months.

Damn! That Hydra looks good, especially with it being expandable, that seems almost perfect for my setup.

OSSC + Hydra + appropriate SCART cables for each console + RGB mod to consoles that need it... 'nuff said.

Your off screen CRT footage keeps getting better! Keep up the good work and glad to see the BVM D9 making its debut.

I really appreciated this video, guys. This answered a lot of questions I had and was extremely helpful. Already a subscriber, but this is what I watch for. Thank you.

I always think 'Ahhhh My Life In Gaming, I'll watch 5minutes to get an overview of the episode' *30minutes later* 'Good episode...' It pains me to see how expensive RGB scart based stuff is in the States. I've been tempted for a while to put together low cost bundles for people overseas. Even 'cheap' (or affordable) mechanical switchers in the UK are pretty decent since they mostly just act as a pass-through. Automatic switching is nice but for the sake of pushing a button and not worrying about power leaks etc. I'd go mechanical.

I ordered a gscartsw 5.1 in October 2018. Last week it arrived in germany. Sadly the customs authorities decline the import. Working with superg to get this issue solved.

I absolutely love EVERYTHING on your channel, guys! The intros, the themes, the background, the sound clarity, the summary, the scripting, the information. CONGRATULATIONS! By the way, there are a small amount of videos I can afford to watch in 1x speed, most of them I must speed up, sometimes to 2x because it's a looooooong road until you hear what matters and to clutch up all the information scattered in 10 minutes of blabbering and wannabefunny speech!

I have a HAMA switcher and it works great on my setup. You guys are the best. Learnt a lot with you. Thank you.

FYI on the 5 input Bandridge Automatic, it doesn't carry quite enough power for a sync stripper possibly if you have a cable with one in it. Funnily enough the Manual one doesn't have this limitation. I was pulling my hair out until I found that. So I went back the Bandridge manual and love it.

Good lord this video is nuts. Wish I saw this two years ago the new gccomp coming out is 220 bucks which is a bit much. I wish he still had the 4 input one avalible.

Love the little touches with sounds and sprites. Fun

I absolutely love all the sound effects and animations!

I had to rewatch 19:25 cause it made me laugh so hard.

Sakura theme at 6:19

Seriously every time i go looking for something new in this hobby there's always a wildly in depth MLIG video for it lol. Thanks fellas!

This is extra helpful for setting up my entire console array. All these switchers are making my head swim in information.

No love for the HAMA? They are one of the very few people to still do factory-built scart switchers!

It looks like the gscartsw is blurrier than the direct connection and Hydra. Also no seeing any loss in brightness on the Hydra either. 16:45

You guys have an awesome channel. Keep up the good work. I always learn so much.

Thanks for another great video! I'm glad you finally got to talk about the quality of the cables, since yeah... today we have digital cables and everything is fine, but analogue stuff is a completely different story.

So what exactly are the flaws with the monoprice component switcher? I'm just looking for a cheap and effective enough solution for component

I have several cheap SCART switches that cost me basically nothing. I use them with a CRT and I have yet to notice any degradation. I live in Europe so my CRT has full RGB support. I also tested some automatic SCART switches - cheap ones and they are really bad. It's not so hard to find some amazing cables for retro console here at flea markets, so I didn't have to spend loads of cash just to get better image out of my consoles.

I bought the Bandridge SVB7735 after watching this video. I'm very happy with it. Thank you so much Coury and Try! Love the channel.

I love the variety of games you showcase! Not only big hits, as well! Toejam and Earl 2, and Illbleed...some of my favourite "hidden gem" type games!

HAMA AV-100S. Perfect SCART switch if you only need 3 inputs. Bought mine for $25 shipped from Germany brand new in the box.

I wish that you did cover HAMA/ VIVANCO AV-100S SCART switcher. I was curious how it is comparable with others devices.

I honestly love this channel. I was in a state of panic after adopting cysnc and realizing after that my bandridges weren't compatible. This answered all of my questions on how to create a new setup to accommodate differences in my setup.

Love the content. Keep up the great work guys!

Have you tried connecting the BNC switchers directly to a HDTV via component? These BNC switchers sound like a very limited featured but a cheap way to get RGB on your TV compared to the framemeister. From what I'm hearing at least, this sounds like a switcher where i can connect all my component devices via 75ohm terminators and connect my scart switcher here as well since i got scart to BNC and thus connect it to the PVM and the HDTV. Let me know if this is a viable option.

Oh my god! Why are they so expensive!? I don’t get it! Screw this, I’m just gonna manually switch my SCART cables out... And I live in the UK where bloody everyone used SCART, they were practically standard back in the day! *EDIT:* Christ, Switchboxes seem to have so many issues that it’s probably just easier to switch cables out by hand. Like, how am I supposed to know if my house is grounded or not? It was built 70 years ago by the government, I don’t know if that’s bad or not! Nor do I know anything about the quality of my power! Why does power even have quality!? And switchers cause a quality drop off? Why!? You’d think someone would make a proper noise-free lossless switcher, at least out here in the UK where SCART was a big thing, but sadly no. *EDIT EDIT:* Just brought a Bandridge SVB7725. Looking forward to when it arrives.

Hey Guys! Keep putting this effort and details in your videos! I love your work! Greetings from Spain :)

Great video as always, gentlemen.

"I'll be over in a little bit. I have to watch this 28 minute video on switchers first."

woah what is the music at 6:20?

THANK YOU! A new, epic video!

Great video and I've now bought a bandridge mechanical switcher thanks :)

Love the presentation on these vids

One problem I ran into was using both Component Video and SCART to BNC breakout sources on the same PVM with a single set of RGB BNC inputs and C-Sync. I decided to get a cheap, passive, 3-in, 1-out component switcher to run both BNC and Component into. I used adapters to connect the BNC cables to the switcher, and also to connect the output component cables from the switcher to the BNC inputs on the PVM, and it works! All my SCART console cables go into a Bandridge automatic switcher, which then daisy chains into the component switcher using BNC from a SCART breakout cable which also has RCA stereo audio cables, which then daisy chain into ANOTHER switcher I use for audio and S-video only. Also thanks so much for your high-quality and informative videos. I recently got a gaming PC, and thought it would be a LONG time before I got my old consoles out of the attic when I can emulate anything if I wanted. All this info has made me appreciate this stuff so much more!

Simply awesome! Gotta love this channel! ;) Cheers!

Another great episode...thanks guys.

Great episode as always guys. Speaking of Pelican switchers, they actually made an 8 input one for S-Video, Composites and Components. It's electronic, so there's an AC for it, but it works great, I was using it before when I had a CRT. One final note regarding SCART switchers when going the 2160p (4K) UHD route. I bought those cheap 5 ways black SCART switchers on ebay when I got my XRGB-Mini. I had no issues with them on my regular HD Samsung TV, but when I moves to my new UHD Samsung TV this week, any issues that were not noticeable at a 3x upscaling to 720p are now VERY noticeable at a 9x upscaling of 2160p. I was seeing a bunch of noise in the background, reminded me of interference on an old CRT (snow effect). When I hooked my consoles straight to the XRGB-Mini, the issue was gone. In a way, your episode came out just in time for me :)

that video came just in time! i just moved into my first own flat and now i have to hook about ten retro consoles :)

Another great episode!

I am so getting one of those monstrous Extron Matrix Switchers with 32 inputs and 32 outputs. I don’t even need one, but I want one as it’s just beautiful. IT’S MASSIVE AND COMPLETELY MAD!

Waiting for my xrgb mini in the mail, so this is exciting I get to see this in advance of getting it!

These guys are always great...another top video

the new Gcomp switch is DA BOMMMMMMB. 8+2 and dead simple to use. one goes to my 36' CRT and the other goes to my OSSC, which gets split to my OLED and capture card, couldn't be happier and if I really get desperate there's a solid $15 mechanical switcher that Matt from HDRetrovision recommends that can add 3 more inputs if I don't mind pressing a button every now and again.

Yes! I've been waiting!

Just got the hydra v2 which now has 2 outputs as well as the 8 or 16 inputs. What a beast of device, i love it!

Quite an interesting video, guys. I think Hydra is still the thing for me. Those 16 inputs with that manual option... Ugh, sounds like paradise.

Such an awesome channel. Have only just subscribed. What have I been missing?!?

THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY

Great episode

Great video lads! I'm a big fan of my skytronic/shinybow 4:2 scart switcher. Hydra looks like a monster!

Glad the hydra works well with the ossc as I got mine delivered a week ago, now I just need my ossc and Ill be all set :)

Very informative! thank you

I've been using the joytech control centre 540c for years now, and have been really happy with it. It's a powered 6 in 1 out switch with IR remote control, and does component, composite, and svideo with spdif, and has a dedicated port for Xbox 360 cable. It has a built in 6 port eithernet hub too, which is really handy for more modern consoles. It's styled to look a lot like a 1st gen Xbox 360 and has a backlit lcd display with adjustable brightness level, which shows the name of the currently selected input (you can reprogram the names for each input yourself too). I actually have 2 of them in my setup, one dedicated to Y Pb Pr and the other dedicated to composite, and I've never found anything else on the market that even comes close to them in terms of functions, looks and usability. I would highly recommend this device to any retrogamer! (I always thought it was a bit odd that nobody else in the scene ever seems to mention this thing, as it's so good)

Hey, My Life in Gaming I can say that the active component switch from monoprice is really good. It supports up to 4 component video inputs at once and has an 'IR learning' remote though it takes a bit to get it to learn.

Video davvero eccellente,centraline multi scart e rca impeccabili per collegamenti perfetti.

I finally found a Bandridge SVB7725 and couldn't wait to try it out. Before commencing with the small mod you mentioned, I quickly tried it out and no detail was lost or noise was added. However, the colours had changed and became a bit over-saturated and murky. I wasn't sure if the mod you mentioned would fix it but I gave it a go. Alas, the incorrect colour persists. Regardless of what console or scart input I use. And I also use packapunch cables so I know my cables are decent. I've gone back to my 3-scart selector because even though there are less inputs, at least it's entirely accurate. I'm a bit gutted that my Bandridge didn't turn out how I imagined it and I will be selling it.

Glad to know component switchers are so simple and cheap. If I get some of those component cords for the SNES and Genesis to go with my Wii/PS2 component cord, and a single adapter for a scaler, that'd be a lot of my needs covered. Not all of them, but enough that I could stand to just change SCART cables on a case by case basis.

This episode is a godsend.

I got myself a Bandridge SVB7735 (Powered) RGB Scart switcher based on the recommendations of this video and it is fantastic bit of kit. The image is clean, the ports don't interfere with each other and the build quality is excellent for the money! I'm not sure what the availability is like in the States but there seems to be plenty available here in UK/Europe anyway.

I use a bandridge switch box to the mini framemeister, all my consoles look amazing with this setup

YES!!! Finally, cause of you guys, I recently got the gscartsw 3.4. $220, but damn it's amazing.

haha nice touch with switches and plugs sound effects

There are multible RU-vid Channels and videos that I can list that could totally be respectable cable TV shows. This is one of them.

Awesome video, so detailed, and I love the video beat effects that change with the music. - It would be great if you could do a video looking at new "gaming monitors". Specifically high response rate IPS panels like the Acer Predator Z35. From what I understand, even CRTs have input lag in the sense that it still takes 16 ish milliseconds to draw the whole frame. Are these "gaming" monitors getting close to CRT responsiveness with their advertised 4ms input lag? It would be really amazing to see a Framemeister that outputs to DisplayPort. With new monitors supporting 144hz refresh or higher, it seems like games could seem even more responsive on a high end "gaming monitor" than a CRT. I would love to see this topic handled with the amazing care and effort you guys bring to each video.

this must have taken a century to edit together. thank you for your work

I just bought an extron crosspoint and got all the adaptors and using hd retrovision cables. Can’t wait to see how it turns out

I have an 8x8 component matrix switcher that I love. That mixed with my 2 gscart switchers and a framemeister, makes it really easy to simultaneously output all of my consoles to my hdtv and my CRT. As soon as I get a PVM, I'll be able to add that to one of my component outputs without any problems. All of my cables are a mess behind my TVs though, and there is no way I could explain how to turn anything on to someone else haha. It works for me though.

I just ordered an extron mps 112cs and am pumped for it to arrive.

Don't know if anyone's mentioned it in the comments yet, but I've been using Tim Worthington's SCARTMUX SCART switcher for the last little while and have been loving it. 4 in, 2 out, automatic switching, has toggleable sync stripping if you need it, and I'm even able to get the USB port on my TV to power it (a simple phone charger block with a mini-USB cable will work fine too, or plugging into your Framemeister if you use that)! Uses an 8-pin DIN port for output, so you'll have to buy a cable appropriate for your setup (which Tim sells as well) - you can use the 8-pin DIN to SCART cable from the NESRGB kit on Tim Worthington's website (which, even for a soldering novice like me, was doable) and has audio broken out of the video signal (best to integrate it with your setup, I plug the 3.5mm audio cable directly into the audio in on my OSSC), but those are minor quirks. As well, maybe only having 4 inputs will be a dealbreaker for some, but it was fine for me. I haven't been able to get sync-on-green working for PS2 480p as of yet over SCART (don't know if any other SCARTMUX users have?) but I've been more than happy to just play with the 4x 480i mode from the OSSC. Anyways, great video guys! This entire masterclass series helped me plan out and get my retro gaming setup in top shape - thank you so much! :)

Stick to retro gaming cables, quality stuff awesome helpful guys also! Thanks for this video guys ive been patiently awaiting this one!

Well, That Escalated Quickly!

I found a Pelican System Selector Pro PL-960 yesterday, $60. It's an active power 8-input, 1-output. It allows Composite, S-Video, Component, TosLink & 2 RCA stereo audio out. It's a worth while buy if you find one. It was sold at Gamestop back in the day so its consumer grade and fits into your A/V shelf better than something like the Extron will. Word of warning I actually broke mine while testing all the ports. One of the RCA jacks was not installed flush with the PCB so all the load of plugging/unplugging was carried by the solder joint itself. Which of course ripped free from the PCB. I was able to fix it, the contact pad area for the jacks is thankfully very large so I was able to scrape away a new contact point, re-solder and then hot glued it down for safety. So I guess what I'm saying is give all the jacks a wiggle test before you start plugging in to them. If they move that means they are on their way to breaking eventually. In terms of image quality it seems okay to me. Just going into a 14" Toshiba consumer CRT. It doesn't appear to be any different from plugging straight into the TV itself. You can tell what era its from as its labels are; PS2, Gamecube, Xbox. Also since it happened to me don't use those Monster cables with the tight connector grip (the spiral look). Definitely what contributed to me breaking the jack. They are simply way, way to tight. Like trying to free a vice grip.

Great video. Hanna switches are decent too, though both it and the Bandridge prices keep going up.

Thank you for recommending the xtron, I was planning to mostly do component and wanted a switcher that could also be an active splitter for recording GameCube without being too much resistance on the output and shortening the consoles life span. Having the option to run old console directly or throw up scalers on my monitor while streaming or recording upscaled signal sounds worth the extra hassle.

17:50 - Nice! Got one of those monitors as a $70 ebay purchase after my 32-inch Samsung broke. Watching this vid on my PS4 through it in fact!

I got myself a Bandridge SVB7725 off eBay earlier this year. It’s a great device, and I’ve had literally no issues. None. I didn’t even have to mod mine! Annoyingly, it’s AV5/VCR port doesn’t support RGB, but even if it did I’d still be 2 inputs short. Originally, the Bandridge supported exactly the amount of inputs I needed, but my setup has grown since then. It was real cheap too, there is (or at least was) a guy selling loads of them on eBay for £25 quid. My setup consists of each device, a SNES, a Mega Drive, a PS2, a Wii, a DVD player, a PVR/Set-top box, a VCR, and an original PS1, hooked up via RGB SCART cable from Retro Gaming Cables UK, (except for the VCR, which is using a well-insulated SCART cable using gold-coated connections, and the PVR/DVD player, as they use a special cable I’ll describe later.) plugged into the Bandridge. Not everything fits, however, I have too many SCARTs. So the PS1 is almost never hooked up, I rarely use the DVD player, instead using the PVR’s USB input to watch video files, so the DVD player is unplugged but I can switch the two out if I need to watch a disc, and I switch the SNES and Mega Drive when I want to play the other one. After the Bandridge, the video is outputted using a completely insane SCART cable my father gave me. His friend brought them back in the 1990’s, and used them for everything, saying they made his video sources look way better, so my dad brought some for himself, and used them to hook up him VCR. As, unsurprisingly, they didn’t look any better, he threw them in the loft and gave them to me this year when I asked him if he had any spare SCARTs. Apparently, he spent £100 pounds PER CABLE, and he brought two of them. That’s 200 POUNDS! Of course, there’s a reason why they are so expensive. Both cables are built out of gold. Literally. The bits you hold as you insert them are super-heavy-duty steel, and the cables both within the wire and the plugs that go into the input socket are super heavily insulated and made out of gold. It’s not even coated, it’s just GOLD. So all my video output goes though one of these solid gold cables into my Sony Trinitron KV-21X5U 15khz CRT, and it looks stunning. The PVR/DVD Player use the other cable, as dad gave them both to me, and I keep one input in the Bandridge at all times, and I switch the other end between the two devices. Overall, I’m super happy with the setup. I’m going to add another Bandridge someday, and daisy-chain them. I’ll probably use the PVR/DVD Player’s £100 SCART to connect the two switchers, and I’ll grab another gold-plated cable like I use for the VCR to use with the PVR/DVD Player. I’m not exactly sure where I’d put the Bandridge though, as with my current Bandridge I can barely fit all the cables in, and I’m actually using the VCR to weigh down the Bandridge’s little foot-thing, otherwise the overpriced golden SCARTs will pull it over. (They are proper heavy, drop one on your foot and it might break it from enough height.) Oh, and Hydra is totally the perfect name for a SCART switcher, my Bandridge looks like a SCART-Hydra hybrid even though it only has 6 cables in it.

Love my hydra switch

Keep up the good shit guys. Between you and Phone Dork I got all of my PVM/BVM/Scart information needs.

Holy moley the editing and filming in this episode had to be a lot of work :O but damnit, you guys are good

5:20 I own two of those Packapunch cables, one two daisy chain my two Bandridge switches together and one to output my main Bandridge to my SCART amplifier with twenty outputs (no really!), and I can confirm that Packapunch effectively eliminates audio buzz and provides a clean video signal every time. :)

My Genesis works perfectly with a Csync cable going to a Hydra 5 port scart switch into a Framemeister.

I'm so tempted to invest in an Extron Crosspoint. I think my two qualms are needing power (I'm spoiled with mechanical) and buying/creating audio adapters. Would get great to throw all my analog YPbPr sources onto a single switch.

Just a necro post note about the extron crosspoint: It only accepts CSYNC. Sync on Green or Luma consoles such as the Playstation must be equipped with a sync stripper for the signal to be compatible. Despite this limit on the sync, this unit is compatible with various RGBs Standards including HV and component. Another small thing to note about extron crosspoints is that it has been reported that they output to a 510 ohm csync standard; higher than 75 Ohm sync on scart which could damage your OSSC from the extra voltage. The dip switches on the back are for input only and will not alter the output to a 75 ohm specification. A fix for this is to put a 470 ohm resistor into the CSYNC line on your BNC to Scart passive converter (on the scart end) to lower that standard to within the 75 ohm specification on CSYNC. Since there isn't a good method to exchange the BNC connection output by the Extron crosspoint to component for the OSSC, you do need a BNC to Scart passive adapter to plug into a shielded male-male scart lead into the OSSC to prevent a loss in image quality. In special cases such as the Playstation, the direct BNC options do not come built in with a sync stripper and thus the Scart version must be purchased along with a sync stripper equipped version of the Scart to BNC passive adapter found at retrogamingcables for a bit more money than the direct option. A different avenue of approach for this is to add a sync stripper into the Scart console cable with a bit of soldering and use a standard Scart to BNC passive adapter for slightly less money. Now a note about the Extron's relative cost to the cables. BNC cables direct from the console can be had for about 54 US dollars each, can be customized in length to fit extron crosspoints that have more inputs (and are larger) and can be fitted with phoenix connectors instead of RCA audio for no extra cost to you. If you think that is expensive, the Scart switchers that are available in limited batches (the generic ones are rare these days) are about the equivalent cost of 3-4 of these BNC cables alone (gscart is 220 + 17 USD while hydra is slightly cheaper with only one output - 160 USD). True, the console Scart cables are less expensive overall, but when you put the cost of the switcher into the mix it really adds up. In a modest setup with only three inputs the Scart based solution is up to 150 dollars more expensive than the BNC option. Just throwing it out there for those who do not want to break the bank using RGB.

To my eyes, the Hydra switcher looked sharper than all of the other EuroSCART switchers.