SCART ACHE
One of the things that are currently getting on my nerves are Scart sockets. Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs are responsable for these 21 pin monsters. Has there ever been an electrical cable designed and built specifically to break like the Scart? I think not. The puny and fragile pins need only the slightest lateral movement and they either snap or break the moulded housing of the socket. They are an analogue design in a digital environment. People are also drawn to fiddling about with them when they can’t fathom out how to get the DVD/Blue ray/X Box/Wii/PS3 working; the result, breakage. What’s the point of the Scart when it is engineered to fall apart? I can’t believe that a more trustworthy piece of technology has not been designed and manufactured. Then again, I withdraw that last statement. I am not surprised. Scarts that break need replacing with other Scarts that break which need replacing with other Scarts that…well, you get the picture. Or in fact when they break you don’t get the picture.
I'm from the US and have been living in Czech Republic for a little over a month. I had never seen anything this. Hopefully it will disappear soon due to HDMI.
ReplyDeletePuny and fragile? I'm yet to actually break a SCART connector, and I've been using them for as long as I can remember.
ReplyDeleteSCART is by far the best non-HD way of connecting video equipment and consoles to a TV. It's a clean RGB signal [unless the cable / hardware only supports composite signal over the SCART connection].
Even today I try to use RGB SCART cables for all of my older consoles and modify them if they don't support RGB out of the box. RGB picture on an LCD TV is almost as clear as emulation on a PC screen when it comes to older gaming platforms. You can't beat that. Not with S-Video, not with composite video and certainly not with RF.
Just because your dodgy SACRT connector broke because you were fiddling with it doesn't mean there's something wrong with the standard. In fact, go to any AV or gaming website where output signals are discussed. People from US who know of the advantages of SCART will tell you how they wish they actually had those connectors in their TVs.
Well, that's me told!
ReplyDeleteI never knew SCART enthusiasts were so vociferous
oh and season's greetings Morden