Components in AV cables...

[Ziggy587]

So it's known that SNES AV cables might have resistors/caps in them depending on region and video signal. So for example, NTSC composite AV cables are straight through but PAL cables have a 75 ohm resistor to ground on the composite line. NTSC SNES RGB cables have series 220 uF caps on R, G and B, while PAL RGB cables have 75 ohm resistors to ground on each.

Source: http://gamesx.com/wiki/doku.php?id=av:nintendomultiav

My question is this: What is the benefit of putting these components inside the cable instead of inside the console?

I have a PAL SNES that I've opened and soldered 75 ohm resistors to ground on the R, G and B video output signals so that I could use a straight through cable. I didn't notice any issues doing it this way. Are there any pros or cons to this versus if the components were in the cable instead?

For NTSC RGB cables, the capacitors will be inside the SCART plug (since that's the only place you can really fit them). But I'm wondering, that's all the way on the other end of the cable. Does that some how make a difference? Or would I get the same results if I installed those caps inside the console and used a straight through cable?

Thanks!

[tepples]

The S-PPU puts out RGB signals at up to one-fourth the master clock frequency, which is the maximum frequency of white-black oscillations in hires or pseudo-hires mode. On NTSC, this is 5.37 MHz; PAL is probably a percent lower due to the crystal difference. Radio frequency signals in the multi-megahertz range tend to reflect off the ends of long cables. Termination components may have different effects on reflections depending on which side of the cable they sit on.

[lidnariq]

This sounds like, for whatever reason, the convention in the US was to have the A/V input be terminated inside the TV, but in Europe the convention was to have the TV input be much higher impedance and so the cable has to provide the impedance matching instead.

I haven't really looked into this before, but it's the first I've heard of it.

[TmEE]

All TVs have standard 75ohm termination at their inputs here, all I have seen anyway. Nintendo just made their output circuits weird so that you cannot use AV cables from other regions, just as with controllers.