SCART to VGA/Extron cable review

SCART to VGA cable
Yet again I failed to take a sexy picture of a cable.

This cable is the result of a project we’ve worked on with the guys over at Retrogamingcables.co.uk. It’s intended to solve one problem in particular, connecting SCART equipment to the Extron RGB interfaces. There are a number of SCART to RGB cables on the market but in our experience they have been rather hit and miss, and e-mailing the sellers and asking about what pins are connected where usually gets you nowhere. Now there’s no need to take pot-luck on a cable any more, simply order this one.

The cable has a SCART female socket on one end, allowing you to easily connect any RGB SCART cable. The other end has a D-Sub 15 (VGA) connector and 2 x RCA/phono connectors for audio. Typically most Extron RGB interfaces either don’t support audio or have a 3.5mm audio input and a phoenix connector for audio output. We imagine that most users would simply use the 2 RCA connectors to route the audio around the Extron interface. Built into the SCART end of the cable is a sync stripper. Extron interfaces require a clean sync signal and will not accept composite video or luma for sync, so having this sync cleaner built in is very convenient. You will have to ensure your SCART cables are properly wired and provide 5 to 12 volts on pin 8, but most cables should do this anyway.

So why would you want to connect your consoles to an Extron interface? There are a number of reasons, most of which we cover in this article. Typically people use the Extron RGB interfaces for their centering controls. Many gamers have seen how connecting RGB equipment to certain monitors or TVs results in an image that is shifted off in one direction or another. Using the controls on the front of many Extron interfaces, the image can be shifted back into position (though care must be taken as over-adjusting can cause other problems such as noise on the picture or loss of brightness).

The Extron interfaces can also be used to convert between RGsB (RGB with sync on green) and RGBs or RGBHV (RGB with composite sync or separate sync). The Playstation 2 for instance outputs an RGsB  signal when outputting 480p in RGB mode, as we discussed in this article. We tested the cable with our Playstation 2 console and it worked perfectly. Not only was the picture quality great, the cabling was vastly simplified with no need for an expensive sync cleaner, such as the Sync Strike, in the chain.

Internally the cable is well made, the sync cleaner is completely shielded and the cable is shielded and grounded. The RCA connectors are high quality branded connectors too.

If you’re looking to get an Extron interface, keep in mind that they output RGB and sync to 4 or 5 BNC cables, so you may need some sort of cable solution to connect back to your display or processor. If you intend to connect from your Extron interface into an XRGB, you can buy a cable such as this one. That cable will work on many CRTs too, but remember it does not supply the signal voltage on pin 7. Some TVs require this to be present or they will not switch to RGB mode. In this case you will unfortunately need to use something like the Arcadeforge UMSA and a BNC to VGA cable.

Other Uses

Of course, you’re not limited to using this cable with Extron RGB interfaces. One other potential application is with the Startech PEXHDCAP capture card we reviewed some time ago. The cable makes for an easy, convenient way to connect SCART sources directly into the card and the picture quality was exactly the same as when using the Arcadeforge Sync Strike.

Overall then this is a great little solution for easily and neatly adding an Extron RGB interface to your gaming setup, taking much of the headache and clutter out of connecting said interface up. At £29.99 the price is similar to the entry-level Sync Strike, but of course this cable is fully encased (a case for the sync strike will set you back another 10 euros) and connects to an Extron interface without any additional cabling. Retro Gaming Cables have delivered another high quality product for the retro gaming community.

The cable is available to purchase now from this page.

31 thoughts on “SCART to VGA/Extron cable review

  1. Trevor says:

    I have a scart cable for my Sega Saturn but I’m looking to run it to a LCD monitor with VGA. Is this what I’m looking for?

  2. Amontre says:

    I’ve been looking into this cable for a while and no one seem to be selling it anymore. My friend tried to make one for me but Extron 203Rxi did not detect the signal and on my screen there’s a horizontal scrolling problem..

    • Beyond Pixels says:

      Hi there,

      IMHO, horizontal scrolling problem is typically a sync problem

      I watch RetroRGB weekly podcast and it seems there is a new challenger to the Sync Strike: the Sync Slayer.

      More info here: https://www.8bitgasm.com/products/syncslayer

      Pros:
      – Every feature of the Sync Strike
      – Sync seperator to get 15kHz RGBHV output through DSub15 port
      – Seems high quality built

      Cons (at least for me):
      – Still cables in between, which potentially increase the number of things in the chain who could break/loose quality
      – It’s $70 shipping from the US

      RGBSource on Twitter has shown his progress making PCB to output 15kHz RGBs on DSub15 for SNES and Jaguar. (https://twitter.com/RGBSource).
      Last month, I’ve asked him if he could make the same but with a generic SCART connector (Male or Female) instead of Nintendo/Jaguar Multi-out + including a sync stripper in it and he says he could be possible.

      Maybe if several people show interest in this, this could motivate him!
      Here is the conversation on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RGBSource/status/1025095092854353920

  3. Beyond Pixels says:

    Hello,

    I’m looking for this exact solution for a while now.
    I’ve asked RetroGamingCables several times this couple of years if they still make them but unfortunately no.

    Would you know by any chance a good replacement for these?
    I don’t wanna spend 30-45€ on the sync strike and would prefer a direct connection from SCART to my Extron MVX switches.

    I’ve recently discovered AMIGA Store sell one to be initially used by the MiST but there is no Sync stripper and they also don’t make custom cables.

    Thanks in advance

  4. Mihai says:

    Hi, good to talk to you!

    Can I use the adapter to connect a PAL snes to a Samsung Syncmaster 943N monitor that has only VGA input (15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)) ? Also I modded my console and would like to switch between 50/60hz. Does the adapter allow for that? And finally how much would it cost to ship it to Romania? Regards

  5. Dave says:

    Hi,
    Would you be able to use a few of these combined with a vga switcher? i have an existing extron switcher that does bnc and svideo as well as vga and if these cables will let me turn the vga in a scart it would make an a great all in one switch and be smaller than getting something like a crosspoint.

    Cheers
    Dave.

      • Dave says:

        cool thanks for the info. i might take a punt as its a decent switch. Ill be happy to pass on the info if it does because no one seems to have documented it and more switching options is good news for all the nerds 🙂

  6. Milk says:

    Would this cable work in my particular setup, xselect d4 > xrgb3?

    If I can hook up my snes via scart into this, I can finally have all my consoles hooked up at the same time without having to swap out cables everytime

  7. GeorgeDavisReal says:

    I was wondering if this cable is capable of all three of the following:
    If pin 20 is CSYNC over Composite, it will strip the composite.
    If pin 20 is CSYNC over Luma, it will strip the luma
    If pin 20 is CSNYC, it will passthrough the CSYNC

    In other words it can handle any type of CSYNC signal thrown at it?

  8. Raptor650 says:

    Can I use this cable on a VGA distribution amplifier. So I can connect my SNES to my pexhdcap60l and my crt television at the same time???

  9. Blade says:

    Can you use this for the framemeister? I wanna use RGB with it and upscale the picture WITHOUT being forced to use the upscaler I use currently.

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