Multi-SCART Adapter

[thebdj]

Hi,

I am new to the forum so apologies in advance for doing the usual noob things like breaking rules, not reading things in sticky posts etc etc. Please don’t shoot me.

Anyway, got my OSSC a few weeks back. Couldn’t get a picture. Adhered to your posts and just went to RetroGamingCables to get some proper cables and voila! Everything is good. Hurrah 🙂

The OSSC of course though only has 1 SCART Adapter and I don’t want to keep pissing around plugging and unplugging things. Given the nod to RetroGamingCables was spot on, does anyone have any advice on;

a) Using a multi-SCART Adapter period
b) If I can and you advise it, what’s the best one to go for or does any old thing work (which I cannot believe is the best way forward!)

Thanks in advance.

Justin

[Harrumph]

This is a cost vs quality vs input need question, answers will vary.

If you need a lot of ports, automatic switching and top notch quality, GScartSw or Hydra is recommended.

Manual switching & lower price, I think currently the otaku games switch is the quality choice (it’s butt-ugly though).

Other cheaper options if you need less ports (5) and manual switching, then a Bandridge manual switch (7725) should be pretty great (seems to be none available on ebay/amazon currently though), or the Hama brand switches (usually 3-port).

You can also read more here:
https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=62830&hilit=scart+switch+bandridge+manual

Definitely stay clear of anything that looks like this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Way-Scart-Lead-Cable-Wire-Splitter-Adaptor-Switch-Box-Premium-Quality-Silver/251101140507?hash=item3a76cb561b:g:mVkAAOSwhcJWOeaP
or this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Way-Scart-AV-Switch-Box-Adaptor-5-Devices-to-1-TV/381564487260?hash=item58d704065c:g:XMsAAMXQCndRf0Nx

[nmalinoski]

Typically, these are called SCART switchers. Most any switcher should work fine, including automatic switchers. Towards the cheap end, you have the Bandridge switchers, which come in both manual and automatic variants; and there’s the Otaku Games SCART switcher, which is manual only. On the higher, significantly-more-expensive end, you have the gscartsw and Hydra switchers, which are fully automatic.

The main things to remember are:
1. Make sure that the male-to-male SCART cable that will link the switcher to the OSSC is fully-shielded. You can get cables like this from Retro-Access and Retro Gaming Cables; although cheaper ones from other manufacturers, like Sony or KabelDirekt, should work fine, but, if you notice any interference in the video and/or audio, a cheap cable between the switcher and OSSC may be a contributing factor.

2. If you aren’t going to be connecting the output of your switcher to professional AV equipment, like a PVM/BVM, or Extron or Crestron switchers or video processors, then your cable preference should go: CSync (only if the console natively outputs composite sync), sync-on-luma, then sync-on-composite. Avoid cables with built-in sync strippers; they are more expensive and entirely unnecessary if everything is going into an OSSC.

3. If, instead, you are going to connect consoles to pro AV equipment, you will need to use clean composite sync (not sync-on-luma or sync-on-composite). If you intend to use the sync stripper feature on the gscartsw, you should make sure that your consoles’ SCART cables do not have sync strippers in them. You can encounter issues, like failure to sync, when you have more than one sync stripper in use; so you should pick between having sync strippers in the cables or using the sync stripper in the gscartsw.

[shawly]

I’m also looking for a new SCART switch, while my Bandridge was OK for using on my CRT, I’d need a second switch with two outputs so I can switch between my OSSC and my CRT. But since the automatic Bandridge switch is proven to be degrading the signal a little, I want to completely replace it.

Apart from the gscartsw, is there any other switch that provides two outputs? I know the Extron Matrix switches support multiple outputs.
But I’m not sure if it is that much cheaper than the gscartsw since I’d have to get a around seven SCART to BNC cables and two BNC to SCART cables or assemble them myself.

Also is there any european reseller for the gscartsw?

Edit: Nvm, I saw that the Hydra2 also has two outputs so I ordered one.

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