S-Video Cable
Generic S-Video Stereo AV cable for Sega Saturn systems. Was compatible with all regions.
Description
This S-Video Cable is a third party s-video and composite video cable for the Saturn. The Saturn uses a Multi AV port, a proprietary connector that allowed different types of analogue video cables to be attached. While the bundled cables were mostly composite video and stereo audio, the Saturn supports higher‑quality outputs such as S‑Video and RGB. This s‑video cable plugs into the Multi AV port on one end and provides an s‑video connector in lieu of composite video, in addition to stereo RCA plugs on the other.
The advantage of s‑video is that it separates the video signal into two channels: luma (brightness) and chroma (colour), which reduces colour bleeding and dot crawl compared to composite. The result is a noticeably sharper image, especially on CRT televisions or capture devices that accept s‑video. Composite, in theory, can still look good but requires high quality components not seen on consumer hardware. Moving from composite to s-video provides the biggest jump in image quality, with diminishing returns as you work up to full quality RGB (SCART).
These cables were widely available from third‑party manufacturers and inexpensive, usually bundled with both s‑video and composite connectors on the same lead. Sega’s official cable only has the s-video although is well engineered. The official cables were effectively exclusive to the Japanese market as western consumers generally lacked the equipment and interest in video and graphics quality.
