RF/AV Issues

Alright, this isn't a computer problem, but hopefully I can still get a bit of help here.

I'm having issues with my game console setup (my secondary one, so not an urgent problem). The TV I have in my bedroom only has an RF port and no AV ports, so I bought a DYNEX brand RF/AV adapter and used the RF cable that was connected to my SNES' RF switch to connect the TV to the adapter. Then I plugged the adapter into a switchbox along with my Dreamcast and N64. This setup should work just fine, but there's an annoying garble to the sound particularly noticeable with more high-pitched music. The color is also a bit off, which I didn't really take notice of until I tried playing Pacman only to find the pink and yellow ghosts looked identical and Pacman was white.

I know the TV isn't the problem, since before I moved a few days ago I had my SNES and Dreamcast hooked up to it through a VCR which I didn't bring with me because it's essentially useless. My question is whether it sounds more like a problem with the RF/AV adapter that I just bought, or a problem with using the RF cable from an SNES RF switch to hook the TV to the adapter.

Usually I would solve this by returning the RF/AV adapter for a new one and buying a new RF cable, but I'd rather see if someone has had similar experience and can tell me the probable cause first.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I think it's more an issue with RF adapters, PERIOD.

I used to use one with an older TV, and the quality was terrible, both audio and video. Feedback, static when I used the N64 adapter with my GCN, the whole shebang.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Er, let me clarify. I'm not using an RF adapter to hook up the game systems, I'm using a modulator so that I can hook the TV to it through the RF cable and then hook the modulator up to the switchbox via AV cables. Here's what the back of it looks like:



The game systems are just hooked into the switchbox via AV cables. I know it's not a switchbox problem too, because until a week ago I had my main systems hooked up through it.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Wait... what?

Is this your setup?

Game system ---AV cables---> Switchbox ---Random cables you didn't mention---> Modulator ---RF cables---> TV

If that's your setup, then it's no wonder you have shitty quality. You're talking about taking info through three different parts, which not only weakens the signal but also compresses it further (assuming what little I know about electronics is correct), and then taking that already compressed signal and compressing it even more so that it can fit into RF cables.

Seriously, though, are RF cables, in any way, shape, or form, involved in getting info from the game system to the TV? If so, then THAT is your biggest culprit.

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No, the RF cables connect the TV to the modulator, and the modulator connects to the switchbox. It honestly looks more complicated typed out than it really is. It's like I said before:

TV --- RF Cable ---> Modulator -- AV Cable --> Switchbox -- AV Cable --> Game console

After talking to my brother about it tonight, it sounds like I'll just need to spend the extra $20 on the switchbox I saw at Best Buy that acts as a Modulator too. I figured I might have to, although it would have been really nice if the modulator that's $20 rather than $40 had worked.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Heh, that's the exact same setup I posted, only with AV cables going from modulator to switchbox, and in reverse.

But seriously, yeah, it's not a good idea to have it go through so many stops, AND an RF cable too. That's your problem right there. In an ideal situation, you would hook the game system straight to the TV through AV or S-Video cables (at LEAST), but since it's apparently impossible for that, I would recommend eliminating as many stops as you can, and GETTING RID OF THOSE GOD DAMN RF CABLES.

Seriously, RF cables provide the worst quality for virtually anything.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, I really should have just copied yours and added in AV Cables appropriately.

The RF cables are the entire reason why I have to use a modulator to begin with. For some reason the TV has no AV hookups; only RF. Like I said, I'll have to take this modulator back and get that all-in-one modulator/switchbox instead to eliminate one of the stops.

FELIPE NO

Yeah, that would at least marginally improve the quality. Unfortunately, with RF cables, eliminating one of the stops is like upgrading from shit to mud. =\

Seriously, save up and get a decent TV with AV hookups. I have a 20" and it only cost me ~200 dollars.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I dunno, my SNES worked just fine before when it was hooked up through an RF switch to that TV. I'm not big on quality as long as it's not hugely evident, and it's just my N64 and Dreamcast anyway.

Getting a whole new TV isn't really an option for me. The TV works, so money is better spent on a Wii and all the upcoming games for the systems that I do play all the time. Heck, I didn't even buy this TV; I got it when my grandfather died last year.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

It's JUST the N64/DC?

Hmm... that could be bad.

Try ordering an RF adapter off Ninty's website, and using that to hook up directly. If you still get the problems, then you might have to get new systems.

Do you have a PS2, or some other system that's not affected?

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Oh, haha. I meant that it's just my N64 and Dreamcast hooked up in the bedroom for now, and those are the systems I play the least. Anyway, I bought an RCA box today that does the job of both an RF modulator AND a switchbox, and everything works just fine now.

The problem appears to be solved, so I'll go ahead and close this thread now. Thanks a lot for all your help The_Griffin!

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