Connecting a SNES to a monitor

[Geekosaurus]

As the title suggests I'm trying to connect an old SNES console to a modern computer monitor. The SNES usually connects to a television by an old-fashioned Scart socket - but monitors don't have this.

What I'm thinking about doing is connected the Scart to a male-to-male Scart convertor, and then connecting a Scart to VGA lead to the monitor. This is probably more easily explained by an image:

Spoiler: Behold my MS Paint skills

Essentially my question if this; will it work? I see no reason why it shouldn't, but I'm an idiot. If you can think of an easier way of doing it I'm all ears. Any help or advice is appreciated.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

...

Dude, just use an emulator. zsnes is probably the best one.

 

[Geekosaurus]

But an actual SNES is just cooler. Plus I don't like using a keyboard for gaming - I just can't do it.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

so... why don't you just connect the SNES to your television?

 

[Abedeus]

New monitors might not be compatible. I tried connecting my old CRT TV to my GPU, couldn't because one is EURO and the other is DVI/HDMI.

It might be simply impossible. Also, you CAN use a gamepad. That's how I play non-RTS and non-FPS non-MMO... non-RPG games. Except for jRPGs.

 

[Bleako]

Not sure if it's going to work, but the converter is most likely cheap so... why not.

The alternative, considering you don't just have a monitor but also a computer, is to get a capture card and hook your SNES to it. You'll get your image, and you'll have the advantage of being able to capture videos and stuff!

Also, controllers work on emulators. You can find SNES controller adaptors for your PC on various sites on the interwebs. That's another possibility.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

But an actual SNES is just cooler. Plus I don't like using a keyboard for gaming - I just can't do it.

A little six button gamepad is a lot easier to find (and a lot cheaper) than any way you could hook a snes to a computer monitor.

Also, if you're hoping to connect it to an LCD monitor, be prepared for something very, very ugly.

 

[Geekosaurus]

so... why don't you just connect the SNES to your television?

Because it's a long story and I didn't want to bore you all with it.

New monitors might not be compatible. I tried connecting my old CRT TV to my GPU, couldn't because one is EURO and the other is DVI/HDMI.

It might be simply impossible. Also, you CAN use a gamepad. That's how I play non-RTS and non-FPS non-MMO... non-RPG games. Except for jRPGs.

So it might be a case of just giving it a go and seeing what the end result is? Fair enough.

 

[fyrh56]

It would, but you need a really specific scart-to-VGA cable. If you got some technical expertise, you could build one of these yourself: http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/vga2tv/vgascart.gif

Which btw, I would, since you probably want sound to work aswell and thus you would need to find a cable that would split into VGA and an audio jack for the speakers

 

[Geekosaurus]

if you're hoping to connect it to an LCD monitor, be prepared for something very, very ugly.

It's currently connected to an LCD TV and is absolutely fine...

 

[bawkbawkboo1]

SCART and VGA aren't electrically compatible. I recommend getting a USB video capture device, plugging it into your computer and watching it like that. Here are some products to look at:

http://www.amazon.com/SCART-Male-3-RCA-Female-Adapter/dp/B0030GPRUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284569882&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Composite-Video-Audio-Cable--1-50/dp/B00160IFUU/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284569945&sr=1-6

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-VC500-Touch-Capture-Device/dp/B000VM60I8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284569612&sr=8-1

I can't verify the quality of any of these items, so do your own research, of course. But theoretically if they all do what they're supposed to, and you computer it compatible, it should work. They're a place to start, anyway.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Which btw, I would, since you probably want sound to work aswell and thus you would need to find a cable that would split into VGA and an audio jack for the speakers

What if it were connected via VGA and then I connect external speakers to the monitor?

 

[Geekosaurus]

SCART and VGA aren't electrically compatible. I recommend getting a USB video capture device, plugging it into your computer and watching it like that. Here are some products to look at:

http://www.amazon.com/SCART-Male-3-RCA-Female-Adapter/dp/B0030GPRUO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284569882&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Composite-Video-Audio-Cable--1-50/dp/B00160IFUU/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1284569945&sr=1-6

http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-VC500-Touch-Capture-Device/dp/B000VM60I8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284569612&sr=8-1

I can't verify the quality of any of these items, so do your own research, of course. But theoretically if they all do what they're supposed to, and you computer it compatible, it should work. They're a place to start, anyway.

Thank you very much.

 

[Cynical skeptic]

if you're hoping to connect it to an LCD monitor, be prepared for something very, very ugly.

It's currently connected to an LCD TV and is absolutely fine...

Well, your definition of "abolutely" is suspect, but LCD TVs have much better upscalers than monitors.

 

[fyrh56]

What if it were connected via VGA and then I connect external speakers to the monitor?

VGA cables just transmit images, no sound.

Another option would be to find one of these: http://www.bridgat.com/files/SCART_splitterSCART_to_3_RCA_cableAudioVideo_ca.jpg

Your computer would still need a TV-in port (either your graphics card has one built-in, or you can buy a TV card) to connect the video jack.
The audio jacks converters are much more common tho http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00nCKTcmuaCioQ/3-5mm-Stereo-Plug-To-2-RCA-Jack.jpg

 

[manaman]

Grab yourself a hook up cable for a Gamecube. That should allow you to output an RGB signal from the SNES. Otherwise you don't even have a start at getting that working.

Best solution would be to get tube TV under 25 inches in size and use that. Otherwise the games are going to look a bit crappy.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Ok, so VGA has pretty much been ruled out - thank you all for that. I'm thinking the easiest way of doing this is getting a monitor with RCA input and just use a cable like this:

Spoiler: Thank you Nintendo for using the same cables in your games consoles for ten years