Dreamcast Retro Bit S-AV Cable

I have purchased this same set of cables once before, even though I own a VGA box for my Sega Dreamcast because not on all games in the system's library, mostly early titles that were released early on in the beginning of the Dreamcast's drastically short life. The first set I purchased fell squarely into the nightmare category, the s-video connection simply didn't work. It didn't matter what I tried, even different television sets. I even tried connecting the composite with the s-video plugged in and selected as an output; no dice. All I saw on the screen was worthless static, what a complete waste of money. I admit, I didn't pay a lot, but I could have also purchased a combo meal from Subway or some other fast food restaurant and gotten a little enjoyment out of it, not to mention a full stomach. So, if I was burned before, why in the heck did I come back? More importantly, why didn't I simply return the cables for a refund? Well, the answer to those questions kind of goes together, hand in hand. Always keeping my eyeball o Dreamcast related stuff on Amazon.com I had noticed that this item started to receive positive reviews. I was puzzled and a bit skeptical, but decided to dip one of my big toes back into the water. First thing I did was purchase from a seller that wasn't asking for ONE CENT, but oddly wanted to charge $7.99 for shipping and handling. That red flag alone should have been enough for me to walk away, but damn it, I wanted NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC! This time around I went with a seller who wasn't listing such a lop sided product. I went through 'Big Game Vendor', which sold it directly through Amazon.com, so if I was scorched a second time I'd actually get my money back, or at least more than a single red penny. You know what, it worked! It blew my flippin' mind of the hinges, it worked! I popped in Marvel vs. Capcom and the s-video signal came in strong and clear without a hitch. Granted, it doesn't look as awesome as it does on a VGA box, but the colors is still vibrant and the image crystal clear. These cables are inexpensive and easy to come by at the time of this review and the build quality is solid. Sure, Dreamcast games don't pop off the television screen as much or appear as fluid as it would in VGA mode, but it's still an easy 7.5 on a scale from 1-10! Also if you used a VGA box, you'd have to deal with plugging in more potentially messy wires for the audio on both ends, that's not a problem with these cables, everything is in a single, neat little bundle. Another thing I really appreciate is that the game fills the entire screen. Depending on the brand and quality of the HDTV this could be an issue moving beyond a 40 inch screen. I play on a modest JVC 46 inch and without plugging the VGA into an upscaler (to 720p) the image is centered on the screen with a lot of wasted space on the sides, which frankly drove me bonkers. I'd recommend this product for the convenience of having everything in one cable alone versus a VGA box, with a separate VGA and RCA cables for video and sound, something that can quickly morph into an even bigger mess if I decide to use additional hardware to optimize the image. Trust me, it's definitely worth the money fellow Dreamcast fans, just remembered to buy from a decent seller.

Accidentally bought an RGB set of cables for my component CRT tv (not compatible). Bought the Retro Bit S Video set as a replacement. Box arrived a little crinkled up, but the cables were fine. Hooked it up to my Dreamcast and S Video port and boom, crispy scan lines appeared. If you're looking for a good Dreamcast av cable, look no further. FYI...The composite cable also works well.

I previous bought a generic cable from Amazon as well as from Racketboy and both were plagued with issues like the video randomly cutting out, shorts in the cords, weak cords that frayed, etc. This cord however, performs phenomenally! If you're like me and you want good, and I mean GOOD S-Video cables you can have for years. Stick to KMD (Komodo) and Retro Bit S-Video cables because they have the quality you and I want. (They also seem to be from the same factory, just different company names. The box art is otherwise almost identical.) 5+ Stars!

S-Video Image quality is horrible, composite quality. I was intending to remove my VGA box, which has my current S-Video output, but this cable is far inferior in quality, so I will be ordering something else. Don't bother with this.

If you've lost your original Dreamcast AV cables like I have these'll do the trick very nicely. Great purchase for the price.

If you have VGA and CRT monitor, I think you already have the best setup for your Dreamcast, so why bother. Get this if you have a CRT TV. If you don't know the difference between the CRT and LCD, close out this window immediately, do some research and come back. Without adding any other filtering and enhancing hardware, this is the best way for your DC to live, again with CRT. Its output will be significantly sharper and vibrant the composite. Long live the Dreamcast and SEGA will dominate home console market, once again!

Either you must have bought the cables from a bad vendor, or you just don't have them in all the way, but all the cables that I bought work perfectly for me! The S-Video displays in full color, not black and white, which is fantastic, a lot better than the regular AV video cable. I just got them in the mail today and originally, I thought I had the AV Out cable in the Dreamcast all the way and wondered why nothing was coming up on the screen, but all you have to do is give the AV Out end a little force into the system and it will work. This is a great product and I'm glad I made this purchase!

I would love to know the proper use for this device. The same manufacturer makes a VGA box, which is what you need to get S-video from your Dreamcast. You can't use this cable with the VGA box, and it doesn't work by itself. Just a black and white picture... Edit, February 19 2015: Based on recent positive reviews, I took a chance on this product once again. The new one I got was even worse than the one from a few years ago. I am no electrician, but it seems to be a problem with the grounding maybe? The audio plugs produce a loud buzzing sound. The composite signal output is nothing but screen vomit, not even a recognizable image. The s-video signal output is barely usable, with wavy lines obscuring the image. We'll see how things go when I get the replacement from Amazon... I wish I could give this item 0 stars. I promise I will never purchase a product of any kind from the evil "Retro Bit" for the rest of my life, even if the replacement by some chance actually works. I have a Sony S-video cable that makes my PSX look beautiful. It has no dangling composite plug, which makes it easy to tell the good cables from the bad. It seems like there is no dedicated S-video cable for Dreamcast, which is a tragedy, Update: After sending back the new one, I got a free replacement. It works now. I'm pretty happy about that. But this company's quality control has a long way to go. Rating boosted from one to two stars.