SCART
SCART is a multi-function connector that can carry:
- Composite (pin 20)
- S-Video (Y pin 20, C pin 15)
- RGBs/RGBcvS (R pin 15, G pin 11, B pin 7, Sync pin 20) along with audio and control signals.
SCART (also known as Péritel or Péritélévision, especially in France, 21-pin EuroSCART in marketing by Sharp in Asia, Euroconector in Spain, EuroAV or EXT, or EIA Multiport in the United States, as an EIA interface) is a French-originated standard and associated 21-pin connector for connecting audio-visual (AV) equipment.
The name SCART comes from Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs, "Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturers' Association", the French organisation that created the connector in the mid-1970s. The related European standard EN 50049 has then been refined and published in 1978 by CENELEC, calling it péritelevision, but it is commonly called by the abbreviation péritel in French.
A TV can be woken from standby mode and automatically switch to the appropriate AV channel when the SCART attached device is switched on using the 12V Switch pin.
SCART was also used for high definition signals such as 720p, 1080i, 1080p with YPbPr connection by some manufacturers, but this usage is scarce due to the advent of HDMI.
There are many separate grounds on a SCART lead, and inside the receiver they are typically all filtered through inductors to remove noise between them, and then joined to a common ground.
When wiring up to a SCART from the sender (such as a console), it is typical to use the shield ground, or Composite Video Ground (pin 18), as well as joining together the composite, audio and RGB together (pins 4/5/9/13/17/18) and the data ground is often left disconnected.
This could introduce more noise, but is also the most common to safely ensure everything is grounded.
The general rule of thumb is if your system sending the video/audio data has separate grounds (such as video ground and audio ground) make use of them and wire them separately to each ground on the SCART. If they use one ground, just join them all.
Framemeister as a good example wires the following grounds:
- Shield Pin 21
- Ground (Composite In) Pin 18
- Ground (Composite Out) Pin 17
For Framemeister set the Sync Level to 5, and wire in Csync instead of Composite Sync on the Composite Sync pin 20 for best RGB output.
As SCART has several video standards that it carries, there are various resolutions.
Composite/S-Video resolutions are:
- Retro Consoles (240p) 60Hz 320 × 240 (Receiver must support 15kHz signal)
- TV NTSC (480i/p) 60Hz 720 × 480
- TV SECAM (576i/p) 50Hz 720 × 576
- TV PAL (576i/p) 50/60Hz 720 × 576
RGBs resolutions are:
- Retro Consoles (240p) 60Hz 320 × 240 (Receiver must support 15kHz signal)
- SDTV (480i) 60Hz 720 × 480
- SDTV (576i) 50Hz 720 × 576
- SDTV (480p) 60Hz 720 × 480
- SDTV (576p) 50Hz 720 × 576
- HDTV (720p) 50/60Hz 1280 × 720
- HDTV (1080i) 50/60Hz 1920 × 1080
- HDTV (1080p) 50/60Hz 1920 × 1080
Many other non-standard resolutions are supported over RGBs as there is no theoretical limit to the format/style of signal of RGB, so long as the receiver can accept it.
