How to Upgrade Your CRT TV with an S-Video Port

If you like retro gaming, then you’ll want a CRT (cathode-ray tube) TV to get the best-looking graphics, as games were made specifically to be displayed on those screens until we got into the HD era with LCDs and plasma displays. But because they don’t make CRTs anymore, you’ll be limited to what you can find used and the selection isn’t great. If you end up with a model that doesn’t have S-Video, you might be able to follow this guide from Adrian’s Digital Basement to add it.

At least for CRT TVs made in the ‘90s, the worst-case scenario is that you’ll only have RF input. A step up from that will give you composite video input (the yellow RCA port). And another step up from that will give you S-Video, which is about as good as it got in the US, as SCART wasn’t a thing here — though some very late model CRT TVs might have component inputs.

This video focuses on adding S-Video to a small 13” Sharp CRT TV that only had RF and composite from the factory. It should, however, work for many other models from several manufacturers. The only way to know for sure is to open up your TV. But as always, follow the proper safety precautions, as CRT TV capacitors carry a very dangerous high-voltage jolt for a long time after being turned off and unplugged.

The secret here is that your TV, like Adrian’s 13” Sharp, may have the ability to accept an S-Video input, even if the manufacturer didn’t bother to add the port. This is similar to what we see for composite mods on TVs and consoles that are RF-only. The cruddy input eventually gets converted into the high-quality signal that the TV actually uses, so you just need to inject S-Video after that point to replace the inferior signal.

The specific execution will depend on your TV and Adrian can only show you how it worked with his, so you may have to identify ICs and dig into datasheets.

But if you can figure out the circuit, you’ll be able to connect an S-Video port to start using for gaming with the best video quality.