Connecting a Raspberry Pi 4 to a CRT via composite out! (how to & why you should)

A few troubleshooting tips:

If you're getting no video through the yellow composite try plugging the red or white into the video input on your tv. Depending on the cables the signal may be sent down one of the other colors instead.

You can also try enabling composite video out in raspiconfig advanced options.

If you get a video signal but the picture has black borders adjust the overscan setting in retropie setup and you can also adjust the overscan values manually in your boot config file. Try adjusting the values in small increments and rebooting until you get the picture scaled the way you want it.

Set a 4:3 CEA resolution in retropie, CEA is for TV modes. the video will be interlaced on a standard crt unless it supports progressive scan. You can set the resolution to 240p manually with some editing and adjusting but I leave it at 640×480 60htz.

Thanks everyone for watching if I can help get you up and running I'll always try but I'm no expert and there's alot of different factors when messing with retropie. Anyway here's hoping you the best, keep it classy and game on.

In this episode I'm talking Pi, enabling composite out functionality, and why a CRT might be a perfect companion for this awesome little powerhouse! 📹 👍

TRRS to RCA cables

how to enable 240p

#raspberrypi #retrogaming #pi4 #crt #retropie #emulation #emulationstation #howto #gameplay #eldenring

[oldowl]

At age 52 I'm a Gen X'r and a friend recently said our generation is the bridge between analog and digital. So by default I absolutely love what you've done here. Well done!

[MrRockfish]

Just ordered the trrr cable today 😬. I got a small 13 inch crt tv that’s just collecting dust, time to put it to good use 👍🏽👍🏽

[nigelhighlands]

Informative and vibey video 😎I can't wait to get my Pi setup for CRT goodness and this will prove to be a great resource!

[AdmVrln]

This is a splendid video. I'll probably never use it, but I never knew this about the audio jack on the pi!

[RetroCrisis]

This video has some good information. I also love the production value!

[xanshark]

I've got a bunch of TRRS cables on me and tried this out. The ones I've got need me to use right audio as video, but otherwise works perfectly fine.

[Galaxiancerberus]

this video literally is what am looking for EXCACTLLY thanks man

[Miss.amberrain]

Great video. Still love the ones where I see you sitting in the host chair. Gives that connection to a person.. Not just a video game.

[tcollogan]

cheers, helped me put a pi in my car to play ps1 games on my lunch break via av in on my radio ✌️👍

[CaptainJord]

Picked up a tiny 7" black and white crt monitor with the intention of turning it into a dmg gameboy emulation machine, this looks like the right way to go, as before i was using a modded wii and theres a bunch of menus you have to click through with a wii remote. Good video 👍

[adrthegreatball]

been trying for 2 weeks to finish this. I changed cables and i was still not working. The config.txt change was what was missing. Thank you!

[DaiAtlus]

i do this on a pi 3A+ and manage to have 480i in Emulation Station and menus, but games are 240p (mmm dem scanlines!!). The method i use is a lil less involved than most, using some premade files found on the Retropie forums, even working with non-core emulators like DOSBox (Tandy 1000 stuff looks great in 240p). I just use Sony cable from an old Digital8 camera kit (oddly, Video and Right Audio are swapped so Composite is on the Red tip of this cable lol), and i have it currently hooked to an RCA TruFlat. Gunlord on the Dreamcast is especially slick on it. sometimes a preset has a shimmer so i had to go into the settings and tweak them a bit but it pops so well on my stuff, and all of the games look great. Currently playing Neo Geo with a beer as i wind down for bed :) love the video.

[sarcasticmcspastic]

i made a little mini super Nintendo (well, more lookin like a super famicom) ages ago with a pi 3 but always felt frustrated i couldn't just hook it to a tube like this

my minds blown that you actually can!

[babyjay]

I figured this out extensively, hats off it’s not simple or easy, lots of pitfalls lols

[detjkimbell]

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for!

[TheHermitHacker]

It's a bit ironic that the CRT displays that used to be thrown out everywhere are suddenly far more expensive than the Pi 4 these days.

[bRIAN_]

Video is very professional! I hope to see more of your videos in the future

[TeamUnpro]

sdtv_mode=16 (or 17 idr) is the NTSC-J version of 240p for composite, looks fantastic since it removes the pedestal (basically, its like going from limited colorspace to full colorspace, perfect blacks on the CRT)

however, adjusting underscan settings on the pi4 doesn't actually adjust the beam of the CRT, so SNES content squished to fit a severely overscanned tv will instead be software-adjusted, so the resolution no longer scales properly and you end up with jitty artifacts ;-;

BUT <3 minus that nitpick, omg composite never looked so good <3

[sirmiluch]

RGB-Pi is way better. A bit more expensive but definitely worth it. Image quality is perfect, because it's pure RGB output, not composite. Pixel perfect and extremely sharp. Additionally Their OS (RGB-PI OS) is perfectly optimized for CRTs.

[japaneseextremme]

Baller. Just in time for Halloween gaming sessions