How to Connect Old and Retro Consoles to a Modern TV

The short version: most old consoles output an analogue signal (composite, S-Video, component or RGB) that a modern HDMI TV either will not accept at all or will not display well. You have two ways around it. Use a TV that still has the matching analogue input, or run the console through a converter or scaler that turns its analogue signal into HDMI. Which path suits you depends on the console, how good you want the picture, and how much you want to spend. A cheap all-in-one converter is about $15 to $30 and gets a console on the big screen with some softness and lag. A dedicated retro scaler is roughly $100 to $800 and gives you a sharp, low-lag picture. This guide covers both, plus the Australian and PAL quirks that trip people up.

The problem: old consoles are analogue, new TVs are going HDMI-only

Every console up to the mid-2000s was built for a CRT television. They send a picture out over analogue connections: RF (the old aerial screw or push-on), composite (the single yellow RCA plug), S-Video, component (the red, green and blue YPbPr trio) or RGB. None of that is HDMI. (The RF connection looks tempting because your TV still has an aerial socket, but on a modern set it almost never works. See the RF section below.)

Modern TVs have quietly dropped those inputs. Composite (the yellow RCA) often survives, but frequently as a shared 3.5mm AV socket that needs a supplied breakout adapter rather than full-size RCA jacks. Component inputs have all but vanished from new sets. Many current TVs are effectively HDMI-only. So if you dig out a SNES or a PlayStation 2, the plug may simply have nowhere to go.

There is a second problem even when the input exists: the signal itself. Most 8-bit and 16-bit consoles output 240p, a low-resolution progressive signal that CRTs handled beautifully but that many modern TVs and cheap converters process poorly, sometimes refusing to lock onto it or dropping it to a soft, laggy mess.

TV Rex is starting to track which current TVs still include composite and component inputs, because for retro gamers that one spec can decide the whole purchase. If you are buying a set partly to play old consoles on, it is worth checking before you commit.

What about the RF / aerial port?

If you remember twisting the tuning dial on the old wooden Rank Arena until Super Mario Bros wobbled into view, the aerial socket is the first thing you reach for. Your modern TV still has an RF (coax aerial) input for free-to-air, and old consoles like the NES or a 16-bit machine can output over RF, so surely you just screw it in, run a channel scan and tune it in like the old days? On a typical current TV, no. It will not work, and it is worth understanding why so you do not waste an afternoon on it.

Yes, virtually every modern TV sold today has an RF aerial input. But that socket feeds a digital tuner. Australian free-to-air switched off analogue broadcasting years ago (the switch-off ran from 2010 and finished in December 2013), and TVs now ship with digital-only DVB-T tuners. The old analogue tuner has simply been left out of current sets.

An old console does not output a digital broadcast. Its RF adapter produces an analogue picture modulated onto an old analogue TV channel, the same kind of signal that used to come down the aerial before 2013. A digital DVB-T tuner has nothing that can receive that analogue signal, so a channel scan (auto-tune) will scan straight past the console and find nothing. The aerial port is there for your antenna, not for your NES.

There is one exception worth knowing about. A small number of TVs still include an analogue (PAL) tuner alongside the digital one, usually older sets or the occasional model with a hybrid tuner. On one of those you could tune the console in on its old analogue channel, sometimes only via manual tune rather than auto-scan. But you cannot assume a current set has this, and most do not, so do not buy a TV expecting it to work.

Even where an analogue tuner exists, RF was always the lowest-quality connection there is: noisier and softer than composite, because it bundles the picture and sound into one modulated channel. So even in the rare case it does tune, you would get a better picture running the same console into a composite input or a converter instead.

Bottom line: assume the RF route will not work on a modern TV, and use composite (or a converter or scaler, covered below) instead.

What output does your console use?

Get this right first, because your best result always comes from feeding the console's best available output into whatever you connect. Composite (yellow RCA) is the softest, blurriest option. S-Video is a step up. Component and RGB are sharper again. Use the best one your console supports.

A note for Australian owners: our consoles are PAL, and many PAL machines can output RGB, but RGB here is carried over a SCART cable. SCART was a European TV connector and was rare on Australian televisions, which mostly used composite RCA, then S-Video and component. In practice that means an RGB SCART cable is something you feed into a scaler (which has a SCART input), not usually straight into your TV.

Console (era)	Best analogue output (PAL)	Native HDMI?	Notes
NES (8-bit)	Composite	No	RF and composite only; RGB needs an internal mod (NESRGB). 240p.
Master System, Mega Drive (8/16-bit)	RGB SCART	No	Native RGB over SCART; also composite. 240p.
SNES (16-bit)	RGB SCART	No	Native RGB over SCART; also composite/S-Video. 240p.
N64	Composite	No	Composite is the only reliably-native output; S-Video and RGB need a rewired cable or internal mod (many PAL units have the S-Video pins disabled). Mostly 240p/480i.
PS1	RGB SCART	No	Composite, S-Video and RGB SCART.
PS2	Component	No	Composite, S-Video, RGB SCART and component; some games run 480p or 1080i.
GameCube	Component	No	Composite, S-Video and RGB (PAL); component needs the rare digital AV cable. 480p.
Original Xbox	Component	No	Composite, S-Video, RGB SCART and component (480p/720p/1080i).
Wii	Component	No	Composite and component (480p); RGB SCART in PAL. Wii U added HDMI.
Xbox 360	Component or HDMI	Some units	Launch units were analogue only (component/VGA/composite); later revisions and the Slim added an HDMI port.
PS3	HDMI	Yes	Native HDMI (also has component). Plug straight in.

Two straddle points worth spelling out. The PS3 is the clean case: it has HDMI, so it just plugs into any modern TV. The Xbox 360 is the messy one. The earliest 2005 units shipped with an analogue AV multi-out and no HDMI at all. Later 360 revisions, and every 360 S (Slim) and 360 E, added an HDMI port. So whether your 360 needs a converter depends entirely on which revision you have: check the back for an HDMI socket before assuming.

Your connection options, cheapest to best

1. Use a TV with the analogue input it needs

The simplest fix, if the input still exists. A television that still has composite in (for the older machines) or component in (for PS2, GameCube, Xbox, Wii, early 360) lets you plug straight in with no converter, no lag added, no fuss. Composite is the one most likely to survive on newer sets, often via a 3.5mm AV adapter. Component is nearly gone on anything sold today, so if you want it you are usually looking at a set from the 2010s or a specific model that kept it. This is why checking the input list before buying a TV matters for retro players.

2. A cheap AV-to-HDMI converter (about $15 to $30)

The generic "AV2HDMI" or "composite to HDMI" boxes sold on Amazon AU, at JB Hi-Fi and Officeworks, and all over eBay. You feed in composite (or, on the component versions, YPbPr) and it outputs HDMI upscaled to 720p or 1080p. Plug and play, no setup.

The trade-offs are real. Quality varies wildly between units. They add input lag, which matters for anything reaction-based. And a lot of them handle 240p and PAL 50Hz badly, producing a wobbly, jittery or cropped picture on exactly the 8-bit and 16-bit consoles people most want to hook up. They are fine for casual nostalgia and menu-driven games; they are not the choice for serious play. If you go this route, turn on your TV's game mode to claw back some of the lag, and buy from somewhere with easy returns because it is a bit of a lottery.

For the Wii specifically, a "Wii2HDMI" adapter is the same idea in a plug that clips onto the Wii's own AV port. Cheap, convenient, output is 480p at best.

3. A dedicated retro scaler (roughly $100 to $800)

This is the quality path. A purpose-built retro upscaler is designed for exactly these old signals: it handles 240p and 480i properly, adds very little lag, and produces a sharp, stable picture on a modern panel. The main options:

• RetroTINK line (2X, 5X, 4K): a range from affordable to premium, easy to use, widely recommended. The cheaper models take composite, S-Video and component; the higher-end ones do more and scale to 4K.
• OSSC (Open Source Scan Converter): excellent for RGB and component, extremely low lag because it line-multiplies rather than buffering a full frame. The catch of that no-frame-buffer design is that some TVs are fussy about the output and it does not clean up composite the way a buffered scaler does. Best paired with an RGB or component source.
• Framemeister: the old benchmark, now discontinued and expensive on the used market. Mentioned because you will see it recommended in older guides; there are better-value options now.

Feed a scaler the best output the console has (RGB SCART or component before S-Video before composite) and the difference over a cheap converter is large. Source these from specialist retro gaming retailers or direct import; the big chains generally do not stock them.

4. A console-specific HDMI adapter or internal mod

The cleanest picture per console, at a higher price or with some modding.

• Plug-in HDMI adapters: the EON GCHD and GCHD Mk-II for the GameCube tap the console's digital port for a pristine HDMI feed without opening anything up. Hyperkin and similar make adapters for various systems. Quality and price sit above the cheap converters.
• Internal mods: an NESRGB board adds RGB to a console that never had it, and there are HDMI mods for the N64 and others (for example PixelFX kits) that output digital HDMI straight from the console's internals. These give the best result short of an FPGA console, but they mean paying someone to solder inside your machine (or doing it yourself).

Worth it if you have one console you love and want it looking its best. Overkill if you just want to show the kids Mario Kart.

5. An FPGA console (the premium enthusiast route)

Companies like Analogue (Super Nt for SNES, Mega Sg for Mega Drive/Genesis, Nt mini for NES) and the open MiSTer project rebuild the original console hardware in an FPGA chip and output clean HDMI, while still playing your real cartridges. The picture is essentially perfect and the lag is minimal. The downside is cost and availability: these are premium items and popular models sell out. This is the route for collectors who want the definitive experience, not the budget fix.

The limitations to be realistic about

No converter makes a 1988 console look like a 2026 one. Be clear-eyed about what you are working with:

• Low-resolution source. A 240p or 480i signal has a fixed, small amount of detail. Upscaling makes it fill the screen; it does not add information. Old games will look soft compared to modern ones, and that is the source, not your setup.
• PAL 50Hz versus NTSC 60Hz. Australian PAL consoles run at 50Hz. Some cheap converters and some TVs handle 50Hz poorly, and PAL versions of games often ran slightly slower than their NTSC counterparts to begin with. A good scaler copes; a bad converter may not lock on cleanly.
• 4:3 aspect ratio. These consoles output a squarish 4:3 picture. On a widescreen TV you either accept black bars down the sides (correct) or stretch it and distort everything. Set your TV to keep the original aspect.
• Input lag. Every conversion step can add delay between your controller and the screen. Cheap converters add the most. Always switch the TV to game mode, and prefer a low-lag scaler if timing-sensitive games matter to you.
• Composite is soft by design. If your console can do S-Video, component or RGB, use it. The single yellow RCA is the worst-looking option and no converter fully rescues it.

What we would actually recommend

Match the spend to how much you care.

• Just want it on the big telly for a bit of nostalgia: a cheap AV-to-HDMI converter from Amazon AU or JB Hi-Fi, or a Wii2HDMI for a Wii. Accept some softness and lag, turn on game mode, and enjoy it. Cheapest way to get playing.
• Care about picture quality and responsiveness: a RetroTINK or an OSSC, fed from the best output the console supports. This is the sweet spot for most enthusiasts and where the money is best spent.
• Want the definitive result for a favourite console: a console-specific HDMI mod, or an Analogue FPGA console that plays your real carts over clean HDMI.

Two rules cut through all of it. Always use the console's best available output rather than composite when you have the choice, because the source quality caps everything downstream. And if you are buying a new TV and retro gaming is part of the plan, check that it still has the analogue input you need before you buy, or budget for a scaler from the start. TV Rex is beginning to track which current sets keep composite and component inputs for exactly this reason.

If you are still choosing the TV itself, our TV buying guides cover sizes, panels and value, and our smart TV operating systems comparison helps if the platform matters to you. You can browse everything from the TV Rex home page.