Insurrection Industries has recently released the component video version of their GCVideo “Carby” line. It’s a $90 device that’s designed for people looking to get high quality analog video from their Game Cube’s digital-out port, without relying on original and expensive component cables. The cables only output video, so you’ll still need some Nintendo Multi-Out cables for audio.
The Carby Component uses the same high-quality digital port connector that Insurrection’s been using on their other products (and selling separately), which is generally regarded as a near-perfect recreation of the connector on Nintendo’s official component cable. On the output side, Insurrection chose to use BNC cables, as opposed to standard RCA, presumably because it’s easier to track down 75 ohm, quality BNC cables. This works nicely for people who connect their consoles directly into monitors with BNC inputs, as well as devices like the Extron Crosspoint.
For everyone else, they include three quality BNC to RCA adapters that make this fully compatible with both setups. The inner tips of the adapters are gold to match the BNC connector’s tip, as it’s good practice to not “mix metals”. A better choice might have been gold for both the signal tip and outer ground like you see on the highest quality RCA cables, but I imagine that would have raised price quite a bit and this should still be good enough.
As for performance, you can expect results that are on-par with pretty much all other GCVideo solutions. For your average person, there will be no noticeable difference between these cables and the original GC Component cables, however GCVideo still has some imperfections that are being ironed out. The Carby products can be firmware-updated though, so any future GCVideo tweaks should be compatible with this as well. Please note that any firmware updates are done at your own risk and require your own programmer and software tools.
One thing to note is the Game Boy Interface software seems to have some compatibility issues when using the Carby Component cables with an OSSC, however GBi creator Extrems has posted a fix. I believe the Carby Component cables work with all GBi versions when going direct into a monitor or TV. In my opinion, as long as there’s a way to use the GBi software on all my devices, I’m happy to keep a second version on my SD card for OSSC use!
Overall, if you need component video from your GameCube and don’t already own the original component cables from Nintendo, the Carby Component cables are a great way to get 240p, 480i and 480p component video output from your GameCube! If you already own the official Nintendo cables, respectfully, there’s no need to buy these unless you’d rather keep the Nintendo cables as a collectors item and not use them.
Carby Component: https://insurrectionindustries.com/product/carbycomponent/
GBi Carby Compatible Settings: https://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.php?title=Game_Boy_Interface/High-Fidelity_Edition#Insurrection_Industries_CARBY_Component_Cable
I've reintroduced an old feature for @Insurrection33 CARBY + OSSC users and bundled a new ready-made preset using it. It'll help you get the sampling phase down. https://t.co/Ovxt56Uofa
— Extrems (@Extrems) October 20, 2019
