Plug N Play Saturn HDMI! Should You Buy the Hyperkin HDTV Cable for the Sega Saturn

In this video, we unbox, test out and review the Hyperkin HDTV Cable for the Sega SaturnShow more

In the never-ending challenge of connecting retro video game consoles to modern TVs, Hyperkin has produced a series of plug-and-play HDTV cables to accomplish just that. They are budget-friendly, geared towards being able to get your Saturn connected to an HDMI port as quickly and easily as possible. Their latest effort is what you see here, the HDTV cable for the Sega Saturn.

There are many ways to connect the Saturn to modern TVs using upscalers and different cables. The HDTV cable from Hyperkin essentially combines an AV to HDMI adapter into one single cable. The result is a very budget-friendly way to connect your Saturn to your TV, the results should be decent, however, there are other options out there if you are looking for the pinnacle when it comes to quality

The HDTV cable's design is pretty straightforward, making it pretty easy to go from box to playing. The cable itself is an all-in-one unit, essentially an HDMI cable with a converter box about a third of the way down one side. The side of the box features a micro USB port for power, and a switch on one side allows you to toggle back and forth between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios.

Connecting the cable to my Sega Saturn system and my EZ Cap 284 capture card was an absolute breeze. The first game I threw at it was one of my favorites of all time, Earthworm Jim 2. Having used other similar cables from Hyperkin and other manufacturers, I was expecting the picture to look decent but leave a little bit to be desired. I was honestly really shocked at how good the picture look! I mean, it was really pretty good!

One thing that I did notice was a slight amount of lag and latency when using this cable. This was the first time I've really been able to detect that on any of these sorts of cables. It could have been just me, I've been taking some cold medicine lately for a sinus infection, but especially in Street Fighter Alpha 2, I was having some issues with button presses and combos that I can normally hit.

Why it RoX:
- Sub-$30 price tag
- Plug-and-play HDMI convenience
- The image quality and colors actually looked very good
- Exceptional audio quality
- 4:3/16:9 switch

What could be improved?
- I did notice some lag
- Some of the colors looked a little blurry or smudgy, most notably in Super Street Fighter
- Having a dongle with a female HDMI port versus a male to male cable would allow me to use whatever length cable I need it

Should you buy one?
This is an interesting call for me because I feel if you have a Saturn in this day and age you're probably a more hardcore collector and game player. As such, I feel the user is more informed about things like the RetroTink, OSSC, and HD Retrovision cables. All of those options will yield a superior video quality with less lag than the Hyperkin HDTV cable. That being said, the least expensive option amongst those, simply going with HD Retrovision cables if your TV has component video input, is more than double the price of this cable. If budget is more important than quality, this is a pretty decent way to play. If you are just looking to connect your system to your modern TV quickly and easily, definitely give this a look. If you are looking for the best possible video quality for your Saturn, there are superior options out there, but you're going to pay for them.

#Hyperkin #SegaSaturn #HDMI

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