Connecting to a Sony Bravia 55" smart tv

[steph746]

Hello,

 

Relative newbie here...

 

I'm making an attempt to connect my 2600 to a Sony Bravia  TV. I purchased the TV back in about 2015. It does have a cable connection at the back. The connection is just labeled "cable" I believe and not UHF/VHF. After researching this a little bit, do I understand correctly that an RCA to F is needed and I should plug the 2600 cable into that? Is there anything else that might be needed?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Sounds similar to my Bravia I use in the game room. Only mine isn't a smart TV version as I didn't have a need for that. 

 

So in addition to the RCA-F adapter, you will also have to connect up the Atari, put in a game, and turn it on.

 

Then you will need to run through the channel scan on the TV using the Ant/Cable scan option. What should then happen is that the TV will scan for channels from the Ant Coax on the back and should 'see' the 2600 and make whatever channel it is operating on a valid selectable channel. 

 

There are some limited tuning you can do further, but I've found the auto tuning to work and setup exactly where needed.

 

[steph746]

17 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Sounds similar to my Bravia I use in the game room. Only mine isn't a smart TV version as I didn't have a need for that. 

 

So in addition to the RCA-F adapter, you will also have to connect up the Atari, put in a game, and turn it on.

 

Then you will need to run through the channel scan on the TV using the Ant/Cable scan option. What should then happen is that the TV will scan for channels from the Ant Coax on the back and should 'see' the 2600 and make whatever channel it is operating on a valid selectable channel. 

 

There are some limited tuning you can do further, but I've found the auto tuning to work and setup exactly where needed.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll order those adapters and give it a try. Do you find the picture to be fairly clear?

 

I was also reading that another way to connect is through a VCR with an upscaler to connect it via HDMI. Would this be a better way to do it?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

13 minutes ago, steph746 said:

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll order those adapters and give it a try. Do you find the picture to be fairly clear?

 

I was also reading that another way to connect is through a VCR with an upscaler to connect it via HDMI. Would this be a better way to do it?

Well the picture isn't going to be any clearer because we are talking about RF here. If anything, you might find it worse given that modern displays will show more of the flaws that older CRTs were hiding in the images. 

 

And yes, you can use a VCR as a way to convert the RF, but again, you are talking a garbage in/garbage out. It might look good to you so if you are okay with the picture as it is at that point, then I say game on and have fun! If you want a better picture from the system, then ultimate you will have to spend some money to get it upgraded with better video output options. There are several cheaper kits that will provide composite output only and for many that seems to be fine for them. I personally try to go with at least s-video output quality and then use a separate upscaler from there that can convert and reprocess the image output to HDMI to my modern displays.

 

But for now, try and make sure it works properly and get it going through the RF output and then if you think it is something you will want to game on and use long term, then you might look into upgrading the video from it later.

 

[steph746]

4 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Well the picture isn't going to be any clearer because we are talking about RF here. If anything, you might find it worse given that modern displays will show more of the flaws that older CRTs were hiding in the images. 

 

And yes, you can use a VCR as a way to convert the RF, but again, you are talking a garbage in/garbage out. It might look good to you so if you are okay with the picture as it is at that point, then I say game on and have fun! If you want a better picture from the system, then ultimate you will have to spend some money to get it upgraded with better video output options. There are several cheaper kits that will provide composite output only and for many that seems to be fine for them. I personally try to go with at least s-video output quality and then use a separate upscaler from there that can convert and reprocess the image output to HDMI to my modern displays.

 

But for now, try and make sure it works properly and get it going through the RF output and then if you think it is something you will want to game on and use long term, then you might look into upgrading the video from it later.

 

Thanks again. I'm not looking for a great picture. Just something like what the original looked like would be nice. I just was wondering if it might be distorted being on a TV with widescreen proportions. Does the image "stretch" to fill the screen? I'm looking forward to connecting my system, but would you possibly have a pic of what it looks like on your TV?

 

Thanks...

[BIGHMW]

Forget the VCR, here is just as good of an idea as anything for Atari, check out this video I did 2 years ago on a "little rose gold-colored box" that while may not be perfect but for displaying an Atari on an HDTV, is THE BEST and most economical solution for you if you don't want to modify your system. Just make sure that if and when you do get this item that you also get that RCA-to-IEC (PAL) adapter (available on the link in the description of this video) that'll allow you to play Atari on even a 4K screen. MUST SEE TV at its best!!!

 

 

[steph746]

Thanks. I may look into that too. But, should the RCA-F adapter work as well?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

33 minutes ago, steph746 said:

Thanks. I may look into that too. But, should the RCA-F adapter work as well?

You stated your TV was from around 2015 correct? So there is a possibility that it can only do digital signals, but I'd still try just connecting it up via the coax-F adapter and see if your TV can see the 2600 when going through the channel scan. Ray's suggestion above is a device that should also work, but essentially a VCR would too and provide you with at least a composite output you can plug into the TV.

 

[+x=usr(1536)]

Another option (if you don't want to modify the console) is to use a professional-grade demodulator like the Sony TU-1041U.  They're available on eBay, and while quality will be better than RF it won't be as good as a decent internal video upgrade such as the UAV.  Demodulators may also not be cost-effective if you only need to install a single upgrade, because once you've done that the demodulator is instantly obsolete.

14 hours ago, steph746 said:

I just was wondering if it might be distorted being on a TV with widescreen proportions. Does the image "stretch" to fill the screen?

That really depends on the devices in the video output chain.  If feeding directly to the TV, generally the way that the TV has been configured to handle 4:3 video will determine whether it remains at the original aspect ratio or is stretched, letterboxed, etc.  Same typically applies if you're feeding to an upscaler or similar first.

[BIGHMW]

1 hour ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Ray's suggestion above is a device that should also work, but essentially a VCR would too and provide you with at least a composite output you can plug into the TV.

Nice idea, but if you don't have the space needed for such a medium-large size component like a VCR and want just a small set-top tuner-only device you can't go wrong with that RF to HDMI converter. Besides unless you have an extensive collection of VHS tapes then why waste the space just to use its onboard analog tuner when my unit does just as great. 

Edited January 30 by BIGHMW

[Crazy Climber]

RCA to F is all you need. Simple and cheap

[steph746]

Thanks all. It is working with the RCA to F adapter

 

Now I just need functioning joysticks and paddles.

 

Also, many games are not working. Mainly the Atari games are, but not Activision. I think that's because the inside of the cartridge is open and exposed. Would a Q-tip be recommended to clean them?

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, steph746 said:

Also, many games are not working. Mainly the Atari games are, but not Activision. I think that's because the inside of the cartridge is open and exposed. Would a Q-tip be recommended to clean them?

Q-Tip and 90%-up isopropyl alcohol.  If that doesn't work, something like CRC Electronic Cleaner is recommended.

 

Also give the cartridge connector a good cleaning.  Start off by blowing any crud out with compressed air.  Next, a credit card with an old T-shirt wrapped around it works well.  Soak the shirt with your cleaner of choice and run the card in and out of the slot several times.  Using a light-coloured shirt may be a good idea so that you can get a feel for how much dirt is being removed.

[steph746]

Thanks very much. These all sound like good ideas. Do you have a cleaner that you recommend?

[+x=usr(1536)]

11 minutes ago, steph746 said:

Thanks very much. These all sound like good ideas. Do you have a cleaner that you recommend?

I think you may have replied while I was adding that in to my initial response   CRC Electronic Cleaner has worked well for me on a wide variety of applications.  There's also Deoxit, which is at least as effective, but more expensive.

 

Either one is a good choice, and while it doesn't hurt to have both on hand, my tendency is to start with the CRC Electronic Cleaner simply because it's cheap and locally-available.  Doesn't mean one is better or worse than the other, just that different applications have reacted in different ways to each one.

[steph746]

Thanks again. I'll give that a try.