Let's Talk - "Composite over RGB - and when!"

Since the recent popularity of broadcast monitors, the standard composite signal of old has gotten the modish reputation of being undesirable by retro game enthusiasts, as well as for CRT hobbyists.

Back in the days of analog televisions, the more common way to connect classic consoles was through composite video (also known as RCA cables).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
These cables had a singular yellow wire to transmit video information accompanied by a more common red and white cable in charge of transmitting the stereo sound channels.
Whereas the composite was a direct upgrade from the RF boxes used to broadcast video and mono sound to your television through a single wire, around the same decade also came the lesser-known "RGB" signal, mainly used by computer systems through VGA and EGA connectors starting from the early 80s.

However, a few TVs also took advantage of the sharper image of RGB signals, often through proprietary connectors or the infamous "SCART" European connector.

Simply put, RGB allowed sharper images by separating the Red, Green, and Blue signals sent to your television, reducing interference and displaying a much sharper image than composite.

A comparison of the sharper RGB signal

 opposed to the common RCA signal

You're probably scratching your head by now, "if RGB is sharper, has better color, and less interference, how could composite ever be viable as an alternative? Wouldn't it deserve its reputation?".

Although I cannot deny that RGB is undeniably the sharpest signal, the issue at hand is merely how easy it would be to deduce that an image is more preferable simply because it is sharper, as we would be forgetting the very reason we revisit old technologies and media - nostalgia over its archaism.

Cyber Shadow, a recent indie platformer,
was released with many visual options

such as bad wires and scanlines

Indie game developers are now embracing composite, VHS, or bad wires filters to their pixel art to make them more authentic, yet although these features are meant to deteriorate the quality of the image displayed in indie games, they will often add a "flair" of something known as "retro".
The term retro has been in use since the early 70s to describe, new artifacts that self-consciously refer to particular modes, motifs, techniques, and materials of the past. It is an important part of our identity, which helps unite a fashion sense of who we are, our self, our identity, and a callback to simpler times that built the video games we know - and love - today.

Color disparity between the RGB signal (left) and the composite signal (right)

Note that the SNES wasn't known for its heavy use of dithering.

As some would prefer the picture of composite video - as an aesthetic - the preference also stems from the ingenious composite quirks that developers exploited over the course of its lifespan for transparency, blending, and interlayered sprite planes

You would be right to assume that the now conventional RGB signals would have a wider range of color per individual pixel, its pixel-perfect color accuracy and lack of bleeding is undeniable.

You would, however, need to consider that - as you are using RGB signal - the comprehensive gamut and transparency of the pictures displayed on a lower resolution console (notoriously the Sega Genesis) would be impaired by its use of raw dithering,
In the above picture, the RGB signal is displaying an exponentially lower count of possible colors displayed on-screen or checks of unfiltered pixels that the developer possibly did not intend the player to see.  

In this sample, an improvement of 20% more colors on the composite signal is a clear example of the color disparity between the RGB signal and the composite signal.

Earthworm Jim's use of dithering to create colors is notable.

The Sega Genesis also took advantage of horizontal blurring of checkerboard dither patterns to simulate transparency effects as well as unlock its 512 color palette limitation, which would consequently reduce the horizontal usable chroma resolution by requiring two horizontally adjacent pixels per intended color,  as if an RGB signal is used, color artifacts would become apparent in areas of sharp contrast.
Home computers like the Commodore 64, up to the lesser-known  Amiga, also had graphics prepared with dithering techniques used to take advantage of horizontal blurring, in a similar fashion as the Sega Genesis systems, using its "HAM 4096" display mode to express chroma information.

A notable example of dithering on the Sega Genesis 

would be the Sonic the Hedgehog waterfalls.
With its limited palette, the dithering effects 

used to mitigate the low amount of colors -
mainly used for organic transparency effects.

The more recent price-gouging around high-end CRT monitors such as Sony PVMs vaguely shows the misunderstanding or rather discontentment that people seem to have adopted regarding composite video, warranted or not is yours to judge. 

Many factors such as TVL count, display technology, shadow masks, aperture grille, or other display technology will also come into play when experiencing older media and you may want to try different things and see what sticks best for you depending on the game you are playing. 

As for me, Sega Genesis games as well as C64 demos will always be best experienced on a composite signal. It is - as with all things - up to your personal preference if or not you choose to use composite or RGB, this article is aimed to educate you - the player - on two archaic signals which are both totally acceptable ways to enjoy your favorite blast from the past; be it a VHS tape, a video game system or those oddly satisfying weather channel archives.