The Sony AV Multi Out is a proprietary 12-pin square-type connector used as the sole A/V output port on all PlayStation 1 (SCPH-1000 through SCPH-9003 and PS one), PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 consoles. Designated CN502 in Sony service documentation and identified internally as “CONNECTOR, SQUARE TYPE 12P”, it carries composite video, S-Video luminance and chrominance, RGB signals, stereo audio, and a +5 V DC supply across its 12 pins. PlayStation 2 extended the same connector to additionally carry YCbCr component video and XGA progressive-scan output by electronically reassigning the RGB pin group depending on the accessory cable attached. The connector interface specification and pin assignments remained unchanged from the original PlayStation (1994) through PlayStation 3 (2013).
12 PIN Connector at the PlayStation.
| Pin | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GND | Ground |
| 2 | RT | Right Audio |
| 3 | GND | Ground |
| 4 | LT | Left Audio |
| 5 | Y | S-Video Y |
| 6 | SYNC | Composite Sync |
| 7 | C | S-Video C |
| 8 | VGND | Video Ground |
| 9 | B | Blue |
| 10 | +5V | +5 VDC |
| 11 | R | Red |
| 12 | G | Green |
Signals
- GND — Ground return for audio and general circuitry.
- RT — Right stereo audio output.
- LT — Left stereo audio output.
- Y — S-Video luminance signal.
- SYNC — Composite synchronisation signal.
- C — S-Video chrominance signal.
- VGND — Dedicated video ground return.
- B — Blue component of the RGB video signal; on PS2 also used for YCbCr component output.
- +5V — +5 V DC supply output from the console.
- R — Red component of the RGB video signal; on PS2 also used for YCbCr component output.
- G — Green component of the RGB video signal; on PS2 also used for YCbCr component output.
Notes
The AV Multi Out is a Sony-proprietary connector with no published industry standard. On PlayStation 1, RGB output requires coupling capacitors (approximately 220 µF) in each colour line; composite video or luminance (Y) serves as the sync reference, as no dedicated composite-sync pin is provided in all cable configurations. PlayStation 2 service manuals list the port outputs as “RGB, YCbCr, Y/C, Composite-video, Audio-L/R, XGA”, with the component and progressive-scan modes sharing the R/G/B pin group. The connector body part numbers documented in Sony service manuals include 1-779-029-11 (SCPH-9000 series) and 1-779-029-71 / 1-779-029-81 (PS one SCPH-100 series). Sony’s internal IC designation for the encoder feeding this port on SCPH-9000-series hardware is IC502 (VIDEO DAC + RGB ENCODER).
References
- Sony PlayStation SCPH-9000 Series Service Manual (3rd Edition)
- Sony PS one SCPH-100 Series Service Manual (5th Edition)
- PlayStation SCPH-9000 Series Game Console Service Manual — schematic (ManualsLib)
- Sony PlayStation 2 SCPH-30000 Series Service Manual (6th Edition)
- Sony PlayStation 2 SCPH-50000 Series Service Manual (2nd Edition)