8 pin DIN female connector at the cable connecting plug. Connector is U-shaped, not round.
The Sega Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis Model 1 share an identical 8-pin D-type DIN AV output connector, designated CON1 in Sega service documentation and manufactured to Sega part number 212-5106. Introduced in the late 1980s, the connector carries analogue RGB, composite video, composite sync, mono audio, and a +5 V supply on a single proprietary socket. RGB signals are generated by the V7040 encoder (IC9 on the Master System board), which outputs red, green, and blue on pins 21–23 respectively, along with composite sync on pin 19. The connector is not interchangeable with any IEC or consumer-electronics DIN standard and is unique to this Sega console family.
| Pin | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Composite Video |
| 2 | Ground |
| 3 | Audio Mono |
| 4 | green |
| 5 | +5VDC |
| 6 | Sync |
| 7 | red |
| 8 | blue |
Notes
The connector shell is D-shaped (not circular), which physically keys it so that it can only be inserted in one orientation. Audio appears between pins 3 and 2 (signal and ground), and composite video between pins 1 and 2, as confirmed in Sega Master System service documentation. The Mega Drive/Genesis Model 1 uses the same 8-pin DIN D-type connector and part number; Model 2 and later Mega Drive variants switched to a 9-pin mini-DIN and are not compatible with this cable.
Signals
- Composite Video — standard-definition composite video output signal
- Ground — common signal and power ground reference
- Audio Mono — mono analogue audio output
- green — analogue green component of the RGB video signal
- +5VDC — +5 V DC supply
- Sync — composite synchronisation signal
- red — analogue red component of the RGB video signal
- blue — analogue blue component of the RGB video signal