Sony PlayStation A/V

Sony AV Multi Out: proprietary 12-pin connector on PS1, PS2, and PS3 carrying stereo audio, composite, S-Video, RGB, and +5 VDC.

The Sony AV Multi Out is a proprietary 12-pin square-body connector introduced on the original PlayStation (SCPH-1000) in 1994 and carried forward unchanged through PS1, PS2, and PS3. The single port simultaneously delivers stereo audio (left and right), composite video, S-Video (Y and C), and three RGB video lines, together with a +5 VDC supply intended to power optional external RF modulators. On PS2 and PS3 the three RGB pins additionally function as YPbPr component-video outputs (Pr, Pb, and Y), enabling component output without a dedicated connector. The connector part number used in Sony service documentation is 1-779-029-11.

12 pin Sony Playstation special connector layout 12 pin Sony Playstation special connector at the Playstation

PinNameDescription
1GNDGround
2RTRight Audio
3GNDGround
4LTLeft Audio
5YS-Video Y
6SYNCComposite Sync
7CS-Video C
8VGNDVideo Ground
9Bblue
10+5V+5 VDC
11Rred
12Ggreen

Notes

Pin numbering above follows the cable-maker convention (looking into the port on the console). Sony service manual schematics use a different pin-count direction for the same connector (designated CN502 on PS1 PU-23 boards), but the physical signal assignments are identical.

The +5 VDC on Pin 10 is intended for external RF modulator accessories (e.g. Sony SCPH-1150) and is not a general-purpose power rail.

RGB output on PS1 carries a DC offset; 220 µF DC-blocking capacitors (positive terminal towards the console) are required in each RGB line when connecting to a consumer RGB monitor.

Composite sync is embedded in the Green channel (sync-on-green). There is no dedicated sync pin; an LM1881 or equivalent sync-stripper is needed when a display requires separate H/V sync signals.

On PS2 and PS3, the RGB pins (Pins 9, 11, 12) double as YPbPr component outputs (Pb, Pr, Y respectively), enabling component video over the same port. This capability is not present on PS1.

References

Category:VideoGame Connectors