You can connect a Super Nintendo to a smart TV either directly with its original cables (if your TV still has the right ports) or by using a simple AVā€‘toā€‘HDMI converter box and then selecting the correct input on the TV. The exact steps depend on whether your TV has composite (red/white/yellow) or only HDMI inputs.

Check your TV and SNES ports

  • The original Super Nintendo uses a Multi Out port on the back that normally goes to:
    • Composite AV (yellow video + red/white audio), or
    • An RF switch (coaxial cable to the antenna input).
  • Many smart TVs from the earlyā€“mid 2010s still have composite ports, but newer models often only have HDMI.

Method 1: Using composite AV (easiest)

Use this if your smart TV has red/white/yellow RCA inputs.

  1. Plug the SNES AV cable into the Multi Out port on the back of the console.
  1. Match the colors on the other end:
    • Yellow ā†’ Video In (yellow)
    • Red/White ā†’ Audio In (red/white) on the TV.
  1. Turn on the SNES and the TV.
  1. On the TV, change the source to the AV/composite input (often labeled AV, Video, or Component/AV).
  1. In picture settings, set aspect ratio to 4:3 so the image is not stretched.

Method 2: Using an AVā€‘toā€‘HDMI adapter

Use this if your TV only has HDMI ports.

  1. Buy a small RCA (AV) to HDMI converter that supports 720p/1080p output.
  1. Connect the SNES AV cable to the converter (yellow/red/white to matching ports).
  1. Plug an HDMI cable from the converterā€™s HDMI Out to an HDMI port on the TV.
  1. Power everything:
    • SNES power brick into the wall
    • Some converters need USB power from the TV or an adapter.
  1. Switch your TV input to the HDMI port you used.
  1. In the TVā€™s settings, pick 4:3 or ā€œOriginalā€ picture mode if possible; the game will still look a bit pixelated because it was made for lowā€‘resolution CRTs.

Method 3: Using the RF switch (coax)

Use this only if your TV has no composite but does have a coax antenna input and you have the original RF switch.

  1. Connect the SNES RF switch to the consoleā€™s Multi Out and to the TVā€™s antenna/cable input (coax).
  1. Set the RF switch and/or console to channel 3 or 4.
  1. On the TV, switch to the TV/antenna tuner input and tune to that channel.
  1. Image quality will be worse than composite or HDMI adapters, but it will work on many smart TVs.

Common picture & lag tips

  • If the image is blackā€‘andā€‘white or missing sound, recheck color matching on the RCA cables and TV input selection.
  • Turn off or reduce heavy image processing (ā€œGame Modeā€ on many TVs) to cut input lag for better control response.
  • Expect visible pixels and some softness; the SNES outputs a lowā€‘resolution analog signal that modern 4K screens just scale up.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.