Hardware Are there ANY graphical differences when playing Wii games on Wii U hardware (due to A/V cables)?

[SG]

I can't seem to get a concrete reply one way or the other - I've read some people saying that Wii U's HDMI picture is superior to Wii's (official) component cable for games. But I've ALSO read that the component connection on Wii U is better than HDMI because the HDMI is 'washed out'. So, can someone help me please?

 

[Duo8]

The only fact is that the vWii is rendered in 480p and upscaled for HDMI.
The rest are opinions.

 

[SG]

The only fact is that the vWii is rendered in 480p and upscaled for HDMI.

Please excuse my n00bness, but is that a good or a bad thing? Also, what if I'm using an official component cable on Wii U?

 

[laudern]

playing gcn games on the wii u is a hell of a lot better because of the HDMI connection as apposed to the component connections...

 

[spinal_cord]

The upscaled vWii screen imo, is worse than the original Wii with component because component gives you a crisp 640x480 image whereas the upscaled image is blurry. I like my screens to be native resolution no matter what system they are, if that means the pixels are the size of lego bricks the so be it, but blurring an image when upscaling should never ever ever be done, nearest neighbour or nothing.

 

[metroid maniac]

Whether you like the 480p native or 480p scaled image is a matter of personal opinion, but your TV will scale the image it receives up to its native resolution anyway unless you're still using a CRT. Most built in upscalers are awful so if you're using a modern TV, Wii games tend to look better on the Wii U.

EDIT: It's worth noting that the Wii U's upscaling is optional. It can output 480p over HDMI if that's what you prefer. HDMI will not get distorted by electrical noise like analog video will. However, a CRT would probably be the only time you'd want unscaled 480p and I'm not aware of any which can take HDMI.

 

[Disorarara]

HDMI is a digital connection, it's not subject to any analog noise so it is objectively superior.

 

[Apex]

I remember reading somewhere that it enhances the very few games that utilize anti-aliasing. Games like Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 supposedly look better.

I could be wrong, but I remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Vanth88]

The real answer is the simplest, it really depends on how your TV handles everything which is why everyone has different opinions. Wii U upscales the original games to whatever resolution you choose but depending on how your TV handles everything it can look better or worse than the original Wii's component cables.

My HDTV for example handles HDMI better so Wii games look sharper and the colors look even better compared to component. When I first got my Wii U I tested this numerous times because that's actually one of the reasons I got the system. I noticed games like Skyward Sword looked a lot better and other games that had issues with brightness and overscan on component were just fine in HDMI.

Of course another thing I noticed is that the Wii U's game pad displays Wii games perfectly and that my TV looks like shit compared to it.

 

[Kippykip]

The upscaled vWii screen imo, is worse than the original Wii with component because component gives you a crisp 640x480 image whereas the upscaled image is blurry. I like my screens to be native resolution no matter what system they are, if that means the pixels are the size of lego bricks the so be it, but blurring an image when upscaling should never ever ever be done, nearest neighbour or nothing.

But most tvs blur the regular wii though
Also does there exist a TV/Monitor these days that don't blur small resolutions? Seems that only analog tvs/monitors don't blur and it puts me off whenever I use AV

 

[spinal_cord]

Some TV's have a 'game mode' or similar which will output the display as-is in it's native resolution without blurring.

 

[metroid maniac]

Some TV's have a 'game mode' or similar which will output the display as-is in it's native resolution without blurring.

That's not entirely true, unless for some reason game mode forces the image to take up a tenth of the screen. Game mode just limits the amount of image processing done to the input signal to the minimum, but that minimum does include scaling - it must scale that input in order to fit the display.

 

[tbb043]

If you use composite cables (or component cables with the Wii U set to 480i or 480p) it should look identical to a Wii. There is an exception though, if you use a VC game or homebrew/emulator which uses 240p mode, the Wii U's Wii mode will always upscale that, whereas on an actual Wii you can get it to put out 240p.

If you use HDMI set to 480p, it should look slightly better than on a Wii. Sort of like going from composite to S-Video. Maybe not even that much.

If you use HDMI set to 720p or higher it will upscale the games and some people like that, some people don't. You just have to try it and decide for yourself. It may look better on one TV, and worse on another. Very subjective.

However, you need to keep in mind that even when it upscales, it's still starting with an image rendered at 480p, so it's not like it's going to suddenly look like a Wii U game or anything miraculous. If you really want to improve the visuals to a significant degree you need to use Dolphin on a PC, and then you can make the games actually render at a higher resolution instead of just upscaling.

However, a CRT would probably be the only time you'd want unscaled 480p and I'm not aware of any which can take HDMI.

There are plenty of CRT's out there that have HDMI. Well, maybe not plenty, but the last few years CRT's were made they were putting HDMI on them. And even before that they had DVI, which is easy to use an adapter with to use HDMI on. You won't find a CRT TV that supports 1080p, as that wasn't a thing until after CRT croaked, though.

 

[spinal_cord]

That's not entirely true, unless for some reason game mode forces the image to take up a tenth of the screen. Game mode just limits the amount of image processing done to the input signal to the minimum, but that minimum does include scaling - it must scale that input in order to fit the display.

OK, you got me on a technicality. Yes some processing is still done, but usually only nearest-neighbour (or similar) scaling as to not introduce any delay.

 

[metroid maniac]

OK, you got me on a technicality. Yes some processing is still done, but usually only nearest-neighbour (or similar) scaling as to not introduce any delay.

Even nearest-neighbour is scaling and unless the scale is an integer (it never is) it distorts the picture noticeably. It also costs a few milliseconds, though not as much as some other scaling algorithm would.

 

[spinal_cord]

Even nearest-neighbour is scaling and unless the scale is an integer (it never is) it distorts the picture noticeably. It also costs a few milliseconds, though not as much as some other scaling algorithm would.

True, but how many people would notice every 4th row being 3 pixels high instead of 2? compared with how many of us old guys who hate to see every upscaled image in the world being blurry as hell?

 

[metroid maniac]

True, but how many people would notice every 4th row being 3 pixels high instead of 2? compared with how many of us old guys who hate to see every upscaled image in the world being blurry as hell?

I'm a nitpick, I hate all the proportions being off. But you're right, and if I must scale I always choose nearest neighbour over anything else.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Wii U's scaling algorithm also nearest neighbour?

 

[Silentsurvivor]

Wii U's HDMI out is much sharper and better quality than the Wii component connection. For comparisons, the Wii via Component is already less sharper than the GameCube Component connection was:

So yeah, Wii U wins by default. The HDMI out is pure digital and will be better quality than anything the Wii could output (which was already beaten by the GameCube).

 

[spinal_cord]

I'm a nitpick, I hate all the proportions being off. But you're right, and if I must scale I always choose nearest neighbour over anything else.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Wii U's scaling algorithm also nearest neighbour?

Can't say I can look for myself anymore. I gave my component cable to a friend recently. But I leave my WiiU video settings the same when using Wii games and the upscaling that the WiiU is doing seems to be blurring the image.

Wii U's HDMI out is much sharper and better quality than the Wii component connection. For comparisons, the Wii via Component is already less sharper than the GameCube Component connection was:

So yeah, Wii U wins by default. The HDMI out is pure digital and will be better quality than anything the Wii could output (which was already beaten by the GameCube).

There is debate on the thread that that image was taken from about many aspects of it, weather it was using official cables, if the resolution was indeed the same on both systems, if the camera was incorrectly focused. You can't accurately capture the image quality on a screen by taking a photo of it, there are too many variables to take into account.
I can say from personal experience, that a component cable on the Wii gives pixel perfect results on a TV that doesn't blur when upscaling, no matter if the signal is analog, we've been using analog video signals for decades, especially on home computers where pixel perfectness and image quality have needed to be a high standard. I have also only used my WiiU on my current TV, so I can't say for sure if the image quality is 'better' but I can say that if the WiiU is doing the upscaling and outputting at 1080p, then in my opinion it's worse, it blurs the image.

Blurry vs pixely is a different debate completely.