Hardware Could I hook a Wii U up to my computer monitor/speakers?

[KnilKrad]

EDIT: Question answered, thanks guys.



So, I'm going to get a Wii U soon(ish), but I have a problem. I want to get the full HD experience, but the only widescreen, non-CRT display I have in my house is my computer monitor. This computer monitor also doesn't have an HDMI port, only VGA and DVI.

Buying a Wii U is already going to set me back a lot of money, so buying an HDTV, even a cheap one, isn't really an option right now. Buying an adapter or two to get the Wii U's sound and video going through my computer speakers and computer monitor would probably be a much better option for me.

Does anyone with a Wii U know if it would be possible to hook one up to my monitor and some standard computer speakers? If so, what kind of adapters would I need? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Rocc0]

I use HDMI to DVI adapter cable to hook up my laptop to my external monitor and I just plug the speakers in the 3.5mm on the laptop and it works just fine.

Now, with the Wii U it might be a bit more difficult, as DVI doesn't carry out sound and apparently Wii U does not allow for separate video and audio settings.
http://techforums.nintendo.com/message/83126
http://www.reddit.com/r/wiiu/comments/1n03pm/
It seems that the Gamepad has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, maybe that could be used for the speakers?

I don't actually own a Wii U, but I'm interested in this problem nonetheless, because I am planning on getting one as well and I have similar setup (and no television). Hopefully someone who owns the console chimes in to help us both.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I use HDMI to DVI adapter cable to hook up my laptop to my external monitor and I just plug the speakers in the 3.5mm on the laptop and it works just fine.

Now, with the Wii U it might be a bit more difficult, as DVI doesn't carry out sound and apparently Wii U does not allow for separate video and audio settings.
http://techforums.nintendo.com/message/83126
http://www.reddit.com/r/wiiu/comments/1n03pm/
It seems that the Gamepad has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, maybe that could be used for the speakers?

I don't actually own a Wii U, but I'm interested in this problem nonetheless, because I am planning on getting one as well and I have similar setup (and no television). Hopefully someone who owns the console chimes in to help us both.

That will work for some games but others will only play occasional sound effects on the gamepad.
KnilKrad You can use a DVI adapter, but you'll also need a HDMI audio splitter/extractor. Something like this should work fine (just did a quick google search) http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Premium-Extractor-Converter-VHD-H2HSAs/dp/B00KBHX072

 

[FAST6191]

DVI is basically HDMI without the audio. You can get a cable or adapter there very cheap, the trick will be getting the audio out and into your PC. Nintendo hosed it up and did not initially allow separate audio out, however HDMI audio splitters are reasonably cheap (about $30 USD on Amazon, I have no model numbers/names I can really suggest), or at least the stereo ones are -- the 5.1 stuff can be a bit wallet draining.

One potential problem would be if the Wii U has HDCP for a program/game/whatever and your DVI input does not support it. For the most part (read the games and menu) it does not but the future may bring different things, HDCP strippers are not especially hard to find or expensive either (do it right and you might be able to pick up a combined audio and HDCP stripper, though I am not sure what goes there right now).

 

[rip-it-up]

I thought That you can use the av ouput on the back of the wii u console to carry the audio and a hdmi to dvi to carry the video.
I no you couldnt spilt audio and video on the wii u at launch but the sysmtem settings on wii u seem to suggest you can now.

 

[stomp_442]

That will work for some games but others will only play occasional sound effects on the gamepad.
KnilKrad You can use a DVI adapter, but you'll also need a HDMI audio splitter/extractor. Something like this should work fine (just did a quick google search) http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Premium-Extractor-Converter-VHD-H2HSAs/dp/B00KBHX072

are you saying that when the headphones are being used not all audio is routed thru the headphone jack? I can understand only some audio going to the gamepad when the headphone jack is not in use, but if somebody is wearing headphones you'd think all audio is routed that way.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

are you saying that when the headphones are being used not all audio is routed thru the headphone jack? I can understand only some audio going to the gamepad when the headphone jack is not in use, but if somebody is wearing headphones you'd think all audio is routed that way.

It's the same audio that's being sent to the gamepad in either case, although setting the gamepad as the main display will route all audio through it, not all games support that.

 

[KnilKrad]

I thought That you can use the av ouput on the back of the wii u console to carry the audio and a hdmi to dvi to carry the video.
I no you couldnt spilt audio and video on the wii u at launch but the sysmtem settings on wii u seem to suggest you can now.

Can anyone confirm this? If it's possible to have HDMI video and component audio at the same time, it would be pretty easy to get things running.

 

[stomp_442]

It's the same audio that's being sent to the gamepad in either case, although setting the gamepad as the main display will route all audio through it, not all games support that.

Isn't there a setting in the Wii U settings to route all sound to the gamepad? The Wii U is made so you don't need a tv to play it, so all sound sould get routed to the gamepad. The op should be able to plug in PC speakers to the gamepad and get all the audio in that mannor if he cannot get it any other way.

Can anyone confirm this? If it's possible to have HDMI video and component audio at the same time, it would be pretty easy to get things running.

I was thinking of this, I will try it out for you.

 

[endoverend]

Is playing video games on a computer monitor really worth it? I have a 1080p 16:9 monitor, and a giant-ass SD 4:3 TV. But I still prefer playing games on the TV because I don't want to shove all my game consoles against my gaming PC, probably causing huge heat issues.

 

[stomp_442]

Can anyone confirm this? If it's possible to have HDMI video and component audio at the same time, it would be pretty easy to get things running.

Wii U --> Settings --> TV --> TV Audio-Output Type --> Output-Cable Settings

After navigating the Wii U settings you can select the audio output
1. HDMI
2. Non-HDMI
3. Both

So yes you can have both output types right from the Wii U, just plug in your Wii cable right next to where you plug in the HDMI cable. I confirmed it working, HDMI + Wii component cable working at the same time.



Nintendo also has this information at their website
http://en-americas-support.nintendo...wii-u-console-with-an-external-speaker-system

 

[KnilKrad]

Thank you very much, SickPuppy.