Getting perfect 480p output from a Wii U

[Alexrose]

I'm considering buying a 4k scaler for my MiSTer and I'm wondering if my Wii U will benefit from it. I have Aroma installed with resolution modification. I also have forwarders for Wii Flow that are able to boot vWii mode into 480p mode, 720p, 1080p etc.

So potentially I can just boot into 480p mode, and wiiflow itself lets you adjust a lot of resolution stuff. With all this in mind, if I do this, would I be able to output a nice picture quality like a gamecube over the hdmi port or by the component if I had a good scaler to then upscale to 4k? Or is the Wii U just doomed to look not great?

Post automatically merged: Sep 5, 2024

I read an old post from Extrems which potentially implies it's a hardware issue?

Wii U Wii Mode is a disaster.16 pixels is cut on each sides, in destination space. This result in 480p having the most overscan and 1080p the least. There is no 1:1 mapping.There's a disagreement between left and center chroma sampling location. This result in a slight chroma shift.There's no conversion between Rec. 601 and Rec. 709 Y'CbCr. This can result in wrong colors in HD and on the Wii U GamePad. This is further exacerbated by the smaller color gamut on the Wii U GamePad.​

 

[Yossariano]

I'm currently going through this with my Wii U and Retrotink 4k. I have not been able to get an image that is close to my Gamecube w/ original component cables. The Wii U seems to consistently emit a slightly blurred image. It almost looks to me like it is always 480i, despite me forcing progressive in USB Loader GX and the Tink detecting a 480p signal.

What I've tried: using WiiVC launcher Aroma plugin to force 4:3 480p mode over HDMI. Deflicker removed, 480p pixel patch set via USB Loader GX. evwii framebuffer settings for 640x480p (also tried 720x480p which makes gamecube games look worse to my eyes).

I took two photos to illustrate the night-and-day difference I'm seeing in sharpness. Switching between the cube and the Wii U bums me out. I would love to find a solution that made the images comparable.

 

[CrazySquid]

I'm currently going through this with my Wii U and Retrotink 4k. I have not been able to get an image that is close to my Gamecube w/ original component cables. The Wii U seems to consistently emit a slightly blurred image. It almost looks to me like it is always 480i, despite me forcing progressive in USB Loader GX and the Tink detecting a 480p signal.

What I've tried: using WiiVC launcher Aroma plugin to force 4:3 480p mode over HDMI. Deflicker removed, 480p pixel patch set via USB Loader GX. evwii framebuffer settings for 640x480p (also tried 720x480p which makes gamecube games look worse to my eyes).

I took two photos to illustrate the night-and-day difference I'm seeing in sharpness. Switching between the cube and the Wii U bums me out. I would love to find a solution that made the images comparable.

View attachment 466293

View attachment 466294

1080p resolution + disabling deflicker gives me a really sharp image. Of curse the chroma-shift is there.

 

[Yossariano]

1080p resolution + disabling deflicker gives me a really sharp image. Of curse the chroma-shift is there.

That is interesting. I must be doing something wrong with my setup- using 1080p mode for vWii results in a smeared messy image (I think because of the Wii U's internal upscaler). Is there a plugin that you're using to get those sharp image results? I am turning off deflicker in USB Loader but on 1080p the image looks a lot murkier than forcing 480p through my Retrotink.

 

[CrazySquid]

That is interesting. I must be doing something wrong with my setup- using 1080p mode for vWii results in a smeared messy image (I think because of the Wii U's internal upscaler). Is there a plugin that you're using to get those sharp image results? I am turning off deflicker in USB Loader but on 1080p the image looks a lot murkier than forcing 480p through my Retrotink.

Hm... I use evWii with the default configurations (704x480), but even so, the image was really shsrp for me at 1080p, even better thsn my OG Wii (but my console is affected by the 480p bug, so I guess it's not quite a fair comparison)

 

[linkenski]

That is interesting. I must be doing something wrong with my setup- using 1080p mode for vWii results in a smeared messy image (I think because of the Wii U's internal upscaler). Is there a plugin that you're using to get those sharp image results? I am turning off deflicker in USB Loader but on 1080p the image looks a lot murkier than forcing 480p through my Retrotink.

Aroma plugins is only one part of it. If you run games through Nintendont then there are setting IN the Nintendont config that enables/disables deflicker. IIRC if you use the last option "Force/Deflicker" you get a super crisp image at 1080p. It scales perfectly to the 480p heigh of the gamepad screen, but even on my 4K TV (Samsung Q60T) it doubles the pixels of the resolution really nicely from 480p upscaled to 1080p, and then my TV upscaling that image to 4K.
In my experience games look worse if you render natively at 480p. It just looks blurrier due to the way it gets scaled, maybe by Wii U software, or just my TV.

 

[yaketyJack]

For vWii and GC, I get a great look using the crt filters (I love the 3rd one) in the Retrotink 5X, and 480p mode on WIiU. It won't be sharp upclose, but from a distance, it looks great. CRT monitors always blurred the jaggies a bit, so this makes it look like it used to be before flat panels.

 

[Yossariano]

Aroma plugins is only one part of it. If you run games through Nintendont then there are setting IN the Nintendont config that enables/disables deflicker. IIRC if you use the last option "Force/Deflicker" you get a super crisp image at 1080p. It scales perfectly to the 480p heigh of the gamepad screen, but even on my 4K TV (Samsung Q60T) it doubles the pixels of the resolution really nicely from 480p upscaled to 1080p, and then my TV upscaling that image to 4K.
In my experience games look worse if you render natively at 480p. It just looks blurrier due to the way it gets scaled, maybe by Wii U software, or just my TV.

I must be doing something wrong- Force/Deflicker looks like the blurriest output of all, to my eyes.

As for 1080p vs. 480p, I'm using a Retrotink scaler so 480p definitely looks sharper as it bypasses the Wii U's upscaler. But despite tinkering with evWii settings, VCLaunch settings etc, the image is still pretty blurry compared to the razor sharp Gamecube 480p output through the same scaler. I think I'm just in a niche case- and it is probably not worth complaining about too much- but as someone who enjoys squeezing the sharpest pixels possible out of my systems, I'm curious to see the success others have had.

 

[devlman127]

Still hoping for a fix for the chroma

 

[CrazySquid]

Still hoping for a fix for the chroma

I recommend you to get a chair then

 

[devlman127]

I recommend you to get a chair then

A man can dream.

 

[Doneyboney]

evWii Aroma plugin only works on injections, correct? In UsbloaderGX or Nintendont it has no effect?

 

[TimesZero]

I'm considering buying a 4k scaler for my MiSTer and I'm wondering if my Wii U will benefit from it. I have Aroma installed with resolution modification. I also have forwarders for Wii Flow that are able to boot vWii mode into 480p mode, 720p, 1080p etc.

So potentially I can just boot into 480p mode, and wiiflow itself lets you adjust a lot of resolution stuff. With all this in mind, if I do this, would I be able to output a nice picture quality like a gamecube over the hdmi port or by the component if I had a good scaler to then upscale to 4k? Or is the Wii U just doomed to look not great?

Post automatically merged: Sep 5, 2024

I read an old post from Extrems which potentially implies it's a hardware issue?

Wii U Wii Mode is a disaster.16 pixels is cut on each sides, in destination space. This result in 480p having the most overscan and 1080p the least. There is no 1:1 mapping.There's a disagreement between left and center chroma sampling location. This result in a slight chroma shift.There's no conversion between Rec. 601 and Rec. 709 Y'CbCr. This can result in wrong colors in HD and on the Wii U GamePad. This is further exacerbated by the smaller color gamut on the Wii U GamePad.​

The issue sounds mostly like it’s arising from playing on an LCD panel of some sort as opposed to CRT. This is through HDMI on a KD34XS955 running 1080i/480p natively. You can switch the resolution output in the Wii U settings, no weird boxes necessary. Not to mention (as seen in the Bayonetta photo) the color comparison between LCD and CRT is no contest.