Hardware Hardware HDMI mods?

[Chrushev]

I have component cables, but HDMI would make it much easier, plus Id love to have a reason to get my soldering iron out. What are current options for a hardware HDMI mod on the Wii? I have a white model with GC ports. It has had WiiKey in it for 10+ years now and at some point was also softmodded on top of that. But its been in a box for at least 6 years... Id like to get it out and play some GameCube Animal Crossing.

 

[PityOnU]

WiiDual

https://www.retrorgb.com/wiidual.html

 

[Chrushev]

WiiDual

https://www.retrorgb.com/wiidual.html

I saw that, but at $150 thats a bit much. Theres got to be a cheaper solution?

 

[PityOnU]

No

Limited demand keeps prices high

For cheap HDMI animal crossing just get one of the GCVideo-based HDMI kits for GCN

And if you think $150 is expensive then don't go looking for any WiiKey clones nowadays... ouch

 

[Chrushev]

No

Limited demand keeps prices high

For cheap HDMI animal crossing just get one of the GCVideo-based HDMI kits for GCN

And if you think $150 is expensive then don't go looking for any WiiKey clones nowadays... ouch

Why would WiiKey have any value today with softmods being available?

Are there GCVideo-based kits for Wii? All I can find is GameCube, and I dont have a GameCube.

And yeah for $150 I can get a second hand WiiU that has HDMI already

 

[PityOnU]

For people who want to mod GCN to load from SD without using the SDGecko

Why does HDMI for Wii have any value nowadays when there is the vWii on the WiiU? They can be had for $100 now and easily softmodded

 

[Chrushev]

For people who want to mod GCN to load from SD without using the SDGecko

Why does HDMI for Wii have any value nowadays when there is the vWii on the WiiU? They can be had for $100 now and easily softmodded

Right, id get a WiiU if it would cost me $150 to add HDMI to Wii. I was going to do that precisely so that I dont have to spend a lot of money and getting another console. I was expecting a solution in the $10-$15 range since HDMI is a fairly simple thing.

Are there GCVideo-based kits for Wii? All I can find is GameCube, and I dont have a GameCube.

 

[petethepug]

They do work but they ruin the console, if you want true HDMI you could try using the AV Cables and adjust the color or contrast of the TV, and then use a plug that comes with the Wii (I think its the other AV Cable that's white.) Your going to find out quickly that the Wii can display 1080p by 1080i but it cannot display beyond 4k because the color and contrast stretch out to much.




So, your really out of options if you want to use HDMI, but if your using HDMI right now just stick with the USB Plug until you find something else or stumble upon RGB (or also CTR Cables in Europe.) Cables for MKWii.

 

[KiiWii]

I have the wii2HDMI adaptor (obtained it for free) and picture is decent and it’s super easy to swap out the hdmi cables with other consoles set up rather than using Composite or Component.

I think it was like £5 online if you need one.

 

[Ryccardo]

Why would WiiKey have any value today with softmods being available?

The fact they overlap in goals (namely, playing copies of Wii/GC disc games) doesn't mean they are exact replacements for each other

If anything it's weird to have such a price when a direct competitor is just a general purpose PIC with the right software!



As for the original question, you could get a regular YPbPr to HDMI or VGA scaler - not free, but in the 2 digit range and better than the bottom-barrel types that plug directly in the console!

 

[Chrushev]

As for the original question, you could get a regular YPbPr to HDMI or VGA scaler - not free, but in the 2 digit range and better than the bottom-barrel types that plug directly in the console!

Got recommendations?

 

[petethepug]

Got recommendations?

Try the original AV cables before they were updated before post design in 2008, like the GC's av ports.

 

[Ryccardo]

Got recommendations?

Nope, sorry, my LCD has at least one one of all the major video connectors (and still I rarely if ever use it, lol)

 

[PityOnU]

WiiDual is GCVideo based. The external implementations for the GCN rely on the digital port on the early models, which was removed later, and never present on the Wii. Analog only

Your best bet without breaking the bank is the Wii2HDMI thing (more for convenience of connecting to a display than actual video quality - also adds latency) or using the Wii component cables (NOT the AV cables) and a TV with a decent built-in upscaler.

Component cables allow for 480p

 

[DeoNaught]

There's a Vga patch for the wii https://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/wii-native-vga-version-1-4.2176/

But it requires some soldering for it to work, but it's a cheap alternative if you know how to solder

 

[GerbilSoft]

They do work but they ruin the console, if you want true HDMI you could try using the AV Cables and adjust the color or contrast of the TV, and then use a plug that comes with the Wii (I think its the other AV Cable that's white.) Your going to find out quickly that the Wii can display 1080p by 1080i but it cannot display beyond 4k because the color and contrast stretch out to much.

Literally everything you said here is wrong. Composite video is not HDMI. Not even close.

Wii cannot display "1080p by 1080i" (which isn't a thing). It also can't display either 1080p or 1080i. A TV upscaling 480p to 1080p/i isn't the same thing.

EDIT:

So, your really out of options if you want to use HDMI, but if your using HDMI right now just stick with the USB Plug until you find something else or stumble upon RGB (or also CTR Cables in Europe.) Cables for MKWii.

What exactly is a "CTR" cable? Also, RGB SCART cables (480i) won't work on NTSC games due to the way the video out pins are handled on NTSC. (The pins used for RGB on PAL systems are used for S-Video on NTSC systems; NTSC games set them up as S-Video.)

 

[SG854]

Literally everything you said here is wrong. Composite video is not HDMI. Not even close.

Wii cannot display "1080p by 1080i" (which isn't a thing). It also can't display either 1080p or 1080i. A TV upscaling 480p to 1080p/i isn't the same thing.

EDIT:

What exactly is a "CTR" cable? Also, RGB SCART cables (480i) won't work on NTSC games due to the way the video out pins are handled on NTSC. (The pins used for RGB on PAL systems are used for S-Video on NTSC systems; NTSC games set them up as S-Video.)

I can't wait to get 4k by 720i on my TV.

 

[petethepug]

The older Gamecube and Wii composite cables/av cables used a different type of scaling technique to make a screen wider or stretch out a screen to 1080i to 1080p (4k, 8k, 7k, etc... Results might look horrendous though.) What most people don't realize is that when a component or composite cable is synced on a monitor it links or stretches its self differently because VGA Cables are used not AV or HDMI Cables. In other words before the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 3 Slim, consoles would display in a dynamic mode until the superslim came out or released which used a newer but more experimental scaling technique. Which means the Wii can in fact display beyond and above 1080 x 1080 but the results would look horrendous if the monitor were bigger than what the game can handle. Which is why games like MKWii, MK DoubleDash, and Need For Speed Most Wanted for the Gamecube. All use scaling techniques based off of DVD-r platforms to make sure the console or the disc are running at the right output.


It doesn't matter what the console region is, even if a PAL or NTSC Wii is using PAL or SCART Cables. All it would do is just not display in color and the contrast might look different or differ depending on the game disc and how it was made.

MKWii is one of those games that uses the perfect balance technique of RGB SCART when it was being made and developed in Tokyo Japan and Nintendo of Europe. But its not true HD its just all scaling techniques. In North America it was made or being developed perfect no matter what like most NTSC Games or TV in North and South America.



When you compare Dolphin to a program like PSX you will quickly find out that both consoles (despite the hardware) run the same way its just the video programs are made or separated differently. (On the PSX, its arranged horribly, and on the N64 its just okay but its not perfect or sharp either.)




Your going to quickly find out that any program can do it, its just how its programed. 1080p upscaler for Wii is not a good USB Chip or cord, in matter of fact its horrible and makes it worse. The only noticible difference with the RGB cables on the wii are SCART in Europe that use the Gamecube (Actually, Tokyo might use SCART and HDMI to now thinking about it.) The Wii U is the only true console while in VWii mode that can display 1080i/p and stretch the screen reguardless of the Wii's hardware features. But the resolution is kept the same even if the Wii U HDMI cables are being used (AV will not make a difference either with the Wii U.) Dolphin improves texture mapping, but doesn't improve any V-Sync, and when it does most of the time games handle it horribly because games made for the Wii, Gamecube, and Wii U (with some exceptions like MK8 and 3ds/wii u smash.) Don't render any 1080p upscaling despite being on a different TV like a RGB TV or CTR




CTR Cables are the cables used like SCART in Europe and North America, all they do is take a signal to something and display it on live cable TV. Unless the Cables don't actually work, in that case all it displays is high contrast or nothing "no signal!" screen.

 

[Chrushev]

Just to update anyone curious, I ended up picking up a second hand WiiU for much cheaper than a mod like this would cost, and I tackled both GC and Wii at the same time, not to mention added WiiU's (small but pretty damn good) library to my collection.

 

[GerbilSoft]

Let's go through this.

The older Gamecube and Wii composite cables/av cables used a different type of scaling technique to make a screen wider or stretch out a screen to 1080i to 1080p (4k, 8k, 7k, etc... Results might look horrendous though.) What most people don't realize is that when a component or composite cable is synced on a monitor it links or stretches its self differently because VGA Cables are used not AV or HDMI Cables. In other words before the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 3 Slim, consoles would display in a dynamic mode until the superslim came out or released which used a newer but more experimental scaling technique. Which means the Wii can in fact display beyond and above 1080 x 1080 but the results would look horrendous if the monitor were bigger than what the game can handle. Which is why games like MKWii, MK DoubleDash, and Need For Speed Most Wanted for the Gamecube. All use scaling techniques based off of DVD-r platforms to make sure the console or the disc are running at the right output.

*All* analog video signals have an indeterminate horizontal resolution by design. The pixel clock in the source determines it. GameCube and Wii had a frame buffer with a maximum horizontal resolution of 640 pixels, so for "widescreen", games had to use an anamorphic projection.

I don't know how you magically interpret that to mean "Wii can show ten eighty pees!" when the system's pixel clock is strictly limited to 640 (well, 720) dots per line.

"Scaling techniques based off of DVD-R platforms"? What does DVD-R have to do with any of this?

EDIT: Wait a minute. Do you think "composite" cables are somehow different from "AV" cables?

It doesn't matter what the console region is, even if a PAL or NTSC Wii is using PAL or SCART Cables. All it would do is just not display in color and the contrast might look different or differ depending on the game disc and how it was made.

Connect a SCART cable to an NTSC Wii and you'll get a red image.

MKWii is one of those games that uses the perfect balance technique of RGB SCART when it was being made and developed in Tokyo Japan and Nintendo of Europe. But its not true HD its just all scaling techniques. In North America it was made or being developed perfect no matter what like most NTSC Games or TV in North and South America.

Japan doesn't use SCART.

When you compare Dolphin to a program like PSX you will quickly find out that both consoles (despite the hardware) run the same way its just the video programs are made or separated differently. (On the PSX, its arranged horribly, and on the N64 its just okay but its not perfect or sharp either.)

This means absolutely nothing.

Your going to quickly find out that any program can do it, its just how its programed. 1080p upscaler for Wii is not a good USB Chip or cord, in matter of fact its horrible and makes it worse. The only noticible difference with the RGB cables on the wii are SCART in Europe that use the Gamecube (Actually, Tokyo might use SCART and HDMI to now thinking about it.) The Wii U is the only true console while in VWii mode that can display 1080i/p and stretch the screen reguardless of the Wii's hardware features. But the resolution is kept the same even if the Wii U HDMI cables are being used (AV will not make a difference either with the Wii U.) Dolphin improves texture mapping, but doesn't improve any V-Sync, and when it does most of the time games handle it horribly because games made for the Wii, Gamecube, and Wii U (with some exceptions like MK8 and 3ds/wii u smash.) Don't render any 1080p upscaling despite being on a different TV like a RGB TV or CTR

Wii U cannot render Wii titles in "1080p". All it does is upscale, which is the exact same thing a 1080p TV does when a regular Wii is connected.

Dolphin *can* render models in higher resolution.

CTR Cables are the cables used like SCART in Europe and North America, all they do is take a signal to something and display it on live cable TV. Unless the Cables don't actually work, in that case all it displays is high contrast or nothing "no signal!" screen.

"CTR" is the Nintendo 3DS. 3DS doesn't have SCART output (or any TV output for that matter, unless you're using a modded system or PARTNER-CTR devkit).

I suggest you stop spewing these talking points and learn things about what you're talking about before replying.