New Wii Modchip announced - WiiKey!

[Big Stu]

Theoretically, further down the line, could an upgrade to the chip ADD full region compatibility?

 

[adgloride]

but what if the firme where is up grated and the chip doesn't work anymore is that a wast of the money?

If the chips any good it should have some kind of backup protection just incase you flash it badly. If its straight forward to flash then it should be near impossible to do a bad flash.

 

[Emu]

WHY EUROPE?! WHY!!!! First Games take AGES to come here, then the modchips dont even allow NTSC games to be played! OH GOD WHAT HAVE WE EUROPEANS DONE TO DESERVE THIS?!!?

You've required your games to be translated into like...5 languages on 1 game? We just want english...japan just wants japanese. Sorrrrry =P

 

[goomba]

I'm wondering--what's the issue with playing PAL games on NTSC or vice versa? Is it only the refresh rate (50hz vs 60hz), or is there an actual region lock in there that hasn't been removed?

If it's the latter, then there's really nothing that can be done yet. But if it's the former, PAL consoles should be able to play the NTSC games on a 60Hz-compatible telly, shouldn't they? And inversely, NTSC consoles could play PAL games that will display in 60Hz, yeah?

I'd like to see a little clarification on what the problem is between the two regions in this case.

 

[jhoff80]

Did anyone else notice it says "4 wires AND Quick Solder interface"? With the number of holes and pads on that thing, it looks like a ton of soldering is necessary. The way its phrased makes me think you have to quicksolder all 7 holes on the right side of the circuit board, and then ALSO solder four wires to the pads on the left. For someone who isn't as experienced at soldering, and doesn't play Japanese games, this might not be worth it.

 

[Hooya]

jhoff80, I was wondering the same thing. The same question was raised in the other thread about this.

Based on the picture and description I think you do need both and it's a total of 11 solder points. That's still not very many, and the points on the drive board (assuming this is a drive board!) seems pretty easy to solder on. Here's how I figure it:

It says 4 wires and quicksolder. Assuming this means both, and looking at the picture you can see 7 holes in a configuration that seems to indicate quicksolder points. Then on the down left side of the chip there are four points that look ideal for soldering wires. Seems to make sense to me. I wonder what the other points are for and where this chip is placed....

really though, I just started learning to solder for this project and it's hella easy, even with a cheap soldering iron. Just get a tip cleaner and some flux and make sure you have small enough wire and solder. It's really a piece of cake once you get the hang of it. I feel confident in modding this. I still have probably two months to practice even.

 

[jhoff80]

Oh, and also, do any of these chips allow games to be burned on DVD-RW or DVD+RW discs? I'd love to be able to test out some of my images, to make sure they work, instead of burning them to DVD+R discs right away.

 

[nloding]

I'm wondering--what's the issue with playing PAL games on NTSC or vice versa? Is it only the refresh rate (50hz vs 60hz), or is there an actual region lock in there that hasn't been removed?

If it's the latter, then there's really nothing that can be done yet. But if it's the former, PAL consoles should be able to play the NTSC games on a 60Hz-compatible telly, shouldn't they? And inversely, NTSC consoles could play PAL games that will display in 60Hz, yeah?

I'd like to see a little clarification on what the problem is between the two regions in this case.

There's more to it than just the refresh-rate, at least there used to be. NTSC and PAL both output different resolutions, different scan lines. They also have different native framerates (though that doesn't matter too much anymore).

 

[zatelli]

Oh, and also, do any of these chips allow games to be burned on DVD-RW or DVD+RW discs? I'd love to be able to test out some of my images, to make sure they work, instead of burning them to DVD+R discs right away.

Based on the product's specifications, the WiiKey supports DVD+R & DVD-R only, since they didn't mention rewritable media, then it'd be safe to assume DVD -/+RW isn't compatible with said modchip.

 

[Gaisuto]

Main things I want to know is if you can still download Wii Updates and if Wifi will work still.

 

[TheVirus]

Main things I want to know is if you can still download Wii Updates and if Wifi will work still.

The mod chips are a DVD drive mod, so the Wii doesn't know it exists. I'm pretty sure everything will function as normal.

 

[Big Stu]

Theoretically, further down the line, could an upgrade to the chip ADD full region compatibility?

Apologies for the bump, just looking for an answer before this thread goes mad busy!

 

[EarthBound]

Region free???

Im sold

 

[Hooya]

Theoretically, further down the line, could an upgrade to the chip ADD full region compatibility?

Apologies for the bump, just looking for an answer before this thread goes mad busy!

We don't know. It's possible, but we don't know what the capabilities of the chip are at this point. Everything is speculation.

 

[tehcamel]

have any other solutions been announced? more of an actual modchip that will perhaps allow you to make backups of your disc via wireless network.

 

[heyyouguys]

have any other solutions been announced? more of an actual modchip that will perhaps allow you to make backups of your disc via wireless network.

I don't even think you can do this now with a modded xbox with x3 chip. Not to be a dick, but you are asking for a whole lot. Maybe just region free would be a start.

Give him an inch, he takes a mile. Give him a rope, he wants to be cowboy!


Be happy with what if offered at the moment.

 

[Neko]

Hm this seems so weird to me

So :
Can this chip be built into an PAL Wii and play Pal backups or does it work only on NTSC consoles ? ^^


(Sorry for my Bad english

)

 

[Dirtie]

Quick question re: backups. Can my computer's DVD-RW drive read and backup my Wii games or do I need special hardware/software to do this beyond normal DVD burning software?

You need a very specific DVD drive (LG brand) to dump Wii games and it can take approx 20-50 hours. Burning them isn't an issue.

Actually the public tool has gotten it down to around 9 hours.
Private methods are supposedly able to dump in 2-3.

I made a backup of a GC disc yesterday

(took 2 hours and 40 minutes - a little less than one third of a Wii disc in size)

 

[Emu]

Quick question re: backups.  Can my computer's DVD-RW drive read and backup my Wii games or do I need special hardware/software to do this beyond normal DVD burning software?

You need a very specific DVD drive (LG brand) to dump Wii games and it can take approx 20-50 hours. Burning them isn't an issue.

Actually the public tool has gotten it down to around 9 hours.
Private methods are supposedly able to dump in 2-3.

I made a backup of a GC disc yesterday

(took 2 hours and 40 minutes - a little less than one third of a Wii disc in size)

When you get ahold of some more info throw it my way, i'd like to make my own backups because it comes down to 2 options, download a 4 gig ISO over DSL, or backup my own copy in 2-3 hours.

 

[Dirtie]

The thing is, the 2-3 hour method is unlikely to be released publicly - we might see custom firmware before then. Remember, all this requires a particular drive.