Hey guys,

Following the spirit of the Gamecube list, lets get the Wii list started. I know Nintendo is encouraging all games to be 480p, 16x9 and DPLII but that is no guarantee. Attached is an excel spreadsheet that contains all the games I was able to find that are either 480p, presented in Dolby Prologic or Prologic II or offer a 16x9 aspect ratio. The columns are easily sortable using the tabs, just choose the 'x' and it will limit it to games that support that particular technology.

Some stats:
Total Games on List:
% of Games that offer Enhanced Video Gaming of some sort: ~ %

480p Games: = ~ %

16x9 Games: = ~ %

Dolby PL/PLII: = ~ %

Currently data is very limited at Nintendo.com so we'll need to fill this in ourselves. Hopefully this is advertised on the cases or in the manual. Personally I think all game manufacturers should spec this info on the case just like a DVD.

If you have more information to add, please post any adds/corrections in this thread and I will update the spreadsheet as needed. Enjoy everyone!!

Download here: Nintendo Wii Games - 480p, 16x9 & PLII.xls (http://www.elysianHT.com/gamecube/Nintendo Wii Games - 480p, 16x9 & PLII.xls)

I don't have a Wii yet but Trauma Center is 480p but not 16:9 according to the reviews.

Excel sheet posted....now to collect the information. If you have a Wii you better be sharing data!

I had thought earlier that Nintendo had stated emphatically that all titles would support 480p and 16x9. However, it now appears that there are a number of titles which don't support these (often missing one or the other, sometimes both).

For example, the IGN review for Rayman Raving Rabbids notes that it does support 16x9, but doesn't support 480p. Gah.

For example, the IGN review for Rayman Raving Rabbids notes that it does support 16x9, but doesn't support 480p. Gah.

Two questions:

- How can you tell if a game supports 480p? Won't the Wii deinterlace all games if you set it to 480p output in the setup?

- For games that support 16x9, what do they show if you set the your TV to 4:3 in the Wii setup? Do they letterbox, or do they crop off the edges? (I could figure this out myself when I get home, but figured someone might know).

If you have the actual game hooked up to your HDTV, then you can tell if it's 480i or 480p by checking various things. On some HDTVs, the TV can show you the resolution which is being fed to the TV. On other HDTVs, one has to figure this out by less direct methods. For example, on my Sony GWIII, there are a set of deinterlacing setings (for adjusting "Reality" vs. "Clarity" and fiddling with CineMotion); these controls are inactive when displaying 480p content.

I don't think anyone from Nintendo ever stated that the Wii would de-interlace games to 480p. What was stated was that Wii games would all be written to make use of progressive scan, i.e. they'd all support it. We seem to have evidence that this is not true at all, that Nintendo is not enforcing this and is probably only guaranteeing this for their first party titles (similar to the Gamecube situation).

If you have a 4x3 TV and you're playing a Wii game which supports 16x9, the game simply uses a normal 4x3 field of vision. There's no letterboxing; remember that the Wii is designed to be used with a 4x3 standard television, so 16x9 is actually the non-standard use case, not the other way around as with the Xbox 360.

I don't have a Wii yet but Trauma Center is 480p but not 16:9 according to the reviews.
I have Trauma Center and it is not 480p or wide screen and yes I have component cables and have the Wii settings set to 16:9 and 480p in the system settings. Zelda and Super Monkey Ball are 16:9 and 480p as long as my tv is set to full, I am using an Sony 46" XBR3 LCD Tv with Nintendo component cables.

Is your tv reporting Trauma Center as 480i? Or how are you determining it?

Like I said, I don't have my Wii or the game yet, but according to IGN, about Trauma Center:


While no 16:9 mode is available, the game does run in 480p, which makes a huge difference for any HDTV owners out there.


But if its not enabling on your console/ TV, I'd guess your information is probably more accurate.

I don't have Trauma Center myself, but GameSpot states that it "has no support for widescreen 480p displays". There's no clarification as to whether the reviewer means "no support for widescreen", "no support for 480p", or "no support for either widescreen or 480p".

Based on the comment above, though, it would seem to imply a lack of both.

If you have the actual game hooked up to your HDTV, then you can tell if it's 480i or 480p by checking various things.

...

There's no letterboxing; remember that the Wii is designed to be used with a 4x3 standard television, so 16x9 is actually the non-standard use case, not the other way around as with the Xbox 360.

Thanks for the reply Slordak.

Regarding the 480i issue, I hear you on checking the signal from the display side. I had made the (poor) assumption that if you were using the Wii component cables and Set the TV type to ED/HD in the Wii settings, you would get a 480p signal no matter what (i.e. the Wii would upconvert 480i games, similar to a progressive scan DVD player). I see now that that is not the case. Not that this particular point should matter a whole lot I suppose since a modern fixed-pixel display will obviously upconvert everything to its native rate anyway. The real issue is how the game is being rendered and no amount of upconversion can overcome the fact that a 480i game will only render at half the vertical resolution of a 480p game.

Regarding the 16x9 issue, that makes sense. What it means, though, is that no gameplay scenario will be designed expressly for 16x9 aspect ratio. This is analagous to most TV shows still being framed for 4x3; even when you watch the HD broadcast there is never anything too important going on in the outside of the 4x3 area in the center of the screen. Of course, What the widescreen game will give you is more space to use in a side-by-side two player head to head game (for example).

... Or a greater field of vision in a first person shooter, but essentially, yes, you're correct that the games are going to be primarily configured for an optimal 4x3 experience. The Wii is very much designed to be a standard definition console for TVs from the 1990s. It's unfortunate, but it's the market demographic Nintendo is aiming at. They want this hooked up to the TV in your kid's room, not in your home theatre.

Here's the games we need data on:

Call of Duty 3
Excite Truck
Madden NFL 2007
Need for Speed: Carbon
Red Steel
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
Wii Sports

Has anyone compared the same scene in Zelda in both 16:9 and 4:3 mode? Curious to see if there is more information on the sites in 16:9, or do they just matte the 4:3 mode (which I doubt)?

Man...the fact that this thread exists is a disappointment in itself :(

Man...the fact that this thread exists is a disappointment in itself :(
I think there is a lot of rumors and what not up for grabs here. As soon as I start to see people test out these games for 16x9/480p compatibility I won't judge Nintendo. So far I haven't seen any factual evidence...Not to say anyone is lieing, just you won't know for sure until someone physically buys the game and tests it out.

Or looks at the back of the box... :o

This should get a sticky before it gets lost with all the Wii posts. :)

Where are all the people who actually bought a Wii???? You know you want to tell us what's up!

List updated with info from back of boxes on a few games they had at Costco. All 5 games in the store supported Dolby PLII. However, none advertised 16x9 or 480p on the boxes which disappointed me...put the info on the box already....

I always use the following site to find out audio/video details of games, and Wii info is now included:

http://hdgames.net/

The community does a very good job of getting this info out quickly.

thanks Jim, I hadn't yet gone back to the sources I used for the original list but suppose I'll have to

added info from hdgames.net, nintendo.com also has more data up now to search through and also listed many of the unreleased games

Here's what I have come up with so far:

Game 480p 16x9 Black Bars

Wii Sports X X
Zelda X X
Tony Hawk X X X
Monkey Ball X X X

"Black Bars" means it goes wide but doesn't fill the entire width (a la GameCube style).
This is a concern for people worried about burn-in or image retention.

I was going to reply about rayman and excite truck but realised that I don't remember if they were wide screen or not. I was submerged in the game and wasn't looking at these details. Rayman is PLII and not 480p according to reviews... but honestly, I don't think that it makes any difference.

Updated the list and added the 'Underscan' column which will use a YES/NO marking as people can confirm one way or the other.

Updated the list and added the 'Underscan' column which will use a YES/NO marking as people can confirm one way or the other.

No underscan in excite truck. I'll have to check on the PLII support when I get back from Thanksgiving.

CoD is 16:9, I am sure its PS but cannot confirm myself due to lack of cables. Receiver says PLII when its running as well.

bump

Updated with some more data.

Sticky please. It'll help people remember to add info as games are released.

Do we need to PM a moderator to get this as a sticky? Is that the proper procedure?

Well.. I'm a bit confused...

I have a Sony KDF-E50A10 with my Wii Set to 480p, however the TV reports back 480p 4:3, is there something special I have to do for it to actually report 480p 16x9?

I think the Wii would have to be sending a 16:9 flag to the TV. I don't think PS2 or GC do this with thier widescreen games. I think it just makes the game anamorphic like a DVD. It will "squeeze" the picture so when you "strech" it, it will look correct. But its still sending a 4:3 signal if that makes sense.

Well.. I'm a bit confused...

I have a Sony KDF-E50A10 with my Wii Set to 480p, however the TV reports back 480p 4:3, is there something special I have to do for it to actually report 480p 16x9?

Does it ever report 16x9 when you feed it a 480p signal? Like from a progressive scan DVD player for example.

I'm going to try my Denon Prog Scan dvd when I get home to see if it reports it as 16x9. Does ANYONE's TV show a 16x9 480p signal or is everyone else like me with 480p and 4x3?

I'm going to try my Denon Prog Scan dvd when I get home to see if it reports it as 16x9. Does ANYONE's TV show a 16x9 480p signal or is everyone else like me with 480p and 4x3?

I get that same signal, and Im sure we will always get that. I dont think the wii can send out a 16x9 signal. I think it just sends out a 16x9 picture squeezed to 4x3, then we have to manually stretch it to its proper ratio.

Here's what I have come up with so far:

Game 480p 16x9 Black Bars

Wii Sports X X
Zelda X X
Tony Hawk X X X
Monkey Ball X X X

"Black Bars" means it goes wide but doesn't fill the entire width (a la GameCube style).
This is a concern for people worried about burn-in or image retention.

As far as I can tell Tony Hawk is not 16x9. I think that is incorrect. On my Wii it stretches the heck out of the game and has small 1" bars on the left and right. It's not 16x9 like Zelda is.

Has anyone compared the same scene in Zelda in both 16:9 and 4:3 mode?

Yes - I carefully watched the intro in both modes, and the best scene for comparison is the final scene where Wolf Link is howling at the engulfed town. In 4:3, there are three small pine trees at the far left of the screen. In 16:9, there are three more making for six small trees at the far left of the screen. So while the video signal is just a compressed 4:3 image, there is extra data on both sides which you are not getting when your Wii is set to 4:3.

I was looking at the list. Trauma Center is definatelly not 480p. As for widescreen... it's hard to tell. but I know when I load that game my projector goes from 480p to 480i right away.

I get that same signal, and Im sure we will always get that. I dont think the wii can send out a 16x9 signal. I think it just sends out a 16x9 picture squeezed to 4x3, then we have to manually stretch it to its proper ratio.

Right. And in fact, no device in the world does anything different from that when it comes to 480i or 480p. There just is just no such standard for it.

The question is - and I've tried with no luck to search on this, because his post got me wondering - is there a provision in the signal to specify the aspect ratio explicitly? Like some sort of flag. It seems to me that there might be. If there were not then why would ATSC bother specifying 480p 4:3 and 480p 16:9 as two seperate things? They would be physically identical and there would be no need to distinguish them.

Note that the presence of such a flag would not change anything about the way the picture looks. All it would do would be to allow a display device to automatically set the aspect ratio to fullscreen, and also report "16:9" to the user. It could also optionally lock the screen to that aspect ratio.

Updated with some new data...can anyone else take a look at Tony Hawk? I have conflicting data on 16x9, so if someone else could look that would be great. Also provide more info on underscan, if you can figure it out.

Sticky please!!!

On the list Excite Truck is listed as no underscan, but I definitely see underscan. The same amount as Super Monkey Ball, actually. The other games I have (Wii Sports and Zelda) have no underscan.

Excite Truck is also Dolby PLII.

updated

Rayman is 480i/16:9 but with small black bars on the sides.

:( Seems a lot of games are underscanning....

updated

Rayman is 480i/16:9 but with small black bars on the sides.
You're talking about Rayman Raving Rabbids? It's 4:3. I have the game, and when I watch it in 16:9 mode, the characters are squished. Of course, it's a little hard to tell with these oddball characters :rolleyes:, but I'm pretty certain of this. I'd say the game is 480i and 4:3.

-Dan

Hmm you might be right. It filled the screen in composite and does not in component. I've always been viewing it stretched...

updated

I knew Trauma Center was 4:3, but have been playing it at 16:9, and it looks fine.

I did not realize it was 480i, but after looking right now I can also confirm that it is. That sucks!

I knew Trauma Center was 4:3, but have been playing it at 16:9, and it looks fine.

I did not realize it was 480i, but after looking right now I can also confirm that it is. That sucks!
So you were happy with it before you found out that it's really 4:3 and 480i? Sometimes ignorance is bliss, huh? Sometimes that's the problen with being a HT enthusiast! :p

-Dan

Here's the games we need data on:

Call of Duty 3
Excite Truck
Madden NFL 2007
Need for Speed: Carbon
Red Steel
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
Wii Sports

Excite Truck is 16:9 but there is a black frame around the game. It's not just on the right and left, it's on the top and bottom too.

Tony Hawk is not 16:9.

Ok, I took some photos of Tony Hawk. All of these images are with the Wii set at 480p and 16:9. The only thing I am doing is changing my TV setting from 'standard' to 'fill'. The 'standard' images change the image to 4:3 and 'fill' stretches it to 16:9. I use the 'fill' setting for all my games and in the Wii channel menu and everything looks as it should except for Tony Hawk. Tony Hawk is not 16:9.

Here is the character select screen in both 4:3 and 16:9. Tony Hawk's character model is all stretched when it is in 16:9:

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/menu_43.jpg

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/menu_169.jpg

Here is the game in both 4:3 and 16:9. Note how the cross is all stretched on the right where the turbo meter is. The cross behind the skull should be as wide as it is tall. In 16:9 mode it is not. It is all stretched out.

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/game43.jpg

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/game_169.jpg

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/game_2_169.jpg

And, here's the clincher! When you hit the 'home' button on the Wiimote you are greeted with a TOTALLY stretched and unnatural looking dialogue box when the TV is set in 'fill' mode. By switching the TV to 'standard' 4:3 mode it looks perfect and how it is supposed to look and does look in the other 16:9 games (Excite Truck, Zelda, etc.)

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/home_43.jpg

http://zerocommit.com/files/th_wii/home_169.jpg

And, further evidence....

Watch this developer video of the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSY4L_Irt_0

The game is 4:3 and the cross behind the skull on the turbo meter on the right is perfectly square. It is as tall as it is wide.

TONY HAWK IS NOT 16:9!!!

why is this not sticky'd yet? next to the gc master list....

You're right...it's definitly not 16x9, the cross is the easiest way to tell. My guess is they got lazy because the 16x9 doesn't actually distort the characters too much.

I was also able to confirm Need For Speed is DPLII at the store today.

I am tempted to start an online petition about using 480p, 16x9 and no underscanning.

updated...

My theory on the underscanning is that these games were mad eon GC dev kits that where doctored to play like a Wii. Since Wii Sports and Zelda probably had the most time on Wii kits they don't have the underscan. Since the other we basically using a GC to program, they had the underscan. I hope the more games that completely use the true Wii dev kits won't have this problem.

Elebits is 16:9 with underscan and I believe 480p. It was a launch title in Japan and I asked someone there who has it.

Also, I think it's safe to say that Wii Play is 16:9 and 480p with no underscan.

I think the fact that there are 4:3 titles at all is largely because these are launch titles. I think the vast majority of games for the Wii (and as has already been confirmed, ALL first party titles) will be 16:9/480p. And I agree that underscan will be eliminated once people use Wii dev kits instead of GCN.

I don't have a Wii yet but Trauma Center is 480p but not 16:9 according to the reviews.

Its 480i and 4:3 :(

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown. 480p and 16:9. Black bars (big ones). And the funny thing is, the cut scenes that were pre-rendered are *not* in 16:9 -- the characters are squashed. At first I wasn't sure, because we are dealing with animated characters after all. But now I'm sure. How could someone not have noticed this and done something about it? Especially since the game goes a long way to replicate the cuteness of the movie.

-Dan

Elebits might be 16x9 (i watch everything SD stretched so sometimes I can't even tell) but the "home" pause shows he options streched like up in the Tony Hawk screens above. So I am not sure if its true widescreen. In wii sports or zelda the "home" pause looks correct.

why is this not sticky'd yet? next to the gc master list....

Nobody knows...

You just have to ask... :)

Sticky-time!

You just have to ask... :)

Sticky-time!

Thank you very much!! :D

Could some one confirm if the 16 x 9 image appears right away on a wide screen tv (after making the changes in the Wii screen menu) or do you have to change your tv setting (as suggest previously in this thread) to full. I have a Sony 950xbr60, and the image is 4 x 3 on Zelda, but when you change the tv to 'full' the characters look fat.

Could some one confirm if the 16 x 9 image appears right away on a wide screen tv (after making the changes in the Wii screen menu) or do you have to change your tv setting (as suggest previously in this thread) to full. I have a Sony 950xbr60, and the image is 4 x 3 on Zelda, but when you change the tv to 'full' the characters look fat.
I don't think the Wii sends out the signal that tells your TV that the image is wide screen, so for most of us that means you have to set your TV to some sort of wide-screen or "full" mode. However if the characters look short and fat, chances are that you didn't set the options on the Wii correctly. If you do it correctly, then both Wii Sports and Zelda should look correct. Other titles will vary depending on whether they support wide screen correctly or not.

-Dan

Thanks. Will keep testing

nice data sheet. but two games that you have as widesceen does not fill up the screen on my lcd tv. madden 07and elebits is in 480p but have black side bars. but i find it strange that when i go to screen menu on madden it's locked in at 16:9.

zelda and wii sports is fine so i know it's not my tv. and i have super swing golf and it doesnt support widescreen but has 480p. i tried everything it wont fill up leaving with the black side boarders.

Just because there are black bars does not mean that the game isn't widescreen. It means it is underscanning. Thanks for the heads up I'll note them as UNDERSCANNED on the list.

BTW -- A really good way to find out if a game is true 16:9 is to hit the Wii Menu button. If the buttons are all stretched and gigantic the game is not 16:9.

Take a look at the buttons after hitting the Wii menu button in Zelda or Wii Sports. It looks perfect. Do the same in Rayman, Tony Hawk, Elebits or other 4:3 games (and have your set to 'fill' like you would for Zelda) The buttons are distorted!

is there any way to adjust the underscanned games? i got madden 07 for the wii, but basically cannot play it because of the sidebars (i.e. i have a plasma and am concerned about IR/burn-in issues).

i have tried the different fill modes available on my tv but none seem to work (i can't adjust aspect on hd signals on my panny 9UK unfortunately--maybe i have to play madden in 480i? edit: that doesn't work--the side bars act like part of the image :mad: ).

anyway, these underscanning games are incredibly frustrating for plasma owners. and i just had to take rayman off my list of games to get because it is 4:3. i never expected the wii to cause so many problems for those with plasma displays. even if its graphics aren't next gen, i expected its support to be.

is there any way to adjust the underscanned games?
...
i have tried the different fill modes available on my tv but none seem to work (i can't adjust aspect on hd signals on my panny 9UK unfortunately--maybe i have to play madden in 480i?

You can adjust aspect of both 480i and 480p signals on your commercial Panasonic. So that should not be a factor.

However, adjusting the aspect mode will not rid you of the underscan (Generally speaking. You might get a little less in JUST mode than in FULL mode, but playing games in JUST mode is usually not tolerable.). Luckily, since you have a commercial display, you might be able to use the picture size/position controls to get rid of the underscan. I say "might", because it depends on just how bad the underscan is. I have had mized results doing this on my commercial panasonic plasma.

and i just had to take rayman off my list of games to get because it is 4:3.

4:3 games are no problem if you are ok with stretching them to fill the screen.

You can adjust aspect of both 480i and 480p signals on your commercial Panasonic. So that should not be a factor.

However, adjusting the aspect mode will not rid you of the underscan (Generally speaking. You might get a little less in JUST mode than in FULL mode, but playing games in JUST mode is usually not tolerable.). Luckily, since you have a commercial display, you might be able to use the picture size/position controls to get rid of the underscan. I say "might", because it depends on just how bad the underscan is. I have had mized results doing this on my commercial panasonic plasma.



4:3 games are no problem if you are ok with stretching them to fill the screen.

thanks for your assistance--i didn't realize i had these options. i was able to adjust the size of the horizontal and verticle to get madden filling the whole screen. not an elegent solution but it works, so thanks!

Do you watch movies in OAR or do you zoom them all?...playing a 4x3 video game, or underscanned 16x9 video game is no different.

Do you watch movies in OAR or do you zoom them all?...playing a 4x3 video game, or underscanned 16x9 video game is no different.

since my panel is fairly new i have tried to be careful with watching only DVDs that fill the screen. i've been using an original xBox with media center as my DVD player, which can adjust for underscan that seems to exist on certain DVDs--just didn't think about doing it on the TV. can't wait to get some more hours on the panel so i can watch some 2.35 films.

thanks for your assistance--i didn't realize i had these options. i was able to adjust the size of the horizontal and verticle to get madden filling the whole screen. not an elegent solution but it works, so thanks!

No prob. And good luck with your new display. :)

I don't think the Wii sends out the signal that tells your TV that the image is wide screen, so for most of us that means you have to set your TV to some sort of wide-screen or "full" mode.


I believe that is correct. I have my display (Sony KDS-R50XBR1) setup to automatically display 4:3 and 16:9 images in the correct aspect ratio. I set it up this way originally so that I didn't have to manually change the aspect ratio for DVDs which are not widescreen (e.g. Monty Python series DVDs).

Even with the Wii set for 480p and 16:9, the image is displayed at a 4:3 aspect ratio. So, if there is a flag of some sort, the Wii isn't sending it (I'm assuming there must be such a flag for anamorphic DVDs to be displayed at the correct aspect ratio automatically).

It's not a big deal by any stretch, but I was hopeful that the Wii would display "true" widescreen 480p images. :)

I run my Wii via a CRT so if a game supports 480p I can play, if not it don't...
I have follwing games that I can play:
Wii Sports
Wii Play
Rayman Raving Rabbits
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
I cannot play:
Call Of Duty 3

All my versions are PAL and Rayman and Marvel both state EDTV/HDTV on the package. Also I have not found a GC game which supports HDTV (PAL versions). I might have to get ActionReplay to play NTSC imports to get HDTV... though that probably wouldn't do HDTV either...
No idea about 4:3/16:9, all I can say is that Rayman and Wii Sports/Play fill out my screen, but for some reason Marvel does not and I have to manually change this everytime. Good thing I'm currently only playing Marvel.


EDIT: I think this list should be seperate for PAL and NTSC because it looks like there are version differences.

There are version differences, the list so far only contains NTSC data.

Gday i own a PAL Wii and 4 games. Madden07 is 576i. Call of Duty3 is 576i. Super Monkey Ball is 480p. WiiSports is 480p. All Widescreen.

Can somebody write up a list of all games that are definitely NOT 480p and post them in a reply? I've tried to download that excel spreedsheet thing, but then a menu pops up and asks me for my password to Microsoft Office and I don't have Office on this PC, so I don't have a passcode.


I have a Princeton Graphics AF3.0 HD monitor that has two component inputs that will only accept 480p signals or better. They will not accept 480i signals. So any 480i game that I get won't work on that TV, and I'm trying to know which games to rent and which to avoid.

i think all wii games to date are 480p but not all are widescreen. and for the excel file you downloaded you can send yourself an email to your yahoo mail account, attach the file then login and hit the preview button right next to the file. works perfectly.

i think all wii games to date are 480p but not all are widescreen


Well, I've heard on several occasions that Rayman Raving Rabids isn't 480p and the same thing with Trauma Center: Second Opinion

Thanks for the tip on viewing the list. Only thing about that list though is that you don't know if a game is 480i or if it just hasn't been confirmed yet. I think two more sections should be added to the list. 480i and 4:3, that way, if you see a X under the 480i and no X under 480p, then you know that the game doesn't feature progressive scan.


Also, I can say with absolute certainty that Spongebob is 480p, cause I played it on my Princeton Graphics and if it wasn't 480p it wouldn't work. Not sure if it was true widescreen or not.

Anthony1: first quetion, ar you NTSC or PAL region because it differs as you can tell by my CoD3 is 480i message. And most games here have a TV-symbol with HDTV/EDTV written in it if it supports 480p.
My setup is similar though I use a Component To VGA adapter instead of a computer card.

Anthony1: first quetion, ar you NTSC or PAL region because it differs as you can tell by my CoD3 is 480p message. And most games here have a TV-symbol with HDTV/EDTV written in it if it supports 480p.
My setup is similar though I use a Component To VGA adapter instead of a computer card.



I'm NTSC. My Princeton Graphics AF3.0 HD monitor is somewhat unusual, in the fact that it has two wide-band component inputs on the back, but these component inputs won't accept a 480i signal. The Signal must be 480p, 720p or 1080i. I think 540p is fine too. But anytime I would use a PS2 or GameCube or Xbox 1 or whatever with this monitor's component inputs, if the game wasn't 480p, then I would just get a scrambled signal. So I would always have to keep up to date on which games didn't offer 480p, cause if I wanted to play them in that room, I'd be SOL. That's why I'm trying to find out for sure which Wii games definitely don't support 480p for the USA NTSC Wii systems.


I've heard a number of times that Rayman Raving Rabids and Trauma Center: Second Edition both only offer 480i, so I've avoided renting either game, because if I did, I would get a scrambled signal on my Princeton Graphics monitor. Of course I can use them on one of the other TV's in my house, but I prefer to see 480p stuff. To be honest, I'm very dissapointed that we are going thru this same crap with the Wii. I thought that once we got past the GameCube, PS2 and Xbox 1 era, 480i would be a thing of the past. I figured that EVERY game would have 480p and 16:9 support as a baseline standard. Of course, this isn't the case with the Wii. At least with the PS3 and Xbox 360 we don't have this problem. I'm hoping against hope that this is just an oversight and that future Wii games will all be 480p and 16:9, but I'm seriously doubting that we will be that fortunate. Nintendo is going to have to be dragged, kicking and screaming into the High Def era. Also, I want to say that I'm not one of those guys that are crying because all we get is 480p max. I'm fine with 480p. 480p and 16:9 can look damn good. Sure, I would love higher resolutions, but I'm not going to bitch and moan about it. But please, for the love of all that is Holy, give us 480p and 16:9 for EVERTY GAME!

Well, I've heard on several occasions that Rayman Raving Rabids isn't 480p
I just checked, and it is 480i.

-Dan

I just checked, and it is 480i.

-Dan

BTW I edited my original message, wanted to say CoD3 PAL is 480i not 480p.
Dan, do you have the NTSC version? The PAL version is 480p. Another thing I don't understand.

1) CoD3 NTSC is 480p. PAL isn't. The release date for the PAL region was after NTSC.
2) Rayman PAL is 480p. NTSC isn't. The release date for the NTSC region was before PAL.

This is why the PAL/NTSC regions suck. I don't know one person that owns a TV that cannot display both PAL 50Hz and NTSC 60Hz. Why differentiate anymore? They both look **** compared to 480p anyway.
Now the first example, so the first released NTSC version has 480p, so why couldn't this be integrated into the PAL version?
The second example it could be possible that tey just didn't finish the 480p development by the NTSC release date. Well then push the game back.

Nintendo should force companies into 480p.

Dan, do you have the NTSC version?
NTSC version. And you're correct -- it doesn't make any sense.

-Dan

Hi all,

I will not lie when I say that I am a complete newbie when it comes to all things HD. For the time being, I will be picking up a wii due to it's "simpler" nature graphics wise. That and the fact that it will be a long ways off before I am able to afford a true HDTV in addition to either of the other two next gen consoles. But don't get me wrong, I've been an avid nintendo fan since I was 3. I mean no disrespect to the console.

The video/audio connections which I am remotely familiar with are composite, component, S-video, HDMI, and DVI. I only know a little about the analog vs digital connection. I have a 4:3 tv but it does support 480p ("enhanced def" tv I guess is the euphemism they use for it?). However, I also have a laptop that's coincidentally bigger than my tv (19 inches vs 15; the latter was an uexpected graduation gift).

I was wondering if it would still be worth getting component cables if the vast majority games being released are expected to natively be 16x9 widescreen. Will the picture be cropped out if I use the 4:3 non-hd tv to play 16x9 games? Or will it just look awkward as some games on my ps2 were (ala FF12), albeit with sharper looking graphics via the component cables?

The next question I have will be more difficult to answer. I have heard of a connection called VGA/SVGA which I will not even pretend to understand what they stand for. However, I believe I have heard of VGA connectors which allow for gaming through computer monitors (although I have also heard VGA is what is used to hook up an Xbox 360 to a tv to get 1080p running with it's lack of HDMI...is VGA synonomous with component cables?) . I was wondering if it would be possible via the inputs on my laptop to hook a wii up to it via adapters/etc. I don't know of any obvious inputs my laptop monitor has, however, as I only know it has S-video and DVI out ports. But even if it is theoretically possible, will the graphics look as good as they would on a TV (I have a 256 meg graphics card and am running at 1920x1200 -- WUXGA if I understand correctly) I have a Dell Inspiron 9300 if that helps.

Sorry about the long post and thanks in advance for the help. I am a newbie video/audiophile in the making ^_^. Any and all input is much appreciated.

I was wondering if it would still be worth getting component cables if the vast majority games being released are expected to natively be 16x9 widescreen.

Component cables aren't necessary to get widescreen output from the Wii. The real benefit to the component cables is the superior color reproduction they offer. They also allow you to run the games at 480p instead of 480i. But with the video processors (deinterlacers) in today's TV's being fairly good, this won't be as dramatic a benefit as the superior color.

Will the picture be cropped out if I use the 4:3 non-hd tv to play 16x9 games?

No. The reason it won't is that all games that support 16:9 output also support 4:3. So, if you select 4:3 in your Wii setup menu, you will be all set. And just FYI, if you did select 16:9 the picture would not actually be cropped, but instead if would be squished horizontally.

However, I believe I have heard of VGA connectors which allow for gaming through computer monitors

Yes they do. But the Wii does not support this type of output (at least not officially - there may be a hack). Also note that some computer monitors also support component, composite, or s-video input.

is VGA synonomous with component cables?

In short: no.

I was wondering if it would be possible via the inputs on my laptop to hook a wii up to it via adapters/etc.

No. No traditional laptop accepts any type of video input. Any video connectors on laptop are for output, not input. This may begin to change very soon; I believe Sony has released or intends to release laptops with the capablity to accept a video signal from an outside source, effectively allowing the screen to double as a multipurpose monitor.

Ah i misworded the top one. I knew that component cables are what change the image from interlaced to progressive...I guess I should have phrased it as does 480p look noticeably better on a 4:3 display than it would on a 16x9 (even if you run games on 4:3). Since it seems almost everything these days is going the way of widescreen, I guess I was just thinking that 480p on a 4:3 tv would be somewhat...obsolete (even when running the games in a 4:3 mode)? But the rest of your post were things I did not know for sure and just sort of made stabs at the dark at. Thanks for the response as that officially clarifies a lot. Well, I guess I just found a use for my would be useless tv!

(Sorry if some of the questions were stupid/obvious; it feels good and is helpful to have clarification from people who know what they're talking about)

I guess I should have phrased it as does 480p look noticeably better on a 4:3 display than it would on a 16x9 (even if you run games on 4:3).

That would depend on the display technology (i.e. LCD, CRT, plasma, DLP, etc.) more than anything else.

So, for example, if you have an old 4:3 CRT television, and it has component inputs, then you'll likely get a pretty good picture. On the other hand, if you have a 4:3 LCD TV, it might not look too hot.

I have my Wii hooked up to my CRT monitor. I use the component cable and a component to VGA box, it really only rewires, so if you feed it a 480i signal the CRT will not be able to display it. On the monitor I can only play 480p games, which really sucks. I have to play anything 480i including my GC games on a small TV. ****s me up bad.
Thta's why I created a post looking for a TV, but seems there's not much in the way that I want.

The president of Activision has said they will aggressively support the Nintendo Wii and will have some titles coming to it including Guitar Hero ..

Where can I get some help on connecting my Wii to the internet?

Not here. This thread is for discussion of what games support 480p, 16x9, and Dolby PLII. I'd recommend starting a new thread or, even better, searching the forum for other threads that discuss network connection problems.

SSX Blur. Verified 480p and widescreen. After a quick look, I don't believe there are any black bars. If I see anything different after looking at it a while, I'll post again.

Edit: I take it back -- there are black vertical borders.

-Dan

i am new to gaming but had a htpc for awhile
i have connected my wii to a z4 projector and a 110" screen and am very dissapointed with the PQ
wii sports looks ok as is cartoony but tried call of duty 3 and found it unplayable at this size
i am in pal land, the pj shows input as 575i 50hz for cod3
wii sports is 480p 60hz
is this because its a pal disk?
can i use an imported cod3 to get 480p? and will the pq be alot better?
cheers

Has anyone come up with any theories about what may be causing these underscan problems? Both of My EA games (Madden and SSX Blur) have it big time while my Nintendo games and the Sega game I got a week ago don't.

I was really hopeful after i picked up Sonic (it looks beautiful by the way) that it was a launch problem, but seeing it in SSX is really disappointing. I have a Toshiba 52hm95 DLP, so burn-in isn't an issue but it's really distracting to me and none of my picture modes seem to be any help.

Does anyone think that this is something that could be fixed with some sort of patch or are we HDTV owners just screwed on this issue?

Does anyone think that this is something that could be fixed with some sort of patch or are we HDTV owners just screwed on this issue?
Well, screwed is kind of strong. Isn't 14x9 better than 4x3 (12x9)? ;)

Yes, I think we're stuck with it.

-Dan

Updated with SSX Blur and Tiger Woods Golf

Pic quality is going to be bad as long as ur using an hd source. IMHO of course!

Well, screwed is kind of strong. Isn't 14x9 better than 4x3 (12x9)? ;)

Usually I'd say yes, but I think the weird flag the Wii is sending my TV with that 14x9 signal is what's stopping me from stretching the image on my own, which is always what I did with my PS2 games. I can chose any of the four theater modes on my set and the bars are always there and the same exact size. It's the strangest thing I've seen on my TV. Thanks for answering though.

My wife just got Trauma Center. It is 16X9. I cannot tell if it is 480p since my TV (Sony 70" XBR2) scales it to 1080p.

My wife just got Trauma Center. It is 16X9. I cannot tell if it is 480p since my TV (Sony 70" XBR2) scales it to 1080p.

Trauma Center (alas) is not 16:9. You must be stretching it.

Trauma Center (alas) is not 16:9. You must be stretching it.

agreed, it's 4:3 only and confirmed by many reviews from gaming sites. when your TV has the game in 16:9, all the characters are stretched and look blurrier. play it in 4:3 and you'll see how crisp the 2D characters look.

I had a thought about adding whether or not the game needs a nunchuck to play on to the speadsheet. I know some games say you do but you really don't actually end up needing one. Just my 2 cents.

Super Paper Mario:

DPLII, 480p, 16x9 w/ underscan.

Super Paper Mario:

DPLII, 480p, 16x9 w/ underscan.

Yikes - first party titles with underscan now too :(

How much underscan are we talking about? Just a couple columns of pixels?

nice data sheet. but two games that you have as widesceen does not fill up the screen on my lcd tv. madden 07and elebits is in 480p but have black side bars. but i find it strange that when i go to screen menu on madden it's locked in at 16:9.

zelda and wii sports is fine so i know it's not my tv. and i have super swing golf and it doesnt support widescreen but has 480p. i tried everything it wont fill up leaving with the black side boarders.


i have the same problem with super paper mario, the game is 16:9 and shows 2 side bars on the left & right, my tv is a samsung lcd 32", zelda & wii sports are fine also they dont have issues with sidebars

Wow I'm sad to hear that there is underscan on the Super Paper Mario. I have a couple of underscan games to add to the list.

Farcry
Avatar

Both of small vertical bars on the side.

Need for Speed Carbon does NOT have underscan.

Updated, both with information from here and elsewhere. Keep it coming.... Soon I'll go through the Nintendo website again and do an update. I'll probably give it another month of two of games coming out before I do that though.

Wow I'm sad to hear that there is underscan on the Super Paper Mario. I have a couple of underscan games to add to the list.

Farcry
Avatar

Both of small vertical bars on the side.

Need for Speed Carbon does NOT have underscan.

i hope resident evil 4 wii edition is not underscan

Does anyone play underscan wii games on a plasma? I'm thinking of selling my plasma just for this reason. Maybe I'm too paranoid.

Yikes - first party titles with underscan now too :(

How much underscan are we talking about? Just a couple columns of pixels?

I know, I was surprised (and disappointed) as well.

It's less than the 3rd party titles I've played like Red Steel. I'd say about half as much. It's noticable - this wasn't me with my nose to my display checking for it specifically, this was me about eight feet from my 42" plasma.

Does anyone play underscan wii games on a plasma? I'm thinking of selling my plasma just for this reason. Maybe I'm too paranoid.

I wouldn't expect the impact on the plasma to be much different from watching a 2.35:1 dvd. You may be too paranoid.

Great thread, thanks. I can confirm Medal of Honor: Vanguard as running in 480p and 16:9.

Man...the fact that this thread exists is a disappointment in itself :(

I couldn't agree more. I never thought Nintendo would allow a single game on the Wii to not support progressive or, at the very least, be in widescreen. Now they're even publishing them that way! Super Paper Mario is pillar-boxed. Does anyone know about upcoming games like Metroid and Mario and if they'll be full widescreen? I hate Nintendo for this.

I think referring to it as "pillarboxing" is taking things a bit far. It's not like you're watching 4:3 for Pete's sake. It's just a bit of underscan. Yes, it's annoying, but I have to actively make myself look for it to really notice it. It's still widescreen.

I think referring to it as "pillarboxing" is taking things a bit far. It's not like you're watching 4:3 for Pete's sake. It's just a bit of underscan. Yes, it's annoying, but I have to actively make myself look for it to really notice it. It's still widescreen.

It is, by definition, pillarboxing. Black bars at sides of screen = pillarboxing. The OAR of the content is not a factor in the definition.

But I do agree that it needn't be a major annoyance. The main thing is if you have a plasma or CRT then you have those nagging concerns about burn in. With games that fill the screen, you don't have to worry. In my case I have size/position controls so I just stretch the picture a little to get rid of the underscan.

I think referring to it as "pillarboxing" is taking things a bit far. It's not like you're watching 4:3 for Pete's sake. It's just a bit of underscan. Yes, it's annoying, but I have to actively make myself look for it to really notice it. It's still widescreen.

If it doesn't fill the screen, it isn't "widescreen" so quit justifying this garbage. PS2 games do the same "semi-widescreen" thing. But the PS2 is nearly a decade old. There's no excuse for the "next-gen" Wii to pull this crap. And I have a plasma screen and don't care for uneven aging or burn-in because Nintendo is too CHEAP to make their "next-gen" games work appropriately for ALL gamers. This wasn't a cheap console. It was $250. I paid only $50 more for my 360 which is all widescreen and, as far as I'm concerned, a much better console because MS doesn't live in the distant past. I don't make exceptions for companies that want to antiquate themselves, like Nintendo apparently does. And if this doesn't change, the Wii is a thing of the past. I'd stick with this console at 480p. I'd stick with it with last-gen graphics. But if it can't fill my screen? That's where I pack it up and return it to the store.

If it doesn't fill the screen, it isn't "widescreen" so quit justifying this garbage. PS2 games do the same "semi-widescreen" thing. But the PS2 is nearly a decade old. There's no excuse for the "next-gen" Wii to pull this crap. And I have a plasma screen and don't care for uneven aging or burn-in because Nintendo is too CHEAP to make their "next-gen" games work appropriately for ALL gamers. This wasn't a cheap console. It was $250. I paid only $50 more for my 360 which is all widescreen and, as far as I'm concerned, a much better console because MS doesn't live in the distant past. I don't make exceptions for companies that want to antiquate themselves, like Nintendo apparently does. And if this doesn't change, the Wii is a thing of the past. I'd stick with this console at 480p. I'd stick with it with last-gen graphics. But if it can't fill my screen? That's where I pack it up and return it to the store.

And the 50 people waiting there for one will be very happy to see you. ;)

And the 50 people waiting there for one will be very happy to see you. ;)

Yes. Yes they will.

I did decide to return it. It's still in my hands, but it's all boxed and ready to go back. So I guess I'll make somebody very happy, which is only right, as the Wii let me down like no console since the Atari 5200.

Yes. Yes they will.

I did decide to return it. It's still in my hands, but it's all boxed and ready to go back. So I guess I'll make somebody very happy, which is only right, as the Wii let me down like no console since the Atari 5200.

Sorry to hear that.

Anyway, back to Super Paper Mario.

You guys need to be patient...The Wii is only 6 months old. Once developers grasp the new hardware, we will be seeing virtually every game in 16X9 and 480P. Wait a few months for Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario Galaxy before you judge system's abilities.

http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/719/719773/super-mario-galaxy-20060719051344687.jpg

as the Wii let me down like no console since the Atari 5200.
Now THERE's a blast from the past. I actually liked the 5200, but it sure was quirky, and there was plenty wrong with it. Thanks for making me smile!

Seriously, though, if the Wii disappointed you, you're expectations are just too high. One thing I've learned from my wife is that if you lower your expectations, your level of enjoyment will increase dramatically. The only other option, to quote a line from the Princess Bride, is to "get used to disappointment." :p

-Dan

PS: And yes, that's why she hasn't left me, even after 21 years of marriage!

2 more to put on the master list.

First is Wii Play. It's full-fledged widescreen with no underscan.

Now, the disappointment: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Just got it home and popped it in and, like Super Paper Mario, it has the black bars on the side.

*Sigh*

I was sure they'd get rid of the underscan for a classic like RE4.

2 more to put on the master list.
Now, the disappointment: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Just got it home and popped it in and, like Super Paper Mario, it has the black bars on the side.

*Sigh*

I was sure they'd get rid of the underscan for a classic like RE4.

:eek: :confused: :( :mad: that is a dissapointment . . . oh well cant wait to play it.

I'm pretty sure that the games with widescreen that do not fill up correctly, often (always?) have inaccurate aspect ratio and in fact are somewhat squized.

I belive this to be true with most Gamecube games (Burnout for example) but also Wii games such as Marvel ultimate alliance, Resident evil 4 and SSX Blur. Compared to the games played in 4:3 display with correct proportions on my 16:9 tv (pillarbox) the 16:9 mode in these games are significantly more narrow than in 4:3. Go on and check it out for your self.

In fact the picture is so much squished that it would not be enough to stretch only to fill up the screen, rahter it would be necessery to stretch it so much as to fill up the screen and normal overscan. Only then would the game have right proportions.

I surprised i have not seen anyone complaining about this anywhere. I am not the least bothered by that the games do not fill up correct. But i am furious about the wrong aspect ratio! Marvel ultimate alliance was outright unplayble - the charactes were so narrow and looked like a joke.

I think this is more than simply underscan, in that case we should have black bars on the bottom and top and that is only true for pal games (due to more lines in that standard - 576 instead of 480)

I cannot come up with any explaination WHY they make the games like this. I would very much appreciate if someone with some insight in making of games could explain it. I do understand why games are jaggie as hell, and why games sometimes use dithering or other substandard color tricks, or why there are a lot of tearing in the games. I also understand that it can be painful to make a 16:9 mode and why it is thus left out.

I do not however understand why they make these "15:9" games with squished aspect ratio. Because as we all know, some games works perfectly fine.

In fact the picture is so much squished that it would not be enough to stretch only to fill up the screen, rahter it would be necessery to stretch it so much as to fill up the screen and normal overscan. Only then would the game have right proportions.

Yep.

I think this is more than simply underscan, in that case we should have black bars on the bottom and top and that is only true for pal games (due to more lines in that standard - 576 instead of 480)

The term "underscan" can apply to any side(s) of the screen. It doesn't have to mean all of them at once.

I think that your first statement pretty much sums it up. The games are just grossly underscanned in the horizontal direction. They are designed to have the proper aspect ratio when displayed with the expected 3% overscan or so on all sides. Instead, not only do they not have any horizontal overscan, but they are actually significantly underscanned. Meanwhile, in the vertical direction, the overscan is present as expected, and this leaves you with a squished image.

I cannot come up with any explaination WHY they make the games like this.

Nor can I. I think it is honestly a matter of not understanding the console video hardware properly, and not testing on enough different displays. There are plenty of people in the industry that do not understand the concept of rectangular pixels and anamorphic widescreen fully. Of course all of that could be aleviated if Nintendo supported HD output - at least 720p.

Does anyone play wii on the Sammy 5054? can you adjust out the underscan?

I wish Nintendo would put out an update already that fixed this... I was googling this problem and found this post, seems to be the one place where people are vocal about it.

2 more to put on the master list.

First is Wii Play. It's full-fledged widescreen with no underscan.

Now, the disappointment: Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition. Just got it home and popped it in and, like Super Paper Mario, it has the black bars on the side.

*Sigh*

I was sure they'd get rid of the underscan for a classic like RE4.

I dont have black bars for either game. You sure you have it set to widescreen?

I dont have black bars for either game. You sure you have it set to widescreen?


What tv are you playing on?

Ok, I am guessing that the next Metroid game will be progressive scan 480P without the black bars. I just rolled in metroid 2 into my wii to see, and they put so many adjustments in that game, you should not have trouble with IR or black bars or anything. You can stretch the screen, you can dim the hud, you can dim the visor, all sorts of adjustments. So I look forward to the game comming out.

Ok, I am guessing that the next Metroid game will be progressive scan 480P without the black bars. I just rolled in metroid 2 into my wii to see, and they put so many adjustments in that game, you should not have trouble with IR or black bars or anything. You can stretch the screen, you can dim the hud, you can dim the visor, all sorts of adjustments. So I look forward to the game comming out.

MP3: Corruption will be 16:9.

But yeah, I always played the first two Prime games stretched to 16:9 because I felt they actually looked better that way. Everything looked squished otherwise, even though I know that was the intended aspect ratio. Odd.

Super Mario Strikers Charged, out today, is 16:9, and from what I've read, it escapes the underscan issues that have plagued other titles.

Yes. Yes they will.

I did decide to return it. It's still in my hands, but it's all boxed and ready to go back. So I guess I'll make somebody very happy, which is only right, as the Wii let me down like no console since the Atari 5200.What was wrong with the 5200? I got that when it came out, it was the best....at the time.

I've Cod3 and vanguard (PAL on samsung 215tw via component) and it's not 480p only sports is.

Got Strikers Charged, and I can confirm: no underscan.

Great game.

What Nintendo has done with Mario Party 8 is absolutely atrocious for anyone with an HD TV. Not only is the game play not widescreen (though the splash screen and menu is) but instead of giving simple black pillar box or even better would have been some gray pillar boxes, they border the 4:3 game with a checkered like pattern. You can't get rid of it. Zooming in doesn't get rid of it even. What I have to do is reset my Wii to 4:3 and then let it be stretched by the TV. Frustrating. Does Nintendo hate HD plasma owners?

What Nintendo has done with Mario Party 8 is absolutely atrocious for anyone with an HD TV. Not only is the game play not widescreen (though the splash screen and menu is) but instead of giving simple black pillar box or even better would have been some gray pillar boxes, they border the 4:3 game with a checkered like pattern. You can't get rid of it. Zooming in doesn't get rid of it even. What I have to do is reset my Wii to 4:3 and then let it be stretched by the TV. Frustrating. Does Nintendo hate HD plasma owners?That damn border on the 4:3 screens is one of the reasons my son and I have to really limit our playing. It will linger for a bit before it goes away, so I don't want to push it too much.

Do what I do. When the kids want to play MP8 I first go to the Wii setup, change the screen setting to 4:3 then play the game. There will then be no annoying bars. Let your TV stretch the game, after all it's silly little animations anyway, so it's not a big deal that they are a bit more pudgy than normal.

Still, it really irritates me. In my opinion, since so many new TVs are wide screen these days, even the smaller sets, all games should be wide screen friendly. It is the 21st century after all.

i have the same problem with super paper mario, the game is 16:9 and shows 2 side bars on the left & right, my tv is a samsung lcd 32", zelda & wii sports are fine also they dont have issues with sidebars

Anyone seen this issue on Madden 08, know that madden 07 has the bars, at least on my set.

I haven't purchased Madden 08, but one of it's features is supposed to be 16:9

In this Comparison of Wii Games (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Wii_games) article on wikipedia, I've added a column to confirm whether or not a a title is affected from underscan.. Please feel free to populate this chart with more info, I've started it off with Twilight Princess, Red Steel, Super Monkey Ball and, Wii Sports and Wii Play.

metroid prime 3 curruptions from the ign review:

The game also runs in progressive-scan and, for the first time, in 16:9 widescreen mode. The widescreen resolution is not exactly 854x480, but something closer to 825x470, which means that it may show some thin black borders on your screen.

:(

854x480 =/= 16:9
825x470 =/= 16:9

WTF? I understand 480 is right (480p after all), but what is the correct width and what sort of ****ed up ratio is that?

I am looking to buy the Wii, and was wondering if I will see a difference if I buy the component connection assy and set it to 480P. I have the Sony KDL-46V2500.
Thanks

I am looking to buy the Wii, and was wondering if I will see a difference if I buy the component connection assy and set it to 480P. I have the Sony KDL-46V2500.
Thanks

You will see a difference regardless of whether you set it to 480p. The primary reason to buy the cable is for the vastly superior color reproduction it will offer. 480p is just a bonus, although you may notice little difference between it and 480i.

just got metroid prime 3, i can confirm that it has underscan (black side boarders only).

just got metroid prime 3, i can confirm that it has underscan (black side boarders only).

Hopefully you'll all forgive as I give another wringing endorsement for my Panasonic commercial plasma (which can be had _extremely cheap_ these days if you check forum sponsors). I have all but completely forgotten about the underscan issue - I just adjust the picture size using the controls on the remote, and completely eliminate the underscan. Even the old N64 Paper Mario on virtual console won't underscan if I set the display to "Just" mode (which is a little distracting, but livable), and that is the most grossly undescanned game that was ever created I think.

just got metroid prime 3, i can confirm that it has underscan (black side boarders only).

Metroid 2 had options to stretch the screen. Look at the options menu and see if you can stretch the screen.

Metroid 2 had options to stretch the screen. Look at the options menu and see if you can stretch the screen.

I checked that when I got it, and did not see it. :( But I might have missed it as I did not look very hard since I can adjust the picture on my display (as stated above).

In metroid 2 it was in the same general area as where you make the HUD more or less see through.

just got metroid prime 3, i can confirm that it has underscan (black side boarders only).

Has thing black borders on all 4 sides for me (same can be seen in some screen shots on IGN0...top and bottom are very thin though.

Has thing black borders on all 4 sides for me (same can be seen in some screen shots on IGN0...top and bottom are very thin though.

:mad:

I'm honestly extremely pissed off about Nintendo.
It is a good console and has games I want to a cheap price, yet they can't get things straight like the online capabilities (friend codes? Weak support from beginning, etc) Not even ****ing 480p and widescreen. Nintendo should've jsut said no 480p? **** off then biatch.
Don't even get me started on EU release dates being pushed back for no reason (fact)

I just got a 46" Samsung. Now playing Mario Strikers Charged, there are flashing pixels that appear intermittently on the screen. They appear in the same pattern, all over, but are not there constantly. I never saw this before, but my TV was only 26" before. I have a Component connection (Monoprice cable) and it's set to 480p. Does anyone know if this is something that is normal (I can't imagine it is) or can be fixed?

Metroid Prime 3 appears to be doing the same thing so it's not the game.

I just got a 46" Samsung. Now playing Mario Strikers Charged, there are flashing pixels that appear intermittently on the screen. They appear in the same pattern, all over, but are not there constantly. I never saw this before, but my TV was only 26" before. I have a Component connection (Monoprice cable) and it's set to 480p. Does anyone know if this is something that is normal (I can't imagine it is) or can be fixed?

Metroid Prime 3 appears to be doing the same thing so it's not the game.

I've actually heard of a few other people having this flashing pixel problem due to the Monoprice Wii cable. I love and trust Monoprice for most of my other cabling, but their Wii cable appears to be a dud.

I've been using the OEM Nintendo component cables since shortly after release and have had no problems.

*waves at dmaul* CAGs in the house!

I haven't had any problems with my Wii cables from MonoPrice... so YMMV?

CAGs yo!

I just got a 46" Samsung. Now playing Mario Strikers Charged, there are flashing pixels that appear intermittently on the screen. They appear in the same pattern, all over, but are not there constantly. I never saw this before, but my TV was only 26" before. I have a Component connection (Monoprice cable) and it's set to 480p. Does anyone know if this is something that is normal (I can't imagine it is) or can be fixed?

Metroid Prime 3 appears to be doing the same thing so it's not the game.

Can you explain any clearer what exactly you are seeing on strikers? I have component cables that I believe to be the monoprice ones(found them on ebay before i knew about monoprice, and they look identical). I've noticed on Strikers what appear to be...um Columns of....lighter pixels? It's rather hard to explain, but I've always just thought that that was the game. If not I may be picking up some new component cables in the near future....:confused:

Has anyone with non monoprice cables ever noticed what either of us are experiencing?


Thanks for any help :)

I just got a 46" Samsung. Now playing Mario Strikers Charged, there are flashing pixels that appear intermittently on the screen. They appear in the same pattern, all over, but are not there constantly. I never saw this before, but my TV was only 26" before. I have a Component connection (Monoprice cable) and it's set to 480p. Does anyone know if this is something that is normal (I can't imagine it is) or can be fixed?

Metroid Prime 3 appears to be doing the same thing so it's not the game.

If the pixels are red and green, you're system needs to be repaired.

Couple more to add... I'm using the component cable, 480p, 16x9...

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games has underscan.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '08 does not have underscan.

Paul

You've gotta be kidding me, not all Wii games are 480p?! :rolleyes:

If Nintendo is not going HD, the least they can do is go 100% ED (and yes, unlike the 448 Dolby Digital vs. 640 Dolby Digital zealots, there is a huge and noticeable difference between 480i and 480p).

Trauma Center: Second Opinion has a lot of underscan, but I'm not sure if it supports anything higher than stereo sound.

I've been trying out Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution and Bleach: Shattered Blade for the past month. Both games are 4:3 and Naruto is 480i only, despite the Wii set to 16:9 and 480p with component cables; kinda disappointing since I'm a fan of both manga/anime series they're based on.

EDIT: Correction about Bleach, it does in fact support 480p. Still no widescreen, though.

Yeah, that really sucks. If I remember correctly, wasn't Clash of Ninja 2 on GameCube 480p?

Yeah, that really sucks. If I remember correctly, wasn't Clash of Ninja 2 on GameCube 480p?

Yeah, doing some research reveals that there's 480p support in both Clash of Ninja 1 and 2 for the Gamecube, which makes the lack of progressive scan in Revolution even more disappointing.

Does anyone know if Guitar Hero III has underscan isues on plsams?

Do Zelda TP and Mario Galaxy have underscan, or do they fill the entire 16/9 screen?

At the top of this page, on the right side just above the first post, is a search field to search this thread. Enter Zelda or Mario Galaxy, explore the search results, find your answer.

Sure, it would be easier for me to simply give you a quick answer....which I had to get by using that search feature myself....but you know the old saying "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish feed him for a lifetime." Now I've given you the glorious tools to find your own answers when they are readily available rather than crying out to be spoon fed information. Go forth now, enjoy your new liberation and self-empowerment!

At the top of this page, on the right side just above the first post, is a search field to search this thread. Enter Zelda or Mario Galaxy, explore the search results, find your answer.

Sure, it would be easier for me to simply give you a quick answer....which I had to get by using that search feature myself....but you know the old saying "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish feed him for a lifetime." Now I've given you the glorious tools to find your own answers when they are readily available rather than crying out to be spoon fed information. Go forth now, enjoy your new liberation and self-empowerment!

Thanks, I know about the search function as I have been here a few years:rolleyes:

The reason I ask is it seemed unclear in the master list that is linked on the first page as far as these 2 games when I looked. At this point though I allready have the answer as I have been playing Zelda the past 3 days and saw Mario briefly and they both fill the entire 16/9 screen in case anyone else is wondering and happens to read this.

Still wondering if anyone has Guitar Hero for Wii and if it has underscan.

I'm not able to check right now, but from what i remember...guitar hero fills the full screen when playing the actual game. cut scenes may not tho....don't remember

Still wondering if anyone has Guitar Hero for Wii and if it has underscan.

Don't know about underscan, but there is a bigger issue that should make you think twice about purchasing the Wii version of GHIII: It only outputs audio in mono. :rolleyes:



Supposedly they'll be offering a replacement disc in early 2008. I'd avoid it until then.

Good to find this thread..
Anyway Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil 4 have also black bars...
But please allow me to rant some more..
In contrast to what you say i didn;t have any black bars on Super Paper Mario..
All of the games are Pal versions..
So, what is happening?
Is the underscan bars only on some tvs?I have the PANASONIC Plasma Viera 37'' TH-37PV45EH...
A friend of mine told me that he didn;t have any black bars whatsoever in games like the Resi stuff i mentioned..
He is the owner of a Samsung 32"lcd..

Is the problem only related to plasma screens or above 32"?
Or does it happen in all HD widescreen tvs..

Please help me, cos i am really baffled..
And is there a way to "fix" this thing?

EDIT:i checked the other pages more carefully and i noticed that in the Panny Plasmas you can adjust the size of the horizontal and verticle aspect of the signal..I checked my manual and apart from the auto aspect button, which when in Zoom2 covers the black bars but a lot of things are missing..:P, i couldn;t find anything else.

Is the problem only related to plasma screens or above 32"?
Or does it happen in all HD widescreen tvs..

It depends on how much overscan your TV has. Some games only underscan on TVs that do not have much overscan, while others underscan on practically all TVs. Realistically, no TV will overscan by more than 6-8% from the factory. Some do much less - say 3%.

EDIT:i checked the other pages more carefully and i noticed that in the Panny Plasmas you can adjust the size of the horizontal and verticle aspect of the signal..I checked my manual and apart from the auto aspect button, which when in Zoom2 covers the black bars but a lot of things are missing..:P, i couldn;t find anything else.

Only the professional plasmas have size/position controls. Consumer units can only adjust overscan in a limited (and global) way, through the service menu.

Hello, I just got a Wii. I'm playing Wii Sports and Wii Play on my widescreen tv, but they are being displayed as 4:3. I do have component cables, and have set the Wii to widescreen and 480P mode in the Wii menu. Does the Wii not automatically enable widescreen mode on your tv? Do I have to manually do this?

Also, to enable Dolby PL2 I just have to feel the left and right audio jacks into a receiver that can code the D PL2, right? It then sends out a 5.1 signal?

Hello, I just got a Wii. I'm playing Wii Sports and Wii Play on my widescreen tv, but they are being displayed as 4:3. I do have component cables, and have set the Wii to widescreen and 480P mode in the Wii menu. Does the Wii not automatically enable widescreen mode on your tv? Do I have to manually do this?

Also, to enable Dolby PL2 I just have to feel the left and right audio jacks into a receiver that can code the D PL2, right? It then sends out a 5.1 signal?


Please answer if possible! I have a Sony 60" XBR1. thank you! :)

Hello, I just got a Wii. I'm playing Wii Sports and Wii Play on my widescreen tv, but they are being displayed as 4:3. I do have component cables, and have set the Wii to widescreen and 480P mode in the Wii menu. Does the Wii not automatically enable widescreen mode on your tv? Do I have to manually do this?

Also, to enable Dolby PL2 I just have to feel the left and right audio jacks into a receiver that can code the D PL2, right? It then sends out a 5.1 signal?

You have to tell you widescreen TV what mode to use (if it doesn't automatically switch).

Yes, you can send PL2 signals from the Wii into a receiver by red/white RCA cables and the receiver will output the PL2, but IIRC it's not 5.1. 5.1 is a step above PL2.

Please answer if possible! I have a Sony 60" XBR1. thank you! :)

You gotta set it on stretch mode.

does anyone know if tomb Raider anniversary has 480p and 16x9

Greetings to all of you..
Some update, if you like..
I have checked the Resident Evil Umbrella Cronicles and in other tv sets and it has indeed underscan....
So, both Resi for wii have underscan...

BUT, Zack n Wiki: Quest for Barbaros Treasure doesn't have and that is so refreshing...Go buy that title now!!

Reminder that i am talking about the Pal versions of the games..
Thanx!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one protesting the 16x9 horizontal underscan issues from the Wii. I've written to WiiFanboy, IGN, and even Nintendo about the subject to light a fire for the cause, but no one seems to care. Funny to think it bothers people so much that they end up playing it 4x3 on their 16x9 televisions. I may end up doing that. My problem is worse than most because I have a CRT HDTV with less than perfect geometry on the far edges. Those black bars on the underscaned edges aren't even straight on my tv. How annoying is that?!!! (4x3 edges are fine, however.)

Come on, Nintendo! Wii Sports and Zelda came out fine. You need to QA 3rd party game developers. Why make the 16x9 owners suffer? Lame. Very lame.

By the way - I just rented NO MORE HEROES. Yep. Underscan. :mad:

Does Super Mario Galaxy have underscan? I can't find a definitive answer. The spreadsheet attached to the first post doesn't have a "yes" or a "no" under the "underscan" column for SMG.

On the note of the spreadsheet, does anyone know where Naylia is? The spreadsheet was last updated in late November, and Naylia hasn't made a single post here since then. I'm tempted to update the sheet with all the new information myself since they don't seem to be too interested in returning to the site.

The link to the spreadsheet seems to have expired as well. I did a quick search and found a short list of games that are sorted by Non 480p, Non 16x9 and Non Underscan

http://www.cubed3.com/topic/18769

If anyone can find a true master list... having this thread is pretty useless if we cant update a spreadsheet..heh. There was one solution about starting a wikipedia page. I've never done that before but it sounds relatively simple..and reasonable..

So, I know i've been gone a while and my hosting provider will be changing so I'll try and update with the last couple months of comments and rehost it this week. I'll post when it's good to go.

I started grad school in the fall and it has been a complete drain on my time. I'm finally getting back to hitting the forums up every now and then :)

Hey Naylia!

Glad to see ya back. Let us know if there's anything anyone can do to help. It's certainly not a priority by any means to update the wii games list...however, it does seem a little bit more important being that there is nowhere I can find on the net that has a comparable list except for the exclusion list i posted above...

So, like i said, let us know if we can help compile any info..

and thank you! good luck w/ grad school....

Does anyone know if No More Heros and Ghost Squad support 480p and 16:9?Do you guys think that House of the Dead will? Really looking forward to that one.

Why aren't you guys just using http://hdgames.net/ ? Every game is listed there and kept up to date.

No More Heroes is 16:9 and 480p.

Ghost Squad is 480p but not 16:9.

Just tried Super Pario Mario on my 42" LG plasma set at 16:9 with components and noticed the vertifcal black bars. There is no feature on the set to zoom or stretch to eliminate these bars. Any plasma's that will do this? I won't be changing tv's for this issue but i'm just curious. I still watch alot of SD stations so an LCD was out of the question when it was purchase one year ago. Thanks.

Why aren't you guys just using http://hdgames.net/ ? Every game is listed there and kept up to date.

No More Heroes is 16:9 and 480p.

Ghost Squad is 480p but not 16:9.

That list isn't anywhere near being complete.

Attention to the otaku following this thread:

According to this article (http://www.verticalwire.com/releases/724-naruto-clash-of-ninja-revolution-2-set-to-transform-the-wii-experience-for-ninja-everywhere), Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 will have 16:9 and 480p support when it comes out this fall. I was annoyed that the first Revolution lacked even 480p support, but I guess Eighting/Tomy finally realized what the Wii was capable of.

Here is the Wii list. I have not updated it in ages. If anyone wants to update it please feel free. I can host it, or I can modify the link in the first post as necessary to reference whoever is hosting/updating.

Has anyone compared the same scene in Zelda in both 16:9 and 4:3 mode? Curious to see if there is more information on the sites in 16:9, or do they just matte the 4:3 mode (which I doubt)?

http://lh5.ggpht.com/PtolemyHallowell/SO9PVeIwjGI/AAAAAAAADzc/Z169Wj0kP2Y/s400/LoZ_Twilight_Princess_02.jpg
4:3 on the Gamecube

http://lh6.ggpht.com/PtolemyHallowell/SO9Q8xB7lQI/AAAAAAAAELY/JGN-TSKcgEs/s400/LoZ_Twilight_Princess_01.JPG
16:9 on the Wii

Seems like a widened view angle.

Ordinarily I would decry such an epically late response, but wow, nice images. Yours? I forgot how good Twilight Princess can look sometimes.

And I don't even own Twilight Princess (bad Wii owner! BAD!!). But that's some pretty sweet eye candy - even @ 480p. Guess I should see about digging up a copy, eh?

Looks wise, how does this stack up overall to the Link's Crossbow Training? It has sme nice looking stuff & assume it's roughly the same, graphics-wise, as TP.

Not being a graphics whore - the gameplay itself is paramount. Just askin'

Hi,
Anybody knows what time does the Wii console connect to the internet to update content?

Can you limit the time window to connect?

Hi,
Anybody knows what time does the Wii console connect to the internet to update content?

Can you limit the time window to connect?

I've found the blue light come on around 11:00 pm - 12:00am PST.

AFAIK, no way to limit the “when".

If it's standby heat that's the concern, the cheap USB Wii fans help quite a bit. Have one I grabbed @ Circuit City for $5. Keeps it cool very well.

I was wondering if we could add a FPS (frames per second) column to the list as the difference between 15, 30, and 60 fps is very important to me.

Monopoly and Dead Rising(JAP) also suffer from underscan in 16x9 mode. It's very annoying to me. BOO!!! I can't imagine how bad it is on others monitors. My 42" LG LCD suffers from crappy overscan through component. Guess it's sort of a blessing this time.

recently released Mad World looks like it does not support 16:9. bummer at lest it has 480p

recently released Mad World looks like it does not support 16:9. bummer at lest it has 480p

Actually, it's the opposite.

MadWorld is 16x9, albeit with a tad of underscan. Resolution, however, is 480i.

This detail caused a minor stir prior to release, but it turns out that the game's B&W graphics actually looked better (according to devs) interlaced. The B&W stuff, when run @ 480p, had much more aliasing artifacts going on. So, not dev laziness at work here - but done so for BETTER PQ.

In all actuality, MadWorld looks great - one of the most visually interesting titles on any console. You won;t even notice that you are playing a 480i game.

are you sure? on my tv a good portion of the sides are cut off (my TV does this to non-windscreen sources)

unlike world of goo or Mario Galaxy that show up perfectly.

are you sure? on my tv a good portion of the sides are cut off (my TV does this to non-windscreen sources)

unlike world of goo or Mario Galaxy that show up perfectly.

IF your set is a flat panel w/ essentially zero overscan, you are gonna get some pillarbox bars. Not as large as those one sees on 4:3 video & depending on the TV, YMMV.

Some Wii games - REIV, FOrce Unleashed to a small extent, several WiiWare titles, and others that I have seen have some underscan built in. This'll appear as varying levels of pillarbox bars on the sides of an HD display.

Can't speak of Goo firsthand, but SMG does fill the entire 16x9 image, as most 1st party Wii titles do.

And Madworld is definitely 480i. The game forces the Wii to send 480i once it boots up. Perhaps because you TV senses 480i, it's doing something to the video signal?

Has anyone noticed that leaving the wii on 480i (and thus having the TV deinterlace it) produces a significantly better image than having the wii deinterlace and output at 480p? I've also noticed this with my PS2.

I have a Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD TV, by no means expensive or top of the line (I'd even call it bottom of the line!)

Has anyone noticed that leaving the wii on 480i (and thus having the TV deinterlace it) produces a significantly better image than having the wii deinterlace and output at 480p? I've also noticed this with my PS2.

I have a Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD TV, by no means expensive or top of the line (I'd even call it bottom of the line!)


Yes. I have heard of some who find 480i/component actually looks the best. Depends on your TV's scaler, really.

In my case, I leave it 480p, since that gives colors a bit more pop. 480i gives a rather slight sense of more "sharpness" so to speak (esp noticable in on screen text - but can look like edge enhancement at times), but colors seem a bit dull.

So, great, I get mine next week, plan to connect via component thru an Onkyo 606 AVR. Sounds like I get to try 480i/p from the Wii vs upscaling in the AVR vs upscaling via the TV. I will have to do it after hours to keep the wife from getting irritated.
What is the significance of underscan?

So, great, I get mine next week, plan to connect via component thru an Onkyo 606 AVR. Sounds like I get to try 480i/p from the Wii vs upscaling in the AVR vs upscaling via the TV. I will have to do it after hours to keep the wife from getting irritated.

What is the significance of underscan?

Some Wii games may show small black sidebars or a slightly letterboxed image within a flat panel 16X9 set, depending on how much/litte overscan is dialed into your TV settings @ the factory.

CRT sets generally had overscan inherently built in to hide the extreme - and in most cases in the past - far edges never used or containing anything watchable. The HD era has sort of done away w/ that practice. Some 16x9 material was built with overscan in mind - some of this appears in Wii games (usually PS2 ports or GC era titles) when viewed on an LCD or plasma 16x9 screen.

Does anyone know if any Wii games actually output wide 480p (720x480)? All of the 480p games I've tested are all 640x480, regardless of 16:9 or 4:3. Hence, it appears that Wii games fake widescreen by rendering to a 640x480 frame buffer with a 16:9 aspect ratio...

I've confirmed that games such as Zelda, and Punch Out only output 640x480 by connecting the component output to a component to RGB converter and connecting to the PC input of my XBR8. The HDTV shows that the signal resolution is 640x480, not 720x480.

In any case, the XRGB-3 does a pretty good job of transcoding the Wii's component output (via official D-Terminal cable).

Does anyone know if any Wii games actually output wide 480p (720x480)? All of the 480p games I've tested are all 640x480, regardless of 16:9 or 4:3. Hence, it appears that Wii games fake widescreen by rendering to a 640x480 frame buffer with a 16:9 aspect ratio...

I've confirmed that games such as Zelda, and Punch Out only output 640x480 by connecting the component output to a component to RGB converter and connecting to the PC input of my XBR8. The HDTV shows that the signal resolution is 640x480, not 720x480.

In any case, the XRGB-3 does a pretty good job of transcoding the Wii's component output (via official D-Terminal cable).

640x480 is the max, IIRC.

Late to the game (I know). :)

I've created a GoogleDocs file with the data from HDGames.net as well as Naylia's most recent update. I'm hoping to import the additional fields from the latter (# players and underscan) into the former. File should be world-writable, so feel free to muck with it.

I think the link is in my signature.

I can confirm that Little King's Story can display in 480p and 16x9. There is no option for Surround Sound, though.

Late to the game (I know). :)

I've created a GoogleDocs file with the data from HDGames.net as well as Naylia's most recent update. I'm hoping to import the additional fields from the latter (# players and underscan) into the former. File should be world-writable, so feel free to muck with it.

I think the link is in my signature.

Which link?

I've fixed my signature. Click the GoogleDocs link.

-SUO

Thanks for the list SUOrangeman and to the original topic creator. I always like playing my games in their intended aspect ratios and sometimes it can be hard to tell if a certain game supports 16:9 or not. Hopefully Nintendo's next console will require a minimum of say, 720p support (would prefer a 1080p standard though), and digital surround as well.

it might be a silly question but… when it says a game can run in 60fps, does that mean that the whole game will be 60fps or some parts only?
Because I recorded the SSBB intro and noticed it was 30fps…