Alright. At this point I am at my wits end and have been getting no where looking online for a TV for use with my Wii.

Background: As you most likely know, the Wii outputs, at best, 480p Widescreen. That said, I haven't found any LCDs that have that low a native resolution. Most are at least 720p which would mean they would have to upscale the image and lose resolution in the process. (If I am incorrect here, let me know.)

So I figured a CRT would be a safe bet since they often do both 480p and 1080i. Of course, it's been very difficult to find a CRT with a decent review.

I am looking for the following.
- 23-27' Display
- Widescreen would be nice, but not necessary.
- Must be able to display 480p without upscaling to 1080i automatically. (I know a series of Toshiba TV's do this and I'm not sure how it would affect the Wii's output)
- Needs to have component inputs for the Wii.

Does such a thing exist? The few I have found all seem to have some drawback.

- Toshiba series insists of displaying 1080i. (Again, maybe this is okay, but I have no idea what 480p displayed as 1080i looks like.)

- Slimfit Samsung series seems to have a load of bad reviews about poor geometry though it sounds like the HD Slimfit does do 480p.

- The Sony KV-27HS420 27" FD Trinitron doesn't seem to be made any more.

Any ideas what I should look for?

The quality of upscaling is entirely dependant upon the quality of the video processor within the set, which will vary with each model. Don't rule out non-CRTs simply because they arent 480 native; some will display the Wii's contents well and others wont. If the game system is your primary concern, bring it with you to the retailer, hook it up, and test it. It sounds nuts, but most places dont mind and it's the only way to be sure you get what you want.

Sounds like a good suggestion and though I don't relish the idea of bringing my Console to a store, it probably is the best/only way to test it out. Are there any other 20' - 27' HD CRTs on the market at this time?

I am also interested in a CRT since I did hear one user on a review site say the Wii's pointer function was sluggish on an LCD screen, but I haven't tried it myself.

I just wish someone made a decent HD CRT that didn't seem to be getting reviews left and right about really poor geometry.

Try looking for a 26" Toshiba 26HF84(or 26HF85 or 26HF66). Also, the 28" Sanyos are of pretty good quality.

Thanks for those ideas. I know that Toshibas automatically "Upscale" any input to 1080i. What exactly does that mean?

Would that cause similar issue to a LCD upscaling from 480p to 720p? I also couldn't find much information on the Sanyo sets. Are they still in production?

Neither the Toshiba nor the Sanyos are still made. But on any HD CRT, you can select 480p mode(or 540p on the Toshiba) and it will display in true progressive scan which is perfect for the Wii.

So at this point, the Samsung Slimfit is pretty much the only TV that does 480p natively?

Is that correct? Thanks for all the help by the way.

You really won't "lose" anything upscaling to 720p on an LCD. Every bit of detail will be on the screen.

You really won't "lose" anything upscaling to 720p on an LCD. Every bit of detail will be on the screen.

Oh. I was under the impression upscaling was a bit of a crap shoot and depending on the card in the TV may or may not look alright. Or, better put, something that displays natively often looks better than something upscaling.

I am used to seeing the Wii on a 20' CRT at 480i, so the image is pretty crisp given the small size.

That said, I am planning on getting another small TV, probably 23' or perhaps a bit bigger (26'-27' max), so upscaling won't look "as bad" since the size increase won't be huge. However, I did go try my Wii on a neighbors 37' Olevia LCD and it looked absolutely terrible. I guess at that point you are dealing with two issues. One is 480p to 720p upscaling. The other is 480p on a massive screen that I was sitting fairly close to. It really did look terrible though.

If I go LCD, I guess there are a few Samsung models to look at. Namely the LNT2353H and LNT2342H. Both decently priced, mixed reviews.

And there is the Bravia at 26' (KDL-26S3000). Quite a bit more money, but a nicer set perhaps? I have to say, I am really lost in this whole HDTV consumer mess.

I probably will end up dragging the Wii out to a Best Buy and asking if I can try it out on a few sets, though I don't relish the idea.

That said, I am planning on getting another small TV, probably 23' or perhaps a bit bigger (26'-27' max), so upscaling won't look "as bad" since the size increase won't be huge. However, I did go try my Wii on a neighbors 37' Olevia LCD and it looked absolutely terrible. I guess at that point you are dealing with two issues. One is 480p to 720p upscaling. The other is 480p on a massive screen that I was sitting fairly close to. It really did look terrible though.

The Wii probably won't look great on any big TVs, but you aren't going to lose any detail upscaling from 480p to 720p or 1080p. It just becomes obviously how low the resolution of the system really is. Also, many LCDs have poor black levels, contrast, motion, etc that can add to the poor picture quality. That's not necessarily related to the conversion from 480p.

The thing is that LCDs in your size range are generally of low quality. Maybe you'd be better off with a CRT, if the depth of the set isn't an issue. I wouldn't worry about whether it scans 480p directly or converts it to 1080i/540p, though. It's really not a big deal.

However, I did go try my Wii on a neighbors 37' Olevia LCD and it looked absolutely terrible. I guess at that point you are dealing with two issues. One is 480p to 720p upscaling. The other is 480p on a massive screen that I was sitting fairly close to. It really did look terrible though.


I have an Olevia 437V with a Gamecube hooked up via component and plenty of games look great when in 480p mode. My previous TV was a 480i 27" CRT, and the 'Cube didn't look too bad on that either. I can't imagine the Wii would look any worse. What games are you playing?