Wii2HDMI - reveiwed!

I had one of these. The audio distorted high tones (of which there are many on Wii.) Unacceptable.

Are you positive it was this? I've noticed no such thing.

However, with one of the Wii System Updates, (4.0, maybe?) I did get really bad highs on the menus (and this was with analog cables), and a subsequent update fixed it.

Yes, it was the same item. i don't have it anymore.

I meant that the cause was the device, not the software.

Hi All,

Had a whole story typed but didn't check the box so it was lost so here in short my findings.

WII has a major software flaw: You can not controll the volume in any way!(At least of the home menu but e.g. zelda twilight princess can't either)

Epic FAIL!, Fire the guy that did this, it is too rediculous for words, this is not funny, come on lol, ARE YOU SERIOUS, YOU CAN'T CONTROLL THE VOLUME?! Just google it and you'll find plenty of post about people that would like to turn it down.

Anywayz :P

When adapter connected to device with HDMI only ---> Audio overdriven (too loud, distorted audio). This is probably because the adapter has some form of amplifier so to be able to both drive the HDMI audio and the 3.5mm Headphone jack. I guess they could have designed it better so that it wouldn't overdrive the audio output but then again, it is in my opinion completely understandable that the designer assumed one could controll the volume on the WII itself.

Then I discovered the following:

When headset is connected to 3.5mm jack as well ---> Audio becomes less loud (probably because the headset is now drawing power as well)

And the bonus

If headset has a volume controll (as my el cheapo philips earbud headset does) --> you can controll the output volume of your HDMI cable by changing the volume on your headset (louder on headset means less loud on HDMI and the other way around)

Victory!

You know what else you can't control volume on? The 360. PS3. BD players. DVD players. NES. Dreamcast. PSX. VCRs. Cable boxes. Pretty much just the vast majority of CE devices ever made. That's what the volume control on your display/receiver are for.

If the Wii2HDMI overdrives the audio, then that is just crap design of the converter, not a Wii fail.

so is this device good or not? so far it seems like 1 positive, 1 negative.

In my system, it hasn't caused problems. The only reason to possibly get this would be to simplify wiring though. It's not going to give you any video or audio improvements; I just did it so I would have one wire connected to my receiver for the Wii instead of five.

@Darklordjames

Xbox:
when playing a game hit the guide button, (the X in the middle) go down to the music in that row will be a speaker button, ajust it to your liking

PS3:
Go to settings, then accessory settings, then audio device settings

I cant say about standalone bd player/NES. Dreamcast. PSX since I didn't own them. But I did own a DVD player and it had a remote with which I could adjust the volume of the player. The same goes for the VCR I have used.

I understand that you are probably referring to the red/white RCA line out that many devices have, which should have a standardized output level. But, especially for a console, you never know what they are connected to and it is mighty irritating when you have to turn your TV down because Nintendo forces the signal to your scart input at maximum level.

It is utterly insane I tell you :P It is such an easy option to implement with software, why run the risk. Google it, so many questions on the internet: How do I turn down the volume of the WII.

I agree that the design of the WII2HDMI could have been better to avoid this, but that the WII can't adjust the volume of the WII is a big failure too.

The 360 control you mentioned is just a volume control for background music when utilizing your own music. For obvious reasons, mp3's from a wide variety of sources can have drastically varying volume levels and the game programmers have no way to set audio levels properly in advance for such circumstances. So there is a need to provide the user the ability to adjust the volume level of MP3 playback so BGM doesn't drown out sound effects and vice versa.

Not familiar with the PS3 setting options you mentioned, but what DarkLordJames says is still the truth. The vast majority of devices constructed to attach to televisions over the past 40 years or so have depended on the television's ability to adjust volume levels.

I fail to see the need for the Wii to have an ability to do so or how it is a major problem. If it's too loud, just turn the volume down (And don't many recievers and tv's allow you to adjust settings to customize them for a specific input?). And searching for "turning down volume of wii" showed 1 hit about the Wii being too loud that I saw. The rest were about the sound coming out of the Wiimote and if you could turn it off or adjust the volume level (Which you can, mine has been off for years). And many games provide the option to customize audio levels in-game.

What annoys me in my setup are the sounds coming out of my speakers when I click on things in the Wii's dashboard. For some reason, it seems louder than things like ingame sounds. I'd rather mute those sounds completely if I could (Same with the sound effects in the internet channel although that's more due to the sound effects being annoying rather than too loud, why they thought sound effects everytime you scrolled or clicked on something was a good idea, I'll never know).

Ryan, both your PS3 and 360 settings suggestions are utter fail. Leo already outlined your 360 failure. The PS3 setting you suggest controls voice volume for BT headsets and the like. It has nothing to do with system-wide volume level.

By your logic, to fix your Wii system volume level, just pop in Metroid Prime 3 and adjust the music level in the game's audio settings. Twiddling any random volume slider will magically control the exact audio source that you choose right? Hell, why even restrict this to the Wii? Go twiddle that PS3 volume slider of yours. It will control the Wii's system-wide volume, because you will it to, right?

Try again.

Does anyone know if this device would allow Dolby Digital sound using Netflix on Wii?
And, as well, can anyone confirm/deny the Wii's ability to do HD quality netflix streaming?

I recently built an HTPC and realized that Netflix on the PC (silverlight) doesn't do 5.1 sound. I loved the Netflix interface on the Wii, and if I can get 5.1 sound on it, it may be preferable to using Netflix on the PC.

thanks!

No and no. 480p with stereo. That stereo can be ProLogic II encoded, but we do not know if Netflix downmixes there DD5.1 sources to PLII.

Ok thanks...thought probably not, but saw this thread and thought I would ask.

I hate that I built a $700 HTPC and Netflix is better on a $50 roku .

My only hope is the dolby support in Silverlight 5 eventually makes it to the Netflix plugin.

Ok I have to admit I googled those 2 examples for volume changes. So it seems most consoles and standalone players do not allow to adjust the volume. My cheap dvd player must have been an exception.

As for the main menu in the WII being too loud there is definitely more about that when you google it.

But I guess I got distracted by the comment that most devices of this type can't change the volume, which in my opinion is still an EPIC FAIL. Some games do allow a volume change. Some DVD players apparently allow it too. It is therefore perfectly possible. Why not implement it?

I expect they are supposed to deliver a standard level audio output but since one can not always controll the SOURCE material (e.g. the WII main menu compared to a game with low (fixed) volume) one ends up with turning up the volume of the TV and then comes back in to the main menu (or even when pressing the Home Button) and is blasted away. At any rate, I prefer to have my devices all set to the same level so I don't have to change the volume on my TV all the time.

P.S. there is a utility to turn of the main menu sound if you have the homebrew channel installed.

Ryan - You are still whining about a poorly implemented 3rd party attachment as if it's poor performance is Nintendo's fault. The only thing that is EPIC FAIL here is your expectations and failure to apply simple logic.

Let's say I expect my Ford to perform like a Ferrari, because I bolted on a $7 exhaust tip. The fact that it doesn't isn't Ford's fault, it's the fact that I'm not very smart.

Sorry Darklordjames but you seem to misunderstand my message, you have convinced me that it is not only nintendo that suffers for this EPIC FAIL but a lot of other devices too! I guess I shouldn't go off topic anymore, this is after all about the WII2HDMI converters.

I still stand by my opininion that it is just too rediculous and utterly insane for words that these devices do not have the simple option to adjust the volume. Whomever decided to enforce this upon us should be fired and find another job. Your comparison with cars is also very flawd, I don't expect a ford to perform like a ferrary because of a 7$ exhaust tip. My cheap DVD player of 35 euro can adjust the volume just fine without any adapters. A better comparison would be that they gave the car a brake that can only brake maximum strenght full stop or an engine that only has 2 modes, off and maximum RPM! The more I think about it, the more rediculous it becomes

Anyway, think what you will about my opinion, for me this discussion is over.

Anyone planning to buy the Senua adapter, keep in mind that you most likely will have to plug in something with a resistance in the 3.5mm output to prevent the HDMI audio from being overdriven. Other than that I have used it for some time now and it works great in combination with my Acer K330 Projector. Zelda is great fun with an 80" screen

I'm about to buy one of these, so is the audio problem easily mitigated by simply turning down the volume on the TV?

Also, which do you think would be a better idea?

amazon.com/ViewHD-1080P-Output-Upscaling-Converter/dp/B0050RKH2Y
or
amazon.com/Component-video-YPbPr-Converter-Up-scale/dp/B0016SN49Y

Pretty much the same price. I am just wondering if anyone has an opinion.

The best option is to run component from the Wii to the TV. Do you have to go 30 feet and through a wall, or do you just think HDMI equals moar better?

Ah, I see, no then, you don't have to go through a wall and 30 feet over an HDMI cable that you already have in place. Keep the Wii on component and just program your Harmony to handle Wii inputs for you. It's a far better option than cheap format conversion and poor audio output.

I don't have a Harmony, but I could get one if it allowed a seamless experience in terms of auto-sense/intelligent switching (or the effect simile to one). How would it work, exactly? Handle Wii inputs for me? My HDMI Auto Switcher would work perfectly if I could just get the Wii plugged into it through one of the two options above. But I don't want sound quality to suffer. Hmm.

Are you considering buying a Wii U (I doubt very many are decided yet when we know nothing about the launch lineup), enjoy backwards compatibility, and a early adapter? If you are, waiting a few months will solve your issue if you bite the bullet and buy one. That's because the Wii U will have HDMI output and also be compatible with Wii software.

You'll lose GameCube compatibility (And the ability to use GCN controllers for something like Mario Kart Wii), but if that is unimportant to you, the Wii U might be the solution for you if you're willing to wait a few months and were considering buying one anyways (Awfully expensive just to have HDMI output for Wii games, but if you considering the Wii U, it will kill two birds with one stone).

"My HDMI Auto Switcher would work perfectly if I could just get the Wii plugged into it through one of the two options above."

An auto-sensing switcher still won't work for the simple fact that you have an AppleTV and an always on HTPC. The switch doesn't know which one of those to default to, and doesn't know which one to switch to when you want to use it. As far as the switch is concerned, the ATV and HTPC always spit out HDMI, therefore one gets selected as the default fall-back when everything else is turned off.

Your goal is transparent inputs. A Harmony solves that problem, possibly combined with an IR HDMI switch if you need more inputs than your TV handles. You set the Harmony so that when you hit "Play ATV" is automatically turns on the TV, sets the right input on the TV, and right input on the switch. Hit "Play Wii" and it takes care of TV power, switching to the component input of the TV, and ignores the HDMI switch. You already need a remote in hand to power up the TV and control volume. Just get a capable Harmony remote that also takes care of input switching for you as well.

The end quality of component straight in to display is better than converted HDMI on a cheap dongle, and a Harmony will give you a better end result than an auto-sensing HDMI switch will. Win and win.

I'm going to end up getting rid of the Apple TV so that one is kind of a non-issue. In the meantime, I'll just end up putting it in "HDMI 2", putting the switcher on HDMI 1 and attaching the HTPC to Priority 3, and then the Wii/PS3 on the other priorities.

I don't plan on getting a Harmony, or anything else that is more complex than this: amazon.com/gp/product/B003KZOAPI (though to be honest, I would love if that universal remote could be programmed to switch inputs as I switch sources, but seeing as I will be getting rid of the ATV, it hardly seems necessary seeing as only the HTCP will have an IR receiver anyway -and the TV-). Up, down, right, left, select, back, and volume are the only buttons I want on a controller.

So basically, the switcher plan would work, I'm just worried about the quality of the Wii input I'd be receiving. It doesn't have to be perfect, I just want the volume situation easily rectified by, say, turning the volume up/down. If that's the only problem, it's not much of a problem. But if the volume becomes distorted because of the conversation, I'll have to find another way. (or use the $40 converter I posted above). Hmm. Or I suppose I could get a surround sound system/box + switcher combo (if that exists) and then the volume setting would be adjusted automatically via that box (if volume settings could be set per input).

Thanks for the insightful suggestions though, still trying to create my perfect media center.

Oh, and as for the Wii U, I don't plan on waiting for that. I never buy systems when they first come out. Though, I am really excited for it. The Wii is my favorite current console, so the Wii U with some HD action will be amazing.