Later Wiis = Better component quality?

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:18 pm

Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me with this?

I've read here that there are some Wii consoles that supposedly have much better component quality:

http://retrorgb.com/gamecubevswii.html

Aparently these are from the later revisions that don't play Gamecube games (RVL-101) . Does anyone know any more about this and also how to identify them?

Cheers :)

22point8 · Post by **22point8** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:21 pm

The new ones don't have controller ports for GameCube.

12345 · Post by **12345** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:24 pm

And apart from that this has yet to be proven...

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 9:48 pm

Yes - sorry I forgot to mention that - yes these are specifically the ones that don't have the Gamecube ports - model RVL-101.

You're probably right that this hasn't been proven 12345 - I guess this forum is probably the most likely place to find someone who has knowledge of this though....

I've contacted the guy who mentioned this on his website (link above) and he says that all the non-cube compatible ones he's tested have had the better output quality but he's only tested about 4 or 5 - not enough to prove anything yet...

His opinion is that the Gamecube still has a better output than the 'good' Wiis, but the 'good' Wiis are still noticeably better than the 'bad' Wii's.

blizzz · Post by **blizzz** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:06 pm

I think I'm the only one here who has no problems with the component quality on his Wii, but I'd also be interested in this. I did a comparison between my Gamecube and Wii years ago and the difference wasn't huge. I've got a European launch model btw.

The latest Wiis (the cheap red ones) have no component output at all btw.

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:36 pm

Just use a Wii U, the quality from the digital output blows away any Wii's component output. Nintendo could use the sales too!

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:51 pm

Cheers Blizzz. On further research the later Wiis that have no Gamecube ports are called 'Wii family edition' and were sold from October 2011.

I've just bought one & when it arrives I'll test it against my older Wii on my NEC monitor. I'll report back here.

Still interested if anyone has any definitive information on this though.

Bobrocks95 - good point, although I can't stand the Wii on anything other than a CRT. A Wii on a high end CRT (using component) will still look a lot better than the Wii U in Wii mode on a flat panel (in my opinion). When I get the family edition Wii, I'll test it on my CRT against my Wii U in Wii mode on my plasma.

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:01 pm

I always forget about people who play Wii on a CRT. Anamorphic or not, I gotta have my widescreen (and I don't believe there were any widescreen CRTs that weren't digital anyway?).

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:04 pm

Totally understandable

The Wii does look really amazing in non anamorphic on the NEC though. I'm happy to sacrifice widescreen for that kind of image quality.. It's actually quite uncanny to see the Wii looking good!

Sixfortyfive · Post by **Sixfortyfive** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:12 am

blizzz wrote:I think I'm the only one here who has no problems with the component quality on his Wii

I've been really skeptical of some of the claims that get tossed around on this subject. Direct captures I've done from my own console look a lot better than the comparisons I've seen online, and I have one of the earlier models.

I'd need to plunk down the cash for some GC component cables to really do a proper test though.

austin532 · Post by **austin532** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 12:24 am

bobrocks95 wrote:Just use a Wii U, the quality from the digital output blows away any Wii's component output. Nintendo could use the sales too!

I have mixed opinions about playing Wii games on Wii U. Yes the picture looks slightly better however when outputting the Wii U to 1080p there is a greenish hue on the Wii menu and games. Plus at 1080p the text is harder to read and the jaggies are much sharper. (although not as bad as say the PS2)

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 1:34 am

Is the green tint still there in 480p? Does your TV's upscaling handle things worse than the Wii U's?

austin532 · Post by **austin532** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 2:10 am

bobrocks95 wrote:Is the green tint still there in 480p? Does your TV's upscaling handle things worse than the Wii U's?

No, it's not there in 480p. Yes my TV does a crappy job of upscalling everything so playing Wii U set to 480p is a big no no. Plugging the Wii U in the A/V receiver helps as it slightly upscales it but the rest of the work done by the TV is crap. I think 720p may be the sweet spot if you plan on playing both Wii and Wii U games. The green hue is less noticeable and Wii U games still look good.

SGGG2 · Post by **SGGG2** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 3:48 am

AFAIK, 240p component's great from any Wii. The real problem with 480p (Wii and GB titles) is the terrible blur filter Nintendo implements at that resolution.

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:22 am

austin532 wrote:
bobrocks95 wrote:Is the green tint still there in 480p? Does your TV's upscaling handle things worse than the Wii U's?
No, it's not there in 480p. Yes my TV does a crappy job of upscalling everything so playing Wii U set to 480p is a big no no. Plugging the Wii U in the A/V receiver helps as it slightly upscales it but the rest of the work done by the TV is crap. I think 720p may be the sweet spot if you plan on playing both Wii and Wii U games. The green hue is less noticeable and Wii U games still look good.

My EDTV spoils me then haha. I'll be using the Wii U for Wii games whenever I can track down an HDMI input card.

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:54 am

So I've posted threads asking about this at the major Wii softmodding sites as well.

The only bit of in depth info I've found about hardware revisions is from a very talented guy who goes by the name of Bushing:

http://hackmii.com/2009/08/wii-hardware-a-history/

But this info is dated and doesn't include the RVL-101 as it was posted in 2009.

I'm still hoping that a knowledgable member of this forum can shed some light on this as well...

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:17 pm

The HackMii dev team wouldn't have looked at video output quality though, that's not their niche. I'm guessing you're going to have to take the plunge and buy a Family Wii and compare the two, or find someone one here who has an original and a family version (though nobody's come forward yet).

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:28 pm

Sure - it was more about initially trying to identify the different hardware revisions so I can start to drill down on which exact revision introduced the better quality image.

I already bought a Family Wii on eBay this morning - I'll get back here next week when it arrives. I want to compare both Wii revisions on my plasma and the NEC.

bobrocks95 · Post by **bobrocks95** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:36 pm

Ah, gotcha. Well at least you'll know that if the Family Wii doesn't look any different, then it didn't happen. Trying to find a Gamecube-compatible one that looks better, if that is indeed the case, will prove difficult.

andykara2003 · Post by **andykara2003** » Fri Sep 19, 2014 8:50 pm

The guy at RetroRGB reckons the Gamecube's component is better than the 'good' Wii so I'll just use my Gamecube for 'cube games...

ZellSF · Post by **ZellSF** » Sat Sep 20, 2014 11:05 am

Off-topic, but Nintendon't compatibility is starting to look very good for people with family Wiis who want to play some Gamecube games.

(Nintendon't is a program for loading games from USB and also supports using classic controllers for Gamecube games and memory card emulation so you don't need any Gamecube ports)

shmups.system11.org

Later Wiis = Better component quality?

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