Retro Emulation on Wii - Component BVM Questions

[milkychipz]

Hi,

I have a number of questions about using a Wii for retro emulation. I want to hook it up via component to a BVM-A 20F1A (A for Australia) and play from the 2600 to the Wii, excluding the N64 due to buggy emulation. I figured it would be much easier than modding my old consoles for RGB output.

*I am aware I need an analogue input board and should get a 4:3 chassis with my BVM-A.

1. Does the BVM-A 20F1 output 480p? I understand the original BVM series only did 480i but there is not much in the way of product specifications online. A Google search for BVM-A 480p returns very little relevant content.

2. Do scan lines look good for Wii games? I remember playing my Wii games in 2006 on a Bravia HDTV using composite (don't crucify me) that didn't have scan lines. Do scanlines improve the experience for Wii games or is the Wii considered too modern for old CRT technology?

3. What is the quality on home brew emulators like compared to the original consoles? I speculate that outputting at 480p without upscaling would produce a marginally better picture than the RGB consoles, if not for the 31khz signal. I must consider however, the colour accuracy (and other factors like frame rate) of emulators may perhaps make them worse than the real thing.

3.5 According to RetroRGB.com there were newer Wii consoles that output a higher quality component signal but didn't have GameCube game and controller support. I require the GameCube support as I don't think the Wii is powerful to emulate it without the backwards compatibility (and the GameCube controller support is nice for certain consoles), so does anybody know of a Wii variant that both produces a higher quality signal and is backwards compatible?

As a quick aside, currently I am leaning towards a classic controller for earlier systems and the GameCube for N64/PSX/GameCube, however I really want to use my original SNES controllers. Can you recommend an adapter that will allow me to plug 2 SNES controllers into the GameCube ports on my Wii? (I find the Wiimote connectors distasteful as they are a horrible waste of batteries.) The only ones I can find on the net only allow for one controller. I would strongly prefer a unit with little to no lag and near flawless compatibility with WiiBrew emulators.

[SGGG2]

I have one of the earlier Wii's with Gamecube connectors and while 480p is mediocre, 240p component looks fantastic. Retroarch is all you really need but right now it doesn't save resolution or controller settings. I'll be starting a thread on Wii/240p as soon as they get version 1.1 out with these fixes. In the meantime check out this thread for optimal settings:

http://libretro.com/forums/threads/1065 ... o-settings

EDIT: Fixed broken link

[Xan]

20F1 is a 15 kHz only monitor (480i/576i max). Why not go for real consoles if you already have such a good CRT? RGB mods aren't needed for _that_ many consoles really. If you care about input lag, those unofficial emulators will definitely have more of it compared to the real thing.

[milkychipz]

20F1 is a 15 kHz only monitor (480i/576i max). Why not go for real consoles if you already have such a good CRT? RGB mods aren't needed for _that_ many consoles really. If you care about input lag, those unofficial emulators will definitely have more of it compared to the real thing.

Well the consoles I want to relive are the:

Atari 2600
NES
SNES
Sega Mega Drive
N64
GameCube
Dreamcast

How many of these Ned rgb mods? I don't feel comfortable with a soldering iron and modding services usually are not possible as I live in Australia and thus shipping is crazy.

If you cab direct me to an easy way to rgb mod all my consoles for relatively cheap, otherwise I think the Wii although less optimal is SK much more convenient

Thanks very much

[blizzz]

2. No. Wii games aren't designed to show scanlines. You can add fake scanlines to the Wii, but that's personal choice. You would also need a 480p or higher display for this (I think).
3. No, 480p will look worse than original 240p on a CRT. You don't get scanlines on 480p and there's the possibility of bad upscaling. The official VC emulators are considerably blurry at 480i. You also end up with quite a bit of input delay with the unofficial emulators and stuff like TurboGrafx-16 doesn't even load on Retroarch on the Wii.
3.5 The later Wiis can run Gamcube games with homebrew, but I wouldn't go through the trouble. The quality difference is very small between the two Wii revisions. But stay away from the Wii Mini, that thing can only do 480i composite.

The NES and N64 need modding for RGB. It's an easy mod on the N64, but expensive on the NES. The Gamecube outputs RGB natively, but only the PAL version. The Atari 2600 can only be modded for S-Video.

[Xan]

NES and N64 definitely, no idea about the 2600, the rest has RGB out of the box. On the DC you get to choose between 15 kHz RGB and VGA (great if you have an old PC monitor around).

[ApolloBoy]

It's an easy mod on the N64

If he's got a PAL N64 it's going to be a little more involved than just adding a simple amp.

[Astraea FGA Mk. I]

I know everything about using a Wii for the purpose of playing old games but it seems that your monitor is priority over the system.
The Wii should be used with a component cable at 480p on a HDTV for the best results. So going backwards, if you want to play all of the classics but are restricted to a HDTV the Wii is the best option.
Sound like the actual systems would be best for you, if the aspect of the Wii you wanted is the software freedom you can get that with old consoles as well easily.

[BONKERS]

2. No. Wii games aren't designed to show scanlines. You can add fake scanlines to the Wii, but that's personal choice. You would also need a 480p or higher display for this (I think).
3. No, 480p will look worse than original 240p on a CRT. You don't get scanlines on 480p and there's the possibility of bad upscaling. The official VC emulators are considerably blurry at 480i. You also end up with quite a bit of input delay with the unofficial emulators and stuff like TurboGrafx-16 doesn't even load on Retroarch on the Wii.
3.5 The later Wiis can run Gamcube games with homebrew, but I wouldn't go through the trouble. The quality difference is very small between the two Wii revisions. But stay away from the Wii Mini, that thing can only do 480i composite.

The NES and N64 need modding for RGB. It's an easy mod on the N64, but expensive on the NES. The Gamecube outputs RGB natively, but only the PAL version. The Atari 2600 can only be modded for S-Video.

Don't forget that most of the Official VC emulators CAN output in 240p!

[NightSprinter]

This is indeed true, but also bear in mind that while those games are in 240p/288p for the GAME, the menus are in 480i/576i for the MENUS. I discovered this first hand when playing the VC Arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land.

Just a tidbit of info to keep in mind.

[BONKERS]

Which should be fine since the TV will support those i modes.