Help with '480p fix' and Wii AVE Revisions investigation

[Gunstar]

MP3mods and YveltalGriffin are looking for data on encoder/wii revisions to help with investigating the 480p fix for non-BU9055 video encoders.

Form is here if you are able to help (requires opening up your Wii): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIp ... A/viewform

[LDigital]

I have a day 1 pal switch. What is mine likely to be without opening it?

[ZellSF]

So I have two RVL-CPU-01 Wiis were the 480p fix is working (and one RVL-CPU-50 Wii where it's not working). Since that means they can only be BU9055 is there any point in opening the Wiis up to check? Should I just send the serial numbers of those? Would that be useful?

I'm a bit confused on how tracking which Wiis have which chips is going to be helpful towards finding a fix?

[Gunstar]

@LDigital I think currently the only way to tell is to open it (don't think there's a homebrew method to ID it?), seems this is to build a serial database to make it easier to identify but the catch is it needs a bunch of people to graciously go through the hassle of disassembling their Wiis first.

If the introduction of these revisions in different model Wiis could be correlated, finding what model video encoder your Wii has could become much easier, and would help us better quantify the prevalence of this issue.

@ZellSF Yeah seems like a safe bet if the fix is working for you to assume it's a BU9055. The only thing that might need checking is if it's been reworked but I assume with enough data any outliers can be flagged if that particular data point isn't accurate. If they can't make a universal fix this database might be handy in a similar way there was one for identifying a 1-Chip SNES.

[RebeL9]

I also have a PAL RVL 50 and I've tested the 480p fix and it's not working. I've compared it to a PAL RVL01 (which indeed worked) and the difference is noticiable in favour of the RVL01.
I really hope we get a universal fix for this bug that has been hauting the Wii for so many years.

[zzang29]

I stumbled across this 480p fix issue and decided to test my 4 Wii's.

I have two white RVL-CPU-01 Wii's, one black RVL-CPU-50 and one black RVL-CPU-60 all are PAL Wii consoles.

Only my oldest RVL-CPU-01 Wii shows a checkerboard that is not faded.
The serial number of my oldest white wii starts with LEH184

Here are two smart phone pics for comparison.
I used the 240p Test Suite for Wii in version 1.17 with the setting 480p (1:1).
The image quality is not the best but its enough to see the difference:

RVL-CPU-50,60 and the newer RVL-CPU-01 Wii look like this


On my oldest RVL-CPU-01 Wii


I have a few questions regarding this:

The 240p TestSuite has the 480p fix integrated is that correct?
Because when i switched off the 480p fix for the system Menu in Priiloader nothing changed in the checkerboard appearance.

The rumors that newer Wii's have fixed/better video output regarding the 480p fix seem to be wrong or im confusing another video issue with the 480p fix?

Im playing on a OLED LG B8 with a simple component to HDMI converter externally powered and in my day to day use i never could see a difference.
I assume the difference is only visible when using scalers like the retrotink 4k?

That being said i hope one day there will be a fix working for all Wiis and integrated in usb gx loader and nintendont.

If i somehow can contribute to the project without disassembling the Wii let me know.

[RebeL9]

As far as I'm aware it was reported that the newer revisions would have fixed that issue but when people started to investigate the case it turned out that there was indeed not fixed. So the only version with a proper fix that works is on the original RVL-01 revisions.
I've made a similiar comparison between mine RVL 50 and my brothers RVL 01 and I could see a clear sharper image on his version (with the fix).

[ZellSF]

Yes the latest version of the 240p suite has the fix integrated.

Newer versions having better video output was always just an unverified rumour.

I assume the difference is only visible when using scalers like the retrotink 4k?

No, should be visible elsewhere too. That said it's not really a large difference, with or without scalers.

That being said i hope one day there will be a fix working for all Wiis and integrated in usb gx loader and nintendont.

Latest version of Nintendont has the fix permanently enabled, USB Loader GX has it as an option.

Reminder: Turn off WiiConnect24 on your RVL-CPU-01 Wiis, the standby light on them should be red, not orange. If not they have a tendency of slowly killing themselves in standby mode.

[RebeL9]

I wonder of MP3mods and YveltalGriffin got enough research material to find out a universal fix?

[zzang29]

I assume the difference is only visible when using scalers like the retrotink 4k?

No, should be visible elsewhere too. That said it's not really a large difference, with or without scalers.

That being said i hope one day there will be a fix working for all Wiis and integrated in usb gx loader and nintendont.

Latest version of Nintendont has the fix permanently enabled, USB Loader GX has it as an option.

Reminder: Turn off WiiConnect24 on your RVL-CPU-01 Wiis, the standby light on them should be red, not orange. If not they have a tendency of slowly killing themselves in standby mode.

I see. I never could tell the difference between my old RVL-CPU-01 and one of the newer revisions in normal use.

Just to be clear if I understand you wrong or not. USB GX Loader latest version v3.0-r1281 has a fix in place but to my information its the same issue that only very old Wii's are affected by the fix.
Correct me if im wrong here. Because if the 480p issue is fixed for Nintendont and USB GX Loader in the latest version for all Wii revisions what else is there to fix?
As far as I understood this thread MP3mods and YveltalGriffin are looking to fix all wii revisions implying that only old white RVL-CPU-01 Wiis working with the fix?

[ZellSF]

Yes the fix (and its implementation in both Nintendont and USB Loader GX) only works some (not all) RVL-CPU-01 Wiis.

So hopefully someone finds a way to fix the other models. Though it's not like getting RVL-CPU-01 Wiis is expensive. The chance of running into ones with GPU issues because of the mentioned overheating issue sucks though.

[zzang29]

I find it quite a hustle to get a RVL-CPU-01 Wii with AVE BU9055EKV chip as there is no way of knowing the AVE chip without testing the 240p test suite in homebrew.
I havent found real world examples in the Wii menu for examples where its possible to easily verify especially since the seller would need to install homebrew for the fix in the first place.
But my biggest issue is that my setup is all black and i gonna use the black Wii for that. Im already thinking if its possible to take the black cover plastic and move it on to the white wii for the best of both worlds

Edit: I never had the Wii Connect24 on but I have noticed that the old white Wii is significantly more warm than the black Wiis during operation.

[ZellSF]

Pretty sure you could get 3-4 RVL-CPU-01 Wiis for cheaper than for example a single 1CHIP SNES so hunting for one isn't going to be the most expensive endeavour. Unless you're really unlucky.

Setting up a SD card just to run 240p suite doesn't take very long, but no don't ask any sellers to do that for you.

[bobrocks95]

I would just buy a later revision with no GPU damage and the die shrink on the chips, HDMI mod it, and call it a day if I were starting over. Say you go through 5 Wiis and finally find one with the right encoder and get excited, then a month or two later you start up a game that reveals the GPU is partially fried...

[ZellSF]

That could be much more expensive though. If you can't install it yourself, then HDMI mod + installation service + shipping both ways (and for lots of people that will be international shipping, potentially with fun customs involvement)...

And you pay that again if your Wii dies, while if you pick up a few Wiis from local flea markets for a much lesser price you might end up with a spare one.

I think GPU failures usually manifest already in the Wii menu screen.

[bobrocks95]

My menu looks fine but then I have dancing garbage pixels in games like Mega Man 9/10 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which both indicate GPU damage that wasn't immediately visible. Later Wiis also run cooler and quieter, and are more likely to have less wear on their disc drives as well.

I dunno around here Wiis aren't dirt cheap or plentiful anymore, they're like $60 a pop or so. The AVE-HDMI is pretty cheap honestly.

[vol.2]

I've got one older white Wii that I could open. I wonder though would it be possible to just source some BU9055 chips and swap the other ones?

[ZellSF]

I dunno around here Wiis aren't dirt cheap or plentiful anymore, they're like $60 a pop or so. The AVE-HDMI is pretty cheap honestly.

Is your Location not correct?

I mean I did quick eBay search and I found someone selling a Wii console for 30$ + 5$ shipping to Kentucky.

That's without spending any time looking at all, I'm sure you could get cheaper.

[Rulumi]

You can swap the cases freely around any Wii motherboard inside an RVL-001 and RVL-101. Just the RVL-201 cases and motherboards in them will give you issues for case swapping to another model.

To be fair, I think the whole GPU problems are a bit overdone here, they aren't that common. Specially in comparision to the PS3 and Xbox 360, the older models on them are almost always warranted to fail sooner than later. And you can always put the encoder on another system if it died.
For who wants the cleanest digital image possible, the HDMI mod won't have much comparision unless the remaining Wii U Wii mode image issues also get fixed. Albeit you can still use the original analog output unchanged (so still will have the 480p bug) with the AVE-HDMI.

Also something that I'll say is to also consider if the difference will really matter to oneself or not. Specially if you don't want to patch games to use 1:1 horizontal scaling and always patch out the copy filter or use a lot of software that's like that by default, for some the difference may be small or won't matter much. Remember to consider whether it will matter or not to yourself personally.

[zzang29]

You can swap the cases freely around any Wii motherboard inside an RVL-001 and RVL-101. Just the RVL-201 cases and motherboards in them will give you issues for case swapping to another model.

Out of curiosity do you know if a RVL-001 white wii interior (CPU revision below 40) can be swapped with the inner of a black wii (CPU revsion 40 and higher) without any adjustments?

Edit: My bad i confused the chip with the wii model RVL-001 you already answered my questions thanks!

Now its time to look for a disassembly video and swap the cases!