Wii component cables?

[eastman23]

Hey, quick question. Did anyone here decide to spring for the component cables for the Wii?

I picked up a set a couple weeks ago and I've been testing them out. From what I've heard/read, they should be showing some improvement over the standard composite cables that came with the system, but to be honest, I'm not seeing it.

In fact, both I and my dad think that it actually looks worse with the component cables in one test using Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Other games didn't seem to provide any improvement.

If anyone else has (or tried) the component cables for Wii, can you let me know how much, if any, improvement you saw? I have a 55 inch Samsung LED-LCD that's less than a year old if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

 

[clint g]

doesnt the component cables onlky boost it from 480i to 480p? I think with a 55 inch TV it's still going to look...not so great. You might notice a sharper picture if you tried it on a smaller TV

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Hey, quick question. Did anyone here decide to spring for the component cables for the Wii?

I picked up a set a couple weeks ago and I've been testing them out. From what I've heard/read, they should be showing some improvement over the standard composite cables that came with the system, but to be honest, I'm not seeing it.

In fact, both I and my dad think that it actually looks worse with the component cables in one test using Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Other games didn't seem to provide any improvement.

If anyone else has (or tried) the component cables for Wii, can you let me know how much, if any, improvement you saw? I have a 55 inch Samsung LED-LCD that's less than a year old if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

Doesn't make a huge difference but it does make a difference. Did you change the TV settings? My friend has a samsung telly and the component cable made the picture quality worse.

 

[Sean Aaron]

It definitely makes a difference; as Bob says get yourself something like DVD Video Essentials and calibrate your TV properly. You should be getting better colour separation and a sharper picture.

Also worth noting whether you have the official cables or some kind of crappy el-cheapo ones. I've used cheap 3rd-party cables that were fine, but they're not all created equal.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I actually meant in the Wii's setting menu, there's a TV setting to change it from 480i to 480p. Though you are right, it's well worth making sure you calibrate the TV right, too.

 

[TemporalFlux]

I actually meant in the Wii's setting menu, there's a TV setting to change it from 480i to 480p.

This is the key. I thought I had wasted my money on the component cables until I realized you had to tell the Wii you were looking for a different resolution. And the change did make a difference in my opinion; but I have my Wii hooked up to a 26 inch 720p.

 

[eastman23]

Thanks for the input guys.

I actually meant in the Wii's setting menu, there's a TV setting to change it from 480i to 480p. Though you are right, it's well worth making sure you calibrate the TV right, too.

Yep, I made sure to check that setting every time I restarted the Wii with different cables.

I did notice a difference (most pronounced with Twilight Princess) in terms of more detail in the colours, but the objects on the screen looked more jagged than before. Or the composite makes them look more blurry. Either way, it doesn't make enough of a difference to convince me to keep the cables for any slight improvement in the picture.

For the record, I was using these cables. Not the official ones, but they do have the "Nintendo Seal of Quality" (whatever that tells you about them).

 

[Sean Aaron]

I did notice a difference (most pronounced with Twilight Princess) in terms of more detail in the colours, but the objects on the screen looked more jagged than before. Or the composite makes them look more blurry. Either way, it doesn't make enough of a difference to convince me to keep the cables for any slight improvement in the picture.

Well that is the trade-off unfortunately. On some games it's the difference between seeing a coloured blob and being to tell what something is, but on games like Mario Galaxy you will see the outlines of polygons more sharply which will make them look "jaggy." Hopefully the WiiU will do some kind of HD upscaling for Wii games that won't be complete ass.

For myself I can live with the trade-off as it still looks better than the original Playstation which was the last console I owned. Also worth noting that not all games support 480p output, so you won't necessarily notice a difference across the board.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I think it highly depends on the games you're playing. For example, I had bought component cables, but NHL2K10 didn't look that much better with them, in fact it only emphasized what didn't look good about it, which is mostly in the way the game gets displayed. And it's one of the better looking games out on the Wii. Maybe not technically speaking, but more in terms of set-pieces.

 

[BillJ]

You may also want to turn the sharpness settings down a bit on your TV.

 

[Sean Aaron]

You may also want to turn the sharpness settings down a bit on your TV.

Absolutely which is why I suggest calibrating your TV if you're going to use component cables for anything - not just the Wii.

 

[little_chris]

You should also experience reduced input lag, since the the tv doesnt have to deinterlace the image before displaying it.

Have you tried changing the settings for the component input on the tv to game console as well?