Sensor Extension Cord Good Approach w Projector?

[BSquared18]

Hi,

I just received my Wii console in the mail, so I'm brand new at this.

My plan is to use it with a front projector and large screen in the basement family room. I've seen 30-foot sensor extension cords for sale on eBay. Having the console back where the projector is, hooked up to the projector and audio system by a short set of RCA cables, and using an extension cord for the sensor makes more sense to me than having the console near the screen, with a long set of RCA cables going back to the projector.

Has anyone else set the system up that way, and, if so, how did it work? Does the sensor work well with that long of a cord?

Also, the rear projector is only about five feet off the floor, on a piece of furniture some 15 feet from the screen. This works fine for movies, where people are sitting down, but obviously someone standing right in front of the projector will cast a shadow on the screen, so a player or players would have to stand off to the side a bit. How has that worked for anyone who uses the Wii with a front projector? (I can adjust the size of the image on the screen to make it a bit smaller, thus allowing someone to stand closer to the center line.)

Thanks for any suggestions!
Bill

 

[bradleyd]

I don't have a projector, so can't comment about having to dodge the projection.

The sensor bar does nothing but provide points of IR light for the IR camera in the Wii Remote to pick-up so it can determine where you are pointing it on screen. The cord for the sensor bar is simply providing power for those lights, there is no communication between the sensor bar and the console, so extending it should not be a problem. You could also pick up one of the many wireless sensor bars available to eliminate the wire altogether. These simply run off batteries. The Wii Remotes connect to the console via Bluetooth, so range between the remotes and console is up to 30 feet (bluetooth will work at greater distances depending on interference, but no guarantees over 30 feet).

Do take note that the effective distance between the sensor bar and the Wii Remote is around 12 feet at most (some people have success at a slightly greater distance, but 15 feet seems to be about the maximum, and it may or may not work as smoothly for you at this distance). If you want to use it at greater distances from the screen, then the IR lights at each end of the bar must be further apart. The sensor bar was designed to be used within 10 feet of the screen. You shouldn't have any problems with being off center from the screen. I think the effective angle in a 10 foot radius is up to 60 degrees off center (again you may or may not have problems being at a greater angle).

 

[BSquared18]

Thanks, Bradleyd!

Your info straightened out a total misconception I had. After reading your response, I did a little more research. One writer pointed out that the use of the term "sensor" is a misnomer. They said that even a couple of candles will work! It happens that I have an extra infrared transmitter that goes with a pair of infrared headphones. It plugs into a wall outlet. Would that infrared source do the job? (However, now that I think about it, that transmitter is not as long as the so-called "sensor," so maybe it won't work.)

I doubt if the Wii remote will ever be much more than 10 or 12 feet from the "sensor," so that shouldn't be a problem.

Am I correct in assuming that it doesn't matter if the Wii console is behind the person using the remote? Will Bluetooth reception work just as well as if the console were in front?

Anyone else using their Wii with a front-projection screen who can help with the other part of my original question?

Bill

 

[bradleyd]

Am I correct in assuming that it doesn't matter if the Wii console is behind the person using the remote? Will Bluetooth reception work just as well as if the console were in front?

Yup, that's correct. Bluetooth is basically just radio signal, much like a wifi router. Bluetooth was designed as a low power signal since bluetooth devices are generally within close proximity to what they are paired with, like cell phone headsets, keyboards, mice etc. So it doesn't matter where the console is in relation to the remote, as long as it is within the 30 foot bubble of radio signal (that 30' is a bluetooth standard due to it's low power signal, but it is entirely possibly to get a greater distance).

I'm not certain the IR transmitter for headphones would work very well. That type of transmitter pulses the IR light on and off to send the signal to the receiver, whereas the lights in the sensor bar are just on. If you want to see what these IR lights are doing in your headphone transmitter and the sensor bar (and your TV remotes, which uses pulses as well), you can just point a camera at them and take a few pictures or video to see the lights (I put a pic of the sensor bar below that shows the light arrays in it).

 

[BSquared18]

Thanks again.

After writing the comment about my IR headphone transmitter, I went to eBay and found that cordless Wii IR "sensors" sell for less than ten bucks. That sounds like the way to go.

Bill