Wii 5.1 Output

[stickey_label]

Does anyone know if the Wii will have 5.1 support? A few sites I have seen say no, but is it possible they will add the 5.1 support as a last minute feature? Hopefully the Wii will have 5.1 output as it will add much more realism to games like Zelda: Twilight Princess, where if an enemy attacks you from your back left you'll hear the attacks from your rear-left speaker.

 

[registerednerd]

no. They've already announced that Wii will use Dolby Pro Logic, which is strictly 2.0/2.1

 

[DBloke]

it dosent need 5.1
speaker in the remote

 

[stickey_label]

it dosent need 5.1
speaker in the remote

I know the Wiimote has a speaker, but having 5.1 would be better, and with the Wiimote it would be like having 6.1 sound . Hopefully it's not too late for Nintendo to change their mind and add 5.1 Output .

 

[Taero]

I don't know if I'm talking outta my ass here but not a lot of people have a full speaker system in their lounge, at least not enough to make proper use of a dolby 5.1 system, would it be cost effective to code that in?

 

[DragonM3D]

it honestly doesnt take a lot of time to include 5.1

 

[Taero]

Well obv I have no clue what I'm talking about when it comes to programming but dont you need to code in fade effects etc for the entire game so that it sounds realistic coming from all directions? So isnt that like doing 2 sound 'files' for the game rather than the one? I mean I have a surround sound setup at home (not at uni house unfortunately ) and while it would be cool... hang on, I always thought it was the game that decided whether or not it wanted surround etc, what's the console got to do with it :S I'm confused now. Help

 

[NateTheGreat]

Well obv I have no clue what I'm talking about when it comes to programming but dont you need to code in fade effects etc for the entire game so that it sounds realistic coming from all directions? So isnt that like doing 2 sound 'files' for the game rather than the one? I mean I have a surround sound setup at home (not at uni house unfortunately ) and while it would be cool... hang on, I always thought it was the game that decided whether or not it wanted surround etc, what's the console got to do with it :S I'm confused now. Help

Well, yes, the programmers or sound team or whoever must put in the 5.1 Dolby Digital feature for there to be surround sound in a game; there were some games for Xbox, a console that has a digital optical out (that's true surround sound), that did not get programmed for that feature, like PsyOps is one example.

If the console doesn't have the digital optical out, it will only have matrix surround (or Dolby Pro Logic 2 which is what Wii is supposed to use) which means sound will be coming out of all the speakers, but as far as I know, it's the same sound, rather than a different sound to the left and right when, for instance someone is shooting at you from the left or right or where ever.

Hope that wasn't too confusing/too much info.

 

[ghghgh14702]

How many games on the 5.1 compatible systems actually use the technology, not many I think, that is additional programming for each sound that turns into development time and cost that most developers will not want to deal with, the Wii-mote speaker gives depth of sound but now the developer only needs to give specific sounds 3d effect which makes it easier so more games should support it.

 

[NateTheGreat]

How many games on the 5.1 compatible systems actually use the technology, not many I think, that is additional programming for each sound that turns into development time and cost that most developers will not want to deal with, the Wii-mote speaker gives depth of sound but now the developer only needs to give specific sounds 3d effect which makes it easier so more games should support it.

All the Xbox game I have (all 7 of them; yes, I said 7) have Dolby Digital Surround Sound and it's pretty nice for racing games and Splinter Cell, but only because I have a Sony 5.1 system (only $200 but it's good for my small and strangly accoustic room).

However, I think 5.1 systems should stop being manufactured and replaced with 6.1 because things that are supposed to sound like they are directly behind me sound like they're to my back-right or back-left.

Anyway, though it is cool to be able to distinguish where someone is walking around in Splinter Cell so you know how to find them quicker, in shooting games like Halo 2, playing multiplayer with 7 other people, it isn't that helpful.

I remember playing PsyOps on Xbox, which didn't have 5.1 but instead Dolby Pro Logic 2, and it wasn't extremly noticeable.

In games like SSBB, Pro Logic Surround Sound will be more than enough.

 

[registerednerd]

It's also an added cost to add encoders to the hardware, something Nintendo is clearly trying to avoid

 

[deity_link]

It doesn't truely affect me my 5.1 stuffed up and only 2 speaker work even when its switched on 5.1 weird

 

[laney327]

I see digital outputs on $30 DVD players...I am not saying that Nintendo needs to make the system 5.1 channel, but even Pro Logic sounds better when decoded digitally.

I would gladly pay $10 more for the system (how much more could it cost if cheap DVD players have it) if it had digital outputs. Even if 95% of games only used Pro logic it would be more future proof for the longrun.

It's also an added cost to add encoders to the hardware, something Nintendo is clearly trying to avoid

 

[RhythmGen]

One thing is that 5.1 taxes cpu's considerably more than matrixes like pro logic do, using considerably more memory as well- if nintendo is trying to create an efficient system with few bottlenecks to maximise power at a low cost, then it could be wise to avoid this. Pro logic still encodes in 2 dimensions.

I have to say that I am not a fan of surround sound anyway because the 6.1 system I had before college had an annoying amount of wires, and really, it was cool to hear where sounds came from in the game world, but pointless.

 

[registerednerd]

I see digital outputs on $30 DVD players...I am not saying that Nintendo needs to make the system 5.1 channel, but even Pro Logic sounds better when decoded digitally.

I would gladly pay $10 more for the system (how much more could it cost if cheap DVD players have it) if it had digital outputs. Even if 95% of games only used Pro logic it would be more future proof for the longrun.

Yeah, it's not a lot, but to have the technology in the Wii and keep the low price, they have to cut the small costs, they do add up.