Probability that an update will arrive to support 720P ?

[BobbyWii]

Just wondering if anyone knows if Nintendo will release an update in the future to support 720P video output (like how the XBox 360 now supports 1080P when before it only supported 1080i).

The Wii looks great on my TV (non-HDTV), but when I plug it (with the official component leads) into my Sanyo PLV-Z4 projector whose native resolution is 720P/1080i the colours seem washed out. I guess this is beacuse upscaling is going on with the projector.

It seems a shame that the Wii's 480P resolution is less than the mainstream HDTVs that are now coming out, which tend to support 720P and above. I am happy with my Wii on my regular TV, but I can imagine there will be a lot of unhappy people who buy HDTVs with a native resolution of 720P and above, who will witness upscaling effects, who will not be happy. This may force an update to support 720P. What do other people think ?

 

[LastLine]

Yeah it does seem funny to me that they've deliberately gone with 'yesterdays technology' I know most people still have SD sets but give it 12 months, maybe 18 and it'll swing around and then what? I dunno, it looks ok on my HD set anyyway but still seems weird.

 

[man_of_cube]

If the internal Hardware doesn't support it then the chance = none. Even then, games will likely have to be optimized for HD, so the games out now will be stuck in 480p forever.

Yeah, I hate it too. I was mad about it for weeks after they announced that Wii wouldn't support HD resolutions. It may be fine now, but in the second half of the console's life cycle its going to hurt as more consumers buy HDTVs.

 

[Amor]

apparently wii can theoretically support 1080i resolutions.. however the games would be that dodgey (framerate and texture quality) that id say 480P is all the wii will do durin its lifetime

 

[Justinyoung]

You can't really say that because Xbox360 enabled 1080p,then so can the wii. They're completely different, even if it is only to 720p for the wii. The xbox360 can push out 1080p because it can handle it- it has 3 cores running at 3.2ghz each, and a custom ATI 500mhz graphics card, along with 512 mb or 'console' RAM. The wii has like a single core processor aroung 700-800 mhz and the Hollywood ATI- you probably won't expect 720p on the wii. I, personally, would love HD resolutions, but i don't think the wii can do that, unfortunately

 

[csiguy4u]

0.0000000001%

Very, very unlikely!

 

[Amor]

You can't really say that because Xbox360 enabled 1080p,then so can the wii. They're completely different, even if it is only to 720p for the wii. The xbox360 can push out 1080p because it can handle it- it has 3 cores running at 3.2ghz each, and a custom ATI 500mhz graphics card, along with 512 mb or 'console' RAM. The wii has like a single core processor aroung 700-800 mhz and the Hollywood ATI- you probably won't expect 720p on the wii.

the wii is fundamentally just a piece of hardware....
the Nintendo 64 can support resolutions up to 480P (probably higher) however the framerate was too poor for anything to work effectivly {other than menu's} so most games were built with 320*240 ....

EG... its like saying that just because a computer cannot run well with a resolution of 1920*1200 doesnt mean that it cannot physically export it at that resolution... the Wii would be theoretically capable of at least 720P or 1080i export however the framerate and quality would be useless...

however; back on topic.... other than a slim possibility the menu or specific non intensive channels etc, 720P isnt likely (at all)

 

[Justinyoung]

the wii is fundamentally just a piece of hardware....
the Nintendo 64 can support resolutions up to 480P (probably higher) however the framerate was too poor for anything to work effectivly {other than menu's} so most games were built with 320*240 ....

EG... its like saying that just because a computer cannot run well with a resolution of 1920*1200 doesnt mean that it cannot physically export it at that resolution... the Wii would be theoretically capable of at least 720P or 1080i export however the framerate and quality would be useless...

however; back on topic.... other than a slim possibility the menu or specific non intensive channels etc, 720P isnt likely (at all)

very very true... it could support it, but it can't handle the framerate and quality would be terrible. Its said that the Wii thats supposed to come out with DVD playback should have HD capabilities, but thats a rumor.

 

[Esco27]

very very true... it could support it, but it can't handle the framerate and quality would be terrible. Its said that the Wii thats supposed to come out with DVD playback should have HD capabilities, but thats a rumor.

From what I've read, it already has the capability but requires some kind of firmware update to unlock this feature. Don't take my word on it, just some gossip I heard around here.

 

[BobbyWii]

Imagine this as an idea (probably a bad one -- but here goes).

Nintendo release an update to support 720P, so an option of 720P becomes available in the Video Options.

Games still run at 480, but there are black borders at the top and bottom (120 each, making up extra 240 to get to the Native 720 pixels).

Output on HDTVs / HD projectors would then be crisp with big borders.

These borders may be quite imposing, but I think it would be nice to have the "native" 720 option so that no stretching of pixels occur. It would give users the option. However, maybe I am way off with this idea

 

[csiguy4u]

From what I've read, it already has the capability but requires some kind of firmware update to unlock this feature. Don't take my word on it, just some gossip I heard around here.

Just rumors and gossip; No true to it.

 

[Esco27]

Just rumors and gossip; No true to it.

Yeah I made that pretty clear, but thanks for the extra enforcement.

 

[DMMA]

Hooked my Wii up to my new LCD screen yesterday. 1366 * 768. With a Wii component cable. Looks like crap compared to a SD tv... Very disappointed. Thinking a BIG SD plasma might be the go for Wii and any other SD stuff (dvds etc)...

Oh well.

DMMA

 

[logansneo]

I don't think everyone is looking far enough back to realize something very pertinant to this discussion. The Nintendo Wii is roughly as powerful as the original Xbox, agreed. And maybe even more powerful than a PS2. Both of these systems had games that ran in 720p AND 1080i (MX vs. ATV Unleashed for Xbox and Gran Turismo 4 for PS2 were both 1080i games). So why would it be impossible for the Wii to achieve resolutions that the PS2 and Xbox were able to output?

I don't think it's up to Nintendo to allow their system to support HD resolutions as much as it's up to the developers to take advantage of the systems power and resources to do it through software. PS2 did NOT have an HD setting in its system, nor require a software update to allow Gran Turismo 4, through an in-game video setting, to display in 1080i during gameplay. Why should the Wii be any different?

 

[SLrocket]

and everyone stops responding once someone gives a correct response.......why does everyone doubt the wii's capabilities?! that pissses me off. hear this. it CAN support 720p at a good framerate. give it 12-18 months maybe by summer 08 or something