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My perspective on the future of the Wii
by freakn at 1:01 am EST, Nov 20, 2007 |
In a recent post, I talked a bit about the Wii, X Box 360, and the PS3. I dug up a lot of articles to get a few facts for that post, and I kept reading after the post. Since then I have done some thinking and I have some theories: My theories: 1080 supportWhile the resolution is currently 480, the full power of the ATI "Hollywood" chip is unknown (Little information has been released, most information about the chip has has been obtained by hacking apart a Wii). Since the chip can read all the good stuff that the Game Cube's "Flipper" video chip, everyone assumes it is an upgrade. But upgrade implies some kind of improvement, and a 720 or 1080 resolution is an improvement. Unconfirmed reports from "drunken employees" claim that the Wii can support 1080. The current Pinout of the Wii AV interface supports YPbPr, 16:9 switchable interface, but thankfully not enough pins for HDMI. One of the pins on the AV connector also supports an adjustable number of lines. So, the current connector with a YPbPr connector can support HD. So, 1080 support can be as simple as a firmware "switch", or a small single chip hardware upgrade in a "new and improved" version of the Wii. DVD support (or a HD disk support) The original prototype of the Wii (Called "Nintendo Revolution") was a black version of the Wii, and had full DVD support. The current Wii does not have DVD support out of the box, though a small hardware mod and boot disk make a Wii able to play a DVD. However this mod does require "griding away pins on the MB" and a new chip thrown on, along with the bot disk swap out. After the initial release of the Wii, some PR people went on record claiming DVD capabilities would be added in late 2007. The post-release delay was claimed to be due to "fee negotiations" about the cost of DVD standards. Since then, the exact date statement has been recanted, and has been unofficially changed to "someday". This kinda hints that DVD capabilities can be added with a firmware upgrade and a "DVD Channel" thing. Several polls have indicated that the majority of users want DVD capa... [ Read More (0.4k in body) ] |
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RE: My perspective on the future of the Wii
by Stefanie at 5:34 pm EST, Nov 20, 2007 |
Even if it's only 720p or 1080i, any HD resolution from the Wii would be welcome, and I'm not using my YPbPr inputs at the moment, because everything else connects via HDMI, so no problem there. The DVD support should've already been there in my opinion, but that's not a life or death issue for me. Still, if I were to take a Wii on the road (a convention), CD/DVD support it would be nice, so that I wouldn't have to bring another device to play movies. I'm not much into online gaming, so that's not a factor for me with any system, but I'm sure it is for other players. I did use my Game Cube to play Mario Kart online through Warp Pipe a few times, but it just wasn't the same. On the other hand, I like the convenience of having my PS3 connected to the Internet, just not for gaming. I also don't hate the slot loader on the PS3 as much as I thought I would, but it'll seem strange loading a 3" Game Cube disc into a 5" Wii slot. Anyway, I've still got a few Game Cube games to finish, and my PS3 currently serves as my cutting edge toy, so I'm content to wait on Nintendo to beef up the Wii (and paint it black) before I buy one. I just hope they'll do it before Mario Kart Wii is released. |
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