Wii + Xbox + monitor = ?

LewieP

So, at uni I only have access to a pretty small TV, and will be getting a bigger monitor soon, whats the best way to hook my Wii up to the monitor.

I know I need VGA cables, but afaik they arent available for Wii or Xbox (origional btw, not 360) I have also heard that VGA converter boxes arent that great quality, because they convert from analogue to digital, or something along those lines. I'm not to clued up on video formats.

I also would prefer a solution that doesnt require me swaping out cables, and if possible, not even a cable switch box (though I am unsure if its possible)

So, tell me what to do.

Darlan

This won't be a big help, but my roommate has one of those VGA converter boxes and it looks spectacularly bad: like, worse than RF bad. It may be the particular model he as or something, but it sure left a bad taste in my mouth for that route.

Dusda

I'm actually in a similar situation. I have a dual input DVI/VGA LCD monitor, with the DVI going to my desktop, and the VGA going to my 360, via the VGA cable. I want to some how hook my component-cabled Wii into the mix, but...yea, no idea how to do that.

Manic205

I remember looking for a Wii-Monitor solution a while back, and not finding anything acceptable in terms of cost and complexity.

With 360, unless your monitor has RCA jacks for audio, you'll need a $3 converter from Fry's Electronics or somesuch place in order to hook up to your sound card.

LewieP

Manic205 wrote:

I remember looking for a Wii-Monitor solution a while back, and not finding anything acceptable in terms of cost and complexity.

With 360, unless your monitor has RCA jacks for audio, you'll need a $3 converter from Fry's Electronics or somesuch place in order to hook up to your sound card.

its an origional Xbox, not a 360.

I've not got the monitor yet, so I guess is there any specific features I should look for?

solsovly

LewieP wrote:

Manic205 wrote:

I remember looking for a Wii-Monitor solution a while back, and not finding anything acceptable in terms of cost and complexity.

With 360, unless your monitor has RCA jacks for audio, you'll need a $3 converter from Fry's Electronics or somesuch place in order to hook up to your sound card.

its an origional Xbox, not a 360.

I've not got the monitor yet, so I guess is there any specific features I should look for?

I got one of those game recorders, think there was a sale on them in the woot off. It was about $15, has s-video/rca jacks that plug into the usb unit. Works pretty decently and you also have the option of recording if you want. But as you pointed out, low res source + hi res monitor =

edit: here it is

http://geekspeak.org/articles/adaptec_gamebridge_review/
http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=1480

Billmaan

I have a VDigi VD-Z3, and it works. However, it's about $70 shipped, and only works with 480p signals. If it's within your price range, and you're willing to restrict yourself to playing only 480p-capable games (note: this seems to include VC games) then I recommend it.

I also have a Gamebridge (shown in a post above) for 480i games, and it works, but the quality's fairly low and there's some added latency. (The latency isn't horrible, but it's bad enough that I can't bring myself to play Trauma Center now that I've tried it on a normal TV. For slower-paced games, I doubt you'd notice...although the pointer might not seem as "smooth" as usual.) On the plus side, a Gamebridge can be had for ~$15.

Recoil42

Bilmaan beat me to it. VD-Z3. Love the damn thing. The great thing with the VD-Z3 too, is that it works with every single device with component out, since it's a component --> VGA transcoder, instead of hooking up directly to the console. That means it'll even work on the Nintendo6, Xbox720, and Playstation4 when they come out, as long as they have component cables, and you can even hook it up to a DVD player.

And just to clarify, it doesn't only work with 480p, it only works with 480p, 720p, and 1080i. IE, it doesn't work with games/devices that only support 480i.

In the new gen, this is no problem, since all games are at least 480p on the Wii, 360, AND PS3. Same on the Xbox1, where every game was 480p.

Where you would run into problems though is on the cube and ps2, where not every game supported progressive scan -- those games wouldn't and won't work when you have a VD-Z3 hooked up.

But if you're just using a Wii, Xbox, 360, and/or Ps3, you're good to go.

Billmaan

Whoops, forgot about the higher resolutions -- my bad.

However, sadly, there are some Wii games that don't support 480p. (Trauma Center is the only one that comes to mind at the moment.)

Recoil42

Billmaan wrote:

Whoops, forgot about the higher resolutions -- my bad.

However, sadly, there are some Wii games that don't support 480p. (Trauma Center is the only one that comes to mind at the moment.)

Really? Wow, my bad, then. Don't have my Wii yet.

That's total bullshit. :shock: :x

MooT

for the original xbox, there are third party bga adaptors for it, none of this converter box nonsense. the only trouble is finding them.

As for the Wii, yeah aside from those boxes there isn't really anything yet to my knowledge. I too would love to hook up the wii to my widescreen monitor.

gamergirl220

i know the wii comes with an s-video output, right?

my pc monitor (it is a newish dell model) has an s-video in, would the wii be able to play on my monitor?

Daedalus

LewieP wrote:

Manic205 wrote:

I remember looking for a Wii-Monitor solution a while back, and not finding anything acceptable in terms of cost and complexity.

With 360, unless your monitor has RCA jacks for audio, you'll need a $3 converter from Fry's Electronics or somesuch place in order to hook up to your sound card.

its an origional Xbox, not a 360.

I've not got the monitor yet, so I guess is there any specific features I should look for?

Get a monitor that has component video inputs. I believe Samsung makes one for $450 or so for 20". That's the cheapest I've seen. Most 24" monitors have such inputs, but they're at least $800.

Alternatively, get a small LCD TV that you can hook your PC up to (i.e. has a DVI input). Roughly the same price, or higher.

tony_important

gamergirl220 wrote:

i know the wii comes with an s-video output, right?

my pc monitor (it is a newish dell model) has an s-video in, would the wii be able to play on my monitor?

If there's an output from the wii and an input on your monitor, yes.

homeobocks

gamergirl220 wrote:

i know the wii comes with an s-video output, right?

my pc monitor (it is a newish dell model) has an s-video in, would the wii be able to play on my monitor?

The Wii does not come with s-video output. The output is s-video-compatible, but you'd have to find a Wii s-video cable, which are rare.

shrouded

My wife got my a Samsung 19" LCD for my birthday that has VGA, DVI, TV tuner, and an all-important composite input. It isn't the perfect display, but its great for when I want to plug a PS2 (or Wii) in on the desk in my study next to my PC. She got it last November at Newegg for about $350. The analog signals look better on it than anything else I've tried (VGA box, tuner card in the PC, etc.).

Edited to add - I think the price was actually closer to $300. It also accepts S-Video.

wombat

shrouded wrote:

My wife got my a Samsung 19" LCD for my birthday that has VGA, DVI, TV tuner, and an all-important composite input. It isn't the perfect display, but its great for when I want to plug a PS2 (or Wii) in on the desk in my study next to my PC. She got it last November at Newegg for about $350. The analog signals look better on it than anything else I've tried (VGA box, tuner card in the PC, etc.).

Edited to add - I think the price was actually closer to $300. It also accepts S-Video.

is it this one?


Samsung 940MW?

I was really looking at this a while ago as a tv solution (I live in a pretty small studio so I don't really need a big tv) but I ended up getting a free tv with s-video input on it