Tech support my Wii/TV combo
May 24, 2018 9:15 AM Subscribe
My Nintendo Wii displays vertically scrolling static
video
The TV only has RCA and not component input - it's one of the newer TVs that just assumes everything is HDMI but has an RCA input to be a little bit backwards compatible.
I ran a few tests:
- My PS2 (which also uses RCA inputs) appears fine on this TV.
- With the same power supply and same set of cables, the Wii appears fine on the other TV I have, which is an old-style TV and not an LCD TV.
- The aftermarket RCA cables I am using for the Wii can also be used for the PS2. I plugged them into the PS2 and it appears fine.
- If I switch the Wii from 480i to 480p and use the green component input, the static still appears.
So, I'm honestly not sure what's broken. If the Wii or power supply was resulting in bad output, it would appear on the other TV. And if the cables were bad, they would have shown static when the PS2 was operating, too. And if the TV was the problem, it would show static no matter which console was plugged in.
video
The TV only has RCA and not component input - it's one of the newer TVs that just assumes everything is HDMI but has an RCA input to be a little bit backwards compatible.
I ran a few tests:
- My PS2 (which also uses RCA inputs) appears fine on this TV.
- With the same power supply and same set of cables, the Wii appears fine on the other TV I have, which is an old-style TV and not an LCD TV.
- The aftermarket RCA cables I am using for the Wii can also be used for the PS2. I plugged them into the PS2 and it appears fine.
- If I switch the Wii from 480i to 480p and use the green component input, the static still appears.
So, I'm honestly not sure what's broken. If the Wii or power supply was resulting in bad output, it would appear on the other TV. And if the cables were bad, they would have shown static when the PS2 was operating, too. And if the TV was the problem, it would show static no matter which console was plugged in.
Response by poster: Oh, two more things to cross off:
- This Wii was fine on my previous TV, which was an LCD TV although it might have been lower resolution.
- I've messed with my TV's settings and haven't found anything that seemed like it was of any help :(
posted by LSK at 9:22 AM on May 24, 2018
- This Wii was fine on my previous TV, which was an LCD TV although it might have been lower resolution.
- I've messed with my TV's settings and haven't found anything that seemed like it was of any help :(
posted by LSK at 9:22 AM on May 24, 2018
Best answer: I can’t diagnose this, but I bet you could solve the problem by connecting your Wii to the TV with an HDMI cable instead. There are several good Wii to HDMI adaptors on the market.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 9:41 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Pater Aletheias at 9:41 AM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
It looks a lot like dot crawl.
I'm hardly an expert, but I'd guess that your HDTV has a real crappy comb filter, and there's some interference in the signal that your CRT filters out but the HDTV doesn't.
(tl;dr: RCA video is the luma and chroma signals combined, and the TV has to separate them, and the quality of the filter used to do this can vary.)
S-Video or HDMI ought to work better.
posted by neckro23 at 12:24 PM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
I'm hardly an expert, but I'd guess that your HDTV has a real crappy comb filter, and there's some interference in the signal that your CRT filters out but the HDTV doesn't.
(tl;dr: RCA video is the luma and chroma signals combined, and the TV has to separate them, and the quality of the filter used to do this can vary.)
S-Video or HDMI ought to work better.
posted by neckro23 at 12:24 PM on May 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
And if the TV was the problem, it would show static no matter which console was plugged in.
Not entirely sure that logic is sound.
It's at least conceptually possible that the PS2 and Wii have slight differences in their signal encodings or level when output down the same cables. This could also be consistent with neckro23's diagnosis, it could be the PS2 is just enough cleaner/stronger, but the "weaker" Wii signal confuses the filter.
Agree with the others that HDMI is your first/best solution.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:33 PM on May 24, 2018
Not entirely sure that logic is sound.
It's at least conceptually possible that the PS2 and Wii have slight differences in their signal encodings or level when output down the same cables. This could also be consistent with neckro23's diagnosis, it could be the PS2 is just enough cleaner/stronger, but the "weaker" Wii signal confuses the filter.
Agree with the others that HDMI is your first/best solution.
posted by SaltySalticid at 12:33 PM on May 24, 2018
Response by poster: Got it! I ordered an HDMI cable, I hope I'll remember to report back :)
posted by LSK at 1:12 PM on May 24, 2018
posted by LSK at 1:12 PM on May 24, 2018
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For what it's worth, I've seen this issue on other wiis on HD tvs for whatever reason. Could just be a issue with the upscaling to 1080.
Used wiis are pretty cheap, as are wii Us. I know I keep my wii around for the softmodding though.
posted by bbqturtle at 9:20 AM on May 24, 2018