There has been a lot of talk about whether or not High Definition graphics really do make a real difference to an overall gaming experience. Nintendo’s response has always been that the uptake on television sets that actually take the required HDMI cable connection is nowhere near large enough to warrant rushing a ‘Wii HD’ onto the market. However, the current trend is for retailers to slash the price of 32-inch to 42-inch flat-screen HD sets, meaning the time has definitely come for Wii owners to start thinking twice about the idea of HD gaming. Could the VD-W3 Wii HDMI Upscaler Processor from VDIGI Electronics prove to be a device that placates owners in the interim until Nintendo does indeed roll out its future HD system?
[blog]The first thing to remember when looking at a device such as this is that it will not work miracles. This is not going to make your Wii exactly like the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It sounds extremely obvious when written down, yet there are some who believe wonders can indeed happen. This HDMI Upscaler Processor connects to the back of your Wii console, picks up the video signal and attempts to smooth as many of the rough edges as possible in order to give a clearer, sharper, more vibrant output on 1080p / 1080i High Definition televisions.
When you open the box, everything is extremely simple to assemble, with only a small device with cables that attach to the back of your Wii, both in the standard A/V in slot, as well as in one of the USB ports in order to power it. The roughly 180g, 12cm (length) x 7cm (width) x 2.5cm (height) upscaler then merely needs a HDMI cable connecting to it and once hooked up to a TV things are nearly ready to go. The VDIGI product uses a true 10-Bit high definition video and AV grade scaler engine to let users enjoy their games with a far improved image output and up to a 1080p resolution.
If something is not working properly, then the blue/red LED status will change colour or flash, and checking the small instruction sheet included will give guidance as to what the issue may be, with most problems relating to the various settings or type of TV used. To change any of the upscaler’s settings, there are six small switches on the underside that can be flicked to different positions, and whilst some may find them to be quite small and fiddly to access, once set in the right way, changing them again should not be necessary.
According to VDIGI, the video lag time for the upscaler is 8ms, whilst the following video-in formats are supported: EDTV (480i/576i) and SDTV (480p/576p), with the video-out formats being 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p, 1280×1024, 1440×900, and 1680×1050 at a refresh rate of 59.94Hz. As well as connecting to a TV for the HD visual output (or a computer monitor using the DVI connector), though, there is also the option of either just relying on the standard HDMI-audio or slotting a separate connector cable into the device’s 3.5mm stereo audio out port. The choice is yours!
New Super Mario Bros. Wii running at 480p (left) and 1080i (right)
After trying the VD-W3 Wii HDMI Upscaler Processor with games such as Monster Hunter 3 (Tri), Sin & Punishment, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, and Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, it is safe to say the results are far better than with the standard RGB cable and it does indeed improve upon a component cable, giving the best possible experience for Wii owners using the system on their HDTV sets. It may not reach the level of visual quality found when using a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, but considering how poor Wii games look on High Definition televisions without the use of this upscaler, the improvement is very impressive indeed.
