I would love this, as most of my WiiWare games look super tiny on my screen.

That's nice and all, but the functionality should have been there from the get-go.

can someone explain this? does it make it go farther than 480p? sounds to good to be true...

I.... don't really understand how this box is supposed to increase your picture clarity? Like, the Wii outputs what it outputs, this isn't CSI where you can just say "enhance" and get better resolution... Where are these extra pixels coming from?

Well, I doubt it really needs to be that expensive. That said, I would get one if I was employed right now :(

Well that's cool... but $75?

I might, but... gosh thats alot for just a little fidelity

you guys need to pick one of these up for review. this product is right up dtoid's alley.

We use a professional scaler at work to capture Wii footage that doesn't look atrocious and I will say it makes a huge difference in quality. That said, most Wii games don't really benefit THAT much from the boost...

@Caleb- You're right. The Wii's output is 720x480, and no matter how you gussy it up, that's all it will ever be. However, with HDMI, upscaling an output that is 480p mimics 1080, thus giving you a clearer, sharper image. This is the reason why I use my XBox 360 to watch DVDs. Despite the DVDs not being HD themselves, there is quite a noticeable difference in quality when watching them on a DVD player hooked up through RCA cables vs. the XBox with HDMI.

It's simply an upscaler. So it takes the video from a device, and upsamples it to a higher resolution. It doesn't so much re-render everything our output a HD image like a 360 or PS3, but it just takes the image and stretches it out with an algorythm to allow output to 720p or 1080i. It looks like the device has a processor in it, as it runs from power of the USB port on the Wii.

Kind of against the point isn't it?

here's my double. i'd like to know what resolution this device outputs. i'm sure it's not to 1080, but if it's over 720, it'd be worth it. there's got to be an issue with the graphics, as they were never meant for that resolution, right? i'm not completely up on my upscaler science, due mostly to the fact that i just finally upgraded my tv. i love the look of wii at 480p, but would die if i could run galaxy 2 at 720. also, why wouldn't nintendo just put out their own cord, if it's just that easy?

@sans
my tv signal comes from the antenna, and all of the major networks are running at least 720. i assume you're talking about the cable channels lacking hd signal? isn't this situation similar to upscaling dvd? i know the resolution of those images isn't to 1080, but it is above 720, and 720 is the standard. again, i'd love to see a review on this sort of equipment.

also, if you're still waiting to buy an hd set, i would encourage you to do so. the picture quality even at 480p is quite a difference. my new set is much more versatile than my old crt as well. if you've got the cash, i'd recommend upgrading.

I'm mildly curious. I wouldn't mind seeing it in action.

I can still see jaggies in those screenshots.
No deal.

@bobyoko

I'm not sure exactly how it is over in the US but I'm in the UK and the HD "broadcasting" over here is pretty atrocious. For one each company (Sky, BBC, ITV etc.) get to decided themselves what qualifies as HD, which means they're all completely different. In the case of the BBC they recently cut their HD bitrate to 9mbps from 16mbps. This was after they had already cut it from 20mbps. They still advertise HD and technically still output at least a 720 signal (I think) but the video quality is much lower than it used to be. Of course this all assumes that all HD content on the HD channels were actually shot in HD. There are often a few shows I see on HD channels that I know for a fact weren't shot using HD (mainly because I worked on them). Like I said though, I'm not sure exactly how it breaks down over there technically, I assumed it would be a similar situation but I could be terribly wrong about that.

Of course none of this really matters as not many people can tell the difference between SD and HD anyway, but still it all adds to great HD illusion.

Unless you're watching something like Life, which is just fucking beautiful.

Er, anyway. Games. :)

wow, I care HD is better period, but the lack of hd wont stop me from playing the Wii. I'm more interested in little details, like if it works with all games and were it plugs in/how big is it. 75 isnt bad, if it works great its basically a huge ungrade for the Wii and thats awesome.

@ sans
facepalm. i had assumed you were stateside. we must have it a little better over here, because i can see a huge difference in resolution from 480p to 720p signals. that being said, i also notice a difference between stations claiming to both be at 720, so your info makes sense.

not to turn this into a tech thread (which i guess it really is). but from my experience upscaling works pretty well. i've got my dvd player displaying at pro scan (480p), and can tell a huge dif over a standard signal. from what i know, dvd upscalers bring that signal to about double the res (800ish), which is more than i need. still waiting for a real answer on the topic, i guess.

Wow, this device delivers some pretty convincing results. I mean look at the sharp picture of this giant Samsung screen... impressive! ;-)

Actually my 42" Toshiba does a very solid job good in upscaling, so call me out on this one.

Yeah, but built in HDTV upscaling is really bad. Unless you want to spend £4000 - £5000.

Very interested. That picture looks great. My Wii doesn't look that good on my 50" plasma, so if this thing's the real deal, I'm getting one.

I want this to be true, but it's not. If it was as easy as a cord, then Nintendo would have just released something by now. There's not reason they wouldn't have.

Eh, not that interested. I'm perfectly fine with playing me Wii games in non-HD if it means saving $75. I already have a 360 to take care of my HD needs.

Im sure it will look better, i mean if you just basically blew up the picture and sharpened up the colors it would be better than nothing, but its definately not actually going to be HD. Of course you couldn't have been that concerned about it if you bought a Wii in the first place.

Upscaling is usually garbage anyways.

I think with some games coming for Wii, like Galaxy 2 and Other M, this is very necessary.