Here's a product I don't understand --
a wireless sensor bar for the Nintendo Wii.
Can anyone explain to me why one of these would be necessary? Having a wireless controller makes sense on a number of levels. You can kick back as far away from your television as you like. Your rottweiler won't chew up your wires. Midgets, trolls, and drunks won't trip over your cords.
But a wireless sensor bar? The damned thing sits right on or next to your television, people! Unless you're playing Wii Sports at your local Loews Cineplex, your Wii will be close enough to the screen that this shouldn't be an issue. The sensor bar wire is ten feet long for Christ's sake. On top of that, this wireless sensor bar uses a nine-volt battery. Because that's just what we need, more things Wii-related that aren't rechargeable.
I guess this is a fancy tool for those of you who have 120-inch television sets. Guess what? I'm coming over to play Zelda. Make sure you order your wireless sensor bar first. Wouldn't want any of those pesky wires, well, anywhere.
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Contest:
10:13 AM on 12.11.2006
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Seriously, how many people game on a projector?
Sure there are probably a few people with more money than sense but I'm guessing the numbers are tiny.
Component cables are FAR more necessary as far as number of users that can take advantage of them then a wireless sensor bar.
So basically, its for the projector users.
It might also be good for people who travel with it between locales, and find setting up the bar annoying. I carry mine back and forth about every weekend, although I'd probably opt for a second Nintendo bar.
...
:D
I don't think you have to worry about too many people buying this even though they don't want it. Why would someone buy if they don't want it?
"On top of that, this wireless sensor bar uses a nine-volt battery. Because that's just what we need, more things Wii-related that aren't rechargeable."
what's not rechargeable at the moment, then? if you think about the AA-batteries: about 15 years ago some clever minds found a way to actually produce rechargeable AA-batteries, and by now, there's no good reason against them anymore, really.
you might call me a nintendo-fanboy, but for the wiimote, AA looks like the best solution to me - better than having 4 chargers around for my 4 wiimotes and always having them "wired" while i charge them. this way you just have to make sure you have some fully charged batteries around.
I totally agree. I have been using AA rechargeables for my camaras (amateur photog) for a few years now and I LOVE them.
I have a few nice rechargers and I always have a fresh set ready to go.
Also, I have found that good AA rechargeables last about 5 times as long as regular AA batteries and you don't have to worry about expensive proprietary batteries failing or getting a memory (not as much a problem anymore, but still an issue).
Why?
Simple. Look at all of the work people have been doing on the bluetooth functions in each Wii-mote controller. I want one for my gaming PC (which is nowhere near enough to my TV for the sensor bar to stretch, nor would I like to reposition it all the time). Basically, as soon as the pointing functions get mapped into a nice non-emulated system dll, I'll be using a wireless sensor bar and Wii-mote to play some homebrew/commercial/other games on the PC.
Sure, the Mouse/Keyboard combo is better for many games... but come on! <b>Oblivion with the Wii-mote mapped like Zelda?</b> Tell me that some PC games would rock with the Wii-mote. You know they would.
(Oblivion is used as an example. I'm sure there are much, much better games to use.)
I'm thinking it could be around 9v or something, then a simple USB->Sensor bar plug could be made for PC's, and you could use some generic 9v wall wart with extra cabling or something.
Here's the DIY for the one i made:
http://blog.deadlycomputer.com/2006/12/11/588/
Also, for people who are cheap, here's a (nearly) free solution to making your sensor bar's cord longer:
http://blog.deadlycomputer.com/2006/12/11/587/
I like the idea of having a wireless sensor bar, and the stock one, this way its one less thing i have to disconnect from my room when i want to move it somewhere else.
http://www.nikkfolts.com
This wireless bar will probably be used most often for projector setups, but there are other uses as well, as others here have mentioned.
The other issue I have is my Wii is on the move a lot. Between my house, my parents' house, girlfriend's house, and even occasionally to work, I have less and less faith in the life of that twine they call wire. Not to mention it's pretty annoying to wind and unwind that much wire up as often as I find myself doing it.
A wireless one would be very nice, but like an AP said, one that plugged straight into an outlet would be nice as well.
I think the bonus of this is not distance or movement, but the fact that having a mass of cords behind your TV is a huge problem, and elminating one more can only be good. Also, if you move your Wii around a lot to different TVs and places, this will make that a lot easier. So I may pick one up.
The battery thing's a real problem, but I don't imagine the sensor bar would eat them up nearly as much as the Wiimote does. And I don't think buying a charger for 9v batteries is something worth doing for this, like did for the Wiimote's AAs.