Hooking Wii up to new Sony Bravia LCD tv? HDMI cable?

[tekmom]

We finally got a new LCD tv yesterday and would like for our Wii to work. Our previous tv was an RCA tube tv and the Wii just ran through the VCR to operate.
The new tv is a Sony Bravia and the salesman mentioned HDMI cable would need to be purchased if we wanted the best quality HD. I ordered the cable off amazon last night, but am unsure if I need it for the Wii.

Anyone familiar with this tv? The manual doesn't even mention exactly what I need this cable for. Thanks!

 

[Scurvy]

I am not very familiar with the TV but I am with the Wii. The Wii doesn't have HD output, so you couldn't use HDMI cables with it even if you had them. It comes with a composite cable - the kind with with three connectors (one video, two audio - usually yellow, red and white) that hook up to your TV. If you want to upgrade from that, you can get a Component cable for the Wii (if your TV supports that). That has a higher quality output. Either way, the graphics on the Wii aren't as high quality as those on the other current gaming consoles, but the innovative gameplay more than makes up for it!

The HDMI cable would be used for anything that does have HD output, like a Blu-ray player, the XBox 360 or the PS3, or some digital cable boxes (including Tivo). Most of those things come with their own HDMI cables, though. You really only need to buy them separately if you end up getting an item that doesn't come with it's own cables for some reason. (Our digital box didn't come with HDMI cables, for example, even though it does support HD output if you get those cables.)

Enjoy your new TV - I've heard good things about the Bravia!

 

[Colfireman]

We finally got a new LCD tv yesterday and would like for our Wii to work. Our previous tv was an RCA tube tv and the Wii just ran through the VCR to operate.
The new tv is a Sony Bravia and the salesman mentioned HDMI cable would need to be purchased if we wanted the best quality HD. I ordered the cable off amazon last night, but am unsure if I need it for the Wii.

Anyone familiar with this tv? The manual doesn't even mention exactly what I need this cable for. Thanks!

Scurvy answered most of your questions.
Additional information

The Wii uses the component connector. this will fir into teh bravia stlye tv's. The display output on the Wii is 480 lines of resolution.(max) HDMI will allow video and audio in one cord and will allow full 1080p resolution but that all depends on the input of video source.

 

[Micca]

Good advice here Tekmom. Just out of curiosity, where were you that the sales person told you you needed the HDMI cable?

 

[MarkBarbieri]

"this will fir into teh bravia stlye tv's"

For those that haven't been drinking, I think this means "This will fit into the Bravia style TV's".

Seriously, what has previously been said is correct. The Wii comes with composite video connectors (yellow for video, red & white for audio). It carries 480 lines of resolution, but it does so interlaced. That means that only 240 lines are drawn at a time, skipping every other line. Then the other 240 lines are drawn.

You can buy Wii Component video cables. These use three cables for the video (green, blue, and red) and two for audio (red and white). They carry 480 lines of resolution in "progressive" mode. That means that they draw all 480 lines for each frame rather than just 240. It makes for a smoother, better looking picture. The difference isn't enormous, but on a decent TV it is very noticeable.

HDMI video cables carry audio and video signals in a single cable, which makes them much easier to connect. Unfortunately, the Wii does not use HDMI.

 

[Kimmielee]

"this will fir into teh bravia stlye tv's"

For those that haven't been drinking, I think this means "This will fit into the Bravia style TV's".

Seriously, what has previously been said is correct. The Wii comes with composite video connectors (yellow for video, red & white for audio). It carries 480 lines of resolution, but it does so interlaced. That means that only 240 lines are drawn at a time, skipping every other line. Then the other 240 lines are drawn.

You can buy Wii Component video cables. These use three cables for the video (green, blue, and red) and two for audio (red and white). They carry 480 lines of resolution in "progressive" mode. That means that they draw all 480 lines for each frame rather than just 240. It makes for a smoother, better looking picture. The difference isn't enormous, but on a decent TV it is very noticeable.

HDMI video cables carry audio and video signals in a single cable, which makes them much easier to connect. Unfortunately, the Wii does not use HDMI.

Now I'm confused... I just bought a 42 inch LG LCD TV and my son is getting Wii from Santa... so now I need to by the above mentioned Wii Component video cable to have a good picture? I specifically bought a new TV to have a great pic for the games...

 

[Charade]

Now I'm confused... I just bought a 42 inch LG LCD TV and my son is getting Wii from Santa... so now I need to by the above mentioned Wii Component video cable to have a good picture? I specifically bought a new TV to have a great pic for the games...

We have a Wii and I bought (on clearance) a Wii component cable but haven't tried it yet. You will get a better picture if you use the component (not to be confused with composite).

They aren't that expensive. Here's one at buy.com for less than $25.

http://www.buy.com/prod/mad-catz-nintendo-wii-hd-component-cable/q/loc/108/204392077.html

 

[MarkBarbieri]

It'll work fine with the cable that is supplied. It will work better if you buy a component cable.

 

[tekmom]

Good advice here Tekmom. Just out of curiosity, where were you that the sales person told you you needed the HDMI cable?

Bestbuy, but we don't have blu-ray dvd plarer and the xbox is in ds's room...Well, if we ever get blu-ray at least I'll have it then.

 

[tekmom]

"this will fir into teh bravia stlye tv's"

For those that haven't been drinking, I think this means "This will fit into the Bravia style TV's".

Seriously, what has previously been said is correct. The Wii comes with composite video connectors (yellow for video, red & white for audio). It carries 480 lines of resolution, but it does so interlaced. That means that only 240 lines are drawn at a time, skipping every other line. Then the other 240 lines are drawn.

You can buy Wii Component video cables. These use three cables for the video (green, blue, and red) and two for audio (red and white). They carry 480 lines of resolution in "progressive" mode. That means that they draw all 480 lines for each frame rather than just 240. It makes for a smoother, better looking picture. The difference isn't enormous, but on a decent TV it is very noticeable.

HDMI video cables carry audio and video signals in a single cable, which makes them much easier to connect. Unfortunately, the Wii does not use HDMI.

Thanks! Dh got the Wii to work. I was pushing all the wrong buttons...lol.

 

[tekmom]

I am not very familiar with the TV but I am with the Wii. The Wii doesn't have HD output, so you couldn't use HDMI cables with it even if you had them. It comes with a composite cable - the kind with with three connectors (one video, two audio - usually yellow, red and white) that hook up to your TV. If you want to upgrade from that, you can get a Component cable for the Wii (if your TV supports that). That has a higher quality output. Either way, the graphics on the Wii aren't as high quality as those on the other current gaming consoles, but the innovative gameplay more than makes up for it!

The HDMI cable would be used for anything that does have HD output, like a Blu-ray player, the XBox 360 or the PS3, or some digital cable boxes (including Tivo). Most of those things come with their own HDMI cables, though. You really only need to buy them separately if you end up getting an item that doesn't come with it's own cables for some reason. (Our digital box didn't come with HDMI cables, for example, even though it does support HD output if you get those cables.)

Enjoy your new TV - I've heard good things about the Bravia!

thanks! So far we love it, we only got the 26 inch so it would fit into our entertaiment center, but the picture is just awesome!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Excellent cable site, always highly recommended on AV sites. I have used and excellent service and price.......

http://www.monoprice.com/products/department.asp?c_id=102

 

[bicker]

HDMI video cables carry audio and video signals in a single cable, which makes them much easier to connect.

Note that with HDMI, HDCP applies. With HDCP, certain connections require support of this specific security protocol across all aspects of the connection. This typically is only a problem when you have something in between your source (i.e., the Wii, a Blu-ray player, a DVR, a video tuner box, cable box, satellite box, etc.) and your display (i.e., your television). This device-in-the-middle is generally used to allow you to switch your display between several HDMI sources. If you have one of these devices-in-the-middle, you typically know it, because generally they're only used by video-geeks. However, having said that, I know folks who have a setup like this, who very definitely are not video-geeks. They are folks who purchased a full system (including a Blu-Ray player) from a high-end video store, including installation that included connection of their HD DVR from their cable company, so all the geeking was done for them. However, a software update from their cable company, a few months after they purchased the system, resulted in nothing but an error message on the television -- you guessed it -- all because of HDCP.

This is the only significant down-side of HDMI, as compared to component video (plus TOSLINK or SPDIF for audio). To good news is that if you're hit with this problem, you can just switch to component video (plus TOSLINK or SPDIF for audio) -- the difference in quality isn't that noticeable.

Now I'm confused... I just bought a 42 inch LG LCD TV and my son is getting Wii from Santa... so now I need to by the above mentioned Wii Component video cable to have a good picture?

No -- you need component video (or HDMI) to have a great picture. You can get a good picture with the standard cables.

I don't know much about Wii's, but component video cables are cheap. I've got a couple of dozen spares in my basement. (I'm not kidding. We cleaned out closets this weekend, and collected all cabling together. I could open my own Radio Shack, at this point. ) Is there something about the connections on the Wii that don't allow you to use standard component cables?

 

[Scurvy]

I don't know much about Wii's, but component video cables are cheap. I've got a couple of dozen spares in my basement. (I'm not kidding. We cleaned out closets this weekend, and collected all cabling together. I could open my own Radio Shack, at this point. ) Is there something about the connections on the Wii that don't allow you to use standard component cables?

Sadly, it seems to be a specific component cable. I think the Wii has a proprietary video interface - the end that hooks to the Wii doesn't look like the other component cables we have.

That said, I agree about the picture quality. We just have the composite cables hooked up right now and don't have any complaints. We have the component cables but haven't bothered to hook them up yet. I'm sure it will look better once we do that, but it looks fine now.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

The Wii uses a proprietary connector for audio and video output. It comes with one for composite. To switch to component, you need one designed for the Wii. There are third party connectors available. Here are some at Walmart for under $20.

 

[bicker]

Increasing in quality from top to bottom of this list...

Composite video + RCA cables for audio
http://yuloland.com/images/cable-composite.jpg
(yellow RCA plug for video + red and white RCA plugs for audio)

S-video + RCA cables for audio
http://images.secure2u.com/318/Proc/Full/1045520.jpg
(black S-video plug for video + red and white RCA plugs for audio)

Component video + RCA cables for audio
http://cableorganizer.com/images/home-theater-cables/component-video-cable-5RCA.jpg
(red, green and blue RCA plugs for video + red and white RCA plugs for audio)

Component video + SPDIF for audio
http://www.hideflifestyle.com/images/SONIC-WAVE-COMPONENT-SPDIF.jpg
(red, green and blue RCA plugs for video + orange RCA plug for digital audio)

Component video + TOSLINK for audio
http://www.thetwistergroup.com/store/image.php?imagefile=D<>NX-6026.JPG
(red, green and blue RCA plugs for video + optical plug for digital audio [not typically orange as it is in this picture; typically black])

HDMI
http://itpro.no/images/upload/kobling-hdmi.jpg
(black)

 

[MarkBarbieri]

In the consumer video world, you left off a few that many TV's accept.

DE15 VGA
DVI (A, D, or I)

You can also use an RF encoded A/V signal (the old connect via wires or coax and turn to channel 3 technique), which should be on the low end.

S/PDIF is a protocol and not a connector. TOSLINK connectors use S/PDIF. There is no quality difference between an S/PDIF signal carried by coax (using RCA connectors) or fiber (using TOSLINK connectors). The coax cable is more susceptible to interference but is less fragile. Under normal circumstances, the entire digital signal will be transferred and thus the sound will be identical. If you are using the orange plug and not hearing nasty dropouts, don't expect to hear any improvement at all if you switch to fiber.

 

[bicker]

I think we've gone off the deep-end, though, Mark.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

I think we've gone off the deep-end, though, Mark.

Ha! I have not begun to go off the deep end. You should see me over in the photography forum.

I was hoping to get started on XLR, AES/EBU, and BNC connectors next. From there, I was going to move on to a description of encoding methods, how signals are coverted to light for fiber cables, and the difference between 1-bit and 12-bit A/D converters. Alas, I'll have to save all that for some other time.

 

[Micca]

I'm no expert at this stuff, but I've been an audiophile and videophile for a long time so I have quite a bit of experience with cables & connections.

I just hate to see people who are buying new electronics get taken advantage of by inexperienced sellers in stores who are encouraged to upsell customers on overpriced stuff they don't need.

The past couple of years I've been buying cables on-line from Bluejeanscable.com They make good quality cables, their prices are reasonable, and my order usually arrives in 2 days.

Of course you must know what you need, but looks like there is some good advice right here on the Dis for that.