 Works as it should, first-party peace of mind |
| Review Date: February 14, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Tony M. Phan, Iowa, USA |
Not too much to say about these cables, they work as they should and really do let the Wii output a clean crisp image compared to the horrible composite cables in the box. If you have an HDTV, you'll get better color saturation and cleaner edges with less mosquito noise.
The cable is about 8 feet in length, so you can put plenty of distance between your TV and Wii if desired. Mine is right next to the TV, so I used cable ties to gather up the excess cord. Strangely, this degraded the image quality, almost as if there was interference or the signal was being choked off. After letting the cable free and re-bundling it loosely the issue went away, so I'm leaving it as-is. The plugs are also quite snug on TV input jacks, I have a Sony Bravia LCD TV and when I plugged in the cable I had to apply a large amount of pressure that actually pushed the jack about 1/4" into the TV before the plugs were fully seated. The jacks popped back to their original position after I released the cable, but no other cables I have required as much insertion force.
Though the Wii's resolution tops out at 480p, everyone can enjoy better graphics with these. Not a night-and-day difference, but definitely noticeable. It's a must-buy if your TV has the necessary inputs. Being an official Nintendo product also gives me a little peace of mind after having several third-party accessories for different consoles die on me. |
Awesome Cables and Awesome Picture! Component Input Necessity.
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| Review Date: December 24, 2007 |
| Reviewer: D. Scott Sibley, Cedar City,UT |
These cables are great! If you have an HDTV or just a TV with component inputs, these cables are a necessity for better picture. I have both a CRT style TV with component inputs and a 1080p HDTV. Both TV's have more vibrant colors and better picture when using the component cables. Make sure that your HDTV supports 480p if you want the Wii to display in that resolution. DO NOT TRY TO ENABLE 480P IN THE WII SETTINGS IF YOUR TV WILL NOT DISPLAY THAT RESOLUTION.
For those not noticing a difference compared to the included Composite Cables this can be atttributed to 2 things:
1. You have forgotten to enable 480p in the Wii Settings
2. Your HDTV does not display 480p as well as it's native resolution like 1080i/1080p. Not all HDTV's are built the same.
***VERY IMPORTANT FOR 480p Output***
-Please note that your TV must be a high-definition TV (HDTV) or enhanced-definition TV (EDTV) to view 480p output.
-You will also be required to change your Wii settings from Standard TV (480i) to EDTV/HDTV to view 480p.
***VERY IMPORTANT FOR 480p Output***
Super Mario Galaxy looks even more incredible with these cables!! Awesome.
Thanks Amazon for the great price! Thanks Nintendo for another fantastic product! |
Definitely good to have, but do you need a Licenced product?
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| Review Date: September 6, 2007 |
| Reviewer: bixodoido, Utah, USA |
When I connected these cables I noticed a definite improvement in my Wii's image quality. The system is still only capable of 480p resolution, of course, but these component cables provided better colors and sharper images, even though I experienced some of the jaggedness that other reviewers have complained about.
That said, do you need THIS particular set of component cables? Probably not, and in this case it seems that you're paying extra for little more than the Nintendo name. If you can get these cheap it may be worth it--if not a set of third party cables will give you the same effect. If you have a component input on your TV I'd recommend something like this, though I can't say I think these Nintendo cables give you an advantage over those from a third party. |
Makes a big difference in video quality
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| Review Date: May 14, 2007 |
| Reviewer: S. Pierson, Houston, TX United States |
The Wii is not known for it's graphics at this point in the video game console evolution anyway, so every little bit helps. With the component cables and my HD TV, I noticed some huge differences in picture quality. In most games, it mostly just upped the quality of backgrounds and the skins of the items on the screen. Basically, it made things look "prettier" in a very significant way. The biggest difference I saw was in games like Wii Sports and Wii Play. The only game so far that it actually messed me up on was Excite Truck, where the increase in graphic quality made it harder to tell where the road is.
Overall, if you have an HD TV and a Wii, get it. |
A "must-have" if you have HDTV
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| Review Date: April 5, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Just the Facts, New England USA |
First off, if you do not have an HDTV, then don't bother.
But, if you have an HDTV, then most likely you will see a picture improvement by using the component inputs rather than the composite jacks.
Don't expect miracles from 480i or 480p. But, if you are like us, having so much fun with the Wii is worth a lot more than the 1080p display our PS3 and 360 gives us. |
Fine composite cables, not enough split
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| Review Date: December 29, 2007 |
| Reviewer: jkb, Florida |
| First a couple of words about Amazon. Almost everything I buy here arrives quickly and in great shape. These cables are no exception and work fine but if you plan to connect the video cables to your tv and audio cables to your surround sound receiver, you'll find the split too short and you'll need barrel connectors and a 2nd set of audio cables to use as extensions. That's why I gave them 4 stars instead of 5. Honestly I think that you really need to be looking at every pixel to notice any difference between different brands of composite cables. I'm now using Cyclone composite cables with barrel connectors and gold-plated extensions because the Cyclones seem a bit heftier, image on my 50" Sony HDTV is very crisp. Picked up the Cyclones at Circuit City for $25. |
Try the 3rd party
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| Review Date: September 16, 2008 |
| Reviewer: J. Siegrist, |
| Works fine, except you can't spread out the audio cables from the video cables by more than about 6-8". This makes running video to your TV and audio below to a receiver impossible w/o having to buy coax audio extender cables. Just plain dumb. The standard cords that come w/the Wii allow you to split the wires as much as needed. |
Solid product; works great
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| Review Date: April 26, 2007 |
| Reviewer: IT SuperFreak, San Diego, USA |
| I am using this with my 46-inch DLP HDTV and the picture looks solid. It is difficult to imagine a 480p signal look any better on a 720p HDTV. If you have an HDTV, this is a "must-buy" for the Wii! |
Better Colors and Sharper Resolution, but NOT Perfect
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| Review Date: January 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: B. Cooper, |
Component Cables are Red/Blue/Green = Video; White/Red = Audio
Standard AV Cables are Yellow = Video; White/Red = Audio
When using the Component Cables I noticed an immediate difference in the brightness, color and resolution of multiple Wii games. It isn't quite the difference between something like Standard AV to HDMI with a system such as the PS3 or Xbox360, but enough that it will make games more enjoyable. Backgrounds include more noticeable detail, a wider variety of colors and hues, and sharper contrasts between onscreen images.
HOWEVER, I have also noticed that when using Component cables many games (but not all) have slight horizontal lines across the screen that are NOT present with the Standard Wii AV cable. Does anyone else notice the same problem? At first I thought it was an issue with my individual Wii, so I contacted Nintendo. They didn't know what I was talking about and offered no explanation. I thereafter conducted a series of tests with multiple games and alternating between component cables (on EDTV 480p) and the regular AV (standard 480i).
Please note that to switch between the progressive and interlaced resolutions, you must switch the Wii Menu settings. 480i is the setting for standard definition using AV cables and 480p is the "enhanced" resolution using the Wii component cables for an EDTV or HDTV. The Wii does not support an actual HD setting, just "enhanced." This was the precursor to HD resolutions (between HD and Standard).
Hopefully I haven't lost you yet. I read one review that says that it is difficult to turn on the system and access the menu when you switch out the cables. That isn't true. When you change cables, just turn the system off and then back on. The system will start and display the menu regardless of what cable you have in. If you have standard AV cables, it will just put itself back into 480i (interlaced) standard display. If you have component, it will leave itself in 480i unless you have switched it to 480p (progressive). Once you have switched it to progressive it will stay there until you switch out the Component cables or manually turn the setting back to Standard 480i.
I found that Smash Bros., Metroid Collection, Okami, Mario Kart, Zack and Wiki and Warioware had absolutely perfect resolution without horizontal lines using both cords on both settings. Therefore the component cable was better due to slightly enhanced definition and color. However, on Zelda: Twilight Princess, Link's Crossbow, Tiger Woods Golf 2010 and New Super Mario Bros. I noticed the faint horizontal lines only when using component cables. It is mildly distracting, but the images and colors are still much better than standard cables. On a few games such as Dead Space: Extraction, I noticed the horizontal lines no matter which cables I used. However, the picture was much more difficult to see in darker areas using the standard AV cables. There is nothing wrong with the cable. When I first noticed the issue I returned my Official Nintendo Component Cable and bought the Monster Cable (I thought it was a shielding issue at first). However, I had all of the exact same problems and experienced all of the exact same results. After once again contacting Nintendo I was told that if I continued to use the Monster Cable and experienced any type of problem with the Wii itself, I would void all warranty because I was using a third party cable. I sold the Monster Cable and repurchased the Official Nintendo cable. I experienced the exact same results once again. Therefore, the problem does not lie within the cable. In addition, because some of the games look perfect (Okami/Smash Bros) when using the component cables, I do not believe there is anything wrong with my Wii system. I have the Wii connected to a Sony Bravia XBR4 32" 1080p HDTV. Anyone able to guess what the problem is? Anyone else see these same lines appear on the screen? If it was my TV, I don't understand why I only see it on some games and not all of them. My only conclusion is that some games were not designed to be used with a component cable connection, even though I do not really understand how apparent interlacing issues would present themselves when using one type of cable from another.
So overall, the Official Nintendo Component Cable will definitely give you better colors and sharper contrasts. However, it comes at a cost in that some games "may" have faint horizontal lines in the background. It seems pretty hit or miss on which games have the problem. Okami had no problems, Dead Space: Extraction had problems with both cables, and Zelda: Twilight Princess only had the problem with the Component Cable. One might ask, if you don't see the lines on as many games when using the regular cables...why even bother using the component cables? The truth is that even with the lines on some games you will notice many many more details and better visuals using the Component Cables. It would be too much of a hassle to switch out the cord between different games. So is it worth the $20-25? I'd say yes. Go with Official Nintendo brand to keep your warranty. However, be aware that this is far from perfect.
I am pretty shocked to see nobody has mentioned the issue with horizontal lines anywhere at all. Any help or comments would be appreciated. |
Works Like a Charm
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| Review Date: June 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Marty Epstein, San Francisco, CA USA |
While this cable won't upgrade the 480p up to 1080i on your big screen TV, it definitely increases the sharpness of images and especially of text. I have been using the Wii Internet feature lately and the component cable provides a dramatic improvement as compared to the composite cables that the Wii comes with. I am recommending that all my friends purchase the cable if they have a big screen like me.
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