Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities.
It may be time for Nintendo to concede that we've entered the HD-era. Anyone looking to buy a new television will have an increasingly difficult time finding a "classic" SD tube amongst the pristine plasmas, elegant LCoS, lavish LCDs, dazzling DLPs, and (soon-to-come) sexy SEDs. And the technologies behind today's televisions are benefiting greatly from economies of scale, making it easier for consumers to consider going big on their next TV purchase.
For too long, big screen gaming had been confined to dollar-munching arcade machines and reruns of Silver Spoons, but more and more people are finding out what it feels like to have a truly super Mario kicking gargantuan goombas across the Mushroom Kingdom. If you haven't yet been bitten by the big bug, today I'll make you feel the itch.
There are many resources you can use to find a big screen setup that meets your needs and budget. The community at AVS Forum will probably give you better informed tips than the employees at your nearest electronics megastore, but be advised - you'll pay a heavy fee of your time, wading through thread upon thread of enthusiast commentary and banter. Even if you go with whatever package the blue shirts sell you on, you'd do well to check AVS for advice on configuring your gear for the best image quality it can muster.
Many of you upgrading to a projector or freestanding TV will need to ditch your old TV stand and find a new component rack or audio tower to place your A/V receivers, cable/satellite receivers, and video game consoles. But as big screens get lighter and more compact, they sometimes require a wide stand, and you can put your components inside that. Wall-mounters can go either the stand or the tower route, and there are even stands now which incorporate mounting plates for flat panels.
Projector purchasers may also have to use an alternate IR source or come up with a way to jury-rig their Sensor Bars near the screen, which will often be located on the opposite side of the room from the Wii.
I knew there'd be a use for those twisty-ties I never throw out!
Up until a few weeks ago, I'd been filming most of my script demonstrations in front of a HD 57" RP CRT. Though it wasn't the ideal display for video shoots, it was fantastic for setting the arcade mood and drove the experience even further when coupled with surround sound. The first time I plummeted off one of the more extreme drops in F-Zero GX, it evoked the full roller coaster feeling of weightlessness and my stomach rising into my throat. I recently upgraded to a front projecting DLP, and the larger field of view makes the sensation all the more surreal when I'm sitting in the cockpit of Samus' ship, acting out the gestures and motions that she's doing on screen.
Whether you're playing Resident Evil 4 or Wii Sports, immersion is brought to a higher state with a bigger screen. Add 1:1 gestures to life-sized sports equipment, and we go a step beyond arcade and closer to reality!
When I first set up this projector in a room 11 feet long, the throw distance gave me a picture that was 77 inches diagonally, matching my calculations. That left me somewhat disappointed, being that my 92-inch screen had a lot of area uncovered. Then I figured I could extend my throw by mounting the projector midway from the screen and the opposite wall, with the image projecting onto a mirror that reflects it back to the screen. So now that I'm in a smaller room (eight feet long), using the mirror trick gets me nearly total coverage of the screen. And now I'm that much closer to realizing my dream of playing Street Fighter with life-sized characters.
The reflected image is bigger than it would have been if projected directly
The Wii's pointers are bigger than my own hands!
This week's Revolutionary is not intended to make anyone feel insecure or that their display is inadequate. As long as you can see your Miis, your setup is good to go. In a strange way, that's part of the Wii's charm - how you can enjoy it regardless of what the games look like. But should you find yourself in the market for a new TV, you'll be in for a more immersive gaming experience if you decide to go big.
Drop a comment to tell us what types of games you think would benefit the most from a big screen setup, or what games you're most looking forward to playing on a big screen.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-04-2007 @ 1:11PM
danny. said...
all that nice stuff and you have the same 90 dollar entertainment center from Walmart as I do...
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9-04-2007 @ 1:16PM
vidGuy said...
Yep, big HD systems are getting cheaper and are going to be in tons of homes within just a few years. And the Wii looks horrible on these displays. But I completely disagree that the Wii needs HD. Not yet. An HD capable system would push the price of the Wii beyond $300, and most likely this would prevent the Wii from being so popular.
There's a theory in economics called the elasticity of demand. It's important. I wonder if anyone has done studies on it in the video game industry. For games I imagine the elasticity is pretty high. Compare the sales of a new release when it's at $30, $40, $50, and $60, and likely there's a large difference in percentage sales compared to the price drop. That's why a $50 drop is a huge move for the 360 and a $100 is huge for the PS3. If the Wii was HD capable and even $329, I really don't think it would be in the market position it currently is.
Nintendo's next console NEEDS HD, but the Wii is set right now.
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9-04-2007 @ 1:18PM
Mike Sylvester said...
@danny
Yeah, I love the thing! I actually have 2 of them, because I used to have a lot more components, which I put on either side of my "old" RP CRT. When I was shopping around, I couldn't find enough differences between the similar-looking ones that cost several times more, to warrant me spending the extra money. Besides, they looked very nice, bookending my TV.
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9-04-2007 @ 1:23PM
Mike Sylvester said...
@vidGuy
I wholeheartedly agree. The Wii is the market leader because it's affordable (and of course, fun), and it wouldn't be quite so affordable if they'd built it to render in HD. However, it's been suggested that the Wii may get a mid-cycle refresh, instead of going the usual 5 years of a full generation. If Nintendo wants to reject those rumors, they ought to come up with a better excuse than "the market isn't ready for HD."
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9-04-2007 @ 1:26PM
ELIJAH said...
Your experience reminds me of the nintendoworldstore's white pods on the second floor. when u sit in these things u become apart of the game,sound encompasses your body,u relax ur self into the protagonist and it shakes your soul with the rumble feature. its the perfect chair.
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9-04-2007 @ 1:38PM
vidGuy said...
@Mike,
True, that's not a very good excuse anymore! I really hope Nintendo doesn't segregate the market by creating an entirely new console so soon though. What I'd like to see is them fully adopt the iPod strategy by releasing a new "Wii" (same name) every three or four years. Upgraded technology (next Wii gets HD and internal harddrive, at minimum) and full backwards compatibility so the Wii v1 could stand on its own for another year or two after the launch of the new Wii.
The only problems with that are (1) making sure customers know the difference and that Wii v2 games only work in the newer Wii and (2) creating a value for Wii v1 customers to upgrade.
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9-04-2007 @ 1:56PM
Zack W. said...
I am playing on a 40" Samsung LCD 720p. Everything looks great so far. I think the Light Gun games will be great on the bigger screen (come on Ghost Squad).
Sorry if this is a double post, this site does it to me sometimes.
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9-04-2007 @ 2:00PM
Zack W. said...
test.....
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9-04-2007 @ 3:13PM
professafresh said...
I've got my Wii hooked up to an (aging) Sanyo PLV60HT. It throws against a 94" Stewart screen. I can't wait to pick up Metroid Prime 3, as that will be nirvana.
The only problem I'm having is the projector likes to wig out and distort the top 1/4 of the image when I have the Wii set to pump 480p. If I drop it to 480i, all is good, but the image isn't quite as clear.
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9-04-2007 @ 3:43PM
AlanS17 said...
My Wii plays very well on my Samsung 50" 720p DLP. When you get used to HD television and movies, though, it makes playing the Wii a little harder on the eyes. Even still, it's a good platform.
I have an SVGA LCD projector, but it's basically useless for gaming since it's super old and only has about a 50 hour bulb life.
My DLP is unique in that it has a built-in stand and I've outgrown the small end tables I was using as component racks. With 8 components (including games sytems) I definitely need a bigger rack. Plus I don't even have the last piece of my HD puzzle yet - an HDMI switch.
All the racks I've seen just cost way too much for what you get, though. Anybody else notice this?
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9-04-2007 @ 4:03PM
Justin said...
I have my Wii set up on my old Sony 53" High Scan Projection TV. It looks FANTASTIC! I use the HD ability of the TV for my Nintendo and also for Cable. My friend has his hooked up to a wide screen HD and the picture is not nearly as good as it is on my TV.
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9-04-2007 @ 5:14PM
Abscissa said...
"It may be time for Nintendo to concede that we've entered the HD-era. Anyone ***looking to buy a new television*** will have an increasingly difficult time finding a "classic" SD"
Emphasis added. What about the millions of people who have absolutely no interest in buying a new TV?
Point being: The RETAIL adoption rate of HD means very little. Once the CONSUMER adoption rate of HD reaches a percentage that's actually significant, THEN you can tell us all about how "we've entered the HD-era". Until then, you're just jumping the gun.
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9-04-2007 @ 6:36PM
BluClouds7 said...
Mad props for the dreamcast
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9-04-2007 @ 6:46PM
Mike Sylvester said...
@BluClouds7
Thanks. Sadly, that system has not yet been hooked up to the projector. I'm still shopping for a VGA box for it, and I plan to get a VGA switch box to swap between the Xbox 360 and it. I can't wait to fire up Street Fighter 3: Third Strike and throw hadokens the size of my head.
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9-05-2007 @ 5:17PM
AlanS17 said...
@Abscissa
Just because you don't have an HDTV yet doesn't mean we haven't entered the age of HD. Even if most people still don't have an HDTV, it's obvious to everyone that TV will go that direction. Whether you're talking digital streaming, optical disc, cable, satellite, or even over the air... HD is inevitable on every front.
You talk about retail adoption rate versus consumer adoption rate, but you're forgetting service provider adoption rate. Everyone is offering HD is some form or another. It's already here, and it's available everywhere.
When does it become official in your eyes? Is there a percentage of penetration that you'd like to see? That seems pretty subjective in itself. It sounds like you're in denial.
P.S. Sounds like you better get yourself a digital OTA tuner before you find yourself screwed and can't watch anything that's not in your VHS tape collection.
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9-06-2007 @ 3:30AM
Abscissa said...
@AlanS17
"...it's obvious to everyone that TV will go that direction...HD is inevitable on every front."
*WILL* go in that direction. *Inevitable*. These are future-oriented terms, not present. It rather absurd to say that we *ARE* in the HD era just because HD *WILL* become the norm.
"You talk about retail adoption rate versus consumer adoption rate, but you're forgetting service provider adoption rate. Everyone is offering HD is some form or another. It's already here, and it's available everywhere."
Service provider adoption rate is no more meaningful than retail adoption rate. Ok, so all stores sell HDTVs. That doesn't change the fact that most people don't own one. Ok, so everyone is offering HD service. That doesn't change that fact that most people aren't actually tuning in.
"When does it become official in your eyes? Is there a percentage of penetration that you'd like to see? That seems pretty subjective in itself. It sounds like you're in denial."
If it were anywhere even remotely near 50% then you'd have my attention. Right now, the reality is that it's still just an enthusiast niche. Denial would be thinking that most people currently have HD.
"P.S. Sounds like you better get yourself a digital OTA tuner before you find yourself screwed and can't watch anything that's not in your VHS tape collection."
Why should I pay today's prices for a digital tuner when they'll undoubtedly be much cheaper if I wait until I actually have a need for one? It's not like digital tuners will suddenly become impossible to buy once the FCC switchoff occurs. The networks WILL want people to BE ABLE to watch their broadcasts after all, won't they? And even if by some bizarre occurrence digital tuners did become impossible to find at that point, there will still be stores full of HDTVs that will undoubtedly cost less than they do today. So what's the rush?
(And even failing all that, the tiny amount of TV shows that are actually worth watching have commercials overlaid ON TOP of them, so it wouldn't be much of a loss. Heck, my local libraries have DVD releases of TV shows anyway.)
Besides, like I said, that's all future-tense anyway. If you'll notice, I never said that there wouldn't be an HD-era. I just said that we're not there yet.
I'm going to pass on the VHS flamebait.
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9-06-2007 @ 10:52AM
AlanS17 said...
@Abscissa
I apologize for my debating and slightly combative nature. I just like a good argument so I tend to pick fights. Everything you say is reasonable, though. I'll give you credit.
To be fair, I don't even yet know what adoption rates are right now. But I would expect an exponentially increasing climb when you consider that there are more HD sets available on shelves than SD sets these days. Anyone buying an HDTV today is by no means an early adopter. And for every HD set bought, that's one more SD not bought. So those stats are flipping double-time.
I will say this, though. Once the switch-over to digital OTA becomes complete, I think people are going to run out of reasons not to just take the leap and go HD. And with so many markets already digital, I think it's completely reasonable to say more and more people are taking the jump every single day.
You never hear people saying they don't want HD. I think price the the biggest barrier to entry, but you can already buy 30" HDTV's under $400 on sale if you know where to look.
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9-06-2007 @ 6:14PM
Abscissa said...
@AlanS17
"I apologize for my debating and slightly combative nature. I just like a good argument so I tend to pick fights."
Hey, I'm the same exact way :)
"To be fair, I don't even yet know what adoption rates are right now."
Neither do I. I tried to look them up when I wrote my previous post, but I couldn't find anything. *shrug*. If Bluray/HDDVD adoption is any indictation though (I assume it could be consided a rough minimum bound for HDTV rates), then I seem to remember Joystiq mentioning something around 10%, maybe 15%, IIRC.
"Anyone buying an HDTV today is by no means an early adopter."
I don't think I'm ready to concede that it's no longer an early adopter thing. But, I'll grant that we're straddling the line, and that the exact location of that "early adopter" line is somewhat subjective, which makes the issue largely one of semantics.
"So those stats are flipping double-time...Once the switch-over to digital OTA becomes complete, I think people are going to run out of reasons not to just take the leap and go HD. And with so many markets already digital, I think it's completely reasonable to say more and more people are taking the jump every single day."
Agreed.
"You never hear people saying they don't want HD. I think price the the biggest barrier to entry..."
Hey, if I were given a free HDTV set today, I certainly wouldn't complain. Or a nice one for $50? Hey why not? ;) But, I do have two concerns though:
1. I already have a ton of SD content, and it's no secret that SD signals look much worse on an HD set (even with all their fancy filtering) than on a true SD set. Granted, that will be less of an issue as time goes on, and I can (theoretically, not financially) shell out the money for an upscaling DVD player, more money to replace my TV-Out video card with an HDTV-Out, blah, blah, etc, all on top of the basic HDTV cost of entry. But then there's still my pre-Wii/360/PS3-era game systems, and not everything is playable on the newer HD-or-progressive-scan-capable systems, and sometimes not without rebuying games I already own. Blah blah blah, whine whine whine.
2. A lot of HDTVs have a few frames of lag which kills gaming. Yea, there are plenty of HDTV sets without that problem, but the TV manufacturers ignore that issue so much, that you can't really tell what you're getting without spending an inordinate amount of time digging. And even then you're usually just going on hearsay anyway.
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