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Wii U - No optical audio connector? Nintendo. Fix this!!

Fredrik

Member
I just noticed on the specs sheet and pics of the back side of the upcoming Wii U that they neither mention or show an optical audio connector or any other audio out connector.

They NEED to fix this.

Otherwise everyone without HDMI connector on their surround sound reciever won't get digital audio at all with Wii U. On 360 and PS3 they'll get beautiful DTS and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound etc. On Wii U they'll get analog stereo sound. Most people will probably just connect the HDMI in the TV and go with the TV sound.

I think this is unacceptable. They can't release a HD console in 2012 without some kind of digital audio connector except through HDMI. We can't all buy new sound recievers just to get Wii U to sound good.

Nintendo. FIX THIS!

MOD EDIT: Some additional information.

This is as close to how things are as I can tell. The only thing I have left to test is to see if setting the Wii U to Stereo and playing a game with an IN-GAME OPTION for surround will allow for ProLogic II output. I am certain that all games using the original Wii's main menu surround setting DO NOT output ProLogic II.


Wii U Audio Settings


Wii U Mode

HDMI - 1.0 channel (Mono), 2.0 channel (Stereo), or 5.1* channel (Surround) LPCM
*Compressed digital formats (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc.) are not supported.

Analog - 1.0 channel (Mono) or 2.0* channel (Stereo)
*No option for a surround mix (ProLogic II, etc.).

AUDIO AND VIDEO MUST COME FROM THE SAME SOURCE. You can not use HDMI video combined with Analog audio.



Wii Mode (Uses the same setting chosen from the Wii U menu)

HDMI - 1.0 channel (Mono), 2.0 channel (Stereo), or 5.1* channel (Surround) LPCM
*All Wii games are encoded with two channels of audio. The 5.1 option will still only send audio to two channels, and will ignore surround audio cues from games with ProLogic II.

Analog - 1.0 channel (Mono) or 2.0* channel (Stereo)
*The original Wii had an option in the main menu for Surround. This allowed for playback of ProLogic II encoded audio from games. The Wii U no longer allows this option to be selected from the Wii mode's main menu.

Analog audio and HDMI video can be used simultaneously.
I haven't tested this, just read it up above.
 
Fredrik said:
I just noticed on the specs sheet and pics of the back side of the upcoming Wii U that they neither mention or show an optical audio connector or any other audio out connector.

They NEED to fix this.

Otherwise everyone without HDMI connector on their surround sound reciever won't get digital audio at all with Wii U. On 360 and PS3 they'll get beautiful DTS and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound etc. On Wii U they'll get analog stereo sound. Most people will probably just connect the HDMI in the TV and go with the TV sound.

I think this is unacceptable. They can't release a HD console in 2012 without some kind of digital audio connector except through HDMI. We can't all buy new sound recievers just to get Wii U to sound good.

Nintendo. FIX THIS!

Don't freak, man, it'll be on the Wii U 2.
 
man I thought the sky was falling on the WiiU for a second there
LLShC.gif


don't scare me like that
 

Instro

Member
Fredrik said:
I just noticed on the specs sheet and pics of the back side of the upcoming Wii U that they neither mention or show an optical audio connector or any other audio out connector.

They NEED to fix this.

Otherwise everyone without HDMI connector on their surround sound reciever won't get digital audio at all with Wii U. On 360 and PS3 they'll get beautiful DTS and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound etc. On Wii U they'll get analog stereo sound. Most people will probably just connect the HDMI in the TV and go with the TV sound.

I think this is unacceptable. They can't release a HD console in 2012 without some kind of digital audio connector except through HDMI. We can't all buy new sound recievers just to get Wii U to sound good.

Nintendo. FIX THIS!
Don't most receivers from the last 4-5 years have a HDMI connector...?
 
Since the hardware is very likely not final (I mean, they barely showed off the console, and I'm pretty sure they expressed the tablet wasn't final), maybe they'll add it in.

That said, I personally don't care too much, as my TV has an Optical Out on it (but I think it introduces some audio lag)...
 

Cipherr

Member
Mihael Mello Keehl said:
I doubt Wii U will even look like what they showed at E3


Yeah man... I mean, I don't even think the specs and chassis is finalized yet. This might be a tad bit premature.
 
Amon37 said:
This is unacceptable to be using a receiver in 2012 without hdmi inputs
I bought my receiver just before HDMI inputs were being added to them. Sorry, but it's still an awesome receiver and I don't feel like spending half a month's pay on a new one already.
 

Beth Cyra

Member
Why would you do that? said:
I'm pretty sure all of Nintendo's console redesigns have lost features, even the NES and SNES.
Yes but at least the NES and SNES looked different.

Still can't help but laugh after how everyone got hyped on to see the "new" Wii.
 

Auto_aim1

MeisaMcCaffrey
Fredrik said:
Otherwise everyone without HDMI connector on their surround sound reciever won't get digital audio at all with Wii U. On 360 and PS3 they'll get beautiful DTS and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound etc. On Wii U they'll get analog stereo sound. Most people will probably just connect the HDMI in the TV and go with the TV sound.
Only PS3 supports DTS and DD 7.1 afaik, 360 is limited to DD 5.1. But yeah, I agree with you, Optical out is a must.
 

Medalion

Banned
Your spec sheet is probably out of date by now

You'd be lucky to even have audio travelling through HDMI period, they probably want you to go back to regular analog audio again to cut down on costs for the console
 

Medalion

Banned
JimWood27 said:
I honestly have no idea what this is or if any other console has it either.
PS3 it is built-in port

Xbox 360 have to get that separate dongle shown elsewhere in this thread
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Nintendo builds a console with duct tape and last gen hardware: People scream.
Nintendo builds a console with the latest "standard": People scream.

The purists would want digital coax, not toslink, anyhow. ;)
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
HDMI supports digital audio. That's enough.

I have an older receiver with only optical/coaxial digital inputs too... and while it would be nice if Nintendo supported them, I think those days are past. I think it's fair to support HDMI-only in 2012.
 

Medalion

Banned
Digital coaxial would be better than TOSLINK cuz you could use an analog video cable to substitute for the same cable essentially
 

Fredrik

Member
Instro said:
Don't most receivers from the last 4-5 years have a HDMI connector...?
Probably, but most people don't change their recievers every 4-5 years. Many did when digital audio came along but there hasn't been any revolutionary tech since then so unless you're a hifi nerd you're probably still using your trusty old non-HDMI DTS/DD/5.1 capable reciever, just like me. And that's why basically every other digital audio capable unit still have optical or coax audio connectors too. But apparently Wii U don't.
 

Medalion

Banned
Fredrik said:
Probably, but most people don't change their recievers every 4-5 years. Many did when digital audio came along but there hasn't been any revolutionary tech since then so unless you're a hifi nerd you're probably still using your trusty old non-HDMI DTS/DD/5.1 capable reciever, just like me. And that's why basically every other digital audio capable unit still have optical or coax audio connectors too. But apparently Wii U don't.
We don't know that for sure, a lot could have changed since that E3 unveiling of a work still in progress.
 
walking fiend said:
does more than 1 in 100 of people use that?! if the answer is no, Nintendo will NEVER even bother with answering why they didn't include that.

Hell no. And less than 1% of gamecube owners used the component video output, which is why they discontinued it in the later models.
 

Medalion

Banned
Billychu said:
it doesnt even have ethernet dude

who cares about audio

it doesnt have ETHERNET
Why would it? It uses WI-FI like the Wii did, and maybe a separate accessory to use Ethernet later to again, cut down on costs
 
Billychu said:
it doesnt even have ethernet dude

who cares about audio

it doesnt have ETHERNET
that boat sailed with the Wii

i still remember my adventure to THREE GAMESTOPS one evening in Brooklyn trying to get a damn USB -> Ethernet adapter for Wii.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
walking fiend said:
does more than 1 in 100 of people use that?! if the answer is no, Nintendo will NEVER even bother with answering why they didn't include that.
Well, everyone with a home theater system between 1997 and 2006 (roughly) used that.

It WAS a big omission on the Cube and the Wii.

But now that HDMI audio receivers have been around for a few years, I don't consider it a must-have connector port.
 

FyreWulff

Member
walking fiend said:
does more than 1 in 100 of people use that?! if the answer is no, Nintendo will NEVER even bother with answering why they didn't include that.

Microsoft didn't include it either. Microsoft and Sony also no longer include HD cabling as of about a year ago, they only ship composite in the box.

Everyone's moving on to HDMI.

As a personal anecdote, I never really saw optical audio catch on around here, but about 80% of the people with HD sets and surround sound are using HDMI. One cable to rule them all.
 

Woo-Fu

Banned
Medalion said:
Digital coaxial would be better than TOSLINK cuz you could use an analog video cable to substitute for the same cable essentially

A differing opinion would be that toslink is better because it electrically isolates the two components which means no ground loop hums.

A 3rd opinion would say that if you have a ground loop hum you should fix your house wiring so you could use digital coax and not have to worry about the jitter from optical.

A 4th opinion would say that jitter is only potentially an issue with PCM. DD and DTS have their own timing and there is enough wiggle room in there that jitter doesn't affect either of them.

A 5th opinio... screw it, just use HDMI.
 

ape2man

Member
Billychu said:
it doesnt even have ethernet dude

who cares about audio

it doesnt have ETHERNET

HA :D... WHAT!!!11!!!!!

Wait Wii only has wifi? But wifi lags as hell, and is bad for your health
 
FyreWulff said:
Microsoft didn't include it either. Microsoft and Sony also no longer include HD cabling as of about a year ago, they only ship composite in the box.

Everyone's moving on to HDMI.

As a personal anecdote, I never really saw optical audio catch on around here, but about 80% of the people with HD sets and surround sound are using HDMI. One cable to rule them all.
it comes on every new Xbox 360 console currently sold in stores.

yes, Microsoft has been steadily ADDING ports!

they're up to 5 USB, AV-Multi, Toslink, Ethernet, Kinect and HDMI after starting with just 3 USB, AV-Multi and Ethernet.
 
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