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

wait hold on, i just read this, the console doesn't have... an ethernet port?

Only Wifi? then how am i supposed to connect it to the internet? :(

Not only does not everyone have Wifi at home but some people (me included) actually believe that wired is superior and chose to connect that way.

edit: yeah i know buy an adapter but this sucks even MORE than the optical fiasco which is bad enough.
 

Zoe

Member
I'm not an expert on home theater setup, so I'm a bit confused. Why is there a mini-uproar about this especially among forum goers who I assume tend invest more in getting the latest & greatest PC & home theater equipment?

With the Wii U, I ran the HDMI cable from the console to the TV and a digital cable from the TV to my receiver. My receiver is around 10 years old, so I'm guessing most folks could set things up in a similar way. What am I missing out on by connecting the components like this?

Receivers are built to last for years. I've had mine since 2005 or so.

And as Palette Swap says:

Chances are your TV downmixes the sound signal to stereo.

The only signal the TV will pass through properly is OTA. You should have the sound going straight to the receiver whenever possible.
 

vg260

Member
wait hold on, i just read this, the console doesn't have... an ethernet port?

Only Wifi? then how am i supposed to connect it to the internet? :(

Not only does not everyone have Wifi at home but some people (me included) actually believe that wired is superior and chose to connect that way.

edit: yeah i know buy an adapter but this sucks even MORE than the optical fiasco which is bad enough.

Both are terrible omissions.
 
Well, HDMI through a TV would process the sound to stereo/dpl, but I don't think the switch even tries to convert audio and rather attempts to pass a raw signal through. That's why I'm wondering what toslink would do, since it probably can't even handle the signal bandwidth.

I bought one because I needed more hdmi inputs anyway, so I'll be able to test it out soon.

Unfortunately, optical cables (TOSLINK) don't have sufficient bandwidth to carry 5.1 PCM - they only have enough bandwidth for 2.0 PCM. That's why they require DTS or Dolby Digital for 5.1; both are compressed formats that encode sound into a much smaller file format.

So you won't be able to get 5.1 through an optical cable with the WiiU no matter what you do. Unless something out there will downmix 5.1 PCM into Dolby Digital on the fly.
 
The digital foundry review doesn't touch on any of the sound subjects. Kind of disappointing.
No DTS/DD support (thus no optical) sounds pretty confirmed at this point but I'd like to see them comment on HDMI out turning off AV out because this would suck for even more people. That being said, the current mismanagement of HDMI RGB profiles might make being forced to use component a boon.

So you won't be able to get 5.1 through an optical cable with the WiiU no matter what you do. Unless something out there will downmix 5.1 PCM into Dolby Digital on the fly.
I have an inkling such an equipment wouldn't be particularly cheaper than a new receiver.
 

jett

D-Member
Speaking of audio connections, apparently you can't choose to output audio from RCA if you've chosen HDMI out for video. It's all-in. Sucks for some of us with quirkier setups. :p Also not ideal to be used on a DVI monitor as it doesn't support full range RGB.
 
Speaking of audio connections, apparently you can't choose to output audio from RCA if you've chosen HDMI out for video. It's all-in. Sucks for some of us with quirkier setups. :p Also not ideal to be used on a DVI monitor as it doesn't support full range RGB.
No full range? :(

I hook everything up to my TV through one HDMI port using a receiver. I'll have to change the TV from full range to limited every time I go from my PC or PS3 to the Wii U. Profound sadness. ;~;
 

netBuff

Member
it doesn't support full range RGB.

Wow, the news are getting worse by the minute. This is absolutely terrible for anyone using a monitor that wants to experience full blacks and rich colours, as computer monitors aren't limited by Televisions smaller colour range (and even many TVs today support full range colour input).
 

jett

D-Member
No full range? :(

I hook everything up to my TV through one HDMI port using a receiver. I'll have to change the TV from full range to limited every time I go from my PC or PS3 to the Wii U. Profound sadness. ;~;

Wow, the news are getting worse by the minute. This is absolutely terrible for anyone using a monitor that wants to experience full blacks and rich colours, as computer monitors aren't limited by Televisions smaller colour range (and even many TVs today support full range colour input).

Nope, no full range support.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/df-hardware-nintendo-wii-u-review

However, there is some unwelcome news - specifically that the HDMI output is locked to limited-range RGB only, with footage from all games we've captured thus far revealing absolutely no information in the 0-16 or 235-255 areas. Many digital displays - PC monitors in particular - don't operate correctly with limited-range RGB, giving washed out colours principally defined by blacks being more grey-like in nature. This is something Nintendo really needs to address as a matter of urgency - it's the most basic of omissions, something that Sony and Microsoft resolved to everyone's satisfaction many, many years ago.
Limited1.png
Corrected1.png

dem greys
 

Mitsurux

Member
Speaking of audio connections, apparently you can't choose to output audio from RCA if you've chosen HDMI out for video. It's all-in. Sucks for some of us with quirkier setups. :p Also not ideal to be used on a DVI monitor as it doesn't support full range RGB.

Was going to mention this as well.. unlike how on the 360 or PS3 you can mix and match video output and audio output connections....

( i was going to run HDMI to tv, then multi-out connector for audio.. as my receiver only has HDMI pass through)
 
Speaking of audio connections, apparently you can't choose to output audio from RCA if you've chosen HDMI out for video. It's all-in. Sucks for some of us with quirkier setups. :p Also not ideal to be used on a DVI monitor as it doesn't support full range RGB.
As I said earlier, it pretty much means you should use component. So yeah, for some setups it will be a component/stereo console... like the Wii.
 
Speaking of audio connections, apparently you can't choose to output audio from RCA if you've chosen HDMI out for video. It's all-in. Sucks for some of us with quirkier setups. :p Also not ideal to be used on a DVI monitor as it doesn't support full range RGB.

Hopefully they will patch in support for both full-range and multi-audio out soon. Xbox 360 didn't support full range for awhile either, but that's not an excuse.
 

jimi_dini

Member
I just researched a bit. Asked a few Wii U owners before, but couldn't get an answer to a few specific questions.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/631516-wii-u/64670410

Like I already feared - it seems the Wii U does NOT give out a signal on AV out, when HDMI is used. Which means it seems you can't use cinch for audio and HDMI for video.

Which means the only possible hope is that selecting "stereo" on HDMI is actually "Dolby Pro Logic II out". If one selects "surround" it will output LPCM 5.1 only. Which will be plain stereo signal in case you get the audio signal via optical out from your TV.

Looking really bad. Stupid Nintendo.
 

dankir

Member
Wii U doesn't support 7.1.

Anyway, the omnidirectional speakers I'm using are awesome, so I don't want to change them. At least they're 6ohm, so I should be able to get them to work with a good modern receiver.. but that will have to come down the road as the wife would kill me.

Wow you're right its 6.1 LPCM, I guess I'll matrix those to the rear speakers.
 

Foxix Von

Member

I just researched a bit. Asked a few Wii U owners before, but couldn't get an answer to a few specific questions.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/631516-wii-u/64670410

Like I already feared - it seems the Wii U does NOT give out a signal on AV out, when HDMI is used. Which means it seems you can't use cinch for audio and HDMI for video.

Which means the only possible hope is that selecting "stereo" on HDMI is actually "Dolby Pro Logic II out". If one selects "surround" it will output LPCM 5.1 only. Which will be plain stereo signal in case you get the audio signal via optical out from your TV.

Looking really bad. Stupid Nintendo.

The list of ridiculous design oversights is staggering. I literally don't know how they overlooked all this. I feel like I dodged a bullet not buying this thing. I'd have to switch video settings every time I wanted to use the Wii U, not to mention I'd be in a gigantic pickle trying to figure out how in the heck to run audio out. Blach.
 

Tenki

Member
I just researched a bit. Asked a few Wii U owners before, but couldn't get an answer to a few specific questions.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/631516-wii-u/64670410

Like I already feared - it seems the Wii U does NOT give out a signal on AV out, when HDMI is used. Which means it seems you can't use cinch for audio and HDMI for video.

Which means the only possible hope is that selecting "stereo" on HDMI is actually "Dolby Pro Logic II out". If one selects "surround" it will output LPCM 5.1 only. Which will be plain stereo signal in case you get the audio signal via optical out from your TV.

Looking really bad. Stupid Nintendo.

Fuck. I play on a monitor with no speakers (with the 360 I split the video through HDMI and audio through components), so I guess no sound for me :( Or well, I'll be playing always with headphones plugged to the Gamepad.

But I wonder what will I do when playing Wii games :(
 

Somnid

Member
Fuck. I play on a monitor with no speakers (with the 360 I split the video through HDMI and audio through components), so I guess no sound for me :( Or well, I'll be playing always with headphones plugged to the Gamepad.

But I wonder what will I do when playing Wii games :(

For Wii it'd have to be however you're playing now. Consider component cables if your monitor supports them.

But luckily the Gamepad comes to the rescue for most other scenarios.
 
HDMI 7.1 PCM user right here! Upgrade your damn home theater hardware folks!

It's too bad Nintendo doesn't have receivers in their IR database so you can control your receiver. Now that's a terrible screw up if you're going to require such a thing for surround sound.

wait hold on, i just read this, the console doesn't have... an ethernet port?

Only Wifi? then how am i supposed to connect it to the internet? :(

Not only does not everyone have Wifi at home but some people (me included) actually believe that wired is superior and chose to connect that way.

edit: yeah i know buy an adapter but this sucks even MORE than the optical fiasco which is bad enough.

I don't get how it sucks even more? With Ethernet, you can at least get it with an adapter where as optical, you're just fucked. I simply unplugged my Wii one and plugged it into the Wii U and moved on. Unlike a laptop, this is stationary and hidden. Not optimal, but by far one of the lesser issues with the Wii U.
 

Tenki

Member
For Wii it'd have to be however you're playing now. Consider component cables if you're monitor supports them.

But luckily the Gamepad comes to the rescue for most other scenarios.

My monitor just has DVI and VGA inputs and no speakers. My Wii is parked now because I can't play on my TV anymore. I was planning on finishing my Wii backlog on Wii U, but I guess not :lol
 

jimi_dini

Member
Consider component cables if you're monitor supports them.

Component cable for Wii works on Wii U? That would be a solution for my problem. That way I could theoretically get 1080p + Dolby Pro Logic II.

I'm still unsure, if DPLII support is included for all games or if it's up to the developer to implement it.

It's too bad Nintendo doesn't have receivers in their IR database so you can control your receiver. Now that's a terrible screw up if you're going to require such a thing for surround sound.

I wondered about this one before. I personally don't care. I didn't watch actual TV in the last 5 or 6 years. I can't believe Wii U is unable to support this setup. Mind-boggling.
 

Somnid

Member
Component cable for Wii works on Wii U? That would be a solution for my problem. That way I could theoretically get 1080p + Dolby Pro Logic II.

I'm still unsure, if DPLII support is included for all games or if it's up to the developer to implement it.

Wii cables work. Nintendo's games no longer support DPLII so you will get stereo on Wii U games unless you use the Gamepad's audio surround mode (essentially the same as DS/3DS sound output). Also 1080p over component may not work with your TV. It didn't with my monitor, I'd get flickering and black screens every couple of seconds.
 
I'm all set on the HDMI audio front (whenever I actually find a console ;;) but that is really depressing. Sony supported full range from day one IIRC bt I think MS added support for it later on.

I hope this can be patched in but god Nintendo is so clueless with this AV stuff I'm not sure that they'd even bother.
Wii cables work. Nintendo's games no longer support DPLII so you will get stereo on Wii U games unless you use the Gamepad's audio surround mode (essentially the same as DS/3DS sound output). Also 1080p over component may not work with your TV. It didn't with my monitor, I'd get flickering and black screens every couple of seconds.
Is this true? Someone spotted a DD logo on the back of a game box weeks ago but with consoles out now can someone confirm?
 

jimi_dini

Member
Nintendo's games no longer support DPLII so you will get stereo on Wii U games unless you use the Gamepad's audio surround mode

WTF

Then I could just use HDMI. Wouldn't make a difference. Or well, I will just not buy it. I can't believe it. How stupid is Nintendo? Surround only over HDMI using LPCM. :/ Great idea, Nintendo. Really great. You were so smart 6-7 years ago, what happened?

Just a final question: you still get DPLII surround for Wii games running on Wii U? Sounds like a stupid question, but for all the incompetent decisions Nintendo made for Wii U, I wouldn't even be surprised now, if they changed it as well.

Oh Wait - I can still wait for a 100EUR+ price drop and then buy an audio decoder for the HDMI crap that will give me 5.1 analog audio output. THEN it will all work. Still completely stupid.

Is this true? Someone spotted a DD logo on the back of a game box weeks ago but with consoles out now can someone confirm?

I spotted it on Rabbids. Strangely AssCreed 3 didn't feature the logo. So I assume it's an error. I can't believe that the same publisher would release 1 game with DD support and another without it. Wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. And in any case, it wouldn't really help. I don't want to own a console, where I have to guess if I will be getting surround sound or not on a per-game basis (and I would even have to buy a splitter for this "feature"). On PS3 you already have to play "guess-what-resolution-the-game-will-be-outputting". Don't want to do that again and especially not for surround sound.

If they have implemented it in Rabbids, there has to be a switch in the game somehow. The Wii U only has "mono" / "stereo" / "surround" audio options. Nothing else. I wonder, why they even bothered with "mono". Must be a joke.
 

Somnid

Member
Is this true? Someone spotted a DD logo on the back of a game box weeks ago but with consoles out now can someone confirm?

I can double check when I get home but I believe that was the case. Anyone can feel free to fact check me on that. Granted other pubs can implement what they want, but I don't think Nintendo is licensing from Dolby anymore.

WTF

Then I could just use HDMI. Wouldn't make a difference. Or well, I will just not buy it. I can't believe it. How stupid is Nintendo? Surround only over HDMI using LPCM. :/ Great idea, Nintendo. Really great. You were so smart 6-7 years ago, what happened?

Just a final question: you still get DPLII surround for Wii games running on Wii U? Sounds like a stupid question, but for all the incompetent decisions Nintendo made for Wii U, I wouldn't even be surprised now, if they changed it as well.

They work exactly as they already did. DPL is just a stereo mix so it wouldn't change anything.
 
My monitor just has DVI and VGA inputs and no speakers. My Wii is parked now because I can't play on my TV anymore. I was planning on finishing my Wii backlog on Wii U, but I guess not :lol

I thought I was in a similar situation but I just realised my Benq XL2420T can pass HDMI (and displayport) audio through a headphone jack so I can at least get audio when set up around the PC.
 
WTF

Then I could just use HDMI. Wouldn't make a difference. Or well, I will just not buy it. I can't believe it. How stupid is Nintendo? Surround only over HDMI using LPCM. :/ Great idea, Nintendo. Really great. You were so smart 6-7 years ago, what happened?

Just a final question: you still get DPLII surround for Wii games running on Wii U? Sounds like a stupid question, but for all the incompetent decisions Nintendo made for Wii U, I wouldn't even be surprised now, if they changed it as well.

Oh Wait - I can still wait for a 100EUR+ price drop and then buy an audio decoder for the HDMI crap that will give me 5.1 analog audio output. THEN it will all work. Still completely stupid.



I spotted it on Rabbids. Strangely AssCreed 3 didn't feature the logo. So I assume it's an error. I can't believe that the same publisher would release 1 game with DD support and another without it. Wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. And in any case, it wouldn't really help. I don't want to own a console, where I have to guess if I will be getting surround sound or not on a per-game basis (and I would even have to buy a splitter for this "feature"). On PS3 you already have to play "guess-what-resolution-the-game-will-be-outputting". Don't want to do that again and especially not for surround sound.

If they have implemented it in Rabbids, there has to be a switch in the game somehow. The Wii U only has "mono" / "stereo" / "surround" audio options. Nothing else. I wonder, why they even bothered with "mono". Must be a joke.
Unfortunately we're dealing with a very stubborn company that has little to no interest in high end AV experiences. They've been dragged into the HD realm begrudgingly and it's clearly going to take some time for them to address fundemental issues like SS standards and full range RGB and that's if they ever do address them.

It's hard to criticize them for being so focused purely on gaming, and honestly I have a feeling that in the future we'll long for the days when a gaming company had that kind of focus, but it's really frustrating to buy a new console in 2012/13 and have to deal with these kinds of issues.
I can double check when I get home but I believe that was the case. Anyone can feel free to fact check me on that. Granted other pubs can implement what they want, but I don't think Nintendo is licensing from Dolby anymore.
I thought that it was still up to the discretion of the devs but you're right that it doesn't appear that Nintendo is licensing Dolby support as part of their development kit anymore, which is pretty sad. DD 5.1 is on the way out but True Dolby HD would have been awesome.
 

jimi_dini

Member
They work exactly as they already did. DPL is just a stereo mix so it wouldn't change anything.

Wasn't DPLII built into Wii? Which would mean they included it for backwardcompatibility.

Which would mean they have to pay license fees. Which means including that option for Wii U (games) wouldn't have cost them an additional dime.

I thought that it was still up to the discretion of the devs but you're right that it doesn't appear that Nintendo is licensing Dolby support as part of their development kit anymore, which is pretty sad. DD 5.1 is on the way out but True Dolby HD would have been awesome.

Dolby TrueHD support would have been useless. Dolby TrueHD is lossless (but compressed). LPCM is lossless (without compression). So the output shouldn't be any different (if your receiver has HDMI-in that is). Dolby TrueHD support wouldn't help anyone.
 

Somnid

Member
Wasn't DPLII built into Wii? Which would mean they included it for backwardcompatibility.

Which would mean they have to pay license fees. Which means including that option for Wii U (games) wouldn't have cost them an additional dime.

I thought it was per game. But I'll double check to make sure I'm not feeding you bad info.
 
I thought it was per game. But I'll double check to make sure I'm not feeding you bad info.
IIRC you don't need a special sound processor on the output to support DPLII but Nintendo did license the encoding for all GC/Wii developers so anyone who wanted to use it could.
 

Somnid

Member
IIRC you don't need a special sound processor on the output to support DPLII but Nintendo did license the encoding for all GC/Wii developers so anyone who wanted to use it could.

Yeah but that means it's licensed for each game using the encoders found in the Wii SDK, not at a hardware level. It wouldn't mean anything for Wii U or Wii U games.
 

jimi_dini

Member
Yeah but that means it's licensed for each game using the encoders found in the Wii SDK, not at a hardware level. It wouldn't mean anything for Wii U or Wii U games.

If it uses a system function, Wii U needs that system function as well. So in that case, Nintendo would have been required to license it again for every Wii U. If it's compiled into the game (and on the game disc only), then idk how licensing would work out.

Christ, I wanted to play Pikmin 3. Sure, I could afford the audio decoder w/o problems. But why should I pay a pretty large sum, just because Nintendo is cheap. They could have included a dongle for Dolby Digital support or something like that. Customer pays 20EUR, gets support. I would have paid that w/o 2nd thought. But this? This is dumb.

The ONLY ONLY good thing is that Nintendo wasn't stupid enough to enable HDCP on HDMI.
 

MrBS

Member
I just researched a bit. Asked a few Wii U owners before, but couldn't get an answer to a few specific questions.

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/631516-wii-u/64670410

Like I already feared - it seems the Wii U does NOT give out a signal on AV out, when HDMI is used. Which means it seems you can't use cinch for audio and HDMI for video.

Which means the only possible hope is that selecting "stereo" on HDMI is actually "Dolby Pro Logic II out". If one selects "surround" it will output LPCM 5.1 only. Which will be plain stereo signal in case you get the audio signal via optical out from your TV.

Looking really bad. Stupid Nintendo.
No AV multi out? Argh. I wonder if I can run optical out stereo via my TV without lag... in the years I've had my TV I've only ever used my speakers once they day I got the thing before I disabled them forever.
 
Jesus,.. This has to be some arrogance.. They actually think people are fucking stupid and will buy anything they create.
And then we go prove their point.

Edit: what tv screens have full rgb spectrum these days?
 
Jesus,.. This has to be some arrogance.. They actually think people are fucking stupid and will buy anything they create.
And then we go prove their point.

Edit: what tv screens have full rgb spectrum these days?
Well that's the problem, they make some great games that they know are hard for their fanbase to pass up so they can get away we these shenanigans.

They are the Verizon Wireless of the video game space: Our phones and plans suck but good luck finding better cell service! LOL!

And for your edit, every TV I've purchased since 2008 has supported the full RGB range. I don't know how common it is amongst all TVs though.
 

CrunchyB

Member
IIRC you don't need a special sound processor on the output to support DPLII but Nintendo did license the encoding for all GC/Wii developers so anyone who wanted to use it could.

Yeah. It's fairly straightforward and can be done purely in software. The Gamecube SDK included all the neccesary functionality.

There's nothing stopping developers from WiiU developers from supporting it. Well, other than time and money.
 

Ydahs

Member
I read earlier today that Wii mode supports HDMI and RCA for audio simultaneously. Don't know if it's true though. Anyone willing to test?
 

Bgamer90

Banned
If you HONESTLY care this much about surround sound, then you probably have a newer surround sound system that has an HDMI port on it. If not,

IqLKT.gif


It honestly is sounding like people are just finding reasons to not like the WiiU, not saying this is what you're doing, but it's sounding like it.

lol WOW...

Yeah, people are just finding ways to bash the Wii U. People wouldn't feel the same if the next Xbox and/or Playstation did this.

Unbelievable.

good god - people will have no issue upgrading their pc's to play new games, new consoles, new phones every year, but I guess upgrading a 10 year old receiver is out of the question?

It's 2012 people. Like the others in the thread said, there are probably connectors and dongle for the Wii U if you want ethernet and optical so much. Should Nintendo also provide 56K modem add on too?

lol, alright this is just insane.

...To defend the lack of this, people are saying "upgrade your tech... get a new receiver!!!"

But when people talk about other issues of the Wii U involving tech (not being up to par) the defenders say, "Tech doesn't determine good games!!! Tech doesn't determine what gen a system belongs to! It's not a last gen system! Stop saying that!"

Very funny.
 

jimi_dini

Member
Just a final question: you still get DPLII surround for Wii games running on Wii U? Sounds like a stupid question, but for all the incompetent decisions Nintendo made for Wii U, I wouldn't even be surprised now, if they changed it as well.

Why do I have to be right. Why do I have to be right. No No No No

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=44535666&postcount=256

Wii games played on Wii U will ALSO only output surround on HDMI as LPCM 5.1. So this means Wii U is a downgrade and not really 100% backward-compatible. You will lose DPLII.

Yeah, people are just finding ways to bash the Wii U. People wouldn't feel the same if the next Xbox and/or Playstation did this.

Yeah, I should pay 1000EUR for a fucking new receiver. Are you kidding me? Me getting a HDMI audio -> analog decoder would be way cheaper. It's still money wasted. It would have been fine having DPLII on analog out. But no, we are Nintendo. We are stupid.
 

gogogow

Member
Yeah, I should pay 1000EUR for a fucking new receiver. Are you kidding me? Me getting a HDMI audio -> analog decoder would be way cheaper. It's still money wasted. It would have been fine having DPLII on analog out. But no, we are Nintendo. We are stupid.



That would still give you true 5.1 sound? Guess I will have to buy one too when I get a Wii U. Just checked the price, it's still over $100..... :(
 
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