Stormwatch
Member
I'm not home right now, but maybe I have to double check that. I could have sworn my rear speakers play on my 360.
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Wii U - Surround Sound Guide and FAQ
- Thread starter CLEEK
- Start date
I'm not home right now, but maybe I have to double check that. I could have sworn my rear speakers play on my 360.
I'm hoping it does lol. I could not figure out how to make my speakers play out of the rear instead of the side. I deal with it now though -_-
CambriaRising
Member
There is nothing else to say about this besides that it sucks. Thank you for making the post to help everyone out though, SPE.
Skyfireblaze
Member
I hope it's okay if I repost this for the new page as the answer might be helpful for some people 
There I was reading this thread and thought "Oh good thing that none of these audio-issues affect..." then your post came and I was like "Oh oh... I will have the same issue! >.<"
Though I wonder can anybody tell us if we PC-monitor users can simply use the Wii U Gamepad as a "carrier" and use the headphone-port as a LINE-OUT for a PC LINE-IN, would that work?
If it does I myself will be fine with it as, since I use my monitor, I'm sitting at my desk all the time anyway so a single 3.5mm cable won't bother me.
There I was reading this thread and thought "Oh good thing that none of these audio-issues affect..." then your post came and I was like "Oh oh... I will have the same issue! >.<"
Though I wonder can anybody tell us if we PC-monitor users can simply use the Wii U Gamepad as a "carrier" and use the headphone-port as a LINE-OUT for a PC LINE-IN, would that work?
If it does I myself will be fine with it as, since I use my monitor, I'm sitting at my desk all the time anyway so a single 3.5mm cable won't bother me.
metsallica
Member
That should work, but you need to keep in mind the game pad's audio isn't always the same as what's coming out of your regular speakers. Sometimes it harmonizes with that audio, sometimes it plays something completely different. For games with off-tv play it would work fine, but again not every game has that.
PixyJunket
Member
That's the one strange/confusing part of the OP, in my opinion.
While this is theoretically possible, it will almost certainly give you unacceptably terrible audio quality (high noise floor, over-modulation) and might, with some sound cards, introduce very noticeable audio latency.
Actually no, that probably doesn't work.
Wait, not even DPII?! The Gamecube and Wii supported DPII. Does the Wii U literally limit players to only stereo sound?
Anyway, the non-slim Xbox 360 models also don't support optical on their own but you can buy an adapter. I imagine they could do the same for the Wii U right?
Anyway, the non-slim Xbox 360 models also don't support optical on their own but you can buy an adapter. I imagine they could do the same for the Wii U right?
I'll update the OP.
Based on the original thread, it just seemed like everyone with a HTiB only had optical inputs on the back. I didn't know you could now get HDMI ones (although it makes sense you can).
No and No. This is all about Nintendo being cheap with licensing fees.
PixyJunket
Member
I can't imagine that's correct, DPII is just stereo output that the receiver finds surround cues from, right? There would be no hardware limitation preventing games from using DPII based on this assumption.
No developer is going to acquire a Pro Logic 2 license and implement a Dolby surround pipeline for their game themselves, this seems like a very far-fetched possibility.
I believe that the claim of no DPII is just from the fact that Nintendo haven't mentioned it, so it's likely haven't licensed it.
I assume it might be possible to output DPII on a game-by-game basis, but that's just guess work.
PixyJunket
Member
Ah, I get it now. Oh, Nintendo.
Whatever you do, DO NOT get this receiver. I currently own it and it fails to drive my awesome tower speakers (current rocking a two towers and a center speaker). It is pretty limited in inputs as it doesn't have the capability to pass audio through hdmi (which is pretty fucking important to me in general and the only way you're gonna get 5.1 from the Wii U).
This is the one I am currently eying as a fairly cheap and future-proof replacement:
http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V371BL-5-1-Channel-Receiver/dp/B004QQXDVC/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
I just got a job so I'll be able to get this receiver sometime next year hopefully.
Edit: Nvrmind, it apparently does pass audio. I have the previous edition (5.1) but I still feel burned by Sony so I'm going with the Yamaha.
Added to the OP.
huh?
No, it supports 5.1. Just license free 5.1. Like a portable music player that only plays .wav files.
PixyJunket
Member
No, this is just Nintendo not paying Dolby's licensing fees.
I believe the short answer in all of this is that if you have an HDMI receiver, you should good for surround sound.
IIRC, Factor 5 did for their Gamecube games as the console didn't natively support it.
So it *is* possible, albeit very unlikely.
No, no simple cheap passive adapter can solve this issue, it's impossible. The problem is the WiiU console itself doesn't output Dolby Digital because Nintendo has not licensed it. They have to add that to their software first. *IF* Nintendo added that to their software then you can use something like an HDMI splitter with optical out to get DD through that.
As it is right now, the only "adapter" that can solve this problem is a signal converter (like the one linked earlier) and that's not going to be cheap ($150+), you should just go and buy a new receiver instead.
Skyfireblaze
Member
Oh right I totally forgot that the Gamepad audio won't always be in sync so that could be a problem yeah, thanks for reminding me :/ Well since my first and only game till Christmas will be NSMBU I guess I don't have to worry about that for now but I think I need some sort of audio-splitter on the long run
Hmm thanks for the warning I guess I was lucky so far then because I didn't have such problems with my Vita and PSP though I have to say I might actually use a somewhat unusual setup for this. My onboard Realtek HD handles the LINE-INs while my Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer sends them to my speakers and I usually only use a very low input-level of 10-15% and then raise the volume on the speakers itself :/ Would you know if the Gamepad should be alright like this if a Vita is too?
Also is there actually a HDMI-splitter that splits off audio in component or 3.5mm form?
Marty Chinn
Member
The code could still be in the game and this might be required to still display it.
Yeah, the only audio format the Wii U support is LCPM. Which is lossless and uncompressed. This results in the best sound available, but also requires a lot of bandwidth.
Optical is a legacy format and doesn't have the bandwidth to support modern audio formats like 5.1 LCMP. So even if you could get an optical signal from the Wii U, it wouldn't matter, as the LCPM 5.1 signal wouldn't fit down the optical 'pipe'.
It's technically possible, but highly unlikely.
The lack of support for other audio formats isn't a technical issue, but based on saving the few cents per unit for licensing costs. Same reason the Wii didn't play DVD films.
Marty Chinn
Member
No.
The difference is this is extremely important. Support for standard audio formats isn't a thing that they can skimp on. It's extremely poor form.
Why.
They probably felt comfortable sticking with an uncompressed audio codec because they're using high capacity optical discs.
Isn't Nintendo using a dedicated DSP for audio? It may not be Dolby Digital capable, or they may be some other limitation there. There's no reason the CPU can't handle it, but devs are probably going to need all the CPU cycles they can crank out of the Wii U. Maybe. I don't know too much about digital audio.
My guess is at Nintendo HQ...
"Most people won't care about surround sound and those who do probably have an HDMI receiver. We can save $.005 per console!"
That's stupid. It's not about the size of your physical media. *hyuk hyuk* It's about offering consumers options. There are so many consumers out there, including myself, that have surround sound systems that do not have the ability to use them now because of Nintendo's choice. It's terrible.
There we go.
PixyJunket
Member
I'm being cornered into upgrading (eventually) because of this (I've been meaning to for years anyway), but how long can this be an issue for people? Sometimes formats have to be phased out in order to bring in better ones. We're not expecting consoles to still support RF video, are we?
Find me a receiver or cable/sat box sold today that doesn't at least decode Dolby Digital. That is the issue here. It's a standard that is to be expected. Do you think Nintendo would not allow 480i output if it required additional licensing?
Because I have a sound system that works and sounds fantastic, and I don't want to spend money to replace something that in no way shape or form is outdated in the function that it was designed for, which is outputting surround sound?
This. Now find me a receiver that doesn't have HDMI inputs. There are plenty of them out there. The people who own surround sound systems without HDMI, or even HDMI passthrough can't use their surround sound systems with their Wii U. It's a major problem, and consumers shouldn't have to go out and potentially buy an entirely new surround sound system because Nintendo is too cheap to support industry standards.
The Teachinator
Banned
The issue is this...the menu and other Nintendo brand stereo tracks are actually 5.1...hear me out.
Nintendo had decided to mix silence into the other 4.0 channels. This makes it impossible to pull a PLII track or DTS Neo...it will always be stereo because they mixed the other 4 channels as active....active with nothing.
There are no surround headphone systems for console use on the market that accept HDMI input, and any possible system that will in the future is likely going to introduce video lag (because HDMI is terrible).
The Teachinator
Banned
You are right! You can apply DP2 to any audio source. The problem is that Nintendo actively set their stereo track as a full PCM 5.1 Multi Channel even though nothing comes out of the center and rears. This makes it impossible to turn the stereo sound into decent PL2 because the track is already viewed by the DSP as a surround track. The menu, Nintendoland and New Super Mario have this issue.
Epic Mickeys soundtrack is mixed ass backwards. The front soundstage is set to come out of the rear speakers. That game is trash and I wish I could get a refund.
Are you fucking serious? Holy hell, Nintendo.
The Teachinator
Banned
They could easily enable PL2 going forward as all that the processing requires is a stereo or multichannel track....with sound, not dead air in half the channels.
UltimateIke
Member
I see you linked my post!
The only thing I have to add is on ProLogic II support in Wii Mode:
The only way you can use ProLogic II is if the Wii U is in Stereo Mode AND THERE IS AN IN-GAME OPTION FOR SURROUND. Most Nintendo published games (and many other games too) don't have an in-game option and rely on the setting you choose in the Wii's main menu. Since there is no way to select Surround sound on the Wii U without getting 5.1 LPCM, it is not possible to get ProLogic II sound on these games!
For example:
Mario Kart Wii uses the Wii's Main Menu audio setting (that doesn't exist on the Wii U), so you can only get stereo or LPCM 5.1 (which Wii games aren't encoded for) from the Wii U.
Resident Evil 4, however, has an in-game option to select ProLogic II. The Wii U must be set to Stereo mode first (to disable 5.1 LPCM), but ProLogic II does work in this game!
Note that the above examples apply to both HDMI and analog audio. Switching to analog won't fix the issue of only getting Stereo from many Wii games.
The only thing I have to add is on ProLogic II support in Wii Mode:
The only way you can use ProLogic II is if the Wii U is in Stereo Mode AND THERE IS AN IN-GAME OPTION FOR SURROUND. Most Nintendo published games (and many other games too) don't have an in-game option and rely on the setting you choose in the Wii's main menu. Since there is no way to select Surround sound on the Wii U without getting 5.1 LPCM, it is not possible to get ProLogic II sound on these games!
For example:
Mario Kart Wii uses the Wii's Main Menu audio setting (that doesn't exist on the Wii U), so you can only get stereo or LPCM 5.1 (which Wii games aren't encoded for) from the Wii U.
Resident Evil 4, however, has an in-game option to select ProLogic II. The Wii U must be set to Stereo mode first (to disable 5.1 LPCM), but ProLogic II does work in this game!
Note that the above examples apply to both HDMI and analog audio. Switching to analog won't fix the issue of only getting Stereo from many Wii games.
Great info thread OP!
My thoughts:
-Awesome! Uncompressed 5.1 LPCM! On a Nintendo console!? RAD!!!
-Wait, ONLY LPCM!? Weird... Some people are soooo screwed by this... Damn it.
-Glad I have a nice Yamaha receiver with LPCM ... and a bunch of good (but faked) ProLogic-like processing modes for stereo sound as well.
My thoughts:
-Awesome! Uncompressed 5.1 LPCM! On a Nintendo console!? RAD!!!
-Wait, ONLY LPCM!? Weird... Some people are soooo screwed by this... Damn it.
-Glad I have a nice Yamaha receiver with LPCM ... and a bunch of good (but faked) ProLogic-like processing modes for stereo sound as well.