30 Nov 2006

Wii Component Cables GET!

Nintendo Wii Component Cables As promised, Nintendo shipped out their first batch of the official Wii component cables this Tuesday, and my set just arrived today. To my knowledge, the Nintendo online store is the only place to get these until about mid-December. They were previously sold out online as well, but it would seem that Nintendo's done some trickery to get more stock. They'll run you about $30.

So are they worth it? If you've got a TV capable of 480p, then the answer is a resounding "yes." The progressive image is sharper with significantly less noise than delivered by the composite cables included with the console. I'm pretty certain that they're even using a different font for the system menus if you have 480p enabled.

If your TV can't display a progressive image but does happen to have component inputs (I have seen this), then these are still probably worthwhile, as there is currently a distinct lack of S-Video cables for the Wii, and anything is going to be better than composite.

As for physical characteristics, the cables are 8.2 ft (2.5m) long and have gold-plated contacts on the RCA plugs. The cable quality seems to be equivalent to that of the standard composite cables, which is plenty good. They're not going to give you HD, but it's worlds better than 480i.

Comments

Knuckles Dawson said:

I just got an email confirming mine was shipped as well. Unfortunately, this means I'll be moving my 360 to VGA, which is fine, but the color looks a tad dull on that mode. Maybe with some tinkering it will look to it's fullest potential.

# December 5, 2006 @ 1:36 AM
NinjaFish said:

You can always get yourself a component switchbox. Pelican makes a decent one, but I think they've discontinued the one I have in favor of a new model, which doesn't appear to be on sale yet. There's also that PsyClone thing that Best Buy carries, though I can't give a first-hand opinion on it.

# December 6, 2006 @ 8:42 AM