Wii's Image Quality Is Fixed in 2023 

Maybe the hardware could not handle it. Or they didn't want another n64 problem...

So true

@@haloharry97 I just don’t think they would bother if the screen is already blurred. Fxaa basically is just a full screen blur effect

Agree. Fixed old games lose their unique vibe.

@@ledbolcan someone run this test on monster hunter 3 I swear it has eccessive blur beyond what couldve been anticipated and used stylistically like your talking about

One easy solution is too ask someone who wears glasses if you can borrow them for a while, not only will twilight princess look more blurry, but everything else will too!

You don't want to stretch anything, of doesn't really replicate old crts

you could play on an old projection screen tv :)

He mentions the RetroTink. I think you can use the RetroTink5X to downscale the image to 240p.

480i 4:3, stretch to fit. and slightly zoomed in as to slightly cutoff edges, but still enough to see all hud elements. You're welcome.

Agreed. Non-square pixels were very common in early digital video before HD became widespread. Pretty much everything was 720x480, or 720x576 in PAL regions, which would then get stretched or squished to 4:3 or 16:9 as desired. I don't think it's a problem either, because these days we're all using (U)HD displays, so you'd have to scale it to the display's native res anyway. No scaling is perfect apart from integer scaling which wouldn't fill the whole screen from 480p, so you're probably never getting a pixel perfect experience on a modern screen. Might as well use the inteded aspect ratio. I suppose a tv's built-in scaler might be better than the Wii's scaler though, so you could use framebuffer video width and then let the tv stretch the image if supported

One more extreme example is with the CPS-2 arcade system which uses 384×224 internally (very close to 16:9) but is used with 4:3 displays! You can see this a lot with the console ports of CPS-2 games, where the original pixel art has uses more pixels in the character sprites and look extra wide before being squished horizontally, but provide more detail when it's displayed on screen. Whereas sprites for the console ports simply have fewer pixels to compensate.

@@ccricers I think non-square pixels were even more common up until the early 90's. CGA and EGA also support resolutions like 640x200 or 160x200, yet it was all designed around 4:3

@@SterkeYerke5555 And Nintendo's first two consoles both stretched a nearly-square screen out to 4:3. And Commodore was even weirder, featuring different aspect ratios depending on which region you were in.

I will say I did think it was odd when I first launched the Wii emulator that the image doesn't fill the screen. Didn't know it was because the system natively stretched video output.

How would one do that? Is it also in USB Loader GX settings?

​@@Matojeje There should be a setting called 480 pixel patch

what does it do?

​@@MrDiana1706it fixes a programming error in the Wii's graphics API that affected all 480p output. The error is one reason why the GameCube had better 480p output than the Wii.

@@Garbagehead5 Is it present in vWii? (WiiU backwards compatibility)

the stretch is meant to be on for sure. it was most obvious during the clip of re4, the scope was an oval.

@@dickerzanti he explicitly said that re4 has the separate problem of being a zoomed in 4:3 game, that's where the stretched picture comes from when framebuffer is on, not the wii's default stretched image

@@acecryptor every game he showed with the “fixed” aspect ratio looked incorrect. less blurry, sure. proportions were off though. link was super skinny and tracks on mario kart were way too narrow. the games were designed to be stretched to an artificial widescreen.

@@dickerzanti yeah i agree most games were probably made already taking that stretch into account

HUD elements will undeniably be the most affected as unlike models, they are just flat textures overlayed on the screen, which is the thing that most developers accounted for. Everything else is just more skinny because that's just how you personally perceive it as you grew up with it, but that's how the game is rendered internally. I believe playing the game through Dolphin would result in a similar unstretched aspect ratio with the right settings. Outside of HUD elements, I think I prefer the unstretched image for a clearer pixel count.

never play crash bandicoot or tekken 3 on an emulator running at the game's internal resolution, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

@@BlameCez Whats the internal resolution on these games?

​@@user-ex4eh4hl9r Crash Bandicoot runs at 512x240 (the game stretches the screen vertically to display correctly on the TV), Tekken 3 runs at 384x480 (in this case the screen is stretched horizontally)

While this may be the case with the SNES where a few pixels makes all the difference, the Wii is a different beast. These games are in full 3D and simply do not look better with stretched resolution. There may be *some* examples that look a bit weirder with the character not being stretched out, but a 640p to 720p stretch isn't really a big enough difference with 3D models to matter and the visual quality improvement is well worth whatever tiny sacrifices you make. But it's your choice. I'm just glad we have the option to choose for ourselves. I personally think designing the Wii like this shows Nintendo (and many game publishers all over the industry) have some really ass-backwards logic on what is acceptable. I've always thought the Wii looked kind of terrible and now I'm realizing it could have looked miles better in its own generation without waiting for a 10-year graphical resolution bump.

Except that most devs DIDN'T take the stretching into account, as looking at the graphics and assets will tell you. Their proportions are much better without stretching.

4:3 is stretched as well, the Wii just doesn't output square pixels. Same with GameCube.

That’s why, for example, Skyward Sword (a late Wii game) can only be played in 16:9. If your Wii is set to 4:3, it’ll just add black borders at the top and bottom of the screen. That’s how I played SS back in the day, on an old 14” CRT with a composite cable in 4:3. And I still enjoyed it.

@@kebm1388 no it's squished 720x480 is a resolution meant to be either squished to 640x480 or stretched to 854x480

@@TitusSc same for the Wii U, it has a 4:3 option that you can only use in 480p/i and Wii U games will have those black bars. Although i still enjoyed MK8 and Splatoon on a CRT. (If you're curious, if you go to the Wii menu on Wii U with 4:3 enabled, the menu will actually be in 4:3, no bars on top/bottom, same for 4:3 games, although sadly i didn't test a 16:9 only game like Zelda)

@@wiiztec so is 640x480 the 4:3 output? and 854x480 the 16:9 output?

Every game takes it in consideration, it's very easily seen on circular or square hud elements. Non-square pixels were pretty much the default before digital screens became mainstream. "fixing" the aspect ratio is akin to forcing the SNES in a square pixel mode. While the SNES runs natively ~15% stretched. You just get a bad emulator image, rather than accuracy.

​@@relo999 Exactly, GVG seems to have forgotten that devs tested their games on actual Wii's. So even if they completely ignored the documentation they would've noticed their artwork being stretched and corrected for it. The problem is that the Wii uses an old school upscaler todo the stretching which warps the image, so you need to output to a PC or upscaler box and apply a more modern upscaling algorithm to stretch the image.

@@relo999 with how many titles the wii has, I dont think every dev thought about the wii natively stretching video. Honestly wished there was a way to just map the system to swap between depending on the game.

It's made so the aspect ratio is correct whether you choose 4:3 or 16:9 that's what the anamorphic 720x480 resolution is for

What is Retrothinkx5? Emulator. Wii software?

@@ps4games164 It's a scaler. You put console video signals into it and it scales it to a higher resolution. For the Wii 480p -> 1080p

@@excadrillo99 Scale or upscale? What do you mean? Does it give great results? So this is just hardware accessory for Wii, one can buy it and put the Wii cable in it?

@@ps4games164 You can use it with any console

Pretty sure with a good upscaler you likely have the option to stretch and move the image around after the analog-to-digital conversion. It's better to change the aspect ratio at a higher resolution than at a lower one, you'll lose a lot less image fidelity.

@@3lH4ck3rC0mf0r7 My comment's not about image fidelity, but accuracy. If you squash or stretch the image at all, other than the aspect ratio it was designed to be presented at, you end up with an inaccurate image, short of actual modifications to the game code to account for it.

@@OrionXIXI Yes, I meant let the Wii output the framebuffer raw, and at an incorrect aspect ratio, and then correct it after the fact with an upscaler, replicating the same stretching the Wii would've done for that game, but at a higher resolution, where you'd have more pixels to work with. Then you'd have better image fidelity and the same, correct final aspect ratio. CRTs, and common retro upscalers like the RetroTink and OSSC can all do this. As a bonus, due to CRT displays' analog nature, and complete lack of a locked pixel grid, they can shift and stretch the image physically, without any interpolation blur whatsoever. Bonus fun fact: There's a software mod that can trick the Wii's RVL-AVE video encoder chip into outputting VGA. It's RVLoader, a massive firmware replacement pack designed for use in homemade portable Wiis. It's the best output you can get out of the Wii without an FPGA modchip like the AVE-HDMI.

I agree. I don't know much about this stuff. I just modded my wiiu and I just use deflicker on safe. Any other recommendations for casuals? Thanks

Thanks for mentioning whether or not it affects GC games, very cool!

There would be overclocking left to do, but it's definitely out of the realm of software modification, if it's even possible to modify the hardware to do it. Closest thing we got is using a Wii U at it's full clock speed.

@@Rayjacker Didn't know that was even possible, just did a quick search on it. From what I can tell it only helps improve homebrew apps, primarily emulation? Still neat that it exists, I was interested to try it out on actual Wii games but from what I gather it breaks compatibility?

@@Rayjacker On the hardware side, they could try and finagle with getting motion control sensitivity adjusted for certain games where it’s really easy to screw yourself over

I have a love and hate relationship with the Wii.

The pixels are stretched, but it’s by design from the time. All of the games look off when forced to square pixels

its not stretched its anamorphic

Also, Mario Kart Wii in particular has a fairly strong bloom effect that I personally dislike. There's several Gecko codes for disabling it as well.

Even the Gamecube version of RE4 forces the deflicker filter on in 480p mode--GC games were usually better about this than Wii. I'm 100% sure Capcom did it because they thought the dithering was too intense--in darker scenes it's pretty hard to ignore.

Twilight Princess looks sharp on my 4:3 Sony Trinitron CRT TV, i didn't know that the Wii has a filter.

@@saricubra2867 Pretty much every video game console starting with the Dreamcast has a deflicker filter for 480i modes, and trust me; if your TV is sharp and large enough *you don't want to disable it* lol. If it's the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess, I'm guessing it'll fare better. Most Gamecube games seem to use a fairly light version of the deflicker filter in my testing (seems equivalent to "Low" in USB Loader GX). Wii games seem like they default to "High" most of the time so they're blurrier.

I’m the same way with my Wii but it would be interesting to see on the big screen

Mi wii is hooked up to a 16:9 CRT TV, you should apply deflicker, you will get flicker on the image but much better image

@@sos.gamers mine is a 4:3 but I will give it a shot

I also use my wii hooked up to a CRT although it's via component and 480i as well. Works great as an emulation station for 240p stuff

Same for me.

that’s just because you used composite cables

@@sunspot5 Nope.

There might be a few games where the developers didn’t know what they were doing, but for 99% of games (including every game he showed in the video), the original stretched aspect ratio is the correct one. (Notice how squished the circles look with the FB ratio). 720x480 is always meant to be stretched to 4:3 or 16:9

@@SirSethery I’ll have to compare some more, but for the most part, non-stretched has looks better.

@@SirSethery Kirby's Epic Yarn was definitely meant to be stretched, there were square elements that turned into rectangles the moment it was switched to framebuffer. Just like more retro consoles, some developers took it in mind.

X Collection is supposed to be one of the few 240p GC games isn't it? I know it was 240p on PS2 at least.

@@VexAcer idk, but it sure has the blur filter on regardless

@@VexAcer Yes it is. If it weren't for the deflicker filter, it would be the best way to play the X games on a CRT. I bought the game hoping my low quality CRT TV would hide the blur, but the deflicker filter is really noticeable. Thankfully (Not thankfully for me since I don't own a ps2) the PS2 version doesn't have this filter, and in fact, looks better than the original SNES hardware thanks to cleaner video output from the PS2. (I have a 2 chip SNES)

I mean is it really emulator level pixel clarity.... Upscaling to 4K with a widescreenhack and if available (for many popular games it is!) an HD texture pack makes wii games look like better switch games. All this does is make wii a little less blurry but with no anti aliasing so extremely blocky edges.

@@rex2100 I think if you just want to be true to the Wii's resolution and capabilities it's a better "pure" experience, without needing any extra bells and whistles. An HDMI mod is still a no-brainer if you want the absolute best clarity though.

@@opal817honestly electrons wii2hdmi or even the mayflash adapter is best for most people compared to ease of use and price

Mclassic or similar for AA would help with these settings on. The pixel shimmer is almost as annoying as the blur they applied and Mclassic would help with that.

@@markwebster4996 mClassic is up to personal choice whether you like it or not

I used composite for the Wii and Melee looked the same to me as on the gamecube.

@@saricubra2867 Because the GameCube is unaffected to the deflicker filter built-in the Wii; most games has it's own one. (e.g RE4, Melee, etc,.)

@@ndnixlon9548 I also have a CRT connected to the Wii and Gamecube.

My wii is hooked to the TV with an HDMI dongle (not a crap one from aliexpress) followed by an Mclassic, and it does look amazing! It goes from being an aliased blurry pixel vomit to almost looking like 720p content.

@@kmash2932 could you please film some footage, I would like to see some near native 720p Wii gameplay

@@Dash120z I don't have a capture card, and you wouldn't see that much difference with my shitty phone camera. But in person, it looks great. If you have a 100 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, I'd say go for it. It definitely gets rid of a lot of jaggies.

if you set a pal wii to 480p its output acts like an ntsc wii

@@gamecubeplayer - That makes sense, and could explain my aforementioned issue.

Wii U has analog out too.

@@mirabilis That's actually even worse - it's still being stretched for HD resolutions and then squished *back* down to 480i

Yeah i'm also waiting on a fix for the poor wiiU...

i just dont get why the wii u forces full res output. liek it doesnt make sense its so lazy

​@@FrostyBrowsjá existe a solução para o Wii U a muito tempo. Basta instalar o Priloader no vwii e desativar o defflick. Isso terá efeito em qualquer injector de Wii no Wii U!

While that does make sense, other consoles like the PS2 don't exhibit this issue. You can play a game that released on both PS2 and Wii, set them both to 16:9 widescreen and 480p, and the Wii version will still look stretched compared to the PS2 version. I remember this being an issue with the Guitar Hero games.

@@mazda9624 May be the Wii version didn´t support widescreen at all.

@JSR It did. It was just slightly stretched compared to the PS2 version. It wouldn't make much sense for a PS2 game to support widescreen and the Wii version of the same game to not do so considering the Wii is a much newer and more powerful console.

@@mazda9624 the Wii specifically uses anamorphic widescreen not actual widescreen

@@Bro3256 Same with the PS2, except most PS2 games look correct if you set them to widescreen.

Turning off the deflicker will help on a CRT as well

​@@ohajohaha Image quality by default on the Wii is exactly the same as my Gamecube when i run Melee on both

I don't like how this vertically stretches the image, and removing the blur makes the edges more jagged, which sucks

Kinda agree. Unless youre internally upressing on an emulator it looks wrong now. Kinda like using SCART cables on old consoles and transparency effects because the image is too sharp and clear and wasnt meant to be seen that way.

@@Granadico Hah. I was a nerd in a SCART territory. Games have always looked like that to me. Those dither patterns were ultra sharp all the way back in the 90s and we bragged about it, spent money on fully wired, shielded cables to get there on purpose. Like PAL slowdown we didn't even know that wasn't the point. Still, that's arguably why the Wii looks like that. It's meant to output to a CRT with an RBG signal by default, so the softness gets built in.

I heard that's what developers did with the NES, since that console stretched its almost-but-not-exactly square resolution to 4:3. History repeats itself, so it's possible.

Imo the raw dithered pixels look better than the smudged blur.

@@stpedro-ht9ng Especially RE4. Almost dropped the Wii version in favor of the GameCube version until some individuals found a way to disable the deflickering filter.

Yep, enabling Framebuffer is very impractical. It will output the sharpest display in exchange for improper aspect ratios, resulting in squished / stretched images.

in my opinion the best fix. is MCLASSIC + HDMI.

you're right, I was watching the video thinking the same thing. sure it's clearer, but does that make it better? link in 4:3 without framebuffer looks waaaay to pixelated, pointy and skinny.

yup

It's Count Dooku from the Star Wars prequels.

@@scoutisabelle a man if culture 🫱🏼‍🫲🏽

Did you find a way?

Ironically it was mostly Nintendo themselves who didn't account for the SNES stretch. Generally, in Nintendo-developed games, circles and squares look more "correct" if you have the NSO app set to pixel perfect. But Rare games like the DKC trilogy look more correct with pixel perfect off, because they took stretching into account

Can't you find a real, 4:3 television?

@@videotape2959 as opposed to a fake 4:3 television? Not looking for one

I can confirm it does! Totally worth the 100 dollars of the mClassic.