What is the preferred Project M TV setup?

[jackal27]

Simple question.

I've been playing on a Wii through an HDTV with component cables, but I've started noticing that most folks play on a tube TV. I'm helping host a local tournament soon so I want to have the right setups and make sure we're not dealing with input lag.

Should I DEFINITELY be playing on a tube TV or is an HDTV alright? We're also using a projector so what's the best way to display both on a projector and a TV for Project M? Also, why was Nintendo dumb enough to release the Wii without the ability to natively output HD visuals? (rhetorical)

 

[Star ☆]

You'll want to be playing on a CRT television or a Standard Definition LCD.

HDTV's induce latency because the analog signal of the Wii that the HDTV recieves through the composite/component cables must be upscaled to match the TV's resolution, and this process takes a little bit of time. This can be a small amount of lag, or horrendous amounts. Best to call it safe and avoid it entirely, because even if you manage to narrow it down to comparable amounts to a CRT, you'll get people placebo-ing all over the place and blaming their losses on the TV or outright refusing to play on it.

CRT's natively output the analog signal onto the display. If I recall correctly, most CRTs have about 7ms of lag (a frame is 17ms) but this is something that is unavoidable in most cases. You can also use a Standard Definition LCD TV, but be warned about the placebo thing I was talking about earlier; contrary to popular belief, you can have a flat TV with no lag! It is just the HD conversion that creates this problem. If you plan to get a SD LCD I suggest you research it's latency first though, just to be sure. My personal one has 8ms of lag. You can see it below. I apologise for the photo quality.

Spoiler: Example of a Standard Definition LCD

For a projector, you'll probably have to find a TV with AV out as well as in, or buy some analog splitters.

Good luck dude. I hope the tournament goes well.

 

[Jamble]

I'm pretty sure the max resolution the wii supports is 480p with the use of component cables. If you have a newer TV and have latency issues, try the component cables out. This is really the most cost efficient way of alleviating the issue, since the change from 480i and 480p will help latency issues caused by deinterlacing with regular analog cables, IIRC.

That being said, with my regular HDTV and normal analog cables, I have no issues, though it is probably worth investing in component cables anyway. The ideal TV for the wii is a CRT, but not all of us have those lying around anymore.

 

[jackal27]

Thanks guys! I have a very nice CRT and access to more as well. I normally play on my HDTV with a component cable and while I don't notice any lag at all, I may have just gotten used to it. I really love the crisper picture on my HDTV though so switching to my CRT is going to be a big downer... I don't know HOW you people without component cables do it, haha!

Looks like we'll be using CRTs for the tournament too, which of course is the cheaper option thankfully.

 

[jam3s007]

Thanks guys! I have a very nice CRT and access to more as well. I normally play on my HDTV with a component cable and while I don't notice any lag at all, I may have just gotten used to it. I really love the crisper picture on my HDTV though so switching to my CRT is going to be a big downer... I don't know HOW you people without component cables do it, haha!

Looks like we'll be using CRTs for the tournament too, which of course is the cheaper option thankfully.

I told this to some of the guys on skype and it blew their minds apparently. For someone similar to me who doesn't want multiple/old tvs just laying around but wants less input lag on an HDTV...

Turn on gaming mode in your tv settings. Reduces some of the pretty output polishing and reduces input lag. *waits for haters to say it's not good enough*

 

[Lunchmanalchemist]

I told this to some of the guys on skype and it blew their minds apparently. For someone similar to me who doesn't want multiple/old tvs just laying around but wants less input lag on an HDTV...

Turn on gaming mode in your tv settings. Reduces some of the pretty output polishing and reduces input lag. *waits for haters to say it's not good enough*

It's not good enough. lolololololol

 

[jam3s007]

Trololololol
Obviously the 1337 will live/die by CRT.

 

[Jamble]

Well it's not that anybody's being elitist saying CRT is best, it's just objectively going to get less input lag than an HDTV set. Even so, component cables actually help quite a bit on HDTV. I use a newer set myself and I'm fine with it. Not everyone is though, and you may as well get the best setups you can if you're hosting a tournament or something.

 

[jackal27]

Well it's not that anybody's being elitist saying CRT is best, it's just objectively going to get less input lag than an HDTV set. Even so, component cables actually help quite a bit on HDTV. I use a newer set myself and I'm fine with it. Not everyone is though, and you may as well get the best setups you can if you're hosting a tournament or something.

Yeah for sure. I mostly play retro games so I have some really nice CRT sets and know where to find more. I'm not worried about that part. Man if only Project M was Smash 4 based and I could have the best gameplay in any Smash game AND the best visuals, haha.

 

[jackal27]

Sorry to double post, but I having trouble tracking down the correct analogue splitters that I would need to display on both a CRT TV and a projector. Where can I find these? Also, this shouldn't cause me any lag on the CRT, correct?