In this day and age of the “next-gen” craze, all we ever hear about is high-def, 1080i (or p), and HDMI. The PS3 has it, and so does the Xbox 360. But what does the Wii have that’s so “next-gen”? Well, nothing according to the hardcore tech geeks. Hell, it doesn’t even plays DVDs - yet. But nonetheless, Nintendo’s latest console powerhouse does supports last generation’s HD, the 480 progressive scan display or 480p for short. This is because Nintendo doesn’t feel that the majority of gamers in the whole world owns an high-definition TV yet - and they’re right. Most people don’t, but a large growing number are picking one up every month. So you might as well jump on the bandwagon now. The Wii comes packaged with your standard composite cables, but to actually enjoy the progressive scan display on your Wii, you’ll have to go and purchase an extra set of component cables.

Most of the Wii games available now and coming out soon will supports 480p display. Some folks considers it pointless since most Wii games have crappy graphics anyways? Also, can you really tell the differences between a progressive scan display and regular interlaced?

I sure as hell can, but thats because I’m a graphics whore. I live for the graphics, the pixels, the polygon but yet, strangely I own a Wii. Yeah weird isn’t it? And then again, there are those people who claim that they absolutely can’t tell the difference between a regular display and a high-def display. They probably need some (new) glasses. Anyways, I totally believe that component cables do make a noticeable difference in display. For the Wii games that actually do support 480p, the visuals are much more sharp and clear. Colors are more vibrant and text is much easier to read. And for the Wii, any little bit to improve the graphics help.

The other day I decide to snap some pics of a couple Wii games running in progressive mode and interlace mode. See for yourself and compare.

Metroid Prime 3 in regular interlaced display :

Metroid Prime 3 in 480p :

Resident Evil 4 in regular interlaced display :

Resident Evil 4 in progressive display :

Ok so these screenshots don’t do the progressive scan displays any justice, but I can assure everyone that there is a much noticeable difference. Not completely night and day, but enough for me to say “yep…i’ll stick with the components cables”. So if you haven’t gotten a set of component cables yet, I suggest you do and use them instead. You won’t be disappointed.

So with so many brands of component cables available out there, which one is the best to get? I personally don’t believe that anyone is better than the other - aside from brand name. Some people say the Nintendo brand component cables are the best to use and if you feel better using them, then more power to you. The component cables I’m using is the React Component Cables that I got from Best Buy for $24.99.

Ok, before I forget, make sure to actually change your “TV Resolution” settings on your Wii Settings to HD-TV in order for the progressive scan display to take effect (you shouldn’t be able to unless you have the component cables connected). You wouldn’t believe how many people haven’t figured that out…sheesh…