50 to 60hz, 480p to 480i Whats the deal?

[WazMeister]

I think I understand the basics of 50hz compared to 60hz and 480i to 480p but I may be wrog.

Can someone explain in none jargon whats the 50hz and 60hz about on consoles ala Wii?
And 480i to 480p (Notice need a HDTV for 480p).

Just see discussion about it alot on Wii as if its end of the world if we don't get 60hz etc.


Someone explain?

Thanks

Waz!

[Stoise]

There's some stuff here about both of these, to sum up though - 480i shows every odd line then every even line intermittently - so essentially you are getting two images of 240 lines whereas with 480p you get the whole image with each refresh.
50hz means the image refreshes 50 times every second and 60hz is 60 times per second - the complaint comes because 50hz is arguably noticeably slower; and 480i is obviously half the resolution.

[Champloo]

Well i've asked these q's enough myself so I should know by now.

50hz is the standard they use in PAL land. It runs 17.5% slower than 60hz and get borders. However most games are realeased with a 60hz option now, some on the Wii aren't but even if they don't and you only have 50hz, the game will likely be optimised (most of the VC games won't mind you) so that it runs around the same speed as the NTSC versions and with no/small borders. 50/60hz doesn't seem to be much of a problem nowadays in other words, apart from on the Wii's VC.

I can't remember the technicle details behind 480i/480p. Its something to do with the number of lines. 480p will give a clearer, crisper picture. You'll need the right TV however, doesn't have to be HDTV prog scan, but it has to be able to take a component cable. Sadly mine can't, if you can't then it'd be worth getting a RGB cable, providing you've got a PAL Wii, if not you best bet is S-Video I believe.

And it isn't the end of the world if we don't get 60hz, but at the same time, there's no reason why we shouldn't, as almost everybody can display it nowadays.

[WazMeister]

I bought a RGB lead after a week of having my Wii and instantly noticed even on my old ****er of a TV the colour was not so fuzzy or bluring and just seemed a crisper picture on Zelda and Wii Sports.

Eye could concentrate a bit more on the detail without hurting.

Or is it just me lol

[tom-nook]

If you're using an rgb lead then you don't need to worry about the whole 480i / 480p thing. Through an rgb scart lead you'll get a 480i signal from your Wii (it's mainly only lcd & plasma screens that support 480p anyway).

It's not just you! - an rgb lead should give you a noticeably better picture than the lead that came bundled with your Wii.

[lostn]

Even if it's optimized for 50hz, the flicker and glare is more noticeable at 50hz. Avoid.

[Shinebi]

Well, not all 50 Hz games have borders, depends on the degree of optimalization, some go fullscreen at 50 Hz without speed increasement.
50 Hz originally depends on 220V (AC), 60 Hz on 110V (DC), but nowadays most electronic equipment can handle both currents. (especially in Japan it seems, as the rest of Asia gets 220V?)

60 Hz PAL is the best, as it's smoother: you'll get the high refresh rate, as well as more lines.

[SuperCoolAl]

60 Hz PAL is the best, as it's smoother: you'll get the high refresh rate, as well as more lines.

First post!

This isn't true actually. The Wii system menu gives the options of 50Hz 576i or 60hz 480i. So you still only get 480 lines, but it still uses the PAL colour system.

I always play in 60Hz where the game permits, it's the only way to make sure you're playing the game as it was intended to be played. 50Hz is merely a fallback compatibility option these days.