How to Get a Better Nintendo Wii Picture

Written by: Bill Fulks • Edited by: Rhonda Callow
Published Apr 19, 2010

The right cabling and settings are key to improving your Nintendo Wii graphics in order to get the best picture for your games and movies.

Nintendo Wii Graphics

Nintendo Wii graphics don’t compare well to other video game systems like the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. Nintendo cut short the graphics on the Wii in order to focus on their motion control system, plus the majority of games are so colorful and bright that the lack of HD detail isn’t such a big deal. However, there are some steps you can take to improve your Nintendo Wii picture and in order to make the Wii graphics as good as they can be. If you have a Netflix account and watch movies on the Wii, now would be a great time to upgrade your cabling so as to get the best picture for your Netflix movies.

Nintendo Wii Cables

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If you want the best Nintendo Wii picture for your games, then you need to invest in the right cables to connect the Wii to your television. The cables that Nintendo includes in the box are just the basic RCA connections, which are a type of cable connector that has been around since the early days of the VCR. Connecting the Wii with the RCA cables will make it work just fine, but the Nintendo Wii graphics will look their worst.

The best cables to connect your Wii are called component cables. Wii component cables connect using the television’s red, green, and blue connectors, plus a red and white pair for audio. Not every TV has these connections, so check before you buy the cables. I would venture to guess that most modern HDTV’s do have them, but a lot of older models do not. By using the component cables, you can set the Nintendo Wii graphics to 480p, which is actually considered enhanced definition and is the highest setting you can get before actually going into HDTV territory.

Nintendo Wii Graphics Settings

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Once you get a set of Wii component cables and connect them to your TV, you still need to update the screen settings on the Wii in order to improve the picture. Just follow these easy instructions:

From the Wii Menu, click the Wii Options button on the bottom left side of the screen.
Click the Wii Settings button.
Click the Screen button.
Click the TV Resolution button.
Set the resolution to EDTV or HDTV (480p) and click Confirm.
Click the Back button three times to get back to the Wii Menu.

Nintendo Wii Picture

Once the Nintendo Wii graphics settings are configured properly with your new component cables, you should be able to see a slight improvement. Don’t expect huge results, though. What you will mainly get is a sharper picture. On my own Wii, which is connected to a 47” 1080p HDTV, I immediately noticed that text was easier to read on screen. I also noticed that it sharpened the edges of on-screen objects and characters and gave them a smoother appearance. Previously with the regular RCA cables, things seemed a bit fuzzy around the edges, and it was especially noticeable since I have a large HDTV. Upgrading to component cables made a nice difference for me, though I wish Nintendo had made the Wii with better graphic capabilities. I’m sure there next one will offer true HD instead of just EDTV.