RF Modulator to connect Wii to iMac?

[GilGrissom]

Hi,

I have a group of friends coming round to crash at my flat next weekend and one of them has a Wii and wants to bring it down for us all to play. Unfortunately I do not have a TV in my flat, only my iMac which I use a digital TV tuner for (Equinux TubeStick), so the question was raised whether it was possible to somehow connect the Wii to my digital tuner to display on the iMac screen so we can play the Wii.

Firstly, anyone have any initial ideas?

I did to a bit of research and apparently you need an RF modulator to convert the composite output of the Wii to coaxial so it can be plugged into the digital tuner via a standard aerial socket. Then the TV tuner should be able to tune into it.

I know people have mentioned the Elgato EyeTV Hybrid and Equinux now do a TubeStick hybrid, but the Elgato is very expensive and the TubeStick HD is USA only.

I found this on the Maplin site which seems to suggest it can physically provide a way to connect the Wii to the TV tuner, but I'm worried about whether it will convert things appropriately so the TV tuner can tune into it.

Has anyone got any experience in this or any other suggestions that doesn't involve spending £100?

Thanks everyone.

 

[digitalnicotine]

I have no idea if what you've suggested will work. I found tons of references to the EyeTV hybrid, but only one alternative here. Have you looked on eBay for a hybrid?

 

[petej]

Don't know the tubeStick personally but if it works as described on the website then it will definitely not work with the RF modulator. The RF modulator pumps out a good old fashioned analogue RF signal. The tubestick will only take digital RF input. The TS Hybrid takes digital and analogue RF inputs so would work in analogue mode with the RF modulator.
One note of caution though, beware of conversion lag. I would assume that there is a slight delay on the RF modulator. There certainly would be one on the TS hybrid or Elgato hybrid + iMac. On some games this is not an issue but on Wii games I would imagine that this would be noticeable.
I have the Elgato hybrid but no Wii so I can't give you a definitive answer.

If you have a camcorder, you could possibly use that to convert the signal. Some do but again, you'll have a conversion lag.

Cheap solution, go to a trash yard or charity shop or ebay and buy an old CRT TV for the weekend. Dump it when you are done. Or beg and borrow from a friend.

 

[bigrell486]

Also, in case you didn't know, connecting your gaming console to your computer will produce lag of 1 to 2 seconds because of buffering/rendering.

This may be annoying as the Wii has the point at the screen interface, and you'll have to wait for the screen to catch up to you.

 

[tsice19]

Also, in case you didn't know, connecting your gaming console to your computer will produce lag of 1 to 2 seconds because of buffering/rendering.

This may be annoying as the Wii has the point at the screen interface, and you'll have to wait for the screen to catch up to you.

I second that.


Better off finding a TV under $100 and then either keeping it or getting rid of it after you done with it.