Display Issues

The purpose of this page is to inform about typical display issues common to wii homebrew. Unwitting developers and users seeking information/help concerning their display problems should be directed here in order to avoid wasting time with lengthy explanations.

The Problem

Main article on Wikipedia: Overscan

Not all television sets are created equal. This means that the display area will often mismatch the actual picture. If a developer does not properly compensate for certain factors, the results are usually not good. There will be ugly black borders on some user's picture output and in some cases certain elements will even be placed outside the physical display range, such as buttons and status elements (health, lives, ammo, score, etc). For the end-user, this can be frustrating and even confusing.

Preventative Measures for Developers

The first and easiest thing to do is make sure not to place anything like buttons or status displays too close to the edges of the screen, because this creates the likelihood of having them partially or completely cut off. The BBC recommends keeping a margin of 5 percent on each side. There's also a way to specify a bigger or smaller output such as in the following example:

...

rmode = VIDEO_GetPreferredMode(NULL);

if( CONF_GetAspectRatio() )
{
	rmode->viWidth = 678;
	rmode->viXOrigin = (VI_MAX_WIDTH_PAL - 678)/2;
}

...

But of course this will not yield the same results for everyone. Some users will be pleased with certain settings and others will not. The best thing to do is to allow the user more than one option so that they can pick whatever best suits their television.

List of Applications and Display Support

This is a table based on user feedback indicating whether or not a the latest version of a given application is likely to show correctly on different types of displays. If an appears it means support is absent or incomplete, meaning some users may experience no problems while others will. Some televisions will automatically compensate for a discrepancy and should therefore NOT be used as a basis for judgment of properly implemented video output unless the auto-compensation can be disabled. Console mode applications are not included.

Application	NTSC SD TV	PAL SD TV 50Hz	PAL SD TV 60Hz	NTSC 16:9 TV	PAL 16:9 TV 50Hz	PAL 16:9 TV 60Hz	Notes
All-in-1 Emuloader	?	?	?	?	?	?
Another Rock Paper Scissors	?	?	?	?	?	?
Asteroids	?	?	?	?	?	?
AtaWii	?	?	?	?	?	?
Ballion	?	?	?	?	?	?
Barrage	?	?	?	?	?	?
BibleQuiz	?	?	?	?	?	?
Bichejos	?	?	?	?	?	?
BuscaWiinas	?	?	?	?	?	?
CharioMan	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chess	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chess Wiimote	?	?	?	?	?	?
Chippy	?	?	?	?	?	?
Commander K. Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
CosmoRaketti	?	?	?		?	?
DopeWars Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
DragonMedia Player	?	?	?	?	?	?
Duck Hunt	?	?	?	?	?	?
Dungeons	?	?	?	?	?	?
FCE Ultra GX	?	?	?	?	?	?
Freecell	?	?	?	?	?	?
Front SD ELF Loader	?	?	?	?	?	?
Fuse	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gecko OS	?	?	?	?	?	?
geckoloader	?	?	?	?	?	?
GeeXboX		?	?		?	?	Depends on Wii Linux
Genesis Plus	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gnuboy GX	?	?	?	?	?	?
Gravity	?	?	?	?	?	?
Guitarfun	?	?	?	?	?	?
HiivelyPlay	?	?	?	?	?	?
Homebrew Browser	?	?	?	?	?	?
Homebrew Channel		?	?		?	?
Hugo-Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
Jewel Quest	?	?	?	?	?	?
Jump 'n Bump	?	?	?	?	?	?
Kobo Deluxe	?	?	?		?	?	Depends on Wii Linux
MadQuiz	?	?	?	?	?	?
MahJongg Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
Masteroids	?	?	?	?	?	?
Mandelbrot	?	?	?	?	?	?
Matching Cards	?	?	?	?	?	?
Menu Loader	?	?	?	?	?	?
Menu Loader Clone	?	?	?	?	?	?
Minesweeper	?	?	?	?	?	?
MiniMP3 Player	?	?	?	?	?	?
Missile Command	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayer	?	?	?	?	?	?
MPlayerWii		?	?		?	?	May require configuration
Neopop Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
OpenTyrianWii	?	?	?	?	?	?
Particle accelerator	?	?	?	?	?	?
PONG	?	?	?	?	?	?
Pong2	?	?	?	?	?	?
Pop Me!	?	?	?	?	?	?
Portii	?	?	?		?	?
Quake	?	?	?		?	?	May require configuration
REminiscence	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rick Dangerous Wii	?	?	?		?	?
RIN Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rock Paper Scissors	?	?	?	?	?	?
Rokoban	?	?	?		?	?
Scogger	?	?	?		?	?
ScummVM		?	?		?	?	May require configuration
SDL MAME	?	?	?	?	?	?
Simon	?	?	?	?	?	?
Smashing	?	?	?		?	?
SMSPlus	?	?	?	?	?	?
Snake	?	?	?	?	?	?
Snes9x GX	?	?	?	?	?	?
Snes9x GX 1.43 (Obsolete)	?	?	?	?	?	?
Space Shooter	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sudoku	?	?	?	?	?	?
Sudoku2	?	?	?	?	?	?
TCP Loader	?	?	?	?	?	?
Tetris Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
TicTacToe	?	?	?	?	?	?
Touhou Fangame	?	?	?	?	?	?
Trojan Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
uMSX	?	?	?	?	?	?
UAE4Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
UNO	?	?	?	?	?	?
Visual Boy Advance GX	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii-Tac-Toe	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Breakout	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Gamecube Homebrew Launcher	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Homebrew Launcher	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Linux	?	?	?		?	?
Wii MFE Port	?	?	?		?	?	Depends on Wii Linux
Wii Quizz	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Shooting Gallery	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wii Solitaire	?	?	?		?	?	May require configuration
Wii64	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wiibreaker	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiDoom	?	?	?		?	?
Wiiero	?	?	?		?	?
WiiEngine	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiMPC	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiOperation	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiPaint	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiPhysics	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiPoker	?	?	?	?	?	?
Wiiship	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiStrobe	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiSX	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiPoker	?	?	?	?	?	?
WiiWhiteboard	?	?	?	?	?	?
Yabause Wii	?	?	?	?	?	?
YOG	?	?	?	?	?	?

Useful Links

http://www.gamasutra.com/gdc2004/features/20040326/caminos_01.shtml