Two Wii Console Port Updates

By Rob Galbreath / Tuesday, 23 May 2006

According to IGN, a new port for the motion sensor bar for the Wii controller and an update on the audio hardware of the Wii have been confirmed.

The port for the motion sensor bar, an external device used to identify the positioning and movements of the Wii Remote controller, appears to be to the left of the power adaptor cord closer to the bottom of the back of the system. This port has not appeared in any former Wii hardware images, including images received in Nintendo's E3 media press kit. However, The Wiire identified the following image from the kit, indicating a wire that could not be connected to any known port:

Secondly, also according to IGN, game developer studios have received documentation indicating that optical outputs for Dolby Digital audio are not set for the Wii hardware. Similar to the GameCube, a single port on the system will allow various television connections to work with the Wii. This port will allow separately-wired composite, component, or S-Video connections.

However, it can be noted that, like the Nintendo GameCube, the Wii systems working at E3 2006 were operating on Dolby Pro Logic II. Dolby Pro Logic II processes standard two-channel stereo sound into five playback channels (left, right, center, backleft, backright) of full-bandwidth surround sound, emulating an optical output for 5.1 audio. Some game developers utilized Dolby Pro Logic II in GameCube games such as Phantasy Star Online and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.

For more information on Dolby Pro Logic II, click here. The IGN news articles are Wii sensor and Dolby Digital, respectively.

The Wiire will keep you posted on any new findings regarding the Wii hardware.