Is video out in a portable possible?

[tankie3k]

I have looked over the entire portablizing community and haven't seen a single wii portable that has video out. I was hoping that I could make a portable with video out but I don't know if I'm qualified with my skill or if it's even doable.

 

[DekuNut]

Definitely is possible, and I do think some portables include that feature. You can use a connector of some sort and just connect h, v, r, g, b and ground and then youll have vga out for example, though I dont know if you would need to disconnect them from your screen whenever you want video outm

 

[tankie3k]

could you elaborate a bit more? is it possible to have two video outputs from the wii or does it require too much voltage to do that?

 

[Stitches]

Electron Shepherd actually sells a PCB for exactly this purpose https://electron-shepherd.com/collections/all/products/vga-switch
It has enough data lines to support all 5 VGA lines plus left and right audio, and can be switched via a single sense pin.

The reason most people don't do it is a combination of wire routing difficulty and internal space. For a dock to work you need a socket somewhere on the portable (usually the bottom face) with enough data lines to run:

• Video: 1 line for Composite, or 3 lines for YPbPr component, or 5 lines for VGA
• Audio: 2 lines for left and right analog
• Controls: 4 lines for the 4 controller ports
• 3.3v: 1-2 lines to power the controllers, other 3.3v peripherals, and activate the sense line
• 5v: 1 line to run power vibration
• GND: 1-2 lines if not powering the system through the docking port, or several lines if powering the system through the docking port
• Charging voltage: Several lines depending on the port used and the maximum amperage allowed per line on that port
• Sense: 1 line to tell the video switch to output video to the docking port.

Assuming you aren't trying to run the dock and power the portable through the same port, and are only using Composite video, you're looking at a bare minimum of 12 lines required. A USB-C port will suffice for that, and an HDMI port will suffice for VGA video, but many opt to not do that upon reflection because if someone accidentally plugs a normal USB-C or HDMI cable into those ports then it will kill the system dead.

It's totally doable, most people just don't want it enough to go through the effort of making it happen.

 

[tankie3k]

I hate to nag, but how does the sense pin work? Also is there any alternatives to USB and HDMI.

 

[Stitches]

I hate to nag, but how does the sense pin work? Also is there any alternatives to USB and HDMI.

The sense pin switches the output channel of the multiplexer chip when it recieves a 3.3v signal. The two easiest ways to activate it would be a physical push button switch in the portable that is pressed by a protrusion in the dock that supplies 3.3v to the sense pad when it is pressed, or you could connect a pin on the portable's docking socket to the sense pad and on the dock's plug you just run a wire from the 3.3v input pins to the sense pin so that when the portable is docked it autonomously supplies 3.3v to the sense pad to switch the channel.

As for alternative ports, HDMI mini and DisplayPort mini would probably be safer to use for data only. They're niche enough that most people who might gain accidental access to your portable wouldn't have a matching cable to plug in, and their smaller form factor would make them a bit easier to fit into a portable case. I wouldn't try to power the portable using them tho, they aren't rated for that kind of thing.

 

[tankie3k]

Thanks! I would be completely lost without this info.

 

[Menke]

I have looked over the entire portablizing community and haven't seen a single wii portable that has video out. I was hoping that I could make a portable with video out but I don't know if I'm qualified with my skill or if it's even doable.

I actually am working on this for my wii, currently still at the proof of concept phase but it will happen some time

 

[tankie3k]

hate to make this thread longer but can vga signal be solder directly to mini hdmi out without a converter?

 

[Menke]

Vga and hdmi are completely different. You will need an active converter

 

[Stitches]

hate to make this thread longer but can vga signal be solder directly to mini hdmi out without a converter?

If you want to use HDMI as the video format to connect to the TV, no, you will need an active converter to do that. Wiring the VGA lines straight to a HDMI port is only suitable if you're only using the HDMI port to connect raw data lines between the portable and the dock.

That being said, you can use a mini HDMI port to connect all the Wii data lines (including VGA video) to the dock and then put a VGA to HDMI converter inside the dock to achieve scaled HDMI output for better TV compatibility.

 

[zrm9901]

so in the case of the switch could you wire up the detector to the hotplug thing on the hdmi cable like the vga switch website says and then do something like this?

When the switch isnt on it goes straight to a vga display

when the switch is on (detects a hdmi cable plugged in) it goes into a converter to hdmi then out the port?

 

[Stitches]

so in the case of the switch could you wire up the detector to the hotplug thing on the hdmi cable like the vga switch website says and then do something like this?

When the switch isnt on it goes straight to a vga display

when the switch is on (detects a hdmi cable plugged in) it goes into a converter to hdmi then out the port?

Yep, exactly!