Wii U Overscan Patch
Overscan Fix
Learn how to get the latest Wii U system update from Nintendo. Take a look at what new features and performance improvements have been introduced in the latest update. Welcome to Wii U Reddit's source for news. How to fix overscan on Wii eShop games? Is there a way to adjust overscan on Wii games puchased from the eShop?
Overscan is something your TV has always had, if you are starting to notice it now with the Wii U. Most software and broadcast channels compensate for overscan, a very common setting applied to older SD and HD sets.
What Is Overscan On Hdtv
Here is an example (hud elements in green) and here is an example (hud elements in yellow). The image in red is what those would see with overscan on (zoomed by around 5%). Overscan off would see the entire 1920x1080 image. Both are at a 16:9 aspect ratio.
When an interface is laid out with overscan in mind, someone who has overscan would never notice. And someone without overscan wouldn't notice either. Without overscan compensation, it would be very frustrating to look at that interface with an older TV set. This is the situation with games like Nintendoland or the Wii U interface.
Please keep in mind that any game and any interface in the future can always design their interface with overscan in mind. It is not dependant on a setting with the console itself. Some systems do allow for screen scaling. Wii U OS has bits and pieces that support screen scaling, but not everywhere. The problem is not the Wii U it is your TV, and 60 years of TV history.
The Wii U assumes your TV will not overscan at all. Unfortunately many TVs still have 5% overscan. Nicer TVs will allow you to change to zero overscan.
If you do this you will see the entire picture of the Wii U, PS3, Blu-Rays etc However, if you do this you may see crap on the borders of your TV shows, because TV broadcasters still assume all TVs overscan at least 5% and therefore don't worry about what shows up in that area. This fact we still have deal with overscan is totally the fault of TV broadcasters.
TVs have not needed to overscan since the 90s. Overscan was originally designed because older (we're talking 60s 70s TVs) would shrink their picture overtime showing more and more of the picture.
Overscan was implemented to compensate. Through history, and tradition overscan remains, despite the fact there is absolutely no reason to have it anymore. Easier said than done. Plus the fact that my TV is not even a year old.
And while it's not the top of the line, it's not a cheapo TV either. I've gone through all of my different picture formats and they all have preset overscan that can't be changed from the menu. The only thing I have that sounds like that is 'Auto Full' which you can toggle on or off. Unfortunately that didn't change anything with the projection. Which pretty much leaves me with what toasterovenly said above.
I'll try and call the manufacturer and see what they say. Thank you for your help!
Nintendo has shared the full patch notes of additions/improvements made with the Wii U’s latest update, version 4.0.0. The big highlights are being able to display Wii content on the GamePad, addition of the Friend List icon to the Wii U Menu, updates to Wii U Chat and the Internet browser, and more.