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[juancaretta]

I'm thinking in buying a Wii in a few months, premodded, is there any modchip that's better than others? I've seen some people sell them with D2EKey and others with Wasabi, should I buy one over another for this? Also, how do I install the Homebrew Channel with a modded Wii? Does every game support widescreen TVs? I'm thinking in buying one with an additional Remote and Nunchuck, since almost most of the time I play alone, or with 2 players at most, since most of my friends prefer my 360. Another thing, do I have to patch other region ISOs? Is bricking still an issue with other region games? Do PAL games run stretched/faster or anything like that? Can WiiWare games be downloaded and transfered to the console someway? Because I've seen in wii.ds-scene that there are releases for WiiWare games. I know the visuals are nothing like the 360 and PS3, but it doesn't matter to me at all. Is there any other thing I should know? Sorry for all the questions, since the only console I have at the moment is a 360 and didn't think of buying a Wii since a few weeks ago, so I didn't research much on this subject.

[DeVS]

Mod chip doesnt matter. You can play hacked (drm stripped) Wiiware and VC games. MOST pal games can be played normally on NTSC consoles with the exception of like 2 (Pikmin 2 and some other game). They play normally on the NTSC tv's. To install the homebrew channel the easiest way is with the banner bomb exploit, read up on it (super simple).

[anton]

Normally, when I deal with other region games, I use Wii Brick Blocker (or Open Brick Blocker if you are on Linux).  It's just to be on the safe side of things.  There are many different loaders out there that skip the Wii update however.

The way I installed the Homebrew Channel was using the 0.8 beta DVD image installer and then upgrade using the HBC channel to the latest version via SD card.  There is a very nice guide that can get you through HBC and other stuff like the BootMii install to keep your Wii safe in case you brick it.

I am not that knowledgeable with modchips.  Mine I use Wiikey 1.9g (yeah, I don't care about SSBB...) and I'm pretty happy with it.

Games can be downloaded and then burnt to DVDs (get real good quality ones and burn at low speeds).  You can also use an external hard disc and use an loader, but you have to upgrade your Wii firmware to 4.0 (using Waninkoko's installer... NOT Nintendo's 4.0).  Also, do not forget to turn Wii Connect 24 OFF.

Check this guide out.  It's very good for what you are looking for.
http://www.wiiguide.co.cc/

I am unsure about the quality of PAL games.

WiiWare can be downloaded and transferred to your SD card and if your firmware is 4.0, there is an SD card menu where you can load the games from your SD card on the fly (you need to have some free internal memory blocks on your Wii for this to work).

If you are using an HD tv, you should think about getting a Wii component cable so your visuals look sharper.

I think I'm pretty sure that WAD (installers for VC and Wiiware) installing on Wii versions over 3.2 will not work.  So, think about whether you want to keep the version at 3.2 or upgrade to 4.0.  There are ways of downgrading the version.

Hope this helps.

[juancaretta]

Thanks to both of you, it solved some questions but made me get even more anxious . And yes, I'm using a 37'' HD Ready TV, and will get a component cable as soon as I can. Anton, about your modchip, you say you don't care about Smash Bros Brawl, is it because that modchip doesn't support that game? The sellers say "it reads everything" but probably they put that so more people buy the consoles to them. Anyway, i'll probably understand it easier when I have the console. Thanks again. Now I'll start populating my games collection. I'll keep using Wii Brick Blocker in mind, just to be sure, if I update the Wii to 4.0 (official from Nintendo) or whatever the latest version is, I should still be able to use backups, as the console is modded, right?

[DeVS]

Use Waninanko's custom 4.0. It has all the same benefits of the offical 4.0  update but takes out the homebrew blockers such as killing the twilight hack. I also have a Wiikey and it plays the dual layer SSBB just fine. If I were you, I would use the USB Loader instead of using a mod chip. You can get a nice size usb hard drive (320 gigs) for the price of 50 dvd disc.

[juancaretta]

In my country there are a few "flashed" Wiis, I suppose they have a custom firmware, they are much cheaper , but if Nintendo issues an update, I wouldn't be able to play backups anymore, am I right? Also, I've read somewhere that if I use cracked WADs and connect the console to the Internet, Nintendo can block it or even brick it, is this really possible? It's the first time i've read something like that. These are the prices on my country (new consoles):
USA Wii, not modded, with Wii Sports, 1 remote and nunchuck: around 340 USD
Korean Wii, "flashed" with a backup loader, Wii sports, 1 remote and nunchuck: around 360 USD
USA Wii, Wasabi Zero modchip, Wii sports, 2 remotes, 2 nunchucks and 2 Wii Wheels: around 530 USD
Also, I've read that WAD installer only works on version 3.4 or lower, can I connect the console to the internet and not update to 4.0?
Edit: I've been reading some about Bannerbomb, if I buy a normal, unmodded Wii and an SD card, I should be able to load the Homebrew Channel and the Backup Loader channel, is this right? I don't need any original game to do this exploit, as it was with the Twilight hack needing Zelda? Also, if I do this, can I update the console using Waninanko's custom 4.0 and be able to use the SD channel?
I'll be using DVDs for now, good quality DVDs are like $2.50 (Argentine Peso), around 0.65 USD, and a 320GB 2.5'' SATA HDD is 150 USD (I already have a 20gb HDD that came from my 360 when I put a Western Digital BEVS 120gb in there)

[anton]

About SSBB, I made the Wiikey remark because my version of Wiikey is 1.9g and the latest is 1.9s (which adds dual layer support, which is incidentally what SSBB was printed on).  *Open question to everyone here* When I took my Wii to the shop to have it repaired, the game they tested on was Super Smash Bros Brawl, and it played okay... but I don't know if it was playing the DVD5 version or the dual layered one...  how can I tell?   I still remember the intro of the single player campaign, etc.  If anyone can tell me what it is in the FMV I should be looking for... that would be great.

I keep mine on 1.9g because 1.9s breaks the GC streaming audio fix support *I think*.

You need 4.0 (official or Waninkoko's custom 4.0) to have the SD card Menu.

You can indeed use Bannerbomb and install HBC with it as far as I know.  I don't think you need Twilight Princess per se, unless you plan to take the Twilight Hack route.

I don't think Nintendo will be bricking your Wii as it is far risky a measure for them to take, but know that the latest Nintendo End User License Agreement basically states that they can sneak new code updates on your console if it connects online that are specifically written to block, stop, or kill homebrew and backup loaders.  They have also notified owners of this change and that they may sneak in so-called updates.

Part of my skepticism with upgrading to 4.0 is the path beyond that... if there maybe an instance that Nintendo releases a 4.1 firmware.  However, if you have installed BootMii on boot2 and have created NAND backups of previous firmware versions, you can easily rollback to previous versions AFAIK.  I think it should relatively be safe if you take necessary precautions.

[juancaretta]

I'll probably buy the one with the Wasabi modchip, since it's around 60 USD more than an unmodded one plus an additional set of remote + nunchuck, I'd rather pay some more and be completely sure that all games will play, even if I update the firmware, and I guess it would be easier to install Homebrew Channel with a modded Wii, if an exploit to install it using another game is found and the current one is blocked. Regarding to the bricks, I've been using Wii Iso Utilities to patch the update, just in case. Also, I've just noticed that email notifications were getting blocked by Gmail's spam detector, I thought it was a problem with the forum or something, and was checking manually if there was a new reply...

[anton]

As far as whether you a mod chip is a safer bet, I guess it is.  It's only there though to make the initial leap into homebrew easier.  After that, all your backup needs will be homebrew all the way.

[juancaretta]

I guess it's decided then, I'll get that one, it's not much more expensive, and if it saves me a little trouble on the long run, I think an extra 60 or 70 dollars are worth it. You'll probably hear more from me regarding this when I buy it, probably in a month or two. Thanks again for your help.
Now I'm trying to build up my collection, so I have something to play when I get it, I already have Mario Galaxy, Warioware, BoomBlox (really want to play this game) and The Conduit, and a handful of WiiWare games.

[anton]

Good luck and let us know how it goes.  If you get Boomblox, you might as well get the sequel which I hear is just the first but more.
Sounds like you are pretty much set.  I'm going to get Conduit in a while and the GHWT band kit has yet to arrive.  Also thinking about how Wii Motion Plus may complicate my scenario, but I guess it's also time I started working towards a Wii 4.0 install.

[juancaretta]

Yeah, I got Bash Party, not the original. And queued are Zelda TP, Super Paper Mario, Zak & Wiki, MadWorld, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Elebits, and I have a lot of time to get games, since I'm not buying it for at least 1 or 2 months.
Edit: Well, I'll buy it in 10 days or so, thought it would take longer to gather the money. Hope everything goes well.
Bought it, should arrive in 1 or 2 days. One question, what does Bannerbomb install? Does it install a WAD installer and then I should install homebrew channel with it, or does it install homebrew channel? Can Homebrew Channel be used to update to Waninkoko's Custom 4.1? Or should I update it to Nintendo's Official 4.1, and then use Bannerbomb? I've read that Nintendo's Official 4.1 disables support for Trucha Signed discs (such as the patched Smash Bros Brawl), is this true? If so, should I update to Custom 4.1 instead?