The Difference in Speed Between the US Wii and the UK Wii

3D graphics processing hardware is not the only thing that determines the speed of a system. The local system for displaying a television signal has an influence as well – while the United States uses the NTSC system with a refresh rate of 60 Hz (meaning that the image on the screen is refreshed 60 times a second, the United Kingdom uses the PAL system; while the PAL system has somewhat better image quality and color, it refreshes the screen at a rate of 50 Hz.

What this means for speed is that if the speed of a game is tied to the number of times that the screen is updated per second, there can be a slight speed difference between what is displayed on NTSC versus what is displayed on PAL. The system may also be able to play games at both refresh rates – for example with the United Kingdom version of the Wii, you can play games in both NTSC and PAL. UK Wii games run at 60 Hz, but when you play games on the Virtual Console with the UK Wii they run at 50 Hz.

Playing games that were designed for one display system on another may mean that they have to be played with a black border at the top and bottom of the display to fit them to the resolution of a different kind of screen. The USA version of the Wii and the United Kingdom version of the Wii also have somewhat different compatibility with old Gamecube games – while the USA Wii is generally unable to play PAL Gamecube games, the PAL Wii in the UK tends to play all of the compatible Gamecube games, although the frame rate may be lower by a factor of 1.2.

Have you noticed any difference playing VC games on the UK Wii? Let us know!

Using RGB Scart on the SNES, N64 and Gamecube

If you are trying to get the best picture possible from your SNES, N64 or Gamecube, using an RGB Scart cable is the best quality solution. The resolution and clarity that you get with the RGB Scart cable is much better than S-Video or standard AV, however there are some compatibility issues.

Nintendo has engineered some of their systems so that RGB output is restricted. Here are the basics on which systems restrict RGB Scart output, and of those which ones can be upgraded or modified to use RGB Scart.

The SNES, N64 and Gamecube all come in two versions: the USA / JAP version which is designed to work with NTSC style television signals, and the PAL version which is used throughout Europe and other locations where the PAL standard is followed. If you have a SNES which is USA / JAP, or a Gamecube which is PAL, you will be able to get RGB Scart output simply by getting an inexpensive RGB Scart cable to plug in.

If, on the other hand, you have a SNES from the PAL region, the cables will need to be modified before it will work. It’s a fairly simple modification that just requires soldering out some resistors.

With a USA / JAP N64, you will need the console itself modified to work with the RGB Scart cable. This is a lot trickier and we advise only the experienced to go down this route. A PAL N64 cannot be modified to work with the RGB Scart cable.

Surprisingly, Nintendo of Europe gave us UK gamers a break, as PAL ‘cubes require no modifications to work with RGB Scarts straight out the box. However, if you own a Gamecube from the USA / JAP region, there’s a cable mod that can be performed to enable RGB.

Let Us Fix Your Broken Xbox 360 - Round Trip UK Courier Service just £54.95

We all know the Xbox 360 isn't the most reliable of consoles. In fact, it's probably the least reliable console ever. With reported failure rate figures as high as 30%, it's about as reliable as leaving Rik Waller to lock up a pizza parlour, parting with the words 'Now whatever you do, don't touch the stock.'

So what do you do if your Xbox 360 starts to the show the Red Ring of Death, or any of the other multitude of 360 failures such as no video/audio, random crashes, freezes on booting, overheating, error 74? Well, let us fix it!

Here's how it works: You choose the Repair Service, pay £54.95 and we'll automatically send you a repair form to print off and fill out, and a shipping address label. Our courier will then pick up your Xbox 360 on your chosen day from your home or work (anywhere as long it's in the UK) to bring it to our console repair center. Our experienced technicians (who repair more than 50 Xbox 360 consoles/week dontcha know) will use the latest diagnostic tools and utilities to get your console working again.

We'll even clean and service your console at the same time, making sure factors like air flow and temperature are performing normally. With a 3 month warranty against the same fault, you’ll also have peace of mind. Once your 360 is good as new, our couriers will deliver it right back to your house.

If you're anything like us you can't be without your gaming machines for long, which is why we've made the whole service as fast and as streamlined as we can. The whole process, from collection to delivery back to you should only take 7 days. And all we need you to do is box up your console and tell us what's wrong with it. Not bad for £54.95, eh?

Get your Xbox 360 fixed right here!

HD Fury Gamer 2008 Edition: In stock in the UK on Wednesday 3rd March!

The final version of the HD Fury Gamer is currently winging its way to The Game Train and will be in stock on Wednesday (assuming no bad weather delays!). Plenty of you have pre-ordered the much awaited all-in-one PS3 HDMI to VGA cable and this means all your pre-orders will ship out on Wednesday. There's still stock available on the pre-orders, so get yours quick at the pre-order price of £49.99 right here.

As a bonus, here's a few pics of the what the final product and packaging will look like:





Buy the HD Fury Gamer Edition here for £49.99

Are you getting the HDFury? Leave a comment!

HDFury Gamer Shipping Date (Almost) Confirmed!

Loads of you have been asking when the HDFury Gamer 2008 will be in stock and we can now confirm that it will be shipping to us on Friday. This means it should be in stock ready to send out by Wednesday/Thursday - we'll be able to confirm an exact date on Friday.

As the UK distributor and reseller for the HDFury, we will be amongst the first in the world to have the product in stock.



Here's a quick recap of HDFury Gamer's advantages:

- The first and only straight HDMI to VGA converter all-in-one cable
- Competitively priced to alternative component-to-VGA converters, but produces a far superior image.
- Allows DVD playback with upscaling up to 1080p on PS3/Elite or any others HDMI source. Also allows you to 1080p upscale PS2 games on a backwards-compatible PS3.
- Usable on non-HDCP compliant screens, but does not strip the HDCP signal

Pre-order it here for just £49.99 to secure yours

HD Fury UK Power Adapter Wall Plugs Now Available

Following on from the price drop for each type of HD Fury, we're now selling the UK Power adapters for them. Though most setups work fine without a power supply, if you are using a HDFury with a HDMI or DVI cable longer than 5 metres, the signal will be weakened. With the HDFury Power Supply, it will be boosted to full strength.

Additionally, some HD-DVD or Blu-Ray players do not output enough power for the HDFury, especially if it's running at 1080p. If this is the case with your setup and if you're either getting a blank screen or a weakened signal, the power supply could resolve your issues.

Available here at £5.99. As always, shipped fast from the UK.

TheGameTrain.com is Official UK Reseller and Distributor of HDFury Products

We are now the official UK Reseller and Distributor of the HDfury Blue, Red and Green. The HDFury lets you plug any HDMI source (Blu-Ray player, PS3 etc) into a VGA screen without a HDMI input. We know there's a lot of fans of this little device, especially those of you who like to play your Playstation 3 on your PC Monitor, but find you get a black screen when you connect them together. The quality is extremely high with very, very little (no?) degradation in the picture. Check out a few shots below:



So what does Official Reseller mean then? Well, you get the same great service (same-day shipping from the UK, people you can actually talk to who know the products inside-out, flexible returns policy), only now at an even cheaper price. Yes, all the original HDFury models (Blue, Red and Green) are now a bargain-licious £72.99. Check out our links on the official HDFury.com site here.

If you're interested in volume amounts of the HDFury, please get in touch.

Those of you interested in the HDFury Gamer - we are also the UK Reseller/Distributor and we expect stock in next week. Stay tuned to the blog for a definitive release date. As soon as have it, we will ship it out same-day. Get your pre-order now for just £49.99 before the price goes back up to £54.99 once it's officially released!

Which Wii AV Cable Should I Buy?

When it comes to connecting the Wii to your TV, you've got a lot more options than simply using the composite cable that comes in the box. Though the composite cable is great for small Televisions, if you really want to get the most out of TV, it's worth upgrading.

It's important to realise: you can't use RGB Scart cables on a US/Japanese Wii and you can't use S-video on a UK Wii. This is true of all Wii cables and is due to limitations built into the consoles by Nintendo - there's no way around it. So here goes...

Wii Component Cable (£7.49)

If you have a HDTV with a component input (like the picture below), this is without doubt the best cable to have. The video signal is split over three separate cables to give a pin sharp image, and you can run your Wii in progressive scan at 480p.

Wii S-Video Cable (£6.99)

If you have a US or Japanese Wii and don't have a HDTV, the Wii S-Video Cable gives the best picture, superior to the default composite cable that comes with the console. This won't work on a UK/European console.

Wii RGB Scart Cable (£7.99 / £5.99)

If you have a UK Wii and no HDTV, the Wii RGB Scart Cable give a picture that's better than both the original composite cable and S-video. We offer two types of Wii RGB Scart cable, the Talismoon one includes separate red/white audio phonos so you can connect to speakers and a slightly cheaper version without the audio phonos: