Anyone Tried a DolphinBar?

[poofyhairguy]

So I was trolling through Amazon buying some USB controller knock offs for emulators when I found this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The crappy process of connecting Wiimotes to Windows is pretty much the only reason I don't have a homemade HD Wii in my livingroom. Does anyone have one of these? Any tips or flaws?

 

[mmntech]

Looks like it's just a sensor bar with integrated Bluetooth radio. We used to use something similar at work. I'm guessing all the magic is done in software. Reviews look pretty positive.

 

[poofyhairguy]

This thing is just too cheap for what it might be. I bought one and I will post feedback.

My God I am so excited.

 

[rifken2]

I have one but haven't hooked it up yet...

 

[tential]

I have one, you should get one.

It works exactly as you'd expect it to work

 

[ImpulsE69]

Heh, I might grab one of these. My method of using the chandelier lights is ok, but doestn' allow me to actually point at the screen

 

[WildW]

Looking forward to feedback - agreed that the bluetooth side is the awkward bit. Drop back to desktop, click on Toshiba bluetooth stack icon, click connect, push buttons, hope. I have a bar with USB just for power and a little USB dongle for bluetooth. Works but a pain in the backside to get going every time.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I have one, you should get one.

It works exactly as you'd expect it to work

It does! It syncs perfectly with a Wiimote, time after time and even after reboot. It even works with my Wii motion plus adaptor! This thing is a keeper, and will allow me to finally have a completely remote driven retroconsole

 

[WildW]

It does! It syncs perfectly with a Wiimote, time after time and even after reboot. It even works with my Wii motion plus adaptor! This thing is a keeper, and will allow me to finally have a completely remote driven retroconsole

You mean. . . you can just pick up the Wiimote, push 1 & 2, and launch Dolphin?

 

[tential]

Looking forward to feedback - agreed that the bluetooth side is the awkward bit. Drop back to desktop, click on Toshiba bluetooth stack icon, click connect, push buttons, hope. I have a bar with USB just for power and a little USB dongle for bluetooth. Works but a pain in the backside to get going every time.

You don't have to do that with this.

You just plug the bar in and leave it plugged in. When you want to turn the controller on just hit any button on the controller and it turns the controller on.
Click the sync button on Dolphin under Controller's and you're done.

You probably don't have to do that last part if you use something like Continuous Scanning I think.

 

[WildW]

Urg. Not available in my country. Typical.

Edit: All hail eBay!

Does this thing do generic Bluetooth too? I use a bluetooth keyboard with my HTPC and I'm assuming that running my existing bluetooth dongle together with this would be a bad idea.

 

[poofyhairguy]

No I still have my bluetooth adaptor hooked up for Six Axis use and its fine. Once you sync the Wiimotes to this thing they are completely controlled by it.

FYI I tested last night and up to four wiimotes work just fine. Also my Wii Motion Plus adapter works fine.

 

[WildW]

Mine came today . . . wow. . . I can't emphasize just how plug-and-play this thing is. Driver installed, plug in, push sync buttons, run Dolphin, works! Awesome recommendation guys, thanks so much =)

edit: So, for my next question, has anyone figured out how to stop the thing flashing when you're not using it, or do I just have to unplug it? :/

 

[clok1966]

Thanks for heads up, just bee experimenting with WII emulation. This looks like a sweet deal.

 

[poofyhairguy]

edit: So, for my next question, has anyone figured out how to stop the thing flashing when you're not using it, or do I just have to unplug it? :/

I have been unplugging mine because I read a review that someone left it plugged in all the time and it burned out.

 

[WildW]

I have been unplugging mine because I read a review that someone left it plugged in all the time and it burned out.

I did notice that it got quite warm, have been doing the same. Also, Windows doesn't boot for me with it plugged in :/

 

[ImpulsE69]

For anyone that hasn't. Emulation is the way to go. The latest Dolphin versions run most things GREAT as they made some change that makes everything work better at a lower cpu requirement.

Xenoblade Chronicles now runs almost flawlessly and there is a texture upgrade pack you can install as well that makes it look ever better.

 

[poofyhairguy]

For anyone that hasn't. Emulation is the way to go.

Agreed. The Wii gains more from emulation and upscaling than any console ever, even without the texture packs.

 

[gorcorps]

I tried emulation a few years ago and had a lot of issues. Good to hear it's gotten better, but I gave away my Wii and all of the controllers after I had no use for them.