Topic: Wii U and a Non HD TV

I was curious I don't have an HD TV, will I need to get one in order for the Wii U to work or will it work with a regular TV and the image won't be as good?

The picture will not be in HD for starters. And you will probably have some letterboxing going on (black bars at top and bottom of the screen. I'm sure your Wii U will work on a non hd tv since it allows you to use the wii's old composite cable (Yellow, white and red connections). If you don't have a wii already, you have to purchase the component or composite cables seperately.

Here are some examples of composite and component cables. (component is better if your tv can accommodate them) - Just click on the links below:
1.) Component: http://www.amazon.com/Component-Cable-Nintendo-Wii-HDTV/dp/B0...
2.) Composite: http://www.amazon.com/Wii-A-V-Cable-Nintendo/dp/B0011E4J2Y/re...

I usually buy original Nintendo products for peace of mind and the above links are just for the sake of illustration.

I haven't tried using my Wii U on a non hd tv yet, so maybe someone else could point out whether I missed something. The above is based on what I have read on the internet.

Nope, you don't need them at all. You can just use Wii composite cables (Available on Nintendo's online store for cheap).

Cool thanks! I want to get it for the family for Christmas, well mostly for me but I guess that I'll let them play also! LOL We have been playing the Wii and 3DS for the last few years and love it and can't wait for the Wii U.

I have friends who buy LOTS of games for "the kids". lol. I don't have any kids, but fortunately I have a wife who supports my gaming addiction, I mean hobby. . If you and the family enjoyed wii sports on the Wii, you are in for a treat with the new Wii Sports Club. I'm sure you'll enjoy your new toy. I know I am.

I guess, you mean "WiiU". I thought the problem was resolved by the new update!?

@OP I bought a scart cable so that I could play my WiiU on my SDTV and the picture quality is fine. The highest picture setting is 570i for SDTV's, although it's not much compared 480 but there is slight difference in picture quality.
Also, if you set the screen size in regular mode, you'll get those boarders top and bottom of the screen. If you set it to wide screen the picture fills the screen but it looks squished.

What's better for a SD-TV: 480i or 576i? Is the 576i-Mode slower or something?

@gaming_24_7 NTSC SDTV's are 480i definition running at 60hz (lower picture quality with a high picture refresh rate), where as PAL SDTV's are 576i definition running at 50hz (higher picture quality with a slower refresh rate). These won't affect game play.
Tbh though, if you have a decent SDTV the frame rate shouldn't be an issue, but going from 480i to 576i the picture quality is noticeable.

Thank you

Um... they already fixed this in the recent update - or did that not come out in your region?
https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wiiu/en_na/system_a...

Shouldn't be any letterboxing, at least not now. NIntendo has some guidelines and rules for scan lines and 4:3 available/required to devs, though some stuff might get cut out and you're getting that 4:3 picture with small text depending on the TV size. It'll be just like the PS3 and Xbox 360. Just use your Wii composite cables or if you didn't have a Wii get composite/S-Video/component cables from Nintendo's website (it's a non-standard connector console-side unlike the HDMI.) Component can usually do up to 1080i or 1080p depending on the TV but if your SDTV has it you can get 480p which will look a lot cleaner than composite or even S-Video.

Oh and if you live in North America don't worry about @dizzy_boy's post at all. We never had Scart video, 576i, 576p, or (at least any time within the past 40 years) 50hz TV's so ignore that.