Wii Wireless Sensor Bar Reviews

• Read this review to know if you need this product

  
  By A23314SLHPAHAM on 2008-01-02
  The Wii requires a "sensor bar" above or below your TV screen, so it can tell where on the screen you're pointing your remote controller. The Wii comes with a wired sensor bar that will work great for most homes. Don't buy an extra wireless sensor bar unless you actually need it.
  
  To help you decide, it's really useful to understand how this device works. The name "wireless sensor bar" is actually quite misleading in 2 specific ways.
  
  I at first assumed the "sensor bar" was communicating with the Wii console -- that a wired sensor bar sends communications over the wire, and that a wireless sensor bar sends information wirelessly to the console. After all, it's a sensor bar, so it must be sensing something and communicating that information, right?
  
  Wrong. In fact, the sensor bar is nothing more than a fancy flashlight. All it does is turn on some infrared lights with specific spacing and orientation. In fact, it's your Wii remote controller that senses the infrared lights and transmits this information wirelessly to your console, which can then calculate where you are pointing the remote and display a little icon on the screen.
  
  So, misconception #1: the "sensor bar" doesn't sense anything, it's just a little flashlight. Misconception #2, the word "wireless" often means "wireless communication", but in this case, the "sensor bar" is just a dumb device that can't communicate in any way, so the wire is just for power.
  
  So you have 2 options:
  
  * Use the fancy flashlight that you've already purchased, as it came bundled with your Wii, which is powered by a wire connected to your Wii.
  
  * Buy a second fancy flashlight powered by a battery.
  
  OK, with those misconceptions out of the way, you can make a much better choice about whether or not wireless is right for you. For example, don't fret about wireless network interference -- this device doesn't cause any. Likewise, don't worry about having a hard time setting up the "wireless sensor bar" with your Wii -- it doesn't require pairing or any extra configuration at all, it's just a flashlight.
  
  Personally, I normally groove on everything wireless. I adore my Mac wireless mouse. I use only wireless peripherals for all my computers. I have a wireless home network. But in this case, I definitely prefer the bundled, wired "sensor bar". I have too many devices that need batteries as it is, but I was mostly bothered by the 2nd on/off switch.
  
  Let me explain that last comment. You can turn on and off your Wii system with a single, remote controlled button click, just like a TV remote control. Grab any game controller (which of course is wireless and remote) and click the power button from any seat in the room, and the system powers itself on -- plus, that game controller is now designated controller #1. Hold the power button on the remote for several seconds and the system turns itself off -- and all the game controllers you were using are smart enough to power themselves off as well. Sweet! I vastly prefer this over the GameCube, which had to be powered on/off by pushing a button on the console itself.
  
  Unfortunately, the "wireless sensor bar" breaks this elegance. Every time I wanted to play the Wii, I'd sit down, grab the nearest remote, click the power button -- and it would fail to work properly because the wireless sensor bar wasn't turned on. Nor was it able to turn itself on wirelessly, it's just a flashlight, it can't receive wireless commands in any way. So I'd get up, walk to this device, turn it on, and then be able to play. Turning off, same thing -- now I have to turn off 2 items instead of 1. Worse still, the 2nd on/off switch on the "wireless sensor bar" is near the TV, so you have to physically get up and walk around the coffee table, etc. etc., or just leave the flashlight on and have your batteries run down.
  
  Yes, it's a minor complaint. But given that you've already paid for a "sensor bar" that works great, why pay extra for one that doesn't work as well?
  
  There are undoubtedly good reasons to get this device in specific circumstances. If your screen is huge or unusually far away, or if you have a cabling nightmare behind your entertainment center and loathe the thought of adding one more unnecessary wire, you may need or prefer this device over the one that comes with your Wii. I'll defer to other reviewers who can explain what circumstances make this device useful. But for a typical living room setup, with a normal sized TV 5-15 feet away, the wired sensor bar that comes with the Wii works great.
  
  And P.S.: ditch the coffee table, you'll enjoy your Wii more without it.
  
  

• Much Better

  
  By AHJBXA6X0FLRZ on 2007-05-31
  Some reviews mentioned that this bar let you get further away from the TV. We have a 18X25 livingroom. With the original sensor bar, we had to sit in the middle of the room or it wouldn't work very well. With this sensor bar, we are now able to sit all the way across the room on the sofa and it works perfectly.
  
  Yes it is a little larger, has a blue light, a timer, and so on. But at least for us, those are all miniscule with being able to get a much greater distance away from the TV. Well worth the money and definately much better than the original one that came with the Wii.
  
  

• Wii-markable improvement over first party sensor bar

  
  By A4FXQA8HP1JHA on 2007-07-20
  Since purchasing this item and using it in conjunction with the Wii console, I must admit that despite the wireless sensor bar being 3rd party, it delivers first party performance. The range is greater, as well as sensitivity. Don't worry about those who are upset with the alarm...you don't have to set it to the auto off feature, so there's no annoying alarm unless you want it.
  
  This is a good product. Not having the unsightly spaghetti like wire is much kinder to asthetics, and mischevious pets. Order now!
  
  

• It does what it claims...

  
  By A2FFINEO1JV8R6 on 2007-03-28
  I picked this up for use with my neighbor's projector. Under normal TV usage, it's fine, but because its size relative to the projector is so small, it makes the controllers _very_ sensitive (ie, a little wiggle will cause the cursor to go fully across the screen; my neighbor's 6 yr old didn't have the fine motor skills to use the pointing features well under these conditions]. You also may have to adjust the sensitivity of the IR sensors on the controllers so you can get far enough away from the sensor bar that you're not standing in the projector's image.
  
  Another minor annoyance -- the bar has a timer setting, so it only stays on for an hour or two. It's a nice feature, but the alarm keeps sounding for a minute. Combine this with the an on/off button that's sensitive enough to trip when the relays on my TV get thrown, and you have a 2 hr timer that starts when I shut off the TV and go to bed. (luckily, the blue light is bright enough to serve as a notice when this has happened)
  
  For someone with a large projector setup, if you're willing to fork over more money, you might want to think about picking up two, placing them end to end to make a bar twice the length, and tape over the two emitters in the middle. (if Nyko reads this -- think: telescoping so it's adjustable. If Nintendo reads this -- we need a setting to adjust this [like in Twilight Princess])
  
  

• Use both!

  
  By A2TOFPRNBTM2DJ on 2007-09-15
  So I had put this on my wishlist for my birthday and was happy to get it. It does indeed extend the range of the remotes. But our couch is 12' away from the TV (big TV) and was pushing the limit of even this sensor. But wait, it's not a sensor, is it? It's just a pair of LED emitters like the original. So I *stacked* them. They actually stack quite nicely, with the wired Nintendo emitter on bottom (so that the activation button on the Nyko is still on top). The result was amazing - what was jittery at 12' is now rock stable at 20'.
  
  I like the timer function, and the on indicator. Not fond of the silver logo on front. But the product works great. If you have a Wii and a big screen, you want this product. Try it on it's own or stacked!
  
  
• Adequate, but a simple flaw prevents it from being great.
  By A2D4J6FZH4CIHV on 2007-07-07
  The wireless Wii bar from Nyko takes 4x AA batteries and seems to be able to run off them for a fair amount of time. When you want to turn the wireless bar on, simply press the top button and a blue LED lights showing that it is then functioning. At that point, it works exactly like the sensor bar that comes with the Wii, although with a bit more range.
  
  The main complaint with the product, as mentioned by others, is the timer to automatically turn the device off. It's loud, intrusive, and continues for a full minute. It's irritating enough that through use I've found I prefer to take my chances running the batteries down after forgetting to manually turn it off, than to leave it in timer mode and deal with it.
  
  In general, it works as a wireless replacement in a perfectly adequate way. It's disappointing that a simple shut-off feature is made irritating enough that it leaves you with negative feelings towards a device that does what it genuinely needs to do fairly well. But the devil is in the details, and a product isn't complete until you've made every feature work well.
  
  
• much more convenient
  By A2OR09N5HH20PY on 2007-09-13
  This is one of the best add ons you can get for the wii. getting rid of that thin grey wire is the best thing you can do. mine was always getting tangled and knotted. sensitivity and everything works perfectly, just like the original.
  
  
• Great way to eliminate wires...
  By A3QU8Z7ZWMB66L on 2007-04-11
  I needed an extra sensor bar to put on my bedroom plasma. I didn't want any wires exposed, and this fit the bill perfectly. It's bigger than the included one, and has an annoying blue light. However, a piece of black electrical tape over it works great. Just remember to turn it off, or set the automatic shut-off to 1 or 2 hours. The range on the unit is better than the wired one.
  
  
• Some people......
  By A1QV9LYNXCHC6I on 2007-05-03
  Well, I picked this up for my projector after going through a few of my own home-made wireless bars. First of all, there is a switch on the back where you can set the sensor to shut off after 1 or 2 hours, and this is very helpful since it does not shut off with the cosole like the original bar does. But if you don't want to use this feature, you just slide the switch to "off", and the timer is off..easy, right?
  Now, the only reason the controller may seem sensitive on such a huge screen is not because of the size of the bar, but because that it how nintendo made the wii to work with all tv sizes. If you had a 9" tv and a 200" tv, the amount of movement you would make with the wiimote would be the same with both screens to get from one end to the other. In other words, the wii does not detect or care what size screen your using, you will always have to move the wiimote the same distance.
  This sensor bar seemed to work much better than the original one in that it reads a farther distance and is less jittery on screen and gives a much more persistant signal. For a projector or anywhere you can't use nintendos sensor bar, this is a great alternative.
  
  
• Solid replacement for wired sensor bar
  By A1GB887G06MMDD on 2007-03-20
  This wireless unit looks good and works just as well as the wired we sensor bar, so it is a nice option for people who have big screens or projectors.
  
  One complaint that people have is that you can make your own wireless unit with components from Radio Shack, but for $20 I'd just as soon buy this. The unit looks clean and you don't have to mess around with a soldering gun and project kit.
  
  The only down side to the unit is that the blue "Power" light on the front is extremely bright and can be distracting during game play. I'm not sure if this light is used as one of the LEDs to communicate with the remote, but I intend to find out by placing a small piece of tape over it. If that works than the bar will have no issues.
  
  
• Well this one isn't a game...
  By AU4NE466EKOZ7 on 2007-09-01
  But it helps with playing the games. Only caveat, make sure that you set the timer when you get it, as it defaults to no timer and then chews up the battery as a result. The alarm that sounds when the timer has expired is a bit loud, I wish it had volume control.
  
  Other than that, it's more sensitive than the bar shipped with the Wii and eliminates the need for the wire that plugs it into the Wii (which only provides power for the LEDs).
  
  
• Easy to use
  By A3BJG253BDEHKZ on 2007-04-11
  This is the best. it makes it easy to travel with the Wii. Now that I was able to bring it places with me I have two people who have bought one themselves
  
  
• awesome for the living room
  By A207U4X011OLDD on 2007-07-03
  My wii is about 6 feet behind me, and the wall about 15 feet in front of me is my TV (from a projector) so the included sensor bar is useless. I looked for extension cables, or a separate adapter to power the sensor bar since it doesnt need to be connected to the wii, but nothing was easily attainable.
  
  This sensor bar worked perfectly. It has an annoying beep after it hits your time limit, which is far less annoying than replacing batteries all the time. I used a couple velcro dots to attach it under a peice of molding whenever I want to play, and it's really light and thin so that works great too.
  
  I was a little worried about the distance, but the 15 feet between my controller and the sensor bar is irrelevant.
  
  This product was inexpensive and very useful - cant ask for much more.
  
  Nyko, if you read this:
  In a future version, it would be great if you could just auto-off the thing after 30 sec of beeping or something. Also, I'd pay double if you could give me one that had a solar cell. Nice product.
  
  
• Works like a charm.
  By AADP8LEQFQZ50 on 2007-07-05
  It has yet to run out of batteries after a month of play, and in a home theater environment, it gets rid of the blasted wire running across the middle of my living room. The only slightly annoying thing is the loud beeping (sounds like a weak smoke alarm) that occurs if you have it set to shut off after 1 or 2 hours. It would make sense if it beeped a few times as a warning that it's going to shut off, but the thing doesn't shut off by itself before 10 minutes have gone by.
  
  
• Heart of the Wii
  By A12E78L9515IF6 on 2007-07-17
  The Wii comes with one in the box, but I didn't mount mine infront of the TV, because the Wii gets moved around in the house. The wire is pretty thin for it. I am always afraid that one day it will just get cut or just doesn't work. So it is good to have a spare.
  
  
• It Works - And for $20 there isn't ANYTHING to complain about
  By AZRQM2LKEW78O on 2007-07-23
  This bar has a lot more features than the original "wired" sensor bar Nintendo provides. I've used this one on multiple TVs with all sorts of setups without any problems at all. For $20 you really can't go wrong here.
  
  
• Not better than the wired one.
  By AAH0NA0X1BTQ5 on 2007-05-18
  I bought this at EB with hopes that it would add the promised extra distance. I found that at 15 feet of distance my onscreen pointer would vanish until I moved the remote to 10 feet. Also, the bar is much bigger and looks lame on top of my TV.
  
  
• Great product !!!
  By A3D54GK2FVEZB5 on 2007-06-29
  I love this thing... We have a 50" plazma mounted on the wall and all the cables run inside the wall, so there are no cables in sight. So now, even the Sensor bar is wire free !! very clean and neat. I think the reange is much better as well. The motion on the screen seems smoother to me....
  
  
• Freakin' Awesome Works Great (MAY NEED TO ADJUST SENSITIVITY IN WII MENU FOR BEST RESULTS!!!)
  By AK9T1MEQIT6BA on 2008-06-30
  At first the wireless bar had same problem mentioned in another review (it wasn't tracking unless I was right next to the bar. I went into wii menu and reset the Sensitivity factory wii setting is 3 I set it to 5 after checking 4. It works great from every angle and distance set at 5 now. So if your having that problem just go into wii menu and fix it very easy to do.
  Awesome Product
  
  
• Useless
  By A235WTYSJ1EEK4 on 2007-04-22
  It looks like a waste of batteries.
  An makeshift alternative would be placing 2 other light sources on top of either side of your TV, like candles. The sensor bad just emmits invisible rays that candles and flashlights also emmit.
  
  
• sensor bar is cat proof!!!
  By A321164Z04G5BH on 2007-05-25
  I bought the bar because my cat eats every cord it can find. This solved the problem. I just have to remember to turn it off to save the batteries. It works great.
  
  
• And on the 7th day...
  By AIQ5YTW55IVCW on 2007-05-25
  We bought the wireless sensor bar...
  
  Because on the sixth day one of my Merlot modifed guests caught the wire on the supplied sensor and nearly hauled the WII off the entertainment center! Imagine taking that one back to Best Buy for warranty!
  
  The NYKO wireless sensor bar has given us a degree of freedom unheard of with the wired one. We can place it anywhere now and not worry about people tripping over it (ok, I tripped over it too). I use the WII with my projector and a blank wall so placement is very important and you just can't see that little wire stretching across the room!
  
  Sure it takes 4 AA batteries but if you have kids and are not already buying nickel metal hydrides for their toys then you are wasting your money! I have tonnes of these batteries around and a half dozen chargers to keep them ready for action. I am averaging around 20 hours of game play with a decent set of NiMh (1500 to 2200 MaH).
  
  The auto off in 1 or 2 hours is also very handy. If I tell the kids they have an hour to play this is perfect for keeping track if I get distracted with other tasks.
  
  There is a bright blue LED to remind you the unit is on. Some don't like it...I do as long as I am not trying to sleep (I have a Norcen LCD TV with a bright blue LED that pretty much lights up my room, another review, another time) in the same room!
  
  Next to getting another remote, I would recommend this be your third purchase if you want your trouble free gaming to continue!
  
  Overall it is well made and if it were lost or stolen I would buy two more!
  
  Good luck!
  
  
  
• Wireless For The Wireless Wii
  By A3W4D8XOGLWUN5 on 2007-05-27
  With the successof the Nintendo Wii, many gamers though have complained about the sensor bar, because it sometimes falls down whenever get a bit too close, and that it is still wired to the Wii. Nyko, which has made some previous lackluster controllers for Nintendo products before has tried it again, with their Wireless Sensor Bar. It is easy to setup and connect with the Wii. Unfortunately, there has been a huge problem with the gameplay. At times, whenever I'm playing a game like The Legend Of Zelda Twilight Princess, my Wii controller stops working, and I have to change the batteries, and it affects the gameplay constantly. To be honest with you, I think Nintendo can make a better wireless sensor bar than this one. In the meantime, stick with the one you got with the Wii.
  
  Price: C+
  
  Convience: C 1/2-
  
  Setup: C+
  
  Overall: C
  
  
• The Wireless Power
  By A1G6C9B4VQ1I6A on 2007-06-27
  Works great, no wires, no receivers and works for hours on end. I can use it anywhere in my room, even if my Wii is on the opposite end of the room, which is 15 x 15. I played for nearly 6 hours and it never ran out of power, out the two months I've had it, I have yet to change the batteries.
  
  
• wii sensor bar
  By A24EWY0PY3201H on 2007-07-19
  This wii sensor bar is better than the one that it comes with because you can move it around to different tvs in your house and there are no wires. Its great. The sensor on it is better than the original.
  
  
• Wii wireless sensor bar
  By A2XTX11PRJ0T7I on 2007-07-26
  Bought as a replacement for original sensor bar as wire had broke due to vacumm cleaner. This bar is a little larger and works better than the original. It allows you to be farther away from the TV and more off to the side. Good price and value. Highly recommend.
  
  
• Better than expected
  By A1GHOOOU5Z2KDF on 2007-08-01
  The device performs very well. It gives you incredible flexibility on where to play your Wii. I haven't noticed any difference in responsiveness between the wired sensor bar and wireless. The price is very reasonable.
  
  
• Wii Wireless Sensor Bar
  By A2DEQ0UE75DOK4 on 2007-09-08
  The Wii Wireless Sensor Bar works great. Same as the wired one except we don't have to worry about the cat chewing on the wires, which is why we bought the wireless one.
  
  
• Great if you have a Beamer or >40'' TV
  By A2CMSC6I5SX4AH on 2007-09-10
  This one has around 30% more power than the original sensor bar, so you can definately sit around 5-10 feet beyond the position you have to mind having the original sensor bar without jerks.
  
  5 of 5 stars because it works perfect
  
  
• Not what I expected...
  By A3O4UMFI6YV0L7 on 2007-09-24
  Specified on the page was a Nyko Wii Wireless Sensor Bar, instead recieved some "Hais" brand that does not compare. Also received item at the end of a 21 business day waiting period. Slow transaction, definitely unsatisfied.
  
  

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