When they say that Dolphin can run Wii games in HD, what do they mean?

[belomeclone]

Do they simply mean the Resolution? So wouldn't that mean that Gamecube games can be run in HD? And, uh, NES games? Shouldn't HD be defined by the textures as well? (I know Dolphin can texture swap too )

[Billiard26]

3D rendered graphics can be scaled to any resolution.
I think any resolution of 1280x720 or higher is considered "HD".

[jumb]

Yes, just the resolution. Check these to compare: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television#High-definition_display_resolutions

[Ocean]

HD is only a marketing term. It usually refers to resolutions 720p/1080p (and in the future, 1600p and above)

Some current gen console games are even at 640p or lower yet marketed as HD, subjective matter..

And gamecube can only display 480p max with a special component cable (that costs more than a used GC due to it's rarity)

[KHRZ]

Dolphin can run in any resolution, as 3D models (polygons) are just vector graphics, (coordinates of points in space) while the textures are bitmaps (grids of pixels in a set resolution). And the same with NES games; all the graphics are bitmaps and can't be run in higher resolutions, only upscaled. (With advanced algorithms I won't try to guess how works)

And so the other elements used for better looking games (or some at least) that's doesn't magically get added by Dolphin is...
-Higher res textures
-More polygons
-More/better effects (shaders/lightning/explosions etc.etc.etc.)
(^These are mostly also vector graphics though, so they look better)

[Mr_Zo]

It would get a little confusing if HD also referred to texture resolution.

[mexis]

with dolphin people can play games that they used to play ( probably on crt tvs ) with wonderful clearess of image. wii is kinda blurry and very aliased.. with dolphin all games are better to see and play.