Wiimote on Macbook

[irisxi]

I wanted to know, before i go and buy a wiimote, if it's possible to use it on my macbook pro? I use bootcamp to play Dolphin in windows 7 and have bluetooth and the built in infrared reader, so is this enough to use it without buying the sensor bar?

[thegamefreak0134]

No. The Wiimote doesn't use a standard IR interface like your reader expects. In fact, the 'mote itself doesn't even send out a signal. It literally has a low quality black and white camera at the front of it behind an IR filter, designed solely to recognize blobs of light. The "sensor bar" contains two IR beacons (one on each end) that the wiimote can see. It transmits the location of these beacons to the Wii, where the position of the cursor is then calculated based on the dots positions as reported by the camera.

Long story short, you need either a sensor bar, or two sources of IR light spaced apart that are always on. I kid you not, you can use two candles for this, but it's better to use IR LEDs if you happen to have the parts lying around. I personally use a radio shack sensor bar, works just fine and no real Wii required, so it's great for Dolphin on the go.