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No documented supported method was found for showing live PC-game video on the screen of an original 2008 Nintendo DSi. Its listed connectors do not include video input, and Nintendo’s documentation describes Wi-Fi as internet access—not as a way to stream a PC’s display to the handheld.
Why the DSi cannot simply act as a PC monitor
Nintendo lists the DSi’s display as 3.25 inches and names an SD memory card slot, DS card slot, AC adapter connector, and stereo headphone/microphone connection. The specification does not list a video input or a display connection for receiving a computer’s picture. Nintendo’s DSi specifications therefore provide no supported cable-based route for sending PC video to the console.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Nintendo DSi - Handheld game console - black (Renewed) | $123.86 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Nintendo DS Lite Console Handheld System Black (Renewed) | $99.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
![Nintendo DSi - Matte Black (Renewed) [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/316UTNM+o+L._SL160_.jpg)
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Nintendo DSi - Matte Black (Renewed) [video game] | $133.64 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Nintendo DSi Console - Blue [video game] | $96.01 | Buy on Amazon |
That is different from proving that no custom hardware or experimental homebrew could ever be made to do it. The available documentation does not establish such a solution, nor does it provide performance details such as resolution, frame rate, or latency for one.
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Why Wi-Fi and the DSi Browser do not solve it
The DSi Browser is a web browser, not documented as a PC-game streaming client. In Nintendo’s 2008 announcement, Satoru Iwata described it as “an Internet browser, co-developed by Opera and Nintendo and comprehensively tuned exclusively for Nintendo DSi.” The statement, reproduced by Nintendo UK, describes browsing the internet; it does not promise that the browser can receive a live game feed from a PC.
#1 Best Overall
Nintendo’s operations manual explains that the Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector could let a PC act as an internet access point for the DSi. An access point provides a network connection; the manual does not describe it as a live video link that puts the PC’s screen on the DSi. See the Nintendo DSi Operations Manual.
Controlling a PC from the DSi is the reverse direction
The unofficial DSi2Key project describes sending the DSi’s controls to a PC: it can send key signals, emulate a PC gamepad, and use the touchscreen to control the PC mouse. That is input from the DSi to the computer. It does not describe sending the computer’s game video back to the DSi, so it does not make the handheld a PC-game display.
Rank #2
- The DS Lite system is a region free device, it can plays all Nintendo DS Lite games and Gameboy Advance Games
Do not rely on discontinued Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection services
Nintendo says online features of Nintendo DS and DSi software that used Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection were discontinued on May 20, 2014. That historical service is not a current route for streaming PC games. Nintendo’s service-discontinuation notice concerns online features of DS and DSi software; it does not document a PC-video capability.
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Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Dual 3.25-inch screen
- Download exclusive games, clocks and calendars via the Nintendo DSi Shop
- Take pictures using either an inward or outward facing camera and chose from 11 different lenses to customize your shots
- Connect wirelessly to browse the internet, share photos and play with others
- Access your music in the AAC format off any standard SD Card
Rank #3
- Dual 3.25-inch screen
- Download exclusive games, clocks and calendars via the Nintendo DSi Shop
- Take pictures using either an inward or outward facing camera and chose from 11 different lenses to customize your shots
- Connect wirelessly to browse the internet, share photos and play with others
- Access your music in the AAC format off any standard SD Card
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