Article - Nintendo Wii Channels

Disc Channel: This channel allows users to play both Wii and Gamecube titles on their Wii system. If a Wii disc is inserted into the Wii system, the Disc Channel will display the inserted discs name as well as a sound clip specifically for that game. If a Gamecube disc is inserted into the Wii system, the Disc Channel will display the Gamecube logo as well as play the Gamecubes start-up sound. If you insert an incompatible disc, or if you insert your Wii or Gamecube disc in the wrong way, the Disc Channel will display an "Unable to read the disc" sign.

Mii Channel: Go to this channel to create a virtual you. The Miis that you create in this channel will be saved in your Wii system; in addition, can be transferred to a Wii Remote, where you can then bring to someone else's home to play on another Wii system; can be transferred through the Wii Message Board via an internet connection. The Wii system can save a maximum of 100 Miis. One Wii Remote can hold up to a maximum amount of 10 Miis.

As of this writing there are three Wii games that uses the Mii's that you create: WarioWare: Smooth Moves, consisting of fully mini-games; Wii Sports, a sports title featuring, Baseball, Bowling, Boxing, Golf, and Tennis; and Wii Play, consisting of 9 mini games featuring, Billiards, Charge!, Find Mii, Fishing, Laser Hockey, Pose Mii, Shooting Range, Table Tennis, and Tanks!

Photo Channel: This channel allows users to view .jpeg/.jpg pictures and .avi/.mov videos from their SD memory card and display them on their television screen. The user is able to perform many actions while viewing pictures and/or movies such as: zooming in and out of an image/video; creating a puzzle; playing a slideshow of the images/videos with transitions and music (either the default tunes in the Photo Channel, or an .mp3 file stored in the SD memory card); edit an image by drawing on, adding stamps, copying and pasting, brightening, converting to monochrome, and changing to stark black and white. Users can also send their pictures to other Wii systems by attaching a photo to the Wii Message Board via an internet connection.

Wii Shop Channel: The greatest channel of them all. In this channel you're able to purchase classic Nintendo Entertainment System, TurboGrafx-16, SEGA Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Nintendo 64 games via an internet connection!

The cost of the games are generally the same in almost every region, there are some games that may cost less or more than the standard price. The following are the average North American prices for each system:

- Nintendo Entertainment System: 500 ($5) points.
- TurboGrafx-16: 600 ($6) points.
- SEGA Genesis: 800 ($8) points.
- Super Nintendo Entertainment System: 800 ($8) points.
- Nintendo 64: 1,000 ($10) points.

In addition to purchasing classic games, users are able to download new Wii Channels such as the Everybody Votes Channel, and Internet Channel.

Forecast Channel: Users who have connected their Wii to the internet can access free local weather forecasts in this channel. Users are able to view the current forecast, the UV index, today's overall forecast, tomorrow's forecast, and a 5-day forecast. The WiiConnect24 service automatically updates local weather information, which is provided by Weathernews. Users can also view forecasts for cities around the world on a 3-D globe.

News Channel: Users who have connected their Wii to the internet can access breaking news from the Associated Press with the touch of a button. When connected to the internet, the WiiConnect24 service automatically updates this free channel and organizes it in a variety of topical categories. Users can see where news is happening by viewing the location of news stories on a 3-D globe.

Wii Message Board: Forget hand-scrawled notes tacked to the refrigerator door. Users can leave messages for other family members on a calendar-based message board. They also can use WiiConnect24 to send messages to people outside the home as well. Even better, people can trade photos and text messages with cell phone users. The service also allows for incoming messages targeted at software, such as a new map or weapon for a game. Games can constantly be updated, thereby extending their playability.

Internet Channel: Powered by Opera this channel allows users who have connected their Wii to the internet to surf the web. Users are able to download the Internet Channel for free before June 30, 2007, after which the browser will cost 500 ($5) Wii Points to download. The browser uses CSS, JavaScript, Ajax, RSS, and Adobe Flash 7 technologies. The Wii Remote acts as a mouse and performs all of the basic actions to surf the web: typing, zooming, scrolling, bookmarking, and going back and forth through web-pages

Everybody Votes Channel: This channel allows up to six people in one household to participate in regional and global opinions. When you first launch the Everybody Votes Channel, you will be asked to choose the region of which you are currently located. To register to vote all that you need to do is choose a Mii that you would like to represent yourself in your household.

Polls are presented with two different answers. After you're done voting for your personal opinion, you can then predict which answer is going to be the most popular. There is a time-limit to vote for each question, and when the time-limit is over, Nintendo will tally up the votes and reveal the results soon after.

When the results are revealed you are able to view the results by, gender, national/worldwide prediction accuracy, and national results by region/country. The Wii saves your Miis vote status: vote count, prediction record, and prediction accuracy. Depending on your status you will either lose or gain points that determine your experience, knowledge, personality, surroundings, and thoughts, which will then determine your distance from popular opinion.