wii

Nintendo Wii and PlayOn for Video

We’ve switched back to Netflix from Blockbuster (because I loathe Blockbuster for a variety of reasons).  A bonus of being back on Netflix is using the Instant Play feature (VOD) to watch streaming movies.  I already get a great amount of VOD from my AT&T U-verse box but it tends to be more stacked with recent movies.  I don’t have a Netflix device yet (newer blue-ray player maybe?) which would make it easy to watch Netflix on my home theater.  We do have a Wii, so I did some poking around to find out if the Wii could maybe stream movies.  There is a new product called “PlayOn” that works for many different platforms to do just that.

PlayOn doesn’t run on the Wii, it runs on a PC in your house (not a Mac).  It grabs the video on the PC, and the Wii streams it from the PlayOn server (the software you installed on your PC).

The install on the PC was a snap.  I put in my Netflix ID and password so it could login and get at my Instant Queue.  We went to the site playon.tv on the Wii and it found the PC we installed their software on.  We were able to watch Netflix, Hulu, and a variety of other sources.  PlayOn is a platform content providers can create plug-ins for.  That means if you have a streaming resource,  you can create a plug-in anyone with PlayOn can consume your video from the platforms they support (PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Moxi HD DVR, NETGEAR EVA2000, HP MediaSmart TV, or other DLNA-compliant device).

What Worked?

  • Easy Install on PC.
  • Wii connected well, no network issues.
  • Free Trial.

Downsides?

  • No sound on Netflix
  • Jerky video all around
  • Wii support in beta mode.
  • $40, expensive to me.

Neat idea, easy to get running.  Video was no where near the quality of hooking up my laptop.  Would I use it? Probably not due to the cost. If it was $20 and the quality was as good as laptop… 🙂

Wii Play

Well… They were selling out everywhere. I mean the controllers are hard to find still – and for $10 more it comes with a potentially great game (no brainer for many). I already have 2 controllers (but 3 kids) so a 3rd controller doesn’t do a lot for me, but if the game is great it’s a free controller (the way I looked at it when I handed over my Visa card to the Best Buy cashier).

Wii Play is a lot of fun. There are several different small games, ping pong, billiards, darts, tanks, cow racing, find mii matching games, air hockey, and fishing. While they are all fun, some miss the mark as being too simple. Wii Sports really made you feel like you were bowling and playing tennis. Many of the Wii Play games are not quite as realistic. For $10 it’s a steal, for $50 it’s not worth it.

To Wii or not to Wii

Mii Wii Thirty days later the answer is still “yes”. We couldn’t get one before Christmas. I went calling, drove store to store, and tried iTrackr.com and XPBargains Wii locater. I did get one ordered before Christmas online but it wouldn’t show up till New Years weekend. So the kids got a box with a certificate (and they were still jumping around for a promised gift!) Then right after Christmas, while returning something to Best Buy, we lucked out and got one. We started on the family room 20″ TV with it and were just amazed. The controller was so much fun compared to the Gamecube. Of course it was novel. It would wear off right? We moved it down to the basement and hooked it up to the projector (109″ diagonal screen, with component cables). Wow. Real life-like, and even more fun. It will wear off right? Hmmm….

It doesn’t wear off. We now have Raymon’s Raving Rabits and Monkey Ball. We also are renting Wario Smooth Moves. While I’m typing this my five year old is practicing boxing on Wii Sports (the included game) All the grandparents even play when they visit – some of them have bought them one for themselves! What makes it so fun? It’s simple fun. Like the days of pac-man there again fun games with a bit of novelty you can play for 5-10 minutes and have fun. No big time investment, just fun. A bit of virtual reality, a bit of old fashion fun.