I usually try to gear my posts toward an American audience, but I know we also have a large contingent of UK-based readers so here is a little post for you.
BBC iPlayer is available for download on the Nintendo Wii
Last week I downloaded the BBC iPlayer Channel onto my Wii console. I recently saw an advertisement for the Wii promoting the improved BBC iPlayer Channel and other downloadable features and decided to give it a shot.
The first step is to make sure your Wii console is connected to your WiFi connection, all you need to do is to go into the Wii settings then go the Internet section and find the access point. Its basically the same as connecting a laptop to WiFi, a list of available networks will come up and you just choose yours, enter the network key and you are online. You can also use the WiFi connection to play some of the Wii games online with other players around the world and download a web browser that allows you to use your Wii to surf the web.
Once I got connected to the WiFi the rest was also fairly easy to do, although I wasn’t clear at first how to access the download area, but its kind of like the iTunes App Store. Some “apps” for the Wii are free (like the BBC iPlayer, an internet browser channel and a handful of other channels) and others you have to purchase points for like games and other activities. To access the Wii “apps” go to the Wii Shop Channel on the main menu, then go to the channel downloads section and BBC iPlayer is at the top of the list. Wait a few minutes (and listen to the annoying sound of Mario running across the screen collecting coins) and you will have BBC iPlayer on your Wii console!
Previous versions of the BBC iPlayer for the Wii have been a bit underwhelming and got bad reviews, but this one is pretty much the same as the web-based version. Although just like the web version, sometimes you have to give the content some time to load. That was the only downfall (and probably has more to do with our slow broadband connection) otherwise I was really impressed with the organization of the BBC iPlayer Channel and also the range of programs available to watch. I like that I can watch all the same BBC iPlayer programs in full screen on my TV whenever I want from the comfort of my couch without needing to use my laptop.
I would definitely recommend that if you are in the UK and you have a Wii that you download the BBC iPlayer. Its free and easy to navigate and you can catch up on all your favorite BBC programs right on your television whenever it is convenient.
About Lisa
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
Very cool! Thanks for sharing!