Best Ways to Watch TV and Movies on a Nintendo Wii Game Console

There are several free and inexpensive paid services that will allow you to watch streaming TV and movies using your Nintendo Wii game console. The Wii comes with an Internet Channel, which has an Opera-based web browser that supports Flash videos. You can watch TV and movies on any website which has videos in Flash format, version 7 or earlier. There are also other services that will convert online videos so that you can watch them on your Wii. To watch TV and movies on your Wii, you will need a high-speed Internet connection of at least 1.5 megabits per second (Mbps) and a wireless home network. You can also connect your Wii to the Internet with a wired network by using a Wii LAN Adapter. Ensure that your Wii is properly connected to the Internet before attempting to view TV or movies on the game console.

Watch TV and Movies on the Wii with Netflix

Netflix offers the simplest and most convenient way to watch movies and TV on your Wii game console. The Netflix Instant Streaming service includes thousands of movies and TV shows, many of which have been featured on cable and satellite TV channels. All you have to do is sign up for a Netflix unlimited subscription plan and order a free Netflix disc for the Wii. Add movies and TV shows to your Netflix Instant Queue on your computer or in the Internet Channel on the Wii. Then insert the Netflix disc into the Wii game console each time you want to watch movies or TV from the Netflix website. You can get more details by reading How to Stream Instant Netflix Movies with a Wii Game Console.

Watch TV and Movies on the Wii on YouTube and Google Videos

Both YouTube and Google Videos utilize a flash version that's compatible with the Wii game console's Internet Channel. However, when you're searching Google Videos, you won't be able to watch the majority of the movies and TV shows that are on websites other than Google. However, any video hosted directly on the Video.Google.com website will run properly in the Wii Internet Channel.

Watch TV and Movies on the Wii with PlayOn.tv

PlayOn is a service that can stream TV and movies from sites such as Netflix, YouTube and Hulu on your TV through a Wii console. There is a two week free trial for the PlayOn software. After the trial expires, you can continue using PlayOn Premium for a small yearly fee. The PlayOn software and service are very intuitive and easy to use. The computer you use to install the PlayOn software and your Internet connection must meet the software system requirements, and it must be Wi-Fi enabled. Your computer must also be on to stream movies and TV shows to your Wii game console.

After you download and install the free trial software, the settings window will open automatically. Browse the tabs and make sure that your computer and Internet connection meet the PlayOn system requirements. Click the "Channels" tab and type in your usernames and passwords for the sites in the list.

Turn on your Wii and go to the Internet Channel. Select the "WWW" button and type in "playon.tv." Make any adjustments to your browser settings that are recommended in the PlayOn window. Also, add the PlayOn website to your favorites. The Wii game console will automatically find the computer with the PlayOn software. When the channels appear, you may click on the one you want to view to begin browsing for TV shows and movies.

Watch TV and Movies on the Wii with TVersity

TVersity is a software program that can stream TV and movies from your computer to your Wii game console. There is a free version of TVersity and a paid pro version with more features and functionality. The free version of TVersity will stream videos from sites like YouTube and Google Video to your Wii game console. The pro version will also stream videos from Hulu and the BBC website. The computer you use must be Wi-Fi enabled and it must be turned on to stream TV shows and movies to your Wii. TVersity is more difficult and time consuming to use than PlayOn.tv and requires some intermediate computer skills.

To get started, download the TVersity program and install it. Start the TVersity interface and click "Settings." Click "Transcoder Settings." Under "Maximum Video and Image Resolution," set the video resolution to 400 by 300. You can leave the image resolution as is, or set it to 800 by 600. Under "Optimization," select whether you want to optimize for quality or speed. Select the connection speed and quality that is right for your home network. Under "Compression," choose "Average." Click "Save."

Click "Library." To add videos from your hard drive, click "File System." Select "Folders." Choose "My Video" and click "Edit Item." Navigate to the video folder on your hard drive and click "Update." To add videos directly from the Internet, click "Internet Media." Click "Internet Video." Click "Add Item." On your computer, go to the web page where the TV show or movie is located. Copy the direct link to download the video. Paste the URL into the field marked "Video URL." If you are downloading from a site such as Google or YouTube, you can enter the video's RSS URL instead of a video's direct download link. You can also use third party software to download YouTube videos to your Video folder, then add them to your library.

Once you've added all the TV shows and movies you want to TVersity, open a command window. To do this in Windows XP, click "Start," "Run" and type "cmd" in the field provided. In Windows Vista and 7, type "cmd" in the search box. Type "ipconfig" in the command window. Make a note of the number after "IP Address."

Turn on your Wii and go to the Internet Channel. Click "WWW" and type "http://youripaddress:41952/flashlib." Replace "youripaddress" with the number of the IP address you found in the command window. Press "OK." Be sure to save the URL as a favorite so that you won't have to type it every time you want to access TVersity on the Wii.

The TVersity application will load in your Opera web browser. Here, you can browse the content in your TVersity library. Select either "Video" or "Internet, RSS & Podcasts" to see the TV shows and movies in the library. If you experience errors, turn off your Wii console, then turn it back on and return to the Internet Channel.

For more information on this topic, read How to Connect a Wii Game Console to the Internet.