Topic: BBC and Nintendo Reveal New Wii iPlayer for UK

[NWR_Lindy]

The on-demand news and radio player gets its own channel and an improved interface.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=20319

 Nintendo and the BBC have announced an updated version of the news provider's iPlayer application, which will be available at 12:01am on Wednesday, November 18.    

Intended to provide "catch-up" coverage (i.e. not live), the player has only been accessible as a streaming web page up to this point, available via the Wii's Internet Channel.  This new version is a Wii Channel unto itself, giving users a new full-screen interface along with improved audio and video quality.  Wii owners can download the channel free of charge, but their Wii must have its country set to UK.    

The Wii-compatible iPlayer was originally released on April 9, 2008, and since that time Wii owners have made over 900,000 requests for BBC TV and radio content.    

If you'd like to discuss this news story you can use our Talkback thread, but be sure to check the corresponding thread started by our forum community members as well!    

BBC and Nintendo launch new BBC iPlayer as Wii Channel    

Date: 13.11.2009    

The BBC and Nintendo UK today unveil a new version of the popular BBC iPlayer on Nintendo's Wii.    

First made available through the console's Internet Channel in April 2008, BBC iPlayer will now be available as a dedicated Wii Channel to provide Wii users with a new, richer experience of the BBC's TV and radio on-demand catch-up service.    

The new Wii Channel is expected to be available from 12.01am on Wednesday 18 November.    

Since BBC iPlayer first launched on the Nintendo Wii, there have been 900,000 requests for TV and radio programmes, and this new version of BBC iPlayer for Wii has been designed to deliver a better and higher quality experience, with a new full-screen user interface allowing the whole family to catch up on TV and radio together in the lounge.    

Erik Huggers, Director, BBC Future Media & Technology, said: "We're pleased that we've been able to work with Nintendo to evolve BBC iPlayer on the Wii, providing a faster, high quality and improved viewing experience.  "It's important that we offer audiences more ways to access the huge range of BBC content available, and this improved version of BBC iPlayer underlines our commitment to reaching new audiences by making BBC iPlayer available on as many platforms as possible."    

David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK, added: "Our partnership with the BBC is another way in which Nintendo is looking to broaden the market for its products by offering compelling and relevant content to families.    

"BBC iPlayer offers Wii owners another reason to turn their console on everyday and adds to the already established non-gaming content on Wii that includes Wii Channels for news, weather forecasts and an internet browser."    

To use the new BBC iPlayer on Nintendo's Wii, Wii users should download the BBC iPlayer Wii Channel from the menu screen of Wii Shop Channel. Once downloaded, users simply click on the BBC iPlayer icon to launch the new full screen service, then select and play their favourite BBC TV or radio programme that they want to watch.    

BBC iPlayer can now be accessed on an increasing number of different platforms and devices, including mobile phones, TVs and gaming consoles.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I tried to submit this as news on the site first, but it wouldn't show me the letters to enter to prove I'm not a spambot.
No idea if that was ever fixed or not.

but I noticed that this part was not in your story
"The new version is a Flash based application using the newly released Video on Demand Framework (VODF) from Nintendo"

It just further strengthens the rumors of Netflix coming to Wii very soon.
iPlayer also looks very good from the screen shots provided too.

[jakeOSX]

i checked the web iplayer site tonight and it didn't work. =\ hope this channel comes to America.

and Black, Netflix uses Silverlight now. while i suspect they could go back to flash, it was a DRM choice, not a technological one that they switched.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'm just referring to the image quality and speed of VOD service on the Wii, it looks good and loads fast(Nintendo Channel ), which just gives me increased confidence that Netflix & Nintendo have figured out an effective way to bring the service to the Wii.

Is the PS3 player aslo using Silverlight?
Does Silverlight only read a specific format like Quicktime and .mov or Windows Media Player and .wmv/.wma?
Is it possible that Silverlight is the only player allowed to connect to netflix servers but has nothing to do with the format that they are actually stored in?

I don't mena to turn this into a stealth Netflix thread (that's what the original thread was for), but I don't get iplayer and it's technical success can be directly releatd to a VOD servcice that I do get and want very badly (Netflix on the TV hooked up to the Wii would be very convenient)