Wii Channels

The operating system interface for the Wii is designed around the concept of television channels, with the Wii menu used to access them. Separate channels are displayed graphically in a grid, and can be navigated using the pointer capability of the Wii Remote. The grid can be customised, with users able to move channels between the menu's 48 slots.

There are six primary channels: the Disc Channel, Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Forecast Channel and News Channel, with two additional channels available for download via the Shop Channel: the Internet Channel and Virtual Console Channel.

Disc Channel

The Disc Channel displays the name of the Wii or Nintendo GameCube game title that is present in the drive, and for Wii titles, will also play a clip of its theme song. This channel is the only one that may not be moved in the grid; it will always appear in the upper left corner.

Mii Channel

The Mii (pronounced "me") Channel allows users to create their own 3D caricatured portraits (called Miis), which can then be used as characters in a variety of Wii software, such as WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Wii Sports.

Users can either select from pre-made caricatures or create their own by choosing custom facial shapes, colours and positioning. In addition to storing Miis on the Wii, a player's Mii can be stored in the Wii Remote and taken elsewhere to play on another Wii console. Each Wii Remote can hold up to a maximum amount of 10 Miis, whilst the console itself can hold 100 Miis.

Photo Channel

The Photo Channel enables users to retrieve digital pictures from an SD memory card inserted into the Wii console and display them on the TV screen. A built-in editor allows users to manipulate their photos in a variety of ways, such as creating mosaics, puzzles or slide shows, complete with MP3 soundtracks. Edited photos can be saved to the console and sent to other Wiis via the message board. The console supports the following file extensions:

• Photos: .jpeg, .jpg (maximum resolution 8192x8192)
• Movies: .mov, .avi (maximum resolution 848x480)
• Music: .mp3

Wii Shop Channel

The Wii Shop Channel offers players the chance to download newly added channels and video game content for the Virtual Console (see below), paying for their purchases using Wii Points. Games start at a cost of 500 points (approximately �3.50) and range in price up to 1,000 points (approximately �7).The channel can also be used to download the Opera browser used in the Internet Channel.

Forecast Channel

The Forecast Channel allows users to access local weather reports and forecasts when connected to the Internet via the WiiConnect24 service. The Forecast Channel displays a view of the Earth as a globe, with which users can spin using their Wii Remote in order to view weather reports across the world.

News Channel

The News Channel enables users to access news headlines and current events, which are updated when connected to the Internet via the WiiConnect24 service. News is available on a globe view (in a similar way to the Forecast Channel) and headlines are also viewable as a slide show.

Internet Channel

The Opera web browser is available to download to enable users to surf the Internet from the comfort of their couch. In addition to functioning as a web browser, the Wii utilises Presto, the browser's layout engine for web-based applications such as the Wii Shop Channel. The final version of the Opera browser will be available at the end of March 2007, and will be free for all Wii owners to download until the end of June 2007, after which it will cost 500 Wii points.

Virtual Console Channels

The Virtual Console allows users to download games from legacy Nintendo systems, as well the Sega Mega Drive and NEC TurboGrafx-16 systems. Available through the Wii Shop Channel, the cost of the games is (almost) the same in almost every region, with the following starting prices:

• TurboGrafx-16 games - 600 points
• NES games - 500 points
• SNES games - 800 points
• N64 games - 1000 points
• Mega Drive games - 800 points (600 in Japan)

Once games have been downloaded, each one will appear in the Wii Menu as its own Virtual Console Channel. Additional accessories, such as the Classic Controller (sold separately), may be required to play Virtual Console games.