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Gadgets Wii DVD Playback Enabled, Kind of
Marcus Yam (Blog) - August 20, 2007 9:00 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 77 comment(s) - last by herrdoktor330.. on Aug 26 at 4:32 PM
Wii consoles able to play DVD movies -- but only for those with mod chips

Every Nintendo Wii includes a DVD drive as every single one of the console’s games ships in DVD media – but curiously, the Wii does not play DVD movies. For the nefarious types, however, DVD playback has finally been unlocked on the Wii.

Console cracking group Team Symbiote has released a software player for the Wii, which requires users to have a mod chip installed in the machine.

In order to get the DVD software running, according to Maxconsole, users must burn the application with Clone CD, then run it in a modded Wii. The console will recognize the disc as a GameCube game, and will boot to a menu that allows the user to swap to a DVD. There is no official media remote for the Wii, but the software maps several rudimentary DVD functions to the Wii remote.

Nintendo’s decision to not include DVD playback on its newest console us likely because of the license fees required for support of the standard, which would drive up costs, eating away at the company’s profits on Wii sales. Each Wii costs an estimated $158 for Nintendo to manufacture.

Although DVD playback on the Wii is currently exclusive to modified consoles, Nintendo announced just prior to the Wii’s launch that it had enlisted the help of Sonic Solutions, creators of the Roxio CD and DVD software, to provide its CinePlayer CE DVD Navigator software for DVD playback on the Wii. No release date was revealed for the official DVD-enabled Wii; though Nintendo has indicated that it would happen in the latter half of 2007.

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What's the point?
By Spivonious on 8/20/2007 9:02:17 AM , Rating: 5
I'm fairly certain that all Wii owners already have a standalone DVD player. Nintendo realized this and made the decision not to throw away money on getting the licensing to play DVDs.




RE: What's the point?
By helios220 on 8/20/2007 9:12:20 AM , Rating: 2
I agree, but I guess it could be more of an issue depending on placement of your Wii. For those who place their Wii living room or primary entertainment locations, wherever that may be, there is almost always another form of DVD player available. For those who have their Wii's in a bedroom, perhaps younger gamers, it is more likely that there is not a DVD player and the Wii could fill that gap.

In my own experience when I watch a DVD at home or at a friends who has a DVD playback capable console we always end up using a standalone DVD player. But I can't help but feel just a little gypped, that Nintendo cut a few corners just to make a few extra bucks.


RE: What's the point?
By wallijonn on 8/20/2007 11:42:38 AM , Rating: 4
quote:
I can't help but feel just a little gypped, that Nintendo cut a few corners just to make a few extra bucks.


If you have children, and they want to watch DVD movies, which would you rather they muck up - putting candied fingerprints on that $25 Disney film, totally destroying a $25 DVD player from WalMart or that $250 Wii??? How about if they pause the movie to go downstairs, then forget to come back?, leaving the unit to overheat and possibly burn rings into it (like the PS2)? How about if they ruin the DVD player in the Wii one week after the warranty expires?


RE: What's the point?
By SunAngel on 8/20/07, Rating: -1
RE: What's the point?
By NullSubroutine on 8/20/2007 3:39:32 PM , Rating: 2
The problem with your ideas is that the media corporations are trying to to change the concept of how the consumers 'buy' their media. They are trying to change from the old idea that you actually buy and own your copy of the media to the idea you purchase a 'license agreement' that allows you to 'view' the media at their discretion.

This means you can no longer 'own' your DVD, audio CD, or game . You do not have the right to transfer the media to one medium to another medium for your viewing and listening pleasure.

In the media corporations view of the future is that when you purchase a DVD you only purchased the rights via an automatically agreed license agreement to view the media from that medium. You also cannot transfer, move, modify, or change the media on the medium at your will (copy DVD to your computer to watch it from centralized server).

Their hope is that they can control every aspect of the media playback. If you want to watch a DVD on a DVD player, you pay the corporations. If you want to watch it on your comptuer, you pay them money, you want to watch it on your mobile device or phone you pay them money. If you want to listen to your CD in your car you buy a CD, if you want to listen to it on your portable audio player, you pay for it again.

They want effectively enslave everyone who wishes to purchase media through license agreements, monopoly of media, and influence of the law makers to create law supporting their view of Intellectual Property all to maximize their profits and fill their corporate coffers.

We are in the intermediate stage between ownership and license agreements, really its a battle. If a person owns their Disney DVD or Wii game then they have the right to backup their medium/media. If they do not own the medium/media then they own the 'rights' to media no matter the status of the medium and media corporation must replace the defect or destroyed disk at no cost.


RE: What's the point?
By Christopher1 on 8/21/2007 12:20:37 AM , Rating: 2
That is how it should be. When a person buys a movie, music or game disc they SHOULD have the right to backup the thing in question. If they move to license agreement, they should pass laws that people have the right to redownload everything they buy in perpetuity, and pass their rights to download things down to their children and the rest of their descendants.

If they don't allow people to do that, then they are going to have serious fights on their hands from people whose hard drives crash, discs get scratched, etc.

The lawmakers should also make it that when a person buys one copy of something, they are allowed to download all future copies of that thing for no cost, no matter if a new device is made to play them or not.

You are also right in that if we have a license agreement with the corporations, then if a disk gets scratched, burnt, etc. then the media corporations should replace it at no cost, or give us a specialized program that will allow us to burn a locked copy of the media in question once we have those kind of burners in our homes.


RE: What's the point?
By Surak on 8/21/2007 12:39:01 PM , Rating: 1
Where have you been?

There have been copyrights on media since long before the DVD existed. The ownership vs license issue was settled at least 20 years ago ... or i guess I should say it was settled for everyone but common criminals who make up any excuse to ignore their responsibilities as members of our society.

Are you really that far behind the times? You may as well stand on a soap box and yell 'Compuuuuters are the way of the future!'

I strongly disagree that consumers should have perpetual rights to content.

If you saddle the industry with a potentially infinite liability associated with developing new formats and new media, then there will be no new formats or media. Do you really want to get your Hi Definition movie on a set of 20CD's, that you have to swap out of your player every 10 minutes? ... NO, you want one high capacity disk that holds the full movie.

You'd have to be in preschool to not understand that when you buy a DVD, it is meant only for a DVD player and not some future player that will be built 50 years from now with a technology no one has imagined yet. Similarly if you buy a CD ... but your car has a cassette player, then screw you. You chose poorly.

Did you know that the company that built your car only has to produce parts for it for 10 years? Your arguement over media and content is no different than being pissed off that a water pump from a '68 Mustang won't work on your '98 Mustang ... and demanding that Ford gives you it for free, not only for the '98 Mustang, but for the 2028 Mustang you intend to buy in 21 years!

If you can't bare this reality, then there is only two acceptable solutions.

1. Do not buy any media. Do not pirate any content. Do not use any stolen property... don't be a common criminal. Only by totally ignoring the industry will they change their licenses. Using pirated content only empowers them as it shows them how much demand there is for it and therefore how much it is worth.
2. Develope your own content and distribute it as you see fit under your own license. Make your own blockbuster movies with your dad's camcorder. Buy a crappy guitar from a pawn shop and a radio shack microphone and record your own music.

You were not born with some inaliable right to consume music / video content owned by the industry. Grow up you pathetic spoiled child!


RE: What's the point?
By NullSubroutine on 8/21/2007 3:51:19 PM , Rating: 3
Actually, you just proved my entire point. When you buy the DVD you own the DVD and the rights to view the media on the medium. And you have the right to transfer it to another medium as it is your property (as long as you stay within the private viewing license).

To say you do not have that right on your property is like saying, with your example, that you cannot take the motor out of your '68 Mustang and put it in your '98 (not physically but legally).

I do not believe people should have perpetual right to the content, because I do not support the license model of media. I believe people buy their media and have the right to change or modify it for their personal viewing pleasure.

As for as your other comments, I find them hilarious that you assume anyone who has a differing opinion than you must obviously be some young child. This is your error.

Argumentum ad Hominem
* Abusive: An Abusive Ad Hominem occurs when an attack on the character or other irrelevant personal qualities of the opposition—such as appearance—is offered as evidence against her position. Such attacks are often effective distractions ("red herrings"), because the opponent feels it necessary to defend herself, thus being distracted from the topic of the debate.


RE: What's the point?
By Martimus on 8/24/07, Rating: 0
RE: What's the point?
By Spivonious on 8/20/2007 1:28:33 PM , Rating: 1
What does this have to do with the article, or even the post you replied to?

I've never had any piece of consumer electronics overheat, no matter how long it was left on.

If I had kids, I wouldn't let them touch their DVDs with candied fingers, because those candied fingers are going to touch everything. Teaching kids good hygiene is an important part of raising them. If they don't know to wash their hands when they're sticky, then they're either too young to be handling $25/$250 equipment, or it's your own damn fault.


RE: What's the point?
By omnicronx on 8/20/2007 2:29:07 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I've never had any piece of consumer electronics overheat, no matter how long it was left on.
xbox 360 anyone? that aside ;)

No offense but if you have kids, anything you put out for them to use is fair game. If you are worried about kids breaking your dvd's in your dvd player, you should be just as worried about kids putting games in the wii. Rule of thumb: if you dont want the kids to break it, dont leave it out ;)


RE: What's the point?
By Spivonious on 8/20/2007 4:27:56 PM , Rating: 2
So...you agree with me. Okay.

And I don't own a 360 ;)


RE: What's the point?
By FITCamaro on 8/20/2007 9:23:31 AM , Rating: 1
Yes but considering the rather large profit Nintendo is making off each Wii sold, they could have sacrificed the couple dollars on each console and paid the licensing fees. When even the last generation of consoles would play DVDs, its pretty lame that a current gen system won't. Especially when the reason of "we didn't want to loose any more money per console sold" doesn't apply.


RE: What's the point?
By StevoLincolnite on 8/20/2007 9:40:14 AM , Rating: 2
If you save 1 dollar for every Wii Sold, imagine the amount of money saved by doing 1xWiis Sold which is money in they're pocket, now that extra income looks great to share holders.


RE: What's the point?
By omnicronx on 8/20/2007 9:53:35 AM , Rating: 2
Meh who really cares, the wii doesnt even have digital audio out, unless you are going to be watching it on your old crappy tv without external speakers DVD playback is useless anyways.
Even the ps3 had an optical out =P.


RE: What's the point?
By StevoLincolnite on 8/20/2007 10:08:26 AM , Rating: 1
I have an old crappy TV, and I just use AV cables, DVD support is provided by my computer in the next room, and I have just a typical 5.1 set-up from a 2.1 source.
I don't care much for TV, and for movies, it does me fine.


RE: What's the point?
By wushuktl on 8/20/2007 10:07:29 AM , Rating: 2
plus the real question is would more people have bought a wii if it came with dvd playing capabilities? probably not, so why not save the money on the first batch of systems when they can seemingly rely on hype alone.


RE: What's the point?
By Spivonious on 8/20/2007 10:22:12 AM , Rating: 2
The Wii is still hard to get around me (southern PA), almost a year after it was released. I think the hype has died down by now and people just want it because it's a great product.


RE: What's the point?
By Verran on 8/20/2007 9:53:54 AM , Rating: 3
I like how people always seem bitter with Wii and Nintendo because they're actually turning a profit on the hardware. Isn't that the point? I've commented before about how ridiculous the lose-money-up-front concept is, but it seems everyone loves it, even though it means embracing decade old technology just because the maker hasn't made their money yet.

As for the Wii not having DVD... cry me a river. I bought my DVD player for $35 three years ago. If people didn't have a DVD player before Wii, they probably never will.

The Wii plays Wii games. That's what it does. And I'm glad it's so simple. It seems to be doing extraordinarily well with it's simplicity concept. If you want a swiss-army media center device, buy a PS3.