Wii Warm Up: More Opera talk

by Candace Savino { Apr 20th 2008 at 10:30AM }

Those of us too cheap to buy DVRs love that most TV networks offer their programming online -- after all, we'd hate to tell our friends that we couldn't hang out on a Friday night because we had to watch BSG. Even so, we prefer to watch TV on actual televisions rather than computer screens. The Wii seems like a perfect way to compromise this, but until Adobe releases a Flash upgrade on their software development kit, it's not going to happen.

We already know that a lot of you use your Wii's Opera browser, but what do you think of it? Are there any limitations you've noticed besides the Flash issue? What other improvements do you think Opera could make? And are there any games or applications that you find perfect for Wii browsing?

Tags: browser, flash, internet, opera, web-browser

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

I Love Bowser @ Apr 20th 2008 10:43AM

Could there be a way to make it less grainy on youtube? It feels like sandpaper is carressing my eyes.

ishuma @ Apr 20th 2008 10:50AM

Nicely put!

Badaro @ Apr 20th 2008 12:03PM

Again, needs the newer flash version. Flash 7 uses a much crappier video codec.

ProfWho @ Apr 20th 2008 10:51AM

The flash needs to be improved and the amount of available memory for loading webpages.

mgroves @ Apr 20th 2008 11:00AM

Desktop Tower Defense doesn't work.

Jeremy @ Apr 20th 2008 11:07AM

The cache needs to be larger I don't know how many times I am loading a page and I get an error message saying that their is not enough memory. Also the Flash player needs to be upgraded, there are tons of flash based site that I visit on my PC and would love to use them on my Wii. Also a media player would be nice for none flash streaming video and audio maybe the gmplayer plugin since it is small yet it can support any format you can think of. Also as mentioned the ability to go to a TV Networks site and watch the online shows they offer. Heck if you can boot Firefox from a USB drive then allow the browser to load from an SD card so it doesn't take up memory on your Wii.

Also browsing history and the ability to remember login information would be nice but then I guess it would be a real browser if they added all of that.

Jhongerkong @ Apr 20th 2008 11:29AM

Needs more saving files to SD card

raindog @ Apr 20th 2008 12:28PM

I was messing around with Flowplayer (a free software Flash video player) and ffmpeg (a program to let you take video from almost any format to any other) and managed to make a web app to transcode the videos on my hard disk into Flash video in real time, so that I could watch them on the Wii.

It works great with most browsers, but it's sporadic on the Wii. And what prevents me from fixing it is that there's no debugging support at all in the Wii version of Opera. I don't mean anything fancy like you get with the Firefox web developer's toolbar, but come on, at least they could let us view the HTML source and see Javascript errors.

Dark Archon @ Apr 20th 2008 2:48PM

Seriously, you should try TVersity. Been there, done that.

raindog @ Apr 20th 2008 5:36PM

Yeah, I don't own any Microsoft products whatsoever, and certainly wouldn't put them on my house's main server, so that won't work for me. Thanks for showing me that someone has already done it, though, because now I have a feature list to shoot for.

But my complaint was about the browser itself and its debugging facilities or lack thereof, not this particular project of mine.

dsasd @ Apr 20th 2008 1:18PM

improved flash performance would be nice. I mean cmon, even an 10 year old computer can run flash games better than this :/

FYIan @ Apr 20th 2008 1:20PM

What I want to know is if WiiWare will open up the door for utility programs like, say, a DVD player or an alternate browser that might be worth using and is able to be updated.

If hackers can get the Wii to play DVDs with a modchip and some software, then Nintendo just needs a firmware update and some software to do it. I think the problem lies with DVD license fees, which could be paid for in the program, if Nintendo doesn't want to make it a part of the cost of a Wii.

Just_a_guy @ Apr 20th 2008 1:38PM

For me to use the opera browser more, I need better flash, more memory for the webpages, and most of all I would like some way to run Java

Mr.Nitemare @ Apr 20th 2008 1:48PM

i watch tv on my wii all the time... on this site called surfthechannel.com... lol... i just watched through most of the seasons of smallville last week on it.. and i watched the new Knight Rider... you guys need to check it out.. one of my friends on my friend's list sent the link to me

Sonic_13 @ Apr 20th 2008 2:22PM

I don't use the Internet Channel much as is. But if Flash was ever updated, I would use it all the time. It would be so much easier to just use Wii for watching shows online then hooking up my laptop to my TV everytime. It's not that hooking up my laptop is a difficult process (I just plug in the S-Video and audio cable), but the annoying part is having to get up out of my chair every time I want to pause, change videos etc. Being able to do all that with my Wii remote would be incredible.

raindog @ Apr 20th 2008 8:29PM

While I agree that the Wiimote seems better suited to controlling multimedia than a PC keyboard does, earlier this year I picked up a wireless USB keyboard from Best Buy for 32 bucks (I think it's a Logitech) to use with the Wii browser, and it would work just as well for your laptop hooked up to the TV.

And of course wireless mice are a dime a dozen, though you could get some of that Wiimote feel by going with one made by Gyration.

Agent 43 @ Apr 20th 2008 2:53PM

A copy and paste feature would be nice.

iofthestorm @ Apr 20th 2008 3:21PM

Tabs? Opera's always going on about how they had tabs first, but the Internet Channel doesn't have them, which is just stupid. I'd probably use it a lot more if it had tabs, but then since I've got plenty of computers in this house I really don't use Internet Channel at all.

Mr Khan @ Apr 20th 2008 3:56PM

Tabs, or some way to manage multiple windows AT ALL

It keeps the other "window" open, so even if you go back to the start page, the other window is still there, and it will occasionally jump back to the other window

Not nearly as bad as it was with the Trial version, where you pretty much had to reset the software as soon as you were done with a page in a new window, but annoying enough

iofthestorm @ Apr 20th 2008 4:17PM

Yeah, I don't even really understand if it supports multiple windows properly. I thought it didn't but I never really tried it. There's a site, wiiminder.com/net/something that does some sort of javascript voodoo to add tabs, but I don't like the idea of my traffic going through some other site.

velocitystrike @ Apr 20th 2008 5:48PM

I use Winamp Remote when I'm entertaining guests, or want to watch a video stored on my PC on my TV. I don't have S-Video so it's quite handy.

I also use the browser for the BBC iPlayer, funnily enough. And have used it numerous times on YouTube to showcase the sheer delightfulness of Yu Gi Oh Abridged.

In fact, I use it quite a lot. My mum uses it for Facebook when I'm on the computer too, so there's less bickering.

SoshiKitai @ Apr 20th 2008 6:33PM

Other issues other than flash?

Ummm... er.... uhh.... I don't really use my Opera browser other than for checking out this site and homestarrunner, so I would have no idea where else it would need to improve:
It does its job just fine (other than the flash, of course).

Thomas @ Apr 20th 2008 7:50PM

I really appreciate the comments and I hope you enjoy using the Internet Channel on your Wii. Working on such an incredible product is exciting for all of us at Opera too. I just wanted to give some perspective on a few issues you've raised.

The key issue for many of you seems to be the embedded flash in the browser. Unfortunately, this is largely out of Opera's or Nintendo's control. Adobe has not released Flash for embedded devices past Flash 7. You can read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii_Browser

If you want to create content for the Internet Channel, there are some useful independent tutorials out there. One good rule of thumb is to check your site in Opera's desktop browser. Things like screen resolution and device memory will be different, of course, but it will give you a helpful baseline.

I can't stress enough how much we appreciate the feedback. Taking your comments seriously is the only way a company like Opera has been able to survive and thrive, so thanks for letting us know.

-Thomas Ford, Opera

velocitystrike @ Apr 20th 2008 8:03PM

Cynicism aside, hi! You realise you have to put "Powered by Opera & Nintendowiifanboy" in the corner of the browser now, right?

D=

Candace Savino @ Apr 21st 2008 12:24AM

Cool, thanks for stopping by, Thomas :). We appreciate all the work that you and your team have put into everything.

Rocketboy @ Apr 21st 2008 8:47AM

Thanks for stopping in Thomas... Big kudos to the Opera team, I've been using it since the days that it still fit on a floppy... :). Besides Adobe's lame support for embedded devices, we need Java, and Browser Gestures! You should know us Opera users just can't work without gestures!

flo @ Apr 20th 2008 8:58PM

who we get important ppl frm companies here!?ay nintendo! i noe ur listenin! wats takin u so long 2 make and hdd?

SoshiKitai @ Apr 21st 2008 1:38AM

I'm sure they understood everything you said. :)

evan @ Apr 20th 2008 10:28PM

thanks for the comment Thomas :)

the wii & opera make a great tv watching device when the flash is compatible, the only minor gripe is accurately sizing the zoom to match the flash frame, usually i go in a bit further so the image fills the screen, though the edges are outside the screen.

but when working, it's fantastic!

Thomas @ Apr 20th 2008 11:04PM

@velocitystrike: Well, we listen to all feedback ;) But then we work with Nintendo to determine everything that ultimately gets added. We'll have to ask them about the attribution :)

@evan: Glad you like it. We'll be sure to look into the zooming.

-Thomas

Lyoko is Cool @ Apr 22nd 2008 11:34PM

If you can't embed greater than flash 7, could you add a rudimentary addon system so you could add higher versions of flash to the browser?

Also, (even though I don't have one) could you add a feature that if enabled in options, change the typing popup to have a row with Quit, language selector, more chatacters, and Ok buttons and the top box that displays your text if you have a USB keyboard so that you could still view the website (for chat uses, ect.)?

epicwake @ Apr 21st 2008 4:52AM

MLB.TV. I subscribe for $120 US a year and would love to use Wii as a streaming device. Unfortunately, Opera can't use Microsoft's Silverlight. A MLB channel? That would be awesome!

ejamer @ Apr 21st 2008 9:41AM

I rather like the Opera browser as is. It's not perfect, but does a great job of providing a full-featured browsing experience while working within the system limitations.

Tabbed browsing would be great, but the Wii's limited memory makes that difficult... We've all probably seen webpages that run out of memory while loading - having two or three pages open at once would only make that worse. My guess is that this just isn't feasible, unless there is a way to take advantage of space on the SD card somehow.

One thing that I would like to see is improved keyboard support. Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, there is no way to tab between controls on a webpage or to easily select the next text field and start typing without having to grab the Wii remote. This usually isn't a big deal... but would make some websites and forums easier to navigate.

Beyond that, I'd just like to see more Wii support from my favorite websites. It still surprises that more websites dedicated to Wii news and discussion haven't made an effort to optimize (and advertise) formatting specifically for the Wii Browser.
:)

Timerider @ Apr 21st 2008 10:57AM

Needs tabs.

Also if you try to go to allsp.com, the wii freezes up and you need to unplug it.

James @ Apr 21st 2008 11:59AM

I don't want to be a jerk about it, but the Wii is kind of ill-suited as a web browsing device. It has a tiny amount of available memory (compared to most consumer desktops/laptops, anyway) and is forced to use a gimped "mobile"-style browser, including the abominable Flash For Devices (as Thomas points out above), and perhaps worst of all is incapable of outputting video at a resolution above 480p -- almost every web page (NWFB included) is designed with at least 800x600 as the minimum window size. In short, it suffers from the same problems as a PSP or smart phone.

I appreciate what they were trying to do, but if I absolutely have to do web browsing on my TV, I'm going to use a PC or my PS3. I'm far more likely to just do it on my laptop. I guess there are certain specialized uses where the Wii browser (or any embedded browser) can come in handy, but the site had better be a) lightweight, and b) designed specifically with embedded browsers in mind.

Nastybutler @ Apr 21st 2008 5:01PM

I LOVE OPERA. I use it and only it on my computer and I love it for the Wii. Having said that I would like the flash player to be updated and a tab function. However there are technical limititaions, a full computer has a lot more memory and can pagefile while the Wii can be a bit short in those areas. Other media player plugins would be nice also, but to get microsoft onboard would probably be hard to do.

davey @ Apr 30th 2008 7:53PM

agreed with most of these comments. my main gripe is that whenever you do find a video that will play, it usually stops within 5 minutes of playing and then wont download or play any furthur. so it seems like maybe the cache isnt big enough to hold a decent length video unless we can come up with a kind of "wii-friendly" streaming that cleans up after itself by deleting the data of the video progressively after it plays, and dosn`t buffer too far ahead to cause problems.