Wii Warm Up: What Channel? The Photo Channel?

by David Hinkle { Oct 22nd 2008 at 8:00AM }

We've been thinking: when was the last time you even used the Photo Channel? For us, trying to recall such a memory is an impossibility. We have no clue when we last touched the thing. But, what about you? Showed off some pictures from that vacation in Greece you took? Subjected friends and/or family to an endless amount of pictures of your dog? When was the last time you used it?

Tags: photo, photo-channel

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ray Ray @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:05AM

There's a Photo Channel??

Felipe @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:46AM

same thought i had

bukizzle715 @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:18AM

I use it all the time to send crude drawings to my friends.

Ben @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:31AM

I use it pretty much any time we have a family get together. We all take pictures with our digicams and then do a sort of weekend-in-review. It's also one of the best ways to illustrate the whole 'more-than-a-video-game-console' thing...

THRILLHO @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:34AM

ive used the "screensaver" feature recently while listening to music. I wish they'd give us the option to delete the weather,news and photo channel tho.

MBJ @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:28AM

Seconded. I need all the space I can get on my Wii's internal memory. If Nintendo would get with the program and release a hard drive then I'd be fine with all of these extraneous non-gaming related channels. It's annoying that we aren't even given the option to remove them.

THRILLHO @ Oct 22nd 2008 1:16PM

i just want the screen real estate mostly. ive been trying to keep only one screen full of channels. maybe ill hide news and weather waay back on the 4th screen

Jasen @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:54AM

Used it this past weekend at the grandparents' to watch vacation photos & movies. My camera uses SD cards and we regularly review photos using the Photo Channel.

Useful.

Eternityx @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:12AM

Used it last month to show the family pictures from my vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada. It can be nifty on occasion.

samfish @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:14AM

'eh, I played with it once about 2 years ago.

My mom used it last summer, though, to torture me and my brother with a slide show of her and my dad's vacation!

rvkremer @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:23AM

I used to use it to show photos when family visits, but stopped once I got my PS3. Now I view 9 years worth of shared pictures from my PC across wireless instead of showing whatever happens to be on my camera's SD card. The difference viewing 8 megapixel photos in 480p versus 1080p is striking.

Patrick R @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:33AM

I don't believe I have used it for anything. Ever. And I got my Wii shortly after launch.

Randy @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:26AM

It's handy if you have Digital Camera that uses SD Cards. but otherwise, I don't use it.

I'd show it off to guests more often If I could point it to a network share on one my computers to get the photos.

Ayumin @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:46AM

I used it earlier this summer several times to show off pictures from my mom's vacation. I've actually used it a lot. My niece and nephew really get a kick out of seeing themselves on TV and they always want pictures taken of them. So, I snap a few snapshots, plug the SD card in and let them be in total bliss while they feel like movie stars for a few minutes.

adrian @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:50AM

I believe the last time was when it had an update a few months back, I went in there to put a pic so that it would show up in my wii menu, and then that was it. they need to update that thing again. throw some cool features in there, can't think of anything of the top of my head, but yeah.

Bill @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:02AM

I've never even tried it.

eugaet @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:04AM

Never used it. Thought about it a few times, but there were always games that needed to be played. Priorities.

nastysquar3d @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:50AM

Excellent scathing comment.

As for me, I never used it personally by my friend once used his after he spent a couple weeks in South America to show us some pics.

aardvark @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:06AM

Actually, I used it last month. My roommate and I spent hours doing impossible puzzles of pictures of grass, solid-colored walls, carpet, the sky...

Scotty @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:31AM

I want it off my Wii to make room for WiiWare downloads. I've NEVER used it. I have Photoshop.

buckyboy28 @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:39AM

I only have one picture on my Wii. It's a blank white page so I can draw on it like microsoft paint. I haven't used it in about a year though.

DiRT @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:49AM

My 3 year old loves to doodle on photos.

No, you're thinking of 'diddle'. He doesn't pee on my Wii.

Macroy @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:24AM

Where I come from, "diddle" means something worse.

Sonic_13 @ Oct 22nd 2008 4:36PM

Yeah, I'm not sure the point of your post...is it supposed to be a joke?

The only meaning of "doodle" that I know of is to draw. I don't believe it is slang for anything...

Melao @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:02AM

I would use it more if it could read network shares.
The interface itself is actually very convenient, the problem lies in reading only from SD.

Hunter @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:04AM

We just got back from England and had a big party to tell stores. The Wii photo channel was the best way to display them in the living room.

Mr Khan @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:07AM

I have used it all of once, and that was more to test the Wii's SD card functionality

Ng0zT @ Oct 22nd 2008 12:04PM

i just got done beating the secret puzzle.
heheh sleep is for losers

meist3r @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:54AM

I actually used the photo channel! Applaud me. I used it to look at my Metroid Prime 3 screenshots and the stuff saved from playing Mario Kart Wii and winning cups. Other than that it's never used especially since they removed the MP3 playback last year.

sn1per @ Oct 22nd 2008 12:42PM

If your wii came with the old, mp3 playback-enabled photo channel, you can still play mp3's on it, just by deleting the new photo channel from the data management menu.

Also, my TV has a memory stick slot that can play photo slideshows, so I have no use for the photo channel.

meist3r @ Oct 22nd 2008 12:57PM

I know, I never used it anyway. I just find it curious that they replaced a perfectly sensible codec with something no one ever uses. Probably some weird license issue.

Mazrael @ Oct 22nd 2008 1:28PM

Never used it.. not even for the slide puzzle thing..
then, I've not used my Wii for months (since Kart & Brawl, then August 07 before that - though a friend borrowed it for a Bleach game)..
but I always check here incase something turns up

soupisgood @ Oct 22nd 2008 3:41PM

will some times me and my friends take my sisters sd card put it in and draw white all over there mouths!!!!

R_Fusion @ Oct 22nd 2008 3:42PM

That was since launch :o

Andy @ Oct 22nd 2008 4:11PM

I have a camera that uses SD cards, so I use the Photo Channel all the time to share pictures with people. It's better than looking at them on the camera's LCD screen.

ChibiKawase @ Oct 22nd 2008 4:56PM

I use mine for the very purpose Nintendo had in mind when designing it-- porns. Err, I mean, photos from Tokimeki. Check-In.

Before I got a few SD cards, I used to mail images straight to my Wii's address. I'd glad someone actually thought to give every Wii owner an e-mail address.

Zardus @ Oct 22nd 2008 5:43PM

The photo channel is crazy useful after parties. My friends and I always take plenty of pictures and crazy video during the party itself, and the next morning it's great to sit down and browse through them with everyone. Photo channel definitely beats channels like the forecast and news channels for me.

Duciel @ Oct 22nd 2008 6:36PM

I agree completely. Not pretty sure why but the Wii has an overall party effect, my friends and family enjoyed a lot. There's just that downgrade in resolution when the photos are copied, I hope Nintendo fixes it.

Luke @ Oct 22nd 2008 9:19PM

only used like a couple times and that was like sometime last year

Matt @ Oct 22nd 2008 8:31PM

I used it to draw on my Metroid Prime 3 screenshots. I gave Samus bling.

aang1818 @ Oct 22nd 2008 10:34PM

I have never used it once, not even to see what it is.

Deona @ Oct 23rd 2008 3:01PM

Actually, I was messing around with it yesterday. The doodle function is a lot of fun, although I wish there were more clip art to post on the pictures.

Kaneda Jones @ Oct 27th 2008 2:07AM

Me and the wife use it maybe once every two months on average but I have a funny story.

knew a guy who had 'net but no computer.. he used it with his Wii.

but then he couldn't save his porn so he would take pics of his favourite porn webpages using his digital camera and then put the SD card into his Wii to view them.

lost 'net months ago but still has SD cards full of porn though.. heh blurry as all hell too. true story.