Watching the TV on the Gaming Console?

[Ensign Steve]

Hey! So, in the old house, we used to have the TV and the computer in the same room and I could put the computer pictures up on the big TV and watch internet TV like Hulu and Youtube on the big TV.

Now in the new house they are in different rooms very far apart, so we need a new solution. We have a Wii and it is hooked up to the TV, and it goes on the internet wirelessly, but it only goes to like Nintendo sites, no Hulu or anything.

I always assumed that Xbox and Playstation probably supported internet browsing and flash, I think based on some PS3 rig I saw at someone's house a million years ago. Although now that I think about it, he might just have been using it to serve media he'd already downloaded, not streaming stuff.

So then last weekend, we were at this other house where they had Xbox and we were using it to stream Netflix to the TV, and I go, "Hey, can you get like hulu and youtube on that?" and he was like, "no." I was all, WTF?!

I suppose I could just get a cheap computer or something and make another media box, but that seems like work, and plus then I wouldn't have an excuse to buy a new gaming console.

Can I watch youtube or hulu on Xbox or PS3 or anything like that?

[Crumb]

I have no idea. You can stream Netflix on the Wii, too.

[Ensign Steve]

Seriously? I didn't notice that. We don't have netflix, but if there's a netflix app at the Wii store, maybe there's a hulu app? I'll check.

[Stormlight]

YouTube on your PS3…in Full-screen! – PlayStation Blog

[LadyShea]

We have gone to youtube on the Wii, by somehow bringing up a browser. I'll ask hubby how he did that

Also, if you have a Netflix account they send you a free disc to use with the Wii

[Ensign Steve]

Man, so these devices don't have just straight-up web browsers? I assumed Xbox had IE on it standard, since all it is is a PC in the first place. Getting Hulu and Youtube apps for Wii would solve about 99% of my needs wants, but still. There's stuff out there like diggnation and Sarah Haskins that are easiest to get at just by going to their own sites. If hubby can tell you how he got the browser on the Wii, that would be awesome.

Thanks for the tips, y'all. Keep 'em coming.

[Kael]

The PS3 has a straight-up web browser, but it's a bitch to get pages to display without looking like you've zoomed way in, at least on a non-HDTV.

[Zehava]

No web browser on the XBox and streaming Netflix requires a gold (paid) membership to XBoxLive in addition to your Netflix membership.

That said, it's been worth it for me. I took advantage of an offer for 1 year gold membership for $50 so I could try Netflix on my XBox. Works well enough on my slow ass DSL but would be better if I had faster internet.

[Kael]

We started using our PS3 for Netflix streaming because our gold membership for XBox Live expired and the PS3 does it for free. That said, I have noticed a drop in quality, first in that it takes significantly longer for the PS3 to buffer a video than it did for the XBox, and second sometimes a given video will act like it's loading only to kick me back to the menu for no discernible reason. When this happens once I know from experience that it will continue to happen with that video, no matter how many times I try to reload it. The video always streams just fine if I go try it on my PC, yet still fails to load on my PS3. Sometimes restarting the PS3 helps, sometimes not.

Anyone else have that problem?

[viscousmemories]

Sad as it sounds (and is), I find it's easiest to plug my laptop into the TV via HDMI when I want to watch 'net videos on the big screen.

[Ensign Steve]

HDMI on laptop? What is this black magic of what you speak?

GOT MAC LOL AMIRITE?

[LadyShea]

Hubby said there is an "add channel" function, he thinks under the Wii Channel but maybe settings. Then you add the Internet Channel

[SharonDee]

Yeah, that's it. And the browser is Opera.

[viscousmemories]

Originally Posted by Ensign Steve

HDMI on laptop? What is this black magic of what you speak?

GOT MAC LOL AMIRITE?

Hells no! Got Dell Studio XPS.

[erimir]

Wii has the Opera browser, as others have mentioned. It's free to download from the Wii online shop.

You can use this to view Youtube, which has a special version of the site for such types of browsers.

Hulu is not available on any of the systems, or even the iPad, as far as I know.

You don't download Netflix for Wii. If you have an account, you can get them to send you the disc for free. Once you have that, you register your Wii on your computer, and then your Netflix account/disc is linked specifically to that system I think (I'm not sure whether you can use multiple discs to use multiple systems or how that works...), and you don't have to sign in or anything.

The Netflix system on the Wii is alright, but a little limited because you can't browse titles freely, but only within certain categories (your queue, a limited number of movies in certain genres, new releases, and movies similar to things you've watched recently). So, you need to get on the computer to add things to your instant queue. But if you keep a long and varied queue like I do, that's not much of an issue.

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by viscousmemories

Hells no! Got Dell Studio XPS.

I meant that my laptop is a mac. I don't need HD. I have a mac!

[Ensign Steve]

lol also I don't have netflix guys, but thanks for the continued tips.

[ChuckF]

Also you can use your home "desktop" personal microcomputer to view some Netflix movie film video titles. If you have Internet.

[Ensign Steve]

Nobody told me I had to buy the internet to use this. You are fishing! Deactivate my account immediately.

[Crumb]

I installed the browser on my Wii last night. I tried Hulu, but it sent me to download a flash player, so I don't think I can swing that. I didn't try YouTube, wouldn't that require Flash also?

[ChuckF]

Depends. Youtube has some HTML 5 support now but it's still in Beta. Does Wii Opera support HTML 5? Would imagine so but I've never tried it.

[Ensign Steve]

I can watch Youtube on my iPod Touch, directly through the Youtube app from the app store. I don't know if it has some sort of modified Flash code that is integrated directly into the app or if they serve it some other way, but it's different than watching Youtube through the browser itself, which you can't do on accounta the Flash. I figure these Wii apps or channels or whatever work in a similar way. It seems like it'd be a lot less complicated to just put a flash-supporting browser on the devices instead of making site-specific apps, but then what do I know? I'm just some dumb user.

[ChuckF]

Flash is kind of a beast. I mean damn, even the Frankenpalm can't run Flash.

[Ensign Steve]

I agree, but imagine that you have a youtube app and a hulu app and a peanut-butter-jelly-time app () and a whole bunch of mini-beasts that all add up to what I assume is more of a beast than just flash would have been by itself.

I understand the current situation between Adobe and Apple right now, but I'm surprised to learn that MS, Sony, and Nintendo aren't doing this any better. AFAIK, none of them even have a current situation with Adobe. Or if they do they are smart enough to keep it quiet.

[Ensign Steve]

Hey! Can I get an XBOX 360 and hack a linux partition onto it?