Hackers Enable DVD Playback on Nintendo Wii.
Nintendo Wii Gets DVD Playback Capability
Category: Multimedia
by Anton Shilov
[ 08/20/2007 | 11:47 PM ]
Being the least feature-rich new-generation game console, Nintendo Wii is the most popular one among consumers. Nonetheless, this does not mean that consumers do not want to have certain additional capabilities on their Wii game machines. A group of hackers reportedly created a software that can enable DVD playback on modded Wii devices.
Team Symbiote has reportedly released a DVD player software for Nintendo Wii game consoles that are modded with WiiBoss chips. In order to get the program working, users need to burn in onto a disc using CloneCD program and boot it in a modded Wii game console, reports Maxconsole web-site.
Even though the release of DVD software ahead of Nintendo’s “official” DVD player for Wii, which is due later this year, seems to be interesting, it hardly has a lot of value for the general public. Nintendo Wii is mostly aimed at novice gamers, who do not install the so-called mod chips into their gaming machines, which means that the program from Symbiote will be used by a bunch of hardcore enthusiasts only.
Nintendo is projected to release a version of Wii game console with DVD playback capability, or just add DVD playback to existing game consoles with a new firmware, it was reported back in November, 2006. Unfortunately, Nintendo has not updated on the matter since then.
Nintendo will hardly impress anyone with DVD playback on a console in well-developed markets, the capability may be important to successfully enter the emerging markets, where the cost of a DVD player is considered as significant.
Nintendo Wii console features IBM’s custom PowerPC architecture-based microprocessor named Broadway clocked at 729MHz and code-named Hollywood chip with built-in graphics core, DSP and I/O features from ATI that operates at 243MHz, earlier reports suggested. Nintendo Wii uses 91MB of memory in total: 23MB of “main” 1T-SRAM, 64MB of “external” 1T-SRAM and 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. Nintendo’s Wii does not feature a hard disk drive, instead, it boasts with 512MB of flash memory, but the console will also have a card reader, which will allow installing more memory.
Nintendo set the recommended retail price of ¥25 000 (about $204) in Japan, $249 in the U.S. and €249 ($342) in Europe.
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Originally Posted by BigJon
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