YouTube Coming To the PS3 and Wii

Clara writes "The YouTube blog has announced that YouTube is on its way to the PlayStation 3 and Wii. From the article: 'Have you ever wanted to just sit on your couch and watch YouTube on your TV? Well, now that's possible via YouTube for Television, initially available through the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii game consoles at www.youtube.com/tv. Currently in beta, the TV Website offers a dynamic, lean-back, 10-foot television viewing experience.' No YouTube for Xbox, however (Google must simply not have gotten around to Microsoft yet)."

Comments

Am I missing something?

[Anonymous Coward]

You can already watch youtube on those systems...

Re:Am I missing something?

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I missing something?

Yes: TFA. Read it or GTFO plzkthx.

Re:Am I missing something?

[grumbel]

You can watch youtube on those systems, but its not exactly a perfectly smooth experience. On the Wii half the time I tried it videos would either just stop in the middle randomly, continue to play in the background when switching to fullscreen and a ton of other annoyances. So a little compatibility testing and a more streamlined interface would be more then welcome.

Re:Am I missing something?

[retyurecvb]

On the Wii it stutters a tad and runs at a poor framerate, which is unfortunate. Would be better if they released a Youtube channel that works without Flash and the Opera browser running, but I don't see that happening any time soon unless the homebrew community cooks something up. I recall there being a port of mplayer to the Wii that supports Youtube streaming which ran perfectly, but it was far from user-friendly. IIRC, you had to copy/paste the URLs into a text file via your PC, so no simple TV-style video surfing.

Re:Am I missing something?

[bechthros]

uh, if you've ever tried to read 12-point text on a non-HD glass tube, then yes, you are definitely missing something.

i tried out the new interface last night. it's great. simple and streamlined, yet functional. unfortunately it doesn't solve the crappy framerate and buffering problems.

Re:Am I missing something?

[Malevolyn]

With the internet interface. This one is made specifically to be viewed on a TV screen.

Re:Am I missing something?

[Anonymous Coward]

i tried out the new interface last night. it's great. simple and streamlined, yet functional. unfortunately it doesn't solve the crappy framerate and buffering problems.

Get cable. 6 Mbps definitely has no stuttering. 1 Mbps does.

Framerates are based on the source video. For example, one FLV I have here from YouTube is 25 FPS PAL, the same as the original video. Not sure what framerate problems you're referring to.

Re:Am I missing something?

[Anonymous Coward]

OH, as opposed to my internet screen. I see now.

Re:Am I missing something?

[Anonymous Coward]

I take it you're watching on PS3? Full-screen Youtube videos on the Wii run at like half the normal framerate, and they stutter. Bandwidth is irrelevant here, as the videos run just peachy when they aren't displaying at full-screen.

Re:Am I missing something?

[Mike Hicks]

I tried YouTube's TV interface on my PS3 yesterday. While I appreciated some aspects of the simplified interface, it seemed that the video playback itself was less pleasant. The framerate just about chopped in half if I attempted to play video in full-screen, and there were some annoyances with the progress bar and control buttons -- the progress bar didn't seem to work right, and the play/fullscreen/etc. buttons were just aesthetically displeasing.

I also ran into the problem where some videos are "not available for television viewing". What's up with that?

Google

[ubergamer1337]

"(Google must simply not have gotten around to Microsoft yet)." And they will probably take their sweet time, too.

Re:Google

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess the lack of web browser on the 360 ain't helping Microsoft, either...

Re:Google

[Ron_Fitzgerald]

If Netflix can create a streaming app for the Xbox, Google could as well.

Re:Google

[EvilIdler]

That could be just like the YouTube viewer on the iPhone OS, if they did it. The browser isn't involved at all, you just browse the content with a special player which gets movie streams instead of Flash.

There's already Netflix on the 360. Still no web browser (and frankly, with an iPod touch, a laptop and several desktop computers, I think the house is browser-saturated).

Next Slashdot headline

[Anonymous Coward]

YouTube coming to iPhone, iTunes?

Re:Next Slashdot headline

[Goldberg's Pants]

Yep. Had a perfectly lovely YouTube experience on my iPod Touch for over a year now.

PS3

[corychristison]

You can already use YouTube on PS3 via the web browser. It works fine.

So are they just slapping in a new theme?

Re:PS3

[QUILz]

Same goes for the Wii. (Except high-quality video)

Re:PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

Not a theme, exactly. 'Theme' seems to imply something purely aesthetic, this is more along the lines of a new layout for game consoles which is easier to navigate at lower resolutions, presents videos in fullscreen, etc. About time, too.

Re:PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not sure if you've tried regular youtube on a PS3, but it sucks. A lot.

Re:PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

The way I read this is it's trying to make YouTube on consoles act like the YouTube iPhone app, which is to say scaled back to a search/bookmark function which automatically makes the videos full-screen. But I'm too lazy to go downstairs and power on either console right now to confirm my suspicions.

Re:PS3

[afidel]

I wonder why it can't be used from a desktop browser, would be nice for a media center pc. Hmm, anyone know the user agent for the PS3 browser?

Re:PS3

[retyurecvb]

Opera/9.00 (Nintendo Wii; U; ; 1038-58; Internet Channel/1.0; en)
or
Mozilla/ 5.0 (PLAYSTATION 3; 1.00)
Pretty sure neither supports HQ or HD videos yet, the only difference I've noticed is that the former is white and more Wii-ish in design, and the latter is black and more PS3-ish in design. Still pretty cool, though.

Re:PS3

[blogan]

That's just Youtube, PS3 has nothing to do with it.

Re:PS3

[TriezGamer]

I would disagree. I have a PS3, and while I can watch YouTube videos on it, there are several minor playback issues -- in particular, the audio and video are not fully synched, and occasionally playback hiccups as it gets resynched. It's very noticable in videos that rely heavily on rhythm, such as drumming videos.

Re:PS3

[RazorSharp]

No real difference except a big button that says YOUTUBE for non-slashdotters who don't understand that WebBrowser = YouTube. Remember, most people don't know what a web browser is, as far as they're concerned the internet is IE rather than IE being an internet device.

Who cares about You Tube

[Anonymous Coward]

Give us HULU!

Re:Who cares about You Tube

[artor3]

PlayOn let's you watch Hulu, along with Netflix, CBS, CNN, Youtube, and ESPN on your PS3, Xbox 360 or some set-top boxes. It doesn't support the Wii yet, though they are working on that. And it only costs a one-time charge of $30. I've saved a fortune by dropping cable and just using PlayOn+Hulu and Netflix.

Re:Who cares about You Tube

[Anonymous Coward]

95% of the rest of the internet wouldn't mind that; but unless we actually do get it (and since they're licensing the content with exclusive regional distribution clauses, it's extremely unlikely to borderline impossible), it can fuck right off.

Releasing things to the US is nowhere near releasing things to the internet. The market is global now. Adapt or die.

2 years too late

[theheadlessrabbit]

I distinctly remember watching youtube on my television through my Wii 2 years ago.

my house had wifi, the wii picked it up, i went to youtube, and watched a bunch of videos.

what is new here?
a streamlined interface?
is that it?

HTPC

[Anonymous Coward]

Any real geek has a HTPC and can watch whatever the hell they like on their tv!

One thing that's not new here:

[Anonymous Coward]

/.ers not reading the fucking article.

Re:One thing that's not new here:

[Anonymous Coward]

There isn't an article to read, the page opens up with blank content, just a header bar and a sidebar.

Cynic

[Anonymous Coward]

Nintendo is good at making games, but it seems to treat there users as baby when ever it comes to options and technical things like an internet browser, if a screen has more then 4 buttons on it It makes the developers fear its too complicated, how much do you bet its internet browser will nothing like Firefox in terms of usefulness

Re:Cynic

[Anonymous Coward]

if a screen has more then 4 buttons on it It makes the developers fear its too complicated

Their fear is well founded, given their target audience. My mother loves the thing, and the simplistic interface and the small button count is a big part of that. Of course they aren't going to be taking design tips from the KDE developers, if they did then she wouldn't know what to do with the thing. The web browser is as full-featured as one should expect, which obviously isn't going to be anything on the level of Firefox. It's not supposed to be like Firefox.

Consoles move closer to HTPCs

[KronosReaver]

From the article
""10-foot television viewing experience through a streamlined interface that enables you to discover, watch and share YouTube videos on any TV screen with just a few quick clicks of your remote control. With enlarged text and simplified navigation, it makes watching YouTube on your TV as easy and intuitive as possible.""

In short it will provide the PS3 and Wii the exact same non-browser based setup that most quality HTPC software has had for years. Except that with most HTPC software now you also have add-ons for most of the popular video sites, not just YouTube.

Re:Consoles move closer to HTPCs

[Anonymous Coward]

This is more for non-geeks* who happen to own a game console. If you own a HTPC, this probably isn't for you.

*No offense, I'm a geek too, and I see your point. Sadly, my grandmother wouldn't. She'll probably love this.

Geolocation sez no page for you

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone copyright-infringement the article please, youtube's geolocation keeps pointing me to a blank page.

Have the "Editors" ever used a Wii or PS3?

[WiiVault]

This has been around since launch on the PS3 and the Opera "channel" on Wii. Sure it sounds like they are doing some tweaking, but to suggest that Youtube on these systems is new is just lame. Have the Slashdot editorial staff every played a modern console, or learned how to formulate a Google search?

Re:Have the "Editors" ever used a Wii or PS3?

[etherlad]

Personally, while I can watch embedded YouTube videos, my Wii won't let me watch them from the YouTube site. Claims my version of Flash is out of date, and it's impossible to update.

I would like to actually browse YouTube from my Wii, so this new setup is a good thing.

TV move closer to Computers.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm posting this story and this here because I see a very important trend. Not only the convergence of the Internet and TV. But the passiveness of TV being replaced with a more active process. these two simply reenforce that but from the "my computer is a TV" rather than the aforementioned "my TV is a computer".

Can't read the damned article

[pasamio]

Google, in its infinite wisdom, keeps redirecting me to the Australian version of YouTube and the "YouTube Australia's Official Blog". I thought it might be when I was logged in, so I set my location to be the United States and still got redirected. I logged out and still keep getting the stupid Australian blog. Funnily enough it displays a nice big white area where you would expect the content of the article to be. I know, I know, this is my punishment for trying to RTFA.

Re:Can't read the damned article

[Anonymous Coward]

Same problem here, although I'm redirected to the uk site: but still with a nice white page...

Has the article been removed ?

Re:Can't read the damned article

[GrumpySteen]

Go into your web browser's cookie manager and delete the cookies for www.youtube.com and au.youtube.com and you shouldn't be redirected any more.

Um.....

[rasteri]

I dunno about the rest of you guys, but I've been able to watch youtube on my wii for at least a year.

Neat, but not much to write home about

[WWWWolf]

For those who don't want to read the article, just head to http://www.youtube.com/tv on the appropriate console browser.

This is a slight disappointment. It's nice to have a new TV-friendly interface, but it's a little bit stretch to say "Youtube is coming to consoles". You still need the web browser, and the Internet Channel on Wii isn't free. I was expecting a separate free app that was optimised for Wii (or PS3); that would have been more efficient and probably more portable, as paradoxical as it may seem...

Re:Neat, but not much to write home about

[hattig]

Well the interface is a lot nicer, on my PS3 at least, than the previous one. The video quality is still poor though, would it kill them to stream the H.264 versions if a PS3 is detected?

It's a nice value add for the PS3, it's more convenient than the Wii's interface, and better resolution. Of course, I have an Apple bluetooth keyboard working with the PS3 to avoid that annoying on-screen keyboard.

Shame that there's very little worth watching on YouTube.

Re:Neat, but not much to write home about

[CronoCloud]

Good point about the MPEG4. I personally sometimes use youtube-dl ( http://www.arrakis.es/~rggi3/youtube-dl/ with the -b flag under Linux on the PS3, then mv the files to my external drive to view under GameOS.

Bug

[WiiVault]

Are you sure? Because this is one of the listed features of Opera Wii, if it isn't working for you I suggest a Google search. If it isn't working it is a bug- it should be and I think it does work for the vast majority of us.

Re:Bug

[WiiVault]

I'd like to add, that I just used it an hour ago for this very purpose. It certainly should work.

Re:Bug

[etherlad]

Then it's a bug in my system. I get told every time that I only have Flash 7, and need to upgrade. But WiiOpera can't upgrade.

If it's embedded, it's fine, but surfing YouTube itself is useless.

Re:Bug

[WiiVault]

Yeah I would suggest you send an email to Opera, they are quite nice. Or post on their forums. Of course this may not be worth the time to you, but it might as well. I'm also somewhat sure that Nintendo will allow you to re-download channels if you delete them- though you should certainly look that up before trashing it, and re-installing. Best of luck, its a great feature.

Re:Bug

[PyroMosh]

It's actually not an Opera issue. It's an Adobe issue. They have not released a version of embedded Flash beyond flash 7.

http://my.opera.com/haavard/blog/2007/04/13/wii-browser-out-but-why-flash-7-and-not-8-or-9

Re:Bug

[WiiVault]

Yes I know it only goes up to Flash 7. We were talking about YouTube, which does work on the Wii. So like I said there is something wrong with his set-up and he should contact Opera if he thinks its worth the time.

Do you need to buy the web browser for Wii?

[d_jedi]

Not worth it for me if I have to pay - computer is sitting only a few feet away.

Re:Do you need to buy the web browser for Wii?

[tepples]

Not worth it for me if I have to pay - computer is sitting only a few feet away.

For $10, North American customers can buy a copy of Internet Channel and Super Mario 3. It might be worth it for people who don't have a PC in the same room as the big TV, who would otherwise have to pay $500 to have another PC built with a video card that has composite out. (None of the PCs at Office Depot have it.)

But HTPCs don't move closer to the mainstream

[tepples]

In short it will provide the PS3 and Wii the exact same non-browser based setup that most quality HTPC software has had for years.

But most non-geeks still don't own and don't think they want a home theater PC. Otherwise, more of the arcade-style games that are currently released only on consoles would get ported to Windows.

Re:But HTPCs don't move closer to the mainstream

[drinkypoo]

But most non-geeks still don't own and don't think they want a home theater PC. Otherwise, more of the arcade-style games that are currently released only on consoles would get ported to Windows.

I spent a couple of minutes trying to craft a statement as developmentally retarded as this one, but I failed.

A Home Theater PC might be capable of playing games, but it's not necessarily used for same.

If I were a games developer with a game that fits well on console, and I wouldn't make dramatically more money by adding a PC port, I wouldn't bother to do one at all. Supporting a console game is practically a non-issue compared to a PC game.

Re:But HTPCs don't move closer to the mainstream

[tepples]

If I were a games developer with a game that fits well on console, and I wouldn't make dramatically more money by adding a PC port, I wouldn't bother to do one at all.

Which was sort of my point. HTPCs aren't widespread enough that game publishers large enough to have a console license would make more money by adding a PC port.

well...

[FonkiE]

i'm watching youtube videos in opera quite from the start of the wii ... and it's nearly fullscreen.

No Xbox Youtube = Microsoft's decision

[bitkari]

Microsoft has a slightly different content policy on their machine.

They keep a very tight hold on what may live on their platform, and generally they try to "monetize" whatever goes on it.

No web browser, no youtube, no BBC iPlayer.

They have started to slowly embrace the concept user-created-content (and eventually free-as-in-beer content) through XNA, but the real ethos of Xbox is the ultimate walled-garden, money-tree entertainment device. Time will tell as to whether this is the best avenue for them to go down.

Re:No Xbox Youtube = Microsoft's decision

[Anonymous Coward]

So, uh, I know its unheard of around here, but you're going to need to cite your sources on this one.

Neuros OSD

[ghostis]

I already do this with a Neuros OSD :-D.

-Ghostis

Internet Channel isn't free?

[ZekoMal]

Did I miss something? I didn't buy the internet channel; I got it for free.

Of course, when I got it, it was a free beta test of the internet channel, buuuut it does everything the regular internet channel does, and if I go to the Wii Shop, it doesn't have an option to purchase the internet channel, and shows me as already having downloaded the internet channel.

So, if they made it cost money now, it was free for pretty much the first year that the Wii was being sold (if not longer, as I got the internet channel just before Wii Fit came out).

Saying it isn't free is a little misleading. I wouldn't know if it costs money NOW, but I can confirm it was free when I got it.

Re:Internet Channel isn't free?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't own a wii but if it cost money NOW, how is that misleading? A quick search on google shows that it is now no longer gree (cost 500 wii points say wikipedia) so his point is valid.

Re:Internet Channel isn't free?

[Nivoset]

its 500 points now, i would have had free one, but my wii was stolen

Re:Internet Channel isn't free?

[adamofgreyskull]

As someone else has pointed out and what you're fumbling at: When the "beta" was released a couple of weeks after the release of Wii (in the UK at least), it was free. Subsequent updates to the Internet Channel have all been free for me for the past 2 years or so. Now I believe it costs 500 points to new users. Wikipedia confirms:

The Internet Channel is a version of the Opera 9 web browser for use on the Wii by Opera Software and Nintendo.[1] On December 22, 2006, a free beta version (promoted as a "trial version") of the browser was released.[2] The final version of the browser became available on April 11, 2007 and was free to download until the last day of June; the browser now costs 500 Wii Points.
Internet Channel @ Wikipedia

Re:Internet Channel isn't free?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder if forex on wii points is a viable investment.

I like it

[Anonymous Coward]

You get a simple interface that is easy to navigate with the controller (on the PS3 anyway).. The video is large enough to view without any modification (full screen). Kinda cool, now just need netflix !

Youtube already works on PS3

[zergwatch]

You can watch youtube on PS3 with the PS3 browser. Always could.

Re:Youtube already works on PS3

[hattig]

The new interface is far better however.

A good argument indeed for embedding a web browser into the TV itself, which I'm sure will become common in the next year or two (albeit with a limited set of websites to view, to make the interface usable with a remote control). 10ft website interfaces for popular websites may become common.

Useless and Old

[Soiden]

"Have you ever wanted to just sit on your couch and watch YouTube on your TV?"

No.

Besides, you can enter YouTube through your Wii since the Internet Channel exists.

Re:Useless and Old

[Anonymous Coward]

No.
Good for you.

Besides, you can enter YouTube through your Wii since the Internet Channel exists.
The Youtube's site is very PC-centric in design, this is a more TV-friendly interface.

It may not appeal to you, but it isn't useless nor is it old.

I wish Imeem would re-launch their wii version

[illectro]

imeem.com used to have a special version for the wii browser which let you play all their music, but it seemed to stop working. It had a few bugs, but it was amazing to be able to search for any artist and play all their music instantly.

youtube is worthless anyway.

[Anonymous Coward]

forget youtube. let us watch hulu on those systems.

Just tried this on PS3

[JensR]

Works quite well. It did work before, or course, but the interface is a bit simplified, and font sizes have been adjusted for being viewed from a distance.

Rather just watch it from my Tivo

[Anonymous Coward]

Tivo has been doing this for months.

XBMC?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm, I've been using the YouTube script on my softmodded Xbox (original) for going on 2 years now. If you haven't heard of Xbox Media Center, or XBMC, do yourself a favor and check it out. Turn that old Xbox into the slickest stand-alone media center box ever, and you can pick up an old Xbox for under $50.

Have you ever?

[stinkbomb]

From the article: 'Have you ever wanted to just sit on your couch and watch YouTube on your TV?...' No, actually, I never have. And based on the quality of the content on YouTube, I never will.

Meh

[ArtDent]

Just gave it a try on my Wii. The interface is pretty nice. But it still uses the browser, and the big issue is the suckiness of the ancient Flash plug-in. The video is extremely jittery, so even with the nicer interface, I still don't think it's worth using.

It's kind of surprising to me that they'd invest this effort, but not bother to try to fix the big issue. I'd think a custom application, like the one on iPhone, would be a much better solution.

Or Adobe could suck less.

Media Streaming

[halcyon1234]

Or you can just install TVersity on your main PC. That way you can stream videos to your PS3 OR Xbox, including direct access to Youtube.

hulu is worthless anyway.

[Anonymous Coward]

forget hulu. let us watch youtube on those systems.

Answer: No I haven't

[Anonymous Coward]

Q: 'Have you ever wanted to just sit on your couch and watch YouTube[...]'

A: NO! NO, GODDAMNIT! Every fucking time I go to that festering pit of desperate wannabes called YouTube, I do so with a specific purpose and hopefully a specific video link! And I leave the site immediately once I've seen what I need to see.

Some people have no interest in passively consuming whatever tripe the delusional people who submit YouTube videos produce. DELUSIONAL. Why? Someone who posts assumes that others care. Well, we don't. You are in fact not special or original or funny. You're just a pathetic self-absorbed idiot who depends, nay, requires the pat on the head from other people to be happy. Why don't you all grow a fucking personality of your own?!

In summary:
- I hate YouTube
- People who post on YouTube are pathetic narcissists
- People who enjoy viewing YouTube need to take a hard look inside and ask, would an intelligent person be doing this?
- YouTube's new service: Do not want

Re:Answer: No I haven't

[Anonymous Coward]

Surprise, surprise! My penis has eyes!