Catching up on Nintendo TVii: an interview with i.TV co-founder Justin Whittaker

Posted on 10/01/2013 by Ben Gilbert

Nintendo TVii's road to reality was relatively pain-free until its platform, Wii U, launched in November ... without the promised TVii functionality ready for primetime. A month and many ambiguous company statements later, Nintendo TVii went live. But even then, the service went without two of its promised features: TiVo and Netflix integration, promised to launch later this month. Nintendo isn't saying much about TVii post-Wii U launch, but we did manage to catch up with the company that created (and continues to support) Nintendo TVii, i.TV, during this week's madness. I.TV co-founder Justin Whittaker stopped by the Engadget doublewide at CES 2013 to chat about his company, what happened (or rather, what didn't happen) at launch, and what the future holds for Nintendo TVii. Head past the break and find out!

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Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Nintendo

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Nintendo TVii gets TiVo support in January, hoping to support other DVRs ‘in the future’

Posted on 20/12/2012 by Ben Gilbert

Nintendo TVii is scheduled for arrival on North American Wii U consoles at some point today, but it's lacking a few key features Nintendo promised when the service was first revealed back in September. Most notably, TiVo support was delayed until "early 2013," though Nintendo of America Director of Network Business Zach Fountain reveals a January launch in the first ever "Reggie Asks" (headlined by ... you guessed it, Nintendo of America president / interviewer Reggie Fils-Aime). Nintendo TVii's co-developer i.TV, represented in the interview by company head Brad Pelo, confirms our fear that TiVo DVRs will be the only supported DVR in the near future on the Wii U. Pelo thankfully adds, "In the future, of course, we hope to add support for other DVRs."

The group also discusses a main feature of TVii's second screen integration: "TV Tags." Beyond just viewing shows on the Wii U's GamePad controller, many shows (starting with "the top 100 shows in the US market," including sports, and evolving to integrate "what Nintendo TVii thinks is hot, what we think has momentum, and what we think our audience might find interesting") will feature social interaction and rich content (think: Miiverse-esque chat and stats for sports). Should TVii be as successful as Nintendo believes it will be, Pelo sees producers of popular television shows working with Nintendo to speak to their show's audience more directly. We're just hoping for a chance to talk about those crazy outfits Cee-Lo wears on The Voice in real time on the Wii U -- let's make it happen, people!

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds, Networking, Software, HD, Nintendo

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Source: Nintendo of America

Nintendo TVii app launches on Wii U in US and Canada on December 20

Posted on 19/12/2012 by Ben Gilbert

Nintendo of America announced this morning that its delayed Nintendo TVii service for the Wii U will launch on December 20. Nintendo TVii, first introduced back in September, intends to tie all of your currently balkanized media services on the Wii U -- various streaming services, your cable box, and your DVR -- into a single, cross-searchable application. At launch, the service will tie in Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video, but Netflix and TiVo are skipping the party until some time in "early 2013."

Nintendo TVii was given a December 8th launch date in Nintendo's home country of Japan, lining up with the launch of the company's new console; the TVii service notoriously missed the launch of the console everywhere else in the world, remaining absent ever after its various support services were added (Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, etc.) as individual apps. Like those apps, Nintendo TVii wasn't built by Nintendo itself, but in a partnership with i.TV. It's unclear what lead to the delay of the TVii service, but we're glad to see it arrive ahead of the various big present-giving days.

Continue reading Nintendo TVii app launches on Wii U in US and Canada on December 20

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Nintendo

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Here’s the company behind Nintendo TVii (spoilers: it’s not Nintendo)

Posted on 14/09/2012 by Ben Gilbert

Brad Pelo is suddenly in charge of a major Nintendo initiative for the Japanese company's next big console, the Wii U, despite not being an employee at Nintendo. Instead, Pelo is CEO of i.TV -- a "social television and second screen technology company" that's worked with everyone from Entertainment Weekly to Engadget parent company AOL -- and he's the man responsible for Nintendo TVii.

At least he's the man responsible for the company providing the software behind Nintendo TVii (the guy behind the guy, if you will). And his company brings more to the bargaining table than just software -- existing relationships with cable providers and TiVO in the US bolster what i.TV offers Nintendo in a major way. "For Nintendo TVii, there is a mutual benefit in existing relationships we have. Like TiVO for example -- we were the first to bring TiVO to the mobile platform. There's also the benefit of tests that we have done over the years with the cable companies, based on components of our platform," Pelo told Engadget.

But how did this all come about? He said it wasn't long after Nintendo's original Wii U E3 reveal. "The genesis of the experience you're seeing here was really when the Wii U was announced, and it was clear that this is the ideal second screen," Pelo explained. "Ideal," in Pelo's eyes, means a closed system with a "dedicated second screen." In so many words, while he acknowledges that tablets offered by other manufacturers are technically superior, they don't offer the same whole-system approach that Nintendo's Wii U is offering. "You might not think of it as the ideal hardware compared to an iPad if I really had a dedicated second screen. But it is in the living room, and it's persistent. It doesn't even really work outside of the living room -- it's attached to the main viewing service in the home," he explained, referencing the Wii U's tablet-style controller.

Gallery: Nintendo TVii press shots