What Type of Video Files Can Be Played on an Updated Nintendo Wii?

AVI Files

• AVI, or Audio/Video Interleave, is the standard for video files on many Microsoft Windows-based applications such as Adobe Premiere and AVI to DVD. The standard is a container format, which means that files of various codecs (video compression standards) can be placed within an AVI file. Many AVI files are distributed over the Internet which have been compressed using standards such as DivX or Xvid, but for Nintendo Wii, AVI files must be compressed in the Motion JPEG standard. This means that AVI files compressed using other standards must be recompressed using a program such as MPEG Streamclip or Wii Video 9.

MOV Files

• MOV is the proprietary file format for Apple's Quicktime video playing software. It is the default video output format for the company's Final Cut line of programs, and many movie trailers are available for download from the Internet in MOV format. While there are a range of compression codecs for MOV files, again, only files compressed in the Motion JPEG standard can be viewed on Nintendo Wii. Commercial programs such as Final Cut Pro and Compressor can re-compress a file to this standard, as can free programs such as MPEG Streamclip or Wii Video 9.

FLV Videos

• Many video websites such as YouTube and Metacafe display videos in FLV (or FLash Video) format. This compression standard is supported by the Wii's Internet Channel software. Point the Wii's Internet Channel browser to a web page containing video files in FLV format to display them as playable items, just as a browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer would do. If an FLV file does not display on the Wii's Internet Channel, most likely it was created using the Flash 9 software. Only files compressed to the standards of Flash 8 or earlier will play in the Internet Channel.