TVii





(Note: about a month after we originally published this review, Nintendo turned on its TVii features. These are our thoughts after using them.)

Nintendo obviously recognizes that game consoles have become the centerpiece of many people's living rooms, and knows the magnitude of the opportunity it missed with the Wii. That's why the company crammed every TV- and content-friendly feature it could think of into the Wii U, from a universal remote to the apps for Amazon, Hulu, and the like.

But Nintendo's most ambitious feature appeared on my Wii U about a month after it launched. TVii (pronounced like, well, TV) is one part TV guide, one part on demand service, and one part SmartGlass-like second screen companion. It came via a huge download on the Wii U — I think downloading updates is the thing I do most with the Wii U — and promised to essentially obviate my remote controls altogether. The Wii U should, theoretically, be able to control my TV, find me things to watch, and even direct me toward something better when there's nothing on except for Duck Dynasty.

True to form for the Wii U, the feature list is enticing, but the execution falls short. TVii is clunky and frustrating from the minute you start using it. After the all-too-familiar interminable loading process, you're prompted to do some basic setup: input your zip code and cable provider, select your favorite movies, TV shows, channels, and sports teams, and you're set to go. Except that the setup process doesn't involve making sure your TV is paired with the GamePad. That's a separate process, and TVii gives you no indication of what to do or how to get there (it's in the system settings), so things are probably going to seem broken for a while.

Once everything's finally connected, the hyper-visual TVii interface works a lot like Peel, or the interface I've tested on a couple of tablets. The home screen has five options — Favorites, TV, Movies, Sports, and Search — and you pick one to drill into what you want to watch. In TV, for instance, you can see a visual grid of what shows are on right now, with shows you've selected as your favorites shown first; select a show and then an episode, and the Wii U can automatically tune your TV to the correct channel. It can even integrate with your TiVo DVR and index the content there, but unfortunately I don't have a TiVo to test with.

It's a nice way to see what's on that you might want to watch without having to flip through a whole guide – though the grid-based guide is here too, if you're feeling noncommittal or just want to channel-surf. It's a nice idea, and works okay, except that when you pick something you want to watch you have to first confirm that the TV is on the right input, and if it's not you have to tap-tap-tap to the right one and then hit "Yes" before anything happens. Or, you know, you could just use your remote.

One of the coolest-sounding things about TVii is TV Tag, a feature that "allows you to follow along on the GamePad while you watch your sporting event or TV show." I had visions of SmartGlass, checking out relevant information about the cast and episode, and for all I know that is what TV Tag is – but since every single thing I tried told me "TV Tag is currently not available for this show," I couldn't say. Sports do take advantage, showing stats and live updates on the GamePad while you watch the game on TV. That part is pretty great.

As a TV guide, TVii is vaguely useful. For movies, though, it's basically useless. Theoretically, if a movie you've said is one of your favorites is currently on TV, you'll be able to tune straight to it, but unless Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure is your favorite movie ever (in which case odds are good it's currently playing on Comedy Central), all TVii does is present you with a link to buy the movie on Amazon. Netflix integration could be slightly handier, and Nintendo says that's coming, but for now it's just a roundabout Amazon interface.

Down in the bottom right corner of every TVii screen is an icon that brings up a ringed remote interface, which is by far the most consistently useful thing about TVii. It gives you the standard buttons – playback, volume, numbers — but also offers one-touch access to all the channels you named as your favorites in the initial setup. Bring up the wheel, tap once, and you're on ESPN. Tap again, off to FX you go. I've always wanted a remote with buttons for my 25 favorite channels, and the Wii U and TVii pull it off.

There's a social piece of the TVii puzzle, offering you a way to tweet about what you're watching or post about things to Miiverse. I can't figure out why you wouldn't just use your phone or tablet to post things to Facebook and Twitter, though; and who in the world is posting updates to Miiverse?

Nintendo's updates have improved performance in a few places – going to the home screen is a bit faster now, for instance — but everything else remains brutally slow. There's a second or more between you pressing something on the GamePad and any response on the TV, which makes paging through menus or scrolling through inputs nearly impossible. Every menu takes several seconds to load, every action several more to complete — I wasted too much time with TVii looking the GamePad and not watching what I wanted to be watching.

As is the case with so many things with the Wii U, Nintendo's onto something here. I like the idea that the GamePad is my one and only remote, for my TV, my set-top box, and my Wii U. It's too big to get lost, having a big touchscreen is great, and some of the features and organizational tools are really useful. It's a smart move by Nintendo, too, which is gunning to keep the GamePad in your hands at all times whether you want to play Mario or watch Parks & Recreation. But it's so slow, and so cumbersome in places, that I still constantly found myself reaching for the huge and inscrutable remote that came with my TV. Because when I press a button on there, something actually happens.