Photo Channel

If a user inserts an SD card into the console, or receives photos or videos via email, they can be viewed using the Photo Channel. The user can create a slideshow simply by inserting an SD card with photos and, optionally, MP3 or AAC files. The Wii will automatically add Ken Burns Effect transitions between the photos and play either the music on the SD card or built-in music in the background.

A built-in editor allows users to add markings and effects to their photos. Mosaics and puzzles can also be created with this feature. Edited photos can be saved to the Wii (the Wii will not overwrite data on the SD card) and sent to other Wiis via the message board.

An optional update to the Photo Channel, named the Photo Channel 1.1, became available on December 10, 2007. It allows customization of the Wii Menu by letting users replace the Photo Channel icon with a picture taken from an SD card or a picture from the Wii Message Board. It also allows playback of songs in random order. MP3 support is replaced with AAC. The update also added support for MPEG-4 encoded audio files in the .m4a extension.

Wii owners who updated to version 1.1 can revert to version 1.0 by deleting it from the Channels menu in the Data Management setup or using the Photo Channel 1.0 Restore Program. Consoles released after December 10, 2007 will come with the version 1.1 update pre-installed, and can't be "downgraded" to version 1.0.