Homebrew Channel

Homebrew Channel
Type	Downloadable (third party)
Developer(s)	Team Twiizers
Platform(s)	Wii Channels
Release date(s)	JP/NA/EU/KO April 2, 2008
Genre(s)	Utility
Input methods	Wii Remote, Wii Remote + Nunchuk, Classic Controller, GameCube Controller, Guitar Controller
Compatibility	5 Perfect
GameIDs	HAXXHB, OHBCHB, LULZHB, JODIHB
See also...	Dolphin Forum thread Open Issues Search Google Search Wikipedia

The Homebrew Channel is a freeware homebrew application loader that was developed to provide a way of easily running unofficial software on the Wii console. Once installed, it appears as a standard Wii Channel on the Wii Menu. When launched, it displays a list of applications found on an SD card or USB drive. The user then selects an application to launch by using a Wii Remote or GameCube controller. It also accepts application uploads via a USB Gecko or TCP/IP (over Wi-Fi or Ethernet), which allows for quick application testing during development. When launched from the Wii Menu, the Homebrew Channel will check for updates to itself and automatically download them if the user chooses to do so.

The functionality provided by the Homebrew Channel is provided by Dolphin directly, so the HBC is not needed (except to work around Dolphin's broken Wii homebrew detection in some cases).

Emulation Information

Pre-1.1.3 Black Screen

The developers of the Homebrew Channel had placed traps into the program to prevent the Homebrew Channel from loading in Dolphin. There are other problems in pre-1.1.3 versions, which won't be documented here. The 1.1.3 release of the Homebrew Channel, which is now open source, has removed the anti-Dolphin code.

Missing SD card adapter support

Dolphin does not emulate the official Nintendo memory card to SD card adapter, which is used to store applications to launch. See issue 11757. The Homebrew Channel also supports USB and the Wii SD slot, which are properly emulated.

Problems

Networking

Network initialization never completes. Fixed since at least 5.0-10472.

Direct3D

Using Direct3D with XFB enabled will cause the screen go black, but the app stills work normally otherwise. Use OpenGL to solve this. Fixed since at least 5.0-10472.

Configuration

This channel does not need non-default settings to run properly.

Version Compatibility

The graph below charts the compatibility with Homebrew Channel since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.

r7598

5.0-1399

5.0-5874

5.0-10472

Δ

5.0-19465 (current)

Δ

Δ

Δ

Δ

Δ

2.0 (r5384)

Compatibility can be assumed to align with the indicated revisions. However, compatibility may extend to prior revisions or compatibility gaps may exist within ranges indicated as compatible due to limited testing. Please update as appropriate.

Testing

This channel has been tested on the environments listed below:

Test Entries
Revision	OS	CPU	GPU	Result	Tester
r7598	Windows 7	Intel Quad Core Xeon @ 2.8 GHz	ATI Radeon HD 5770	All issues in the Problems section are present.	SephirothFanatic
3.0	Windows 7	Intel Quad Core Xeon @ 2.8 GHz	ATI Radeon HD 5770	All issues in the Problems section are present.	SephirothFanatic
3.0-376	Windows 7	Intel Quad Core Xeon @ 2.8 GHz	ATI Radeon HD 5770	Starts and runs normally, except when reloading or exiting with the Home button.	SephirothFanatic
5.0-1422	Linux (Debian sid)	Intel Core i5-4210H @ 3.5 GHz	NVIDIA GeForce GT 940	Everything works (including launching homebrew, returning to Wii menu, shutting down) except networking.	Léo
5.0-2742	Windows 7	Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.6 GHz	Intel HD Graphics	With D3D and XFB disabled looks normal but cannot launch homebrew; enabling XFB to real made it look black, but didn't crash. Using OGL and XFB to real seems to work normally, except for network.	EblfIYH
5.0-3951	Windows 10	Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.6 GHz	Intel HD Graphics	Now, it crashes with D3D. OpenGL still work	EblfIYH
5.0-3965	Windows 10	Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.6 GHz	Intel HD Graphics	D3D works again, with the same problems	EblfIYH
5.0-10472	Windows 10	Intel Core I5 4670K @ 4.3 GHz	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060	D3D issues seems to be fixed, couldn't reproduce it with D3D11/12. Works without any graphical issues. Difference between graphics backends is huge though. D3D12=1000FPS, D3D11=900FPS, OpenGL=600FPS, Vulkan=500FPS	Miksel12

Gameplay Videos

Homebrew Channel Showcase