News Channel

News Channel
Type	Pre-installed
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Wii Channels
Release date(s)	JP/NA/EU January 26, 2007
Genre(s)	Utility
Input methods	Wii Remote
Compatibility	5 Perfect
GameIDs	HAGP01, HAGA01, HAGJ01, HAGE01
See also...	Dolphin Forum thread Open Issues Search Google Search Wikipedia

News Channel allows users to access news headlines and current news events obtained from the Internet. News articles are available on a globe view, similar to Forecast Channel, and as a slide show. The content is automatically updated and viewable via WiiConnect24 with clickable news images supported.

Emulation Information

Shut Down

This channel's original online functionality has been shut down as of June 28, 2013 and works in neither Dolphin or on Wii hardware.

WiiConnect24 Revival Services

Both RiiConnect24 and WiiLink can provide WiiConnect24 support in Dolphin through a variety of means. As of 5.0-19724, users can automatically redirect to use the WiiLink service in Dolphin without needing to patch channels or manually download VFF files outside of the emulator. This can be enabled in `Options → Configuration → Wii` under the "Enable WiiConnect24 via WiiLink" setting.

Stale VFF Files

As of 5.0-17613, Dolphin now supports downloading VFF files from WiiConnect24 services just like a real Wii. This allows users to connect to services like RiiConnect24 and WiiLink without the need for a VFF Downloader. Users that have previous used a VFF downloader may need to delete old VFF files before the new services will work. This is because VFF files downloaded with some revisions of the VFF downloader have been hacked to never expire, so the emulated system will never attempt to download new ones.

Support on Older Dolphin Versions

Prior to 5.0-17613 some WiiConnect24 channels can still be made to work through the use of a VFF Downloader. There is a program that RiiConnect24 made as a workaround to download the latest weather data regularly. See this tutorial for more details.

Missing Game List Banner

Certain Wii apps and homebrew apps never create savefiles that are handled by the emulated Wii's internal savefile lists, so no banners are ever generated for them in Dolphin.

Problems

Error 107305

As of 5.0-21088, running "Perform Online System Update" → "Europe", turning on "Enable WiiConnect24 via WiiLink", then "Load Wii System Menu 4.3E", and opening News Channel from there, doesn't work, resulting in News Channel showing this error code and closing.

Configuration

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

Version Compatibility

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

2.0

5.0-4400

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5.0-21401 (current)

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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
5.0-5033	macOS	Intel Core i5 @ 2.7 GHz	Intel Iris Pro	If you copy over the VFF from a Wii that has RiiConnect24, it works perfectly.	Larsenv
5.0-21088	Windows 11	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6 GHz	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060	Due to the above-mentioned Error 107305, I had to rely on the RiiConnect24 team's patcher instead, which works perfectly.	DandelionSprout