 |
Progress Continues
We've already had 20164 updates since Dolphin 5.0. Keep up with Dolphin's continuing progress through the Dolphin Blog: February, March and April 2023 Progress Report. |
 |
The Dolphin Emulator Wiki needs your help! Dolphin can play thousands of games, and changes are happening all the time. Help us keep up! Join in and help us make this the best resource for Dolphin. |
Television Friend Channel
| Television Friend Channel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Downloadable |
| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Platform(s) | Wii Channels |
| Release date(s) | JP March 4, 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Utility |
| Input methods | Wii Remote |
| Compatibility | 4  Playable |
| GameIDs | |
| See also... |
Dolphin Forum thread |
The Television Friend Channel allows Wii users to check what programs are on the television. Content is provided by Guide Plus. The channel is said to be "very fun and Nintendo-esque". A "stamp" feature allows users to mark programs of interest with a Mii-themed stamp. If an e-mail address or mobile phone number has been registered in the address book, the channel can send out an alert 30 minutes prior to the start of the selected program. The channel tracks the stamps of all Wii users and allows users to rate programs on a five-star scale. Additionally, when the channel is active the Wii Remote can be used to change the TV's volume and channel so that users can tune into their shows by way of the channel. The Television Friend Channel launched in Japan on March 4, 2008. It is not going to be launched outside Japan, as most countries, unlike Japan, have a guide built into set-top boxes and/or TVs.
Emulation Information
Shut Down
This channel's 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.
Problems
No Sensor Bar Control
Dolphin does not emulate turning the sensor bar on and off, and as such does not support the TV remote control features.
Configuration
No configuration changes are known to affect compatibility for this channel.
Version Compatibility
The graph below charts the compatibility with Television Friend Channel since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.
Testing
This channel has been tested on the environments listed below:
| Test Entries | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revision | OS | CPU | GPU | Result | Tester |
| 5.0-3770 | Windows 10 | Intel Celeron G1610 @ 2.6 GHz | Intel HD Graphics | After confirming date and hour it gets a failed connection error due to shutdown. | EblfIYH |