3DS Firmware/Miiverse/YouTube Update

[Nz17]

So what do you guys and gals think of all these new features? (Here's an overview: http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/36156 ).

I really like being able to view YouTube videos on the 3DS. There's something special about that. Nothing like watching videos about Nintendo video games on a bit of Nintendo hardware made for playing games. From the "feel" of it, I think this 3DS app is based on the Wii app's code.

Plus, even though it might be limited, I quite like the Miiverse's posts. They are fun and light-hearted. Which communities do you read and post to in there?

Also, the dumb camera app no longer launches when you hold L or R - BOTH must be held to launch it now. "Here here!" for some smart UI design, eh?

[JSoup]

You could already watch Youtube vids on the 3DS, via the built in browser. And I was never particularly interested in the Miiverse thing. I do like the L+R camera activation, that's one annoying things about this system gone.

[kupomogli]

I checked out Miiverse one time. It's like a really really slow Twitter. Pretty crappy as well. I'd rather have friend messages rather than Miiverse so I can tell random people that I can't find out how to use the morph ball as Samus.

Youtube is also really slow on the 3DS and if there's any sound around you whatsoever, you can barely hear a thing. Stick with games for the 3DS. Anything outside of that isn't worth touching.

[Nz17]

You could already watch Youtube vids on the 3DS, via the built in browser.

No, you can't. That's never been possible. Try it if you don't believe me.

You might be thinking of using the Wii Web browser to watch YouTube videos, but that was a different Web browser made by a different company (Opera instead of NetFront) which you had to download from the Wii Shop Channel and which used a built-into-the-browser version of Adobe Flash. Even then, the newer YouTube app for Wii is a much better experience for watching YouTube videos. It doesn't have the annoying bug where the hourglass graphic loops over the top of videos on occasion. It also has a much better frame rate and looks much better full screen as it is not using Flash but running videos natively at a higher frame rate and bit-rate.

Upon further investigation of the 3DS's YouTube app, I believe it is using the mobile Web site interface to YouTube coupled with either the built-in Web browser or a slimmed-down port of WebKit using a port of the Wii's native video playback function and is streaming videos made for running on older iPod devices as the videos look to be rather low bit-rate and have a noticeable number of digital artifacts and blurriness. For example, videos on the Netflix app for 3DS look much better than those on the YouTube app. My guess is that Google didn't want to reconvert all the videos for the 3DS and so instead Google is having it pull videos meant for older iPods. Interestingly enough, no comments sections are displayed alongside the videos, so that's a good thing most of the time, right? ;-)

[JSoup]

No, you can't. That's never been possible. Try it if you don't believe me.

I'd done it from time to time before this topic and just did it again. It's not perfect, but it works.
The Wii was pretty good at Youtube as well, with a few homebrew mods tossed in for functionality.

[Leo_A]

YouTube outgrew the Wii's browser. I used it regularly in earlier years but it was just a slow unreliable mess by the time 3 or 4 years had rolled by and YouTube had grown more bloated and resource intensive.

[JSoup]

YouTube outgrew the Wii's browser. I used it regularly in earlier years but it was just a slow unreliable mess by the time 3 or 4 years had rolled by and YouTube had grown more bloated and resource intensive.

The homebrew crowed tried really hard to keep up, but it became a lost cause pretty quickly. As of the last update (which was a year or so ago, I think), it's serviceable in a pinch, but, well, why bother.

[Leo_A]

it's serviceable in a pinch, but, well, why bother.

When there's a dedicated Wii YouTube app that works well, indeed, why bother with trying to struggle with a less than optimum experience with the ancient browser that frankly stunk when it was new back in 2007 or so.

[JSoup]

When there's a dedicated Wii YouTube app that works well, indeed, why bother with trying to struggle with a less than optimum experience with the ancient browser that frankly stunk when it was new back in 2007 or so.

The last I bothered to use it, the homebrew app was vastly better than the dedicated one non-homebrew users could use. Watching Youtube on Wii blows in general, so that's where the why bother comes in.

[Tanooki]

Across the board one of the best updates to the 3DS since around the time it came out. You have finally a ONE wallet/ONE all encompassing Nintendo Network account. No more split cash between the two systems, it's all one fat eShop and that's that. I am not into miiverse (just never bothered) but from what I've seen it looks like a badass upgrade for the 3DS and I know you can do some fine sketching in there with the stylus to share. Youtube is always a plus if you have something you like watching and it is a good point you could watch help videos or research a nintendo game on a nintendo system which helps. I'm surprised it took them this long to learn it was dumb as hell having L or R (NOT L+R) to get the camera going as I've set it off on accident a few times.

[Nz17]

All good points, Tanooki. I can't tell you how many times I was frustrated when I opened the console to look at something but - Uh-oh! - I was holding it "wrong" and the L or R was pressed when the 3DS was opening. "Sorry, chum, but now I'm going to make you wait while I load the lite Camera app." No more! You are banished to the land of wind and ghosts, bad UI design!

Can anyone else confirm the ability/inability to watch YouTube videos solely using the Nintendo 3DS Web browser?

[JSoup]

Can anyone else confirm the ability/inability to watch YouTube videos solely using the Nintendo 3DS Web browser?

Yeah, about that. After posting, I did some searching and found that you are correct, YouTube shouldn't be usable in the native 3DS browser. The problem is.....I've done it and am doing it as I type this message. I simply entered www.youtube.com and the site popped right up, didn't restrict me from watching anything. I've found a couple posts scattered across the internet with other people claiming the same, but no topics discussing why. Error in blocking Youtube, perhaps?