Nintendo Wii

It isn't, however, anywhere near long enough for those using projectors. Thankfully, there are a number of solutions available to solve this problem. Since it's not an especially complicated piece of kit – it's just two LED's that emit infrared beams – you can make your own sensor bar; for which there are many guides. Alternatively, you can splice the cable to extend it, use a couple of standard media remotes and even two candles – though please don't for obvious reasons. The simplest solution, however, is an inexpensive third party wireless version that runs off a battery and is available via www.wirelesssensorbar.com. We've yet to test one ourselves but reports suggest it does the job admirably, though it's rather more conspicuous than the official version

Once you have the console up and running there are a few quick and simple settings such as language, sensor bar placement and date and time to deal with but once completed you're free, should you choose, to dive straight into the fun and start playing games.






There's a good chance, however, that you'll want to setup the Internet connection first and this process is just as painless. Rather like the DS, Wii can hold up to three different wireless settings and like any wireless device will automatically detect any network. Unlike the DS, however, Wii supports all the more recent wireless security protocols such as WPA2 making it compatible with any standard network configuration. Once your Wii has detected the connection, it's a simple process of entering your password and you're ready to go.

Wireless performance it pretty solid too. Nintendo has been wise enough to include two internal antennas; with one mounted vertically and one horizontally. This means you should get equal performance whether you have the console mounted vertically or sitting horizontally.

If you don't have a wireless network then things get a little more complicated, and currently your only option is to buy a Nintendo Wi-FI USB Connector. This will allow you to use your PC's Internet connection wirelessly - provided it's hooked up to your broadband - with your Wii. Nintendo is promising to release a LAN Adapter sometime in January, though a quick google reveals that, as of now, it's not widely listed with only a handful of retailers offering pre-orders on the item.

These considerations accepted, setting up your Wii couldn't be easier and if you do have any problems the documentation provided is excellent with clear uncluttered presentation and plenty of illustrations to boot.