This weekend I tried the new YouTube on your TV site using our Wii console. It’s pretty good for a beta. In my opinion, this is the first site that made spending the $5 for the Internet Channel (Opera browser) worth it. Of course, YouTube picture quality is low, but for many types of videos it is more than sufficient.

For example, I was pleasantly surprised to find presentations from the TED conference on YouTube. The TEDtalksDirector channel is exceptional. The speakers TED attracts are smart, articulate, often have provocative ideas, and the talks are delivered in a concise, approachable format.

The YouTube/TV/Wii viewing experience is decent and will be familiar to anyone who’ve used YouTube on a computer. However, finding any videos beyond those featured on the front page is a chore. Until they improve navigation I am browsing channels and finding the videos I’d like to see with my laptop and then finding them using the search function through the Wii.

In any case, this effort shows how sites like YouTube are changing television viewing. I don’t care for most of what is on YouTube but it does provide a new channel to potential viewers. The TED recordings are good examples of how the site can be used to deliver quality material.