I have tried to get this questioned answered in several WiiU related threads, but I am getting overlooked. Thus I pose the question here:

Will TVii be able to play local media, preferably off a wireless NAS?

This question is of vital importance for me and could catapult the WiiU from being a product I am looking forward too, to a product I will murder for. Thank you for your time.

It is known that the Wii TV will interact with PVR systems, but I don't know whether there is any open source PVR/media center software that will work with it.

"When you're looking for something to watch, the TVii app will search all of your available streaming services and your local cable listings." [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.390713-Nintendo-President-Claims-Youll-Use-Nintendo-TVii-Every-Day]

Does that answer your question?

It would probably have to have the necessary built in software /firmware for that, which knowing Nintendo i highly doubt.

On a side note... is the Wii U capable of playing standard DVD moviess (I know it's not compatible with Blu-Ray), or did Nintendo leave that function out yet again?

No, no DVD playback of any type.

Probably left the DVD out again at least for USA and Europe.  They had DVD available for Japanese Wiis if I am not mistaken  (Edit looked it up and they were going to offer it in Japan but never followed through) but didn't do it for the rest of the territories due to licensing fees.  Homebrew channel I believe allows you to be able to play DVDs through the Wii but it is a pretty basic / semi shitty DVD player from what I heard (I never used Homebrew but know friends that did).

The Wii U doesn't play any disc media apart from their own proprietary game discs. DVD and Blu Ray compatibility were a big deal this gen and last, but with things going increasingly digital, I think it's pretty irrelevant. Services like Netflix, DVR, Hulu, On Demand, and so on are going to render DVDs and Blu Rays pretty much obsolete in the next 10 years -- and TVii encompasses all of that.

Odds are if you have some DVDs you'd like to play, you already have a DVD player, anyway.

There was no DVD for the Wii anywhere. There were plans to make a DVD hardware dongle (like the first XBox) early on as I recall but that was scrapped. In Japan they did have a video-on-demand service for Wii though.

There is no video input for the Wii U, unless a third party can can a video in using one of the USB 2.0 ports, then I guess maybe you could do things like stream cable TV to the tablet for example, but that's a wide ranging hypothetical.

My guess is eventually the Wii U will be cracked and there will be a ton of media player style homebrew put onto it for what that's worth.

This sounds like a 'no' to me. How irritating, this will probably be the thing that prompts me to mod my WiiU.

Thank you for everyone who took the time to answer. Please continue discussing this topic or go on to unrelated tangents. I believe I score much sought after points with every post in a thread I have started, and I am currently trailing spurgeonryan by quite a few points in our internal VGChartz points contest.

"The new mode uses the Wii U GamePad to navigate live television, DVR recordings, and online video services, and includes a touch-screen remote function that can control your cable box, DVR, and TV directly, with a list of your favorite channels arranged for each access on the menu.

Nintendo TVii offers a personalized program guide that shows available content on Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, your DVR, and live TV. The experience will be personalized, since each user logs in as their own Mii avatar. It shows the user's favorite shows and sorts which are available on streaming video and when the next live showing will be. It can control TiVo DVRs, and set and playback recordings."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2409681,00.asp

P.S. You will never be able to beat spurge in points unless he is permabanned.