Hulu explains the PS3 blocking

[Queasy]

G4TV - Seriously, "We're aliens" is about as likely an answer as what they've been sending out to people who contact them as to why they can't connect to Hulu with their PS3s. They write a lot but don't directly address the issue.

"Everything we do is with an eye toward achieving our long-term goal of maximizing the content you can access as conveniently as possible in a way that 'works' for the content owner," reads the response I received from customer service. "In the short-term that may require us to make some tough decisions, but we only do so when we believe it improves our long-term prospects to build a more enduring, legal solution to that same problem."

...

This comment is prefaced with a long explanation the distribution models for television and movies (i.e. a movie starting in the theater, transitioning DVD and pay-per-view and eventually hitting pay-cable channels). I honestly have no idea why Hulu's customer service department believes someone who's looking for technical help would need to know these background details (again, this wasn't submitted as a media request), unless he figured out I'm a reporter.

"Distribution availability across platforms -- theaters vs. TV vs. recorded media like DVDs vs. online streaming vs. mobile phones -- was always implicitly or explicitly controlled in that world," continues the explanation. "But a few factors have made the barriers between those platforms more permeable: the rise of the web, increased broadband availability, the ease of digitizing video, and the increase in the computing power of devices like gaming consoles, set-top boxes, and mobile phones."

"However, in the near-term," says Hulu, "the windowing strategy is still dominant in the business. Billions of dollars flow in across these different windows, and entire companies are organized around them. Nothing productive comes from flouting that reality (except to law firms who work on the occasional lawsuit)."

 

[AstroManLuca]

LOL, gotta love corporate doublespeak bullshit.

Why can't they just come out and say "because Sony would lose their shit"? Not in those exact words but fuck, it sounds like Sarah Palin was writing those emails.

 

[Joemonkey]

all the while i've been watching hulu on my PS3 since April...

 

[Injury]

It's not that hard to figure out that the content owners would prefer that if people were watching shows on their TV that they'd prefer the more lucrative route of watching the broadcast or buying the DVDs rather than watching it online.

One of the catches of Hulu has always been that it works for content owners because it's a little bit of an inconvenience to sit and watch it on your computer, thus it could likely drive people to buy the DVDs or catch the broadcast of the show when it airs.

 

[Fox5]

Originally posted by: AstroManLuca
LOL, gotta love corporate doublespeak bullshit.

Why can't they just come out and say "because Sony would lose their shit"? Not in those exact words but fuck, it sounds like Sarah Palin was writing those emails.

I don't think it's sony, but one of their media partners.
Hulu has blocked all browsers except for IE and Firefox (and maybe Opera), that's why the PS3 doesn't work. Their media partners don't want the content displayed on a TV.

 

[Hadsus]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
all the while i've been watching hulu on my PS3 since April...

....and Netflix streaming. PlayOn works and I suppose there are others.

 

[Golgatha]

One of many reasons I built a very nice HTPC...to not have to mess with getting my consoles to play nice with Internet streaming stuff.

 

[Hadsus]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
One of many reasons I built a very nice HTPC...to not have to mess with getting my consoles to play nice with Internet streaming stuff.

Any particular HTPC building faqs/sites that you like? I need to edumucate myself.

 

[Aikouka]

My HTPC is literally just a PC with lots of storage and a wireless mouse and keyboard setup 😛 (networked via gigabit though). I kind of like the freedom of not being restricted like my friend that uses a Geexbox setup.

EDIT:

The only change I should make to mine is that it should have a quieter video card in it. One nice aspect of using Windows is that there are some games that you can also play on it such as Frets on Fire (or the Windows version of GH3) or StepMania.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Aikouka
The only change I should make to mine is that it should have a quieter video card in it. One nice aspect of using Windows is that there are some games that you can also play on it such as Frets on Fire (or the Windows version of GH3) or StepMania.

Yep. Unless you are using your HTPC for gaming as well, it is usually recommended that you get a fanless video card to cut down on the noise.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
all the while i've been watching hulu on my PS3 since April...

....and Netflix streaming. PlayOn works and I suppose there are others.

actually, playon doesn't currently work with hulu. it's been like that for a few weeks now. they've supposedly been working on it.

 

[Hadsus]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
all the while i've been watching hulu on my PS3 since April...

....and Netflix streaming. PlayOn works and I suppose there are others.

actually, playon doesn't currently work with hulu. it's been like that for a few weeks now. they've supposedly been working on it.

I watched Hulu this weekend on my PS3. Some are reporting problems but I haven't had any. But there was a period of about two or three weeks where something was definitely wrong.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: Golgatha
One of many reasons I built a very nice HTPC...to not have to mess with getting my consoles to play nice with Internet streaming stuff.

Any particular HTPC building faqs/sites that you like? I need to edumucate myself.

I peruse sites which cater to silent PC enthusiasts (www.silentpcreview.com comes to mind), but otherwise no. IMO, each HTPC is unique to what the person building it intends to do with it. Some people like using it as a DVR/TV, others want something to get pristine media playback, and others like it for Internet content.

Mine is used as a file server (Tversity) for my PS3, a 24/7 Skype hub for our home phones, a video encoder that frees up my main PC for gaming, a Folding@Home box for extra PPD (go team Anandtech!), a portal for streaming music and videos, an upscaling DVD player, and as a DVD/Blu-ray image jukebox (thanks to AnyDVD HD). I could make it into an OTA HDTV DVR too, but my free U-Verse box pretty much satisfies our needs as far as DVRs go. I use a Logitech DiNovo Mini for a keyboard and mouse.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
all the while i've been watching hulu on my PS3 since April...

....and Netflix streaming. PlayOn works and I suppose there are others.

actually, playon doesn't currently work with hulu. it's been like that for a few weeks now. they've supposedly been working on it.

I watched Hulu this weekend on my PS3. Some are reporting problems but I haven't had any. But there was a period of about two or three weeks where something was definitely wrong.

I was having problems with Hulu via PlayOn on Friday. I fired it up again yesterday when I got home from work and it was working fine.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Aikouka
The only change I should make to mine is that it should have a quieter video card in it. One nice aspect of using Windows is that there are some games that you can also play on it such as Frets on Fire (or the Windows version of GH3) or StepMania.

Yep. Unless you are using your HTPC for gaming as well, it is usually recommended that you get a fanless video card to cut down on the noise.

I prefer to use a VF700 at 5V fan operation, as I use minimal airflow through the PC to achieve silence. Either that or an Accelero S1/S2 since the heatsink is so huge. My HTPC has a PC Power and Cooling 500w Silencer, Zalman 9500 for the CPU (45nm C2Q, Q9400), a VF700 @5V for the 9500GT video, and a single 92mm Antec Tricool front intake fan set to the lowest fan speed. The case is an Antec Solo with silicon mounts for all the hard drives, and sound deadening material on all the panels is already installed in there. The Logitech DiNovo Mini is Bluetooth, so I don't have to have line of sight with the PC to control it from my easy chair.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Queasy
Yep. Unless you are using your HTPC for gaming as well, it is usually recommended that you get a fanless video card to cut down on the noise.

Yeah, my TV is only 720p though, so it doesn't take too much of a powerful video card to run at 1280x720. I was thinking about buying a fanless ATi Radeon card to replace the 8800GT that's currently in it.

Originally posted by: Golgatha
The Logitech DiNovo Mini is Bluetooth, so I don't have to have line of sight with the PC to control it from my easy chair.

I thought about going with a DiNovo Mini, but I figured it would inhibit any gaming that might be done on that PC (which is probably far and few in-between 😛).

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: Hadsus

Originally posted by: pontifex
actually, playon doesn't currently work with hulu. it's been like that for a few weeks now. they've supposedly been working on it.

I watched Hulu this weekend on my PS3. Some are reporting problems but I haven't had any. But there was a period of about two or three weeks where something was definitely wrong.

I was having problems with Hulu via PlayOn on Friday. I fired it up again yesterday when I got home from work and it was working fine.

It's been hit-and-miss for me. Yesterday, I watched one SNL Digital Short, and immediately went to watch another one, and got the "Data is corrupted" every time I tried. Then I went on to watch something else and it worked fine.