So hey, what about that Hulu integration on the 360?

[Queasy]

MS's non-answer

I couldn't leave our interview without asking the elephant in the room, though: Hulu. Rumors of a native Hulu application for the iPhone have lingered, and with Hulu launching a full-featured desktop application on PC and Mac, it's clear the networks are interesting in expanding where, when and how people access Hulu content. So, Hulu on Xbox 360?

"I will say that we are always -- I think as evidenced by our partnerships that we've announced -- we're always looking at new opportunities," said Schappert. "We want to offer the best entertainment on Xbox Live in as many countries as we can. But it takes a while to get these deals done, it takes a while to form these relationships, form these partnerships and find a great experience for [all] of our partners. Suffice to say, I don't think the Facebook, Twitter, Skye partnerships are gonna be the last ones we're going to announce, but nothing new beyond that."

That seems to be a clever way of saying Microsoft's looking into it.

I'm beginning to think with the recent developments of Hulu blocking Boxee and Hulu's ad revenues still being lackluster, that the hold up here is probably on Hulu's end.

 

[Joemonkey]

Just buy PlayOn 🙂

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

Like Hulu on Xbox Live?

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

Like Hulu on Xbox Live?

Not sure what you're getting at here. There is no confirmed hulu on xbox live, and certainly nothing saying it would cost money.

 

[Joemonkey]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

I dunno man, when I bought it at $30 it was the perfect thing for me. Hulu, Streaming Netflix, YouTube, CBS, and Fox on my PS3 was well worth it

As far as being buggy, I haven't ran into any issues since the last time I patched.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

I dunno man, when I bought it at $30 it was the perfect thing for me. Hulu, Streaming Netflix, YouTube, CBS, and Fox on my PS3 was well worth it

As far as being buggy, I haven't ran into any issues since the last time I patched.

Sure, until the next time Hulu decides to break it... or pursue legal action against them.

 

[Dari]

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

Like Hulu on Xbox Live?

Not sure what you're getting at here. There is no confirmed hulu on xbox live, and certainly nothing saying it would cost money.

Hulu is free but you pay to watch it on your tv via PlayOn. Similarily, you would pay to watch it on Xbox Live since live is not free.

 

[Rage187]

Hulu is free for now. The CEO suggested a pay model was going to be implemented.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: Rage187
Hulu is free for now. The CEO suggested a pay model was going to be implemented.

Not really THE CEO but a representative from News Corp that sits on the board along with other representatives from the joint venture. Related article from Ars.

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Dari

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

Like Hulu on Xbox Live?

Not sure what you're getting at here. There is no confirmed hulu on xbox live, and certainly nothing saying it would cost money.

Hulu is free but you pay to watch it on your tv via PlayOn. Similarily, you would pay to watch it on Xbox Live since live is not free.

Xbox live silver is free, and nothing was ever said about it requiring gold to use it. Hell, it wasn't even announced period so everything is just silly speculation. Can they require gold like w/ netflix? Yes... but that doesn't mean they will.

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: Joemonkey

Originally posted by: gorcorps

Originally posted by: Joemonkey
Just buy PlayOn 🙂

It's way too expensive and is quite buggy. Also there's something morally wrong in my mind with charging money to access something that is intended to be free.

I dunno man, when I bought it at $30 it was the perfect thing for me. Hulu, Streaming Netflix, YouTube, CBS, and Fox on my PS3 was well worth it

As far as being buggy, I haven't ran into any issues since the last time I patched.

Same ... PlayOn just works ... no tinkering with settings or setup headaches. The only thing I will say is that I wish you had an option to watch it in HD, when that is available on hulu.

 

[bloodugly]

I believe TVersity Pro Edition supports Hulu properly now, and it is completely free unless you want to pay for it to help them out.

Link

 

[CoinOperatedBoy]

Boo on TVersity. Getting the right codecs set up for all kinds of arcane file types is a chore. Messing with that from day 1, I never really got MKVs working quite the way I wanted. PS3 Media Server + PlayOn was the magic combo for me.

 

[oznerol]

Originally posted by: bloodugly
I believe TVersity Pro Edition supports Hulu properly now, and it is completely free unless you want to pay for it to help them out.

Link

It works - but it's spotty. You need to set up which Hulu videos you want to "queue" up on your PC - you can't just view everything without worrying about it. I'm not sure if PlayOn works like this as well.

But it's free and I'm using it anyway to stream other media from my PC, so it doesn't hurt to have.

I've said this in the past, and I'll hint at it again - expect an acquisition in the coming months to make streaming Hulu on a console a reality.

 

[Slick5150]

Its not gonna happen unless Hulu's content providers allow it. When Hulu blocked Boxee, Hulu's own people were clearly pissed about having to do it, but their content providers (NBC, Disney, etc..) were demanding it because they didn't want Hulu becoming something to watch on your TV, thus making it a direct competitor to their current revenue stream through TV networks. So, had Hulu not blocked Boxee out (which was obviously designed specifically to allow you to watch Hulu on your TV), they faced the wrath of their content providers pulling content from Hulu, and thus killing it.

So, until the content providers come around and realize that this is a natural evolution of "traditional" TV media, it isn't going to happen.

 

[bloodugly]

Originally posted by: ducci

Originally posted by: bloodugly
I believe TVersity Pro Edition supports Hulu properly now, and it is completely free unless you want to pay for it to help them out.

Link

It works - but it's spotty. You need to set up which Hulu videos you want to "queue" up on your PC - you can't just view everything without worrying about it. I'm not sure if PlayOn works like this as well.

But it's free and I'm using it anyway to stream other media from my PC, so it doesn't hurt to have.

I've said this in the past, and I'll hint at it again - expect an acquisition in the coming months to make streaming Hulu on a console a reality.

Yeah, the whole "queue" thing is a pain, but it does work. I've watched a few shows over it so far....plus its free and they're constantly working on it. Definitely something to keep an eye on until there is a REAL integration involving Microsoft.

 

[Crow550]

As far as I know..... No Hulu on TV without hooking up your PC to it or through 3rd party means. Hulu is the #1 requested feature on the Roku box. The content providers don't want to loose $$$ on you not watching there advertisers. That pays for the show & network.

So no 360 & no on the Roku.