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You'll never really get Hulu on your TV, so stop whining
As Boxee announced the (long overdue) release of it's Windows version, geeks everywhere itching to cut the Cable TV cord -- presumably leaving the one connected to the cable modem alone -- sighed lovingly, and once again began to wax poetic on whether or not Hulu would come back to Boxee. Even Avner Ronen, CEO of Boxee sounded hopeful in his quick interview with NewTeeVee.
I on the other hand, think all of you are nuts. Hulu is not (officially) available on your TV and it never will be.
There, I said it. And I don't think I'm wrong.
In the event that I am wrong? I'm still right. "Real" Hulu for your TV would be embedded in some device like the Roku for Netflix, and you'll pay handsomely for it. Don't believe me? The new guy over at Hulu certainly does.
We'll just take our toys and build a Paywall
Asked recently if Hulu would ever charge for content, Jonathan Miller said, "in my opinion the answer could be yes."
Miller happens to be the Chief Digital Officer at Newscorp, and the guy tapped with turning Rupert Murdoch's new media investments into profitable entities, not just cash losing experiments. Newscorp owns close to 30% of Hulu so, it's likely that when meetings happen, they at least let the guy speak.
He's no light-weight tossing about miscalculated ideas, either. As head of AOL between 2002 and late 2006, Miller was instrumental in restructuring AOL from a paywall based company into one who gave away content liberally in order to draw you into its web of advertising inventory. He's no stranger to the free-love, free-content, ad sales will solve it all world, and yet he's already floating the idea of making Hulu, at least in part, a subscription.
But, wait..Grant? What about the Hulu Desktop?
The recent release of the Hulu Desktop software and a "lean-back viewing experience" seems to have caused a great deal of confusion among the steaming video faithful. After all, if you can just go download the Hulu Desktop, that's no different than being able to click a Hulu icon on your Boxee thing-a-ma-bob right?
Wrong. From Hulu Desktop's license agreement:
Hulu grants you a license to install and use the Hulu Software on your personal laptop or desktop computer ("Personal Computer") for the sole purpose of streaming content that is available on Hulu's site located at www.hulu.com ("Hulu Content") on your Personal Computer.
You may not download, install or use the Hulu Software on any device other than a Personal Computer including without limitation digital media receiver devices (such as Apple TV) [...] (collectively "Prohibited Devices").
"Prohibitied Devices" starts to sound an awful lot like most Boxee set-top configurations, does it not?
Further disturbing your "I'm gonna stream Stargate SG-1 to my big screen for a secret Richard Dean Anderson drool-fest" dreams is another sentence in the agreement. If I can still read lawyer-speak, it does its best to say "don't plug in your TV" without actually saying it. A point which may have been a convenient way to appease the anti-Hulu-on-TV rights-holders without poking the AV geeks directly in the eye with a sharp stick.
You may not use any hardware, software or service other than the Hulu Software to stream, re-encode, project or transmit Hulu Content. (emphasis added)
I'm not saying the Hulu police are coming to your house if you plug your laptop into that DLP tv or projector but, I am saying Hulu's lawyers left the door open to say no to just about anything.
So where's my harmonious convergence of TV and Internet? I'm entitled!
With Hulu breaking the inertia -- now rolling towards the paywall -- and Boxee showing all of geek kind -- if only for a few glorious moments -- how awesome all that content would be if it were accessible through a unified and slick interface, true "convergence" is closer than ever. What hasn't gotten closer, and in fact isn't close at all, is a model that will allow content providers to make money, viewers to pay an acceptable price -- or support their habit through ads -- and cable companies to not stroke-out paying for rights to channels no one watches, even as the cost of delivering all that high-speed data drops like a rock.
Hulu isn't profitable, and is still groping for a model. Boxee isn't profitable, and doesn't have an announced model. AppleTV, though cool, is a near-dismal failure -- save for the thousands of geeks who've installed Boxee. Windows Media Center is a toy, and Ballmer doesn't have the huevos or surgical skill to take Hollywood and the TV networks for a ride. Motorola's Set-top boxes show they're nowhere near the software sophistocation needed to have a fair fight. And Tivo, once promising as a potential convergence powerhouse, has become a poster child for how to disenfranchise customers, even when you have a great product.
The question I leave open to you with is, "Who is winning this fight?"
Comments
21
Subscribe to commentsfeffreyJun 4th 2009 11:39PM
Pirates with a Popcornhour?
Grant RobertsonJun 5th 2009 12:22AM
I see your point but, that's an unsustainable model.
BTW, Popcorn Hour is actually a cool looking device that I was unaware of, but it doesn't seem any more functional than my AppleTV with Boxee installed, and Boxee is getting all the plug-in development love at the moment.
finnithJun 5th 2009 12:42AM
I can't wait till the Eee Keyboard. It will solve all my problems, if not for a price.
rcarmJun 5th 2009 12:52AM
HTPCs FTW?
Bernie WallaceJun 5th 2009 1:32AM
Somewhere there is a TV executive saying...
"What the hell do you mean people can connect computers to their TV and speaker system?"
PaulJun 5th 2009 1:59AM
What about Hulu on my PS3? oO; I use that sometimes...
Grant RobertsonJun 5th 2009 2:01AM
That's still browser based, not really a set top style solution. It's a "geek" thing, and therefore not mainstream.
MYMHMJun 5th 2009 2:54AM
Yup, busted laptop under one TV, and HTPC under the other.
I watch anything I want, whenever I want, wherever I want.
r3loadedJun 5th 2009 7:41AM
That is utterly retarded, an HDTV these days is basically a PC monitor with speakers and a tuner attached. On the flip side, would they consider a 30-inch Apple Cinema display to be a TV? It's a big screen too.
The industry guys still don't "get" it. Ah well, back to EZTV it is then - and it's open for UK users. :)
DiRTJun 5th 2009 7:46AM
I have no problem watching commercials, after all, that's what TV was made to show us in the first place, but I hate having to pay the cable company for the access to the channels that are then loaded with commercials. Stream the shows with commercials and I'll be fine.
FredJun 5th 2009 8:37AM
MY HTPC ways taht I can watch Hulu on my TV, whether I am using the desktop app or the website.
And the new desktop app+my Logitech DiNovo Mini = awesome.
avner ronenJun 5th 2009 9:25AM
hi grant,
i think that Hulu on the TV is inevitable, and Hulu "Desktop" is a
clear move in that direction.
it is obvious that Hulu Desktop is intended for people who connect
their computers to TV screens and use a remote. calling it Desktop
rather than TV, saying "lean-back" vs. 10-foot, and the terms-of-use
is just paying lip-service. getting on TV is the goal.
the future of Internet on the TV is inevitable. both the media
companies and cable companies know it. while some of them may like the
transition to be slower they don't want to be left behind, so over
time they will all become more aggressive in bringing Internet content to the TV. could take 6 months, a year or a
few years, but it's coming.
in the meantime at boxee we'll do its best to provide users with
access to as many content sources as possible. our view is that if
it's on the Internet you should be able to play it on boxee. and
we're going to work to make that happen.
avner
ChuckJun 5th 2009 9:51AM
(US residents only)
1. Buy a PS3 (best Blu -ray player and gaming console IMO)
2. Purchase Play-on for 40.00 online
3. Get a hard wire connection from PS3 to router (not wireless).
4. Watch Hulu as well as Netflix instant on your TV.
Done.
I have this set up on my Sony 52" and it works beautifully.
QuikboyJun 5th 2009 10:00AM
That's a pretty costly route, especially if you don't do gaming on the PS3 or have no plans to use PlayOn for anything else but that...
ChuckJun 5th 2009 10:29AM
I realize.......
I just stumbled across the availability in January when I put everything together and just wanted to mention it's not impossible. The cool thing is that I really never intended much for anything online regarding the PS3 because I am from the old school (TV connected to the internet...wha?? ) and was very surprised by the 3rd party online programs that connected the PC and the PS3 together.
QuikboyJun 5th 2009 9:58AM
Maybe, just maybe, instead of the propose subscriptions to watch Hulu content, perhaps Hulu should charge access to Hulu content from your TV.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to pay for content as much as anyone, but considering Hulu may consider a complete subscription route, it'd be better to have Hulu on an internet browser free, and the easy convenience of having Hulu on your TV should be an extra that Hulu can charge for.
tampa03cobraJun 5th 2009 10:51AM
I don't see why many people act like there is no easy or practical way to get Hulu on a TV.
Most modern tv's have either a DVI or VGA in port. At home I took an old Semperon 3000 Desktop, put it into a decent looking 30 dollar case that fits nicely under my cable box (or you could skip this step). I have a 30 dollar wireless trackball sitting next to my remote on the Sofa.
When I want to watch Hulu I hit "Video Source" button twice on my remote.
Click the Hulu shortcut, use the Windows on screen keyboard to type in my selection (or just navigate to it), hit full screen, and viola, HD hulu on a TV.
The fact is, you can watch Hulu for free (if you have an extra computer or leave a cord attached to the TV and just attach your laptop when you want to watch) or extremely cheap (by adding a few accessories like I did for convenience), by just attaching a computer to your TV. If it's too complicated for you to understand how, then you probably don't care about or even know about Hulu in the first place.
Computers have gotten small enough, I just can't see spending my money on a Set-top box that only supports on service (hulu, net flix ect ect) when you can have one box that does them all, and everything else.
NeoprimalJun 5th 2009 4:35PM
A
NeoprimalJun 5th 2009 4:37PM
That was freaky. And I can't edit..sorry. lol...I was saying...
Another option is to buy or build a home theater PC and install Vista home on here. I use mine for all of that..plus netlfix works in Vista's media center now.
You can buy a Nvidia Ion platform based htpc (2-$300) and voila, instant hulu on your 40+ inch screen.
aeJun 6th 2009 4:03PM
Play-on @ themediamall.com streams hulu and youtube to your xbox 360. I have the 360 hooked up to my receiver and my hdtv hooked up to the receiver via hdmi.
hulu + play-on + 360 + hdtv = amazing and 100% flawless.