Distribution
Hulu restricts use on embedded devices
Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 April 2009 00:06 Written by Kelsey Brookes Tuesday, 21 April 2009 23:40
Despite the announcement yesterday that Hulu would soon be available embedded in an extremely popular mobile device, it's a continued fact of life that the video streaming service is entirely beholden to those who provide its content.
That's entirely reasonable and Hulu has done a great job getting as far as they have in a difficult and litigious environment. They're walking a fine line and despite dramatic outcry from every user who thinks their rights are being infringed, Hulu are just doing what's necessary to stay in business.
This is evident in their recent decision to encrypt their transport streams to prevent non-browser (and one supposes, non-approved) applications from decoding video content. Boxee, we're looking at you.
It's old news now that Hulu and Boxee have been playing a small-scale and good-natured game of technical leap-frog, with Hulu trying to block Boxee, Boxee's users developing workarounds and Boxee devs looking on innocently from the sidelines.
Even the new encryption methods have failed, with Boxee already having announced their workaround.
Expect this to continue for some time where the only losers are the users, as usual. And as usual, this is pertinent only to the US anyway as rights-holders typically block access to anyone in the wider world.
Unfortunately, being a rights-holder also gives you the right to be myopic and reactionary.
0 Comments
Hulu for iPhone
Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 April 2009 03:38 Written by Forum Editor Tuesday, 21 April 2009 03:29
Not that the draconian licensing restrictions in Australia make this news useful to any of antipodean readers. Thanks, Senator Conroy.
Hulu, originally a primarily web-based media distribution platform has of-late been expanding into embedded devices, political considerations notwithstanding.
TUAW reports that their source regards the new Hulu streaming app as 'Badass'. High praise indeed. Although there are other streaming apps available for iPhone, none have developed a loyal following and Hulu brings with it an established reputation and user-base.
0 CommentsNetGear releases new media centre
Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 April 2009 03:12 Written by Forum Editor Tuesday, 21 April 2009 02:58
OK, so it's not an 'open' platform like XBMC, Plex or Boxee, the kind that usually command my heart.
Even with its limitations however it supports and promotes the home media-centre trend - something I fully endorse.
Plus - nice specs: BluRay, 500GB user-upgradable drive, reasonable media-agnostic (we'll see how it handles .mkv files, the bane of the internet) and embedded access to popular social media sharing sites. All win!
0 CommentsFlash coming to HDTV
Written by Kelsey Brookes Tuesday, 21 April 2009 02:41
Adobe has been focussing its efforts of late towards getting off the browser. While Flash is a ubiquitous include on just about every user's browser of choice, Adobe has been pushing its AIR platform of late, promoting the ability for Flash (and other typically online development processes) to be deployed in platform-agnostic desktop applications.
However we haven't seen much from Adobe when it comes to embedded devices.
If you're running XBMC for example, the skins that make that media centre the most attractive proposition available are fiendishly difficult to develop. If Flash was to become more amenable to embedded environments, the potential to raise the bar on interactive interfaces would make an evolutionary leap forward.
Now imagine it hooked up with MultiTouch capability and we're half way to the Minority Report dream....
0 CommentsYouTube to stream ABC, ESPN
Last Updated on Thursday, 02 April 2009 06:38 Written by Kelsey Brookes Tuesday, 31 March 2009 23:01
OK, so obviously someone gets it.
0 CommentsCable TV still doesn't get it
Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 21:51 Written by Kelsey Brookes Tuesday, 31 March 2009 09:39
Continuing on in the same vein as my previous rant on the subject, US-based cable companies continue to prove that they fail to understand their customers.
Comcast, Time Warner and Verizon are looking at creating subscription-based online video services.
Now considering that almost any TV you care to watch is already freely and legally available online through streaming services such as Hulu the question must be asked: who is the intended market?
That depends on how much sway these companies will have with existing broadcasters, who already utilise free services to promote their content and with lawmakers. If they can convince broadcasters to abandon free services in favour of their revenue model, then a dearth of content might convince some to take up a paid model.
Or it could convince them that it's time to try less legal avenues.
More details via Switched
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