Articles about Hulu

Back at the start of this month, Hulu Plus for Chromecast made an appearance, but aimed only for Android phones and tablets, as well as iPad customers. Those using Apple's platform as a smartphone device were feeling a bit left out, but today the streaming video service aims to right the ship.

"Today, we are excited to add the Chromecast integration for Hulu Plus to your iPhones", announces Hulu's Karan Nischol. "The Hulu Plus integration with Chromecast will convert your app into a custom remote letting you control video on your Chromecast connected TVs, while allowing you to browse the Hulu Plus app directly from your iPhone", the statement continues.

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Google unveiled the Chromecast HDMI dongle during its big new Nexus 7 launch event in July and the tiny device garnered quite a bit of attention. For $35, customers could suddenly get functionality once reserved for specialized set-top boxes like Roku and Google TV. Plug it into your display and start "casting" media to it.

Now Chromescast gets one more option, and it's something that even Google TV does not have -- Hulu Plus. Google's Shanna Prevé calls it "the same intuitive, remote-free experience you’ve come to enjoy with the other Chromecast-supported apps, and is as simple as pressing the Cast button which will now appear in the app".

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The apartment was strangely silent last night and darker than usual. Gone was the flickering light filling the center room as one of us scanned the program guide. A year later than planned, we dismantled the TV shrine and took back the living room from the false idol. Henceforth, we will worship at a different altar. Finally, I cut cable's cord -- IPTV, really, but we all call it the other, eh?

I feel anxiety and elation at the dramatic change, which allowed us to rearrange the furniture such that the living room is more open, more inviting and more suited to entertaining real people. The television now resides in the bedroom, more for the benefit of my wife's sleepless nights (the thing is narcotic). We'll stream from Amazon Prime, Hulu and Netflix primarily -- haha, maybe even iTunes. I had planned Google Play by way of Nexus Q, but the search giant nixes that option.

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Despite the looming possibility of a buyout, Hulu continues to push its service forward with updates and new platforms. The latest version of Hulu Plus, the premium arm of the online TV service, today updates its iPad offering, with what the company calls an entirely new experience for your tablet.

"We’ve redesigned the app from the ground up, focusing on discoverability, efficiency, and our overall user experience", Hulu tells us. "We’ve really focused on developing several new ways to make your favorite shows, and your favorite new shows you never even knew existed, easier to find", the company further explains.

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Despite recent rumors that it may fall into the black hole known as Yahoo, Hulu continues attempting to move forward as a viable source of TV for cord-cutters and those who just want an alternative. Today the company rolls out a new update for many of its hardware partners.

Dave Herman, senior product manager for living room devices, announces "we’re excited to roll out a new and improved Hulu Plus experience on Samsung Smart TVs and select Blu-ray players, Roku set-top boxes, and coming soon to the Wii console from Nintendo".

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Microsoft fights an uphill battle against iOS and Android, but it is a war the company is determined to persevere in, especially given the latest TV ad, which is viral. Now within back-to-back days the mobile platform adds both Foursquare, Hulu and updated YouTube.

Today, an updated YouTube app joins the party, with Microsoft announcing a new version that allows pinning videos, playlists, channels, and search queries to Start as Live Tiles, gives new playlist design, plays videos in the background when the screen is locked (perfect for music videos) and makes easy video sharing to social sites. It even leverages the YouTube safety mode to keep the little ones from viewing unfit content. However, as my colleague Mihaita Bamburic points out, "You can't upload videos, sadly. That's a pretty basic feature, albeit one that's missing".

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What interesting timing. The same day Ericsson agrees to buy Mediaroom from Microsoft, Nielsen releases fascinating report "Free to Move Between Screens". The two things are strangely related. A decade ago, the IPTV division made more sense. Today, television habits are changing, something Microsoft brianiacs apparently recognize and others would be wise to do likewise. Nielsen hints at the future.

Consider where we are in just three years. Before iPad's launch in April 2010, few US television networks (I don't know that any) offered two-screen experiences. Now they're commonplace, under the presumption millions of Americans sit with tablets in front of their boob tubes (and they do). HBO Go launched two months earlier. Go back six years, you have Amazon, Apple and Netflix streaming and Hulu's launch. Along with the DVR's rise in popularity, how Americans consume television programming dramatically changes.

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The tech news these days seems filled with stories of piracy, security flaws and every company trying to push its latest software and hardware releases. Then, every once in a while, something truly fun and enjoyable comes along to save us from our otherwise overwhelming tech world.

Today is the birthday of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, who also goes by the alias of William Shatner. To celebrate the Captain's birthday, online TV streaming service Hulu wants to open up the Star Trek world to even more viewers.

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Amazon has quietly rolled out a new pricing plan for its premium membership service Amazon Prime which finally allows customers to make monthly payments instead of annual lump sum fees. That's all good right? Not so fast...

With Amazon Prime, subscribers get a lot of benefits from the popular online retailer: Free Two-Day, Standard, and no-rush Shipping, access to the Prime Instant Video streaming service, and access to the Kindle Lending Library where subscribers can freely borrow and read Kindle books as often as they like.

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Analysts, bloggers and other pundits can't make enough predictions about Windows 8's future, whether or not the operating system launching later this week will be success, failure or something in-between. My advice: Ignore them all and look to developers. Their commitment counts, particularly when Windows goes through such major overhaul. My eyes are on those delivering services in the cloud.

Today Hulu joins a growing number of developers supporting Windows 8 and Modern UI -- what we've all come to know as Metro. Commitment from cloud service providers like Hulu is crucial to the new operating systems' consumer acceptance and is vital to the expansion into new device categories like convertibles and tablets. There is presumption among pontificating iPad idolaters that developer support for iOS is a brick wall Windows 8 and RT can't climb. Cow pies!

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The Apple TV hobby just got one more service to add to its collection. Starting today Hulu, the ad-supported on-demand streaming video service, announced that its for-fee subscription offering is now available via a quick software update on the Apple TV.  Hulu Plus joins Netflix as strictly streaming service available on the set-top box.

Hulu and its owners, Disney, Comcast and News Corp., had little choice but to get Hulu Plus onto Apple TV as soon as possible. With Apple’s new Mountain Lion update, anyone with an Apple TV could already  use the the new Airplay feature to “mirror” the free version of Hulu's website video onto their TVs. The basic website version of Hulu though does not offer features like a deeper content library and HD streaming.

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Fresh off its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility -- which by the way, was about both its patents and the hardware too -- the company is now said to be the high bidder in the race to acquire Hulu.

After being shut out in the bidding for Nortel patents, Google is suddenly willing to spend what's needed to get hot products/services or perhaps, with Hulu, end bidding altogether.

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It's no secret that Hulu is shopping around for a suitor: new reports indicate that process is well on its way. Bids are due by Wednesday, and it's expected they will range between $500 million and $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Several suitors are said to be in the running including Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and DirecTV. There also have been rumors that Apple may be interested too: the WSJ's sources have not confirmed that.

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Nielsen has a new study out looking at how Americans use Hulu and Netflix. What I found surprising -- 1 percent of the 12,000 respondents say they use Apple TV or Google TV to watch Hulu. The service isn't supported on either device, last time I checked. So who are these people?

Well, they could be bleeding edge consumers who have hacked the boxes. But I expect for the most part it's erroneous reporting. People don't always know what to answer or what they've got.

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