A few days after
blocking PlayStation 3 users,
Hulu has yet to respond to questions concerning the change which has only helped to fuel rumors it is related to the Microsoft ad campaign currently featured on the site, but that seems less likely now that we've confirmed it also began blocking the
Flash-enabled Skyfire browser on Windows Mobile devices at the same time. Whatever the cause is, if you prefer a homegrown hack over something like
PlayOn or TVersity, Eric over at ypass.net has put together a simple enough walkthrough for creating an "unblockable" workaround by setting up a locally connected PC running Linux or Windows with the freely available Squid proxy server software that will make your PS3 look like appear as a PC running a Firefox (or whatever you prefer) browser to any website that asks. Of course, just like the other solutions your computer will need to stay running to keep you connected, but we figure it's a small price to pay for enjoying relatively low res Flash video running on an HDTV.
Read - Got a PS3? Want Hulu Back? Easy enough...
Read - Squid-setup for Windows NT /2k /X
posted Jul 1st 2009 6:08PM
HULU ...Who cares??
All the people who don't have TV's, or want on-demand content without paying for it (me).
why r they doing this?
I'm not sure why Hulu is blocking PS3 but I know that the bottom line is MONEY.
Someone at Hulu wants money from someone at SONY.
man they're acting like total douchebags. the whole point of hulu was to give viewers a place to view content LEGALLY so people who own copyright to content can get paid. by hulu blocking so many platforms it's going to lead to people viewing content through illegal sites.
It is really stupid on my humble opinion. What in the world are manufacturers and service administrators so afraid to open the internet with all its services online. It may be they just want to push you to buy the new model each time to get the "update". Why is it so hard to put a functional flash in every phone and for video sites just to work fine? AT&T won't get away charging people to watch a stupid low resolution video - same goes for Verizon.
Like the consensus on this forum dictates: it is money. Anyways, Hulu ain't that great. YouTube is getting lots of HQ videos.
"I'm not sure why Hulu is blocking PS3 but I know that the bottom line is MONEY."
Yep, [+] for you. I've suddenly lost a huge amount of respect for Hulu... What's next? Firefox? Chrome?
My Best Guess:
If Hulu were completely open to anyone on any devise it would almost immediately kill On-Demand Services offered by cable companies and Satellite Providers, etc.
Long run - People would just cancel their Cable and always use Hulu.
Trust me, as an xbmc xbox owner I would watch a lot less actual TV if my machine was capable of pulling up the shows I wanted when I wanted.
Hulu was cool until they blocked Boxee
back to Teh downloadZ
My biggest grievance is that they think this will make people without on demand or cable subscription more likely to trickle money into their pocket. Im sorry [insert network], if i cant get it from hulu, i'll find somewhere else, albeit warez or not. I dont even blame hulu, i think theyre just getting crushed by big network lawyers into doing this.
Well, it'll only be a matter of time before hulu rerouting websites pop up...
Sadly, it might have something to do with the Bing ad campaign. MS setting up a deal with them to change over to Silverlight, their version of Flash.
Actually, for us PC users, Silverlight is a good thing, my netbook might actually be able to play their stuff smoothly. Flash sucks for video IMO.
I use PS3 with TVersity and it works great. I've also seen Boxee on AppleTV, and that is fantastic. If they keep blocking everything, everyone is going back to torrents..
Why does HULU block it in the first place?
Microsoft just wants to destroy Windows Mobile to make way for their new platform! You'll see, this all won't be blocked on Pink!
(No, I don't actually think this)
What? Are you some kind of an idiot? That doesn't even make sense, what the hell are you... Oh, didn't see that note... never mind.
Well there you go people wanting Flash on your smartphone to watch Hulu. They will just block it.
Works fine on my G1 :)
Works fine on your G1 today.......
What OS are you using on your G1 Mark? Hero?
Nevermind, I see below.
I was using SuperHero V2 but it was too laggy and had quite a few kinks to be worked out. Switched to CyanogenMod, which is very similar to stock Android but very speedy. I love it! No HTC apps though, and no Flash.
I'm pretty sure that Android is safe because it uses a webkit browser. Blocking webkit would be blocking safari and google chrome.
Can't you just edit the headers your browser sends out to say "PC" instead of mobile or ps3 or whatever? This may not be workable on the ps3, but surely windows mobile has some settings like that somewhere...
Yes, in windows mobile you can go to the 'about:config' page to change the headers, you do this trick so it works with the BBC iPlayer.
I just get other people to record TV shows for me. Who needs hulu!?
This solution is pretty much the same as using Tversity...
Yeah, but the article said if you don't want to use something like tversity or playon then this is a solution.
@ryan.robinson.75
yeah but what benefits does this have over tverstity?
At least all traffic won't have to be routed through your PC.
how did you get flash on your G1? I dont have it...
esplain please : )
Hero ROM. Has Flash 10.
How is that Hero ROM working out for you? I'd love to get the Hero but the price and no T-Mo USA 3G support is keeping me away.
Does it play nice with the hardware keyboard? How much mem left for apps?
It pretty much requires the appstosd hack since the system app directory is just way too big and it's somewhat slow in its current state but it keeps getting better every day. Hardware keyboard works in the current JAC Hero build, not sure about the others.
BBC iPlayer FTW!
BBC iPlayer looks sweet.... sadly I get this message:
Currently BBC iPlayer TV programmes are available to play in the UK only, but all BBC iPlayer Radio programmes are available to you.
Yes, I live in the US.
The point of the internet was to bring everyone together, but we just keep trying to keep everyone apart through red tape - ironically, tape is supposed to bring two objects together.
commenting: unfortunately, people with lots of money have other ideas.
If you contribute to the "TV license" that we have to pay so we can pay less, then i'll let you access the iPlayer.
Don't need a license for iPlayer since its not Live TV.
If anyone has a solution for WinMob smartphone HTC ATT please share. I used to watch Hulu.
Thanks.
It's called remote desktop. If people are that desperate to watch hulu on their phones, geeze.
I just noticed that Hulu has updated their Terms of Use: http://www.hulu.com/terms
Maybe there is something in the new terms that answers this bullshit.
Bought playon awhile back to stream hulu and cbs to my ps3.... just installed some of the user created plugins for playon and gotta say, playon is now worth every penny.... HGTV, Food Network are two great notables as well as local pc file playback and podcast plugins.... now just wished that they could integrate in ABC and CW in.
Can someone explain why is Hulu blocking all these Flash-based browsers? If Hulu's business plan is to pay for their expenses, and have profits, based on ads, why are they blocking other platforms. The commercials are not being skipped. So, what exactly is the problem? I guess they're going after exclusive contracts. but, if I'm still obligated to watch the commercials, then what's the advantage to the viewers.
Oh well, I gave up on Hulu a long time ago. I don't need their service. The love is mutual, I'm sure.
I posted a how-to on the official forums a day earlier than the complicated one engadget posted that involves one of two media servers that support Hulu (PlayOn and Tversity Pro). Of course they have a price but if you want it free you know where to go.
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3media&thread.id=155411
Neither PlayOn nor TVersity work in Linux and I don't want to run them in a VirtualBox.
I'm really at a loss here and have to repeat the question: Why the hell would Hulu block browsers? Especially Skyfire where there's no control or manipulation allowed on the users' end.
Is it a licensing thing? I know they're careful about that stuff.
Oh snap... maybe answer myself. Perhaps they just don't like the proxy nature of SkyFire as they have to keep broadcasts in the US.
Hulu can go fail somewhere else. Their movie list is crap.
Why would Hulu block their shows from appearing on your TV via PS3 or whatever? As others have answered it comes down to money. The media companies make good money selling many of those same shows to local TV stations in your markets so you can watch them on your TV. The media companies feel, probably correctly, that if you can access that content on Hulu you'll watch less of it on those local stations. The ratings will go down. The local stations will pay less next time, etc. All of this is because those shows currently make A LOT less money on Hulu than they do on broadcast TV. I know, the ad impressions on Hulu should be worth more since you can't skip them, you often have to click to get past them, etc, but that just isn't the state of the video ad market on the internet today. And Hulu is still not selling or running enough ads as well. Presumably because most people would ignore the service if it had as many ads as the same program does on TV today.
Anyway, so that's why. The media companies don't want you watching Hulu on your TV. They complain to Hulu, which is funded/owned by media companies, and gets all of its content from media companies, and they jerk to attention.
Which means you have to either a) hook a PC/laptop up to your TV since they can't stop this, b) stop supporting Hulu, c) Hack around it.
How will this all shake out? Will Hulu die? Will users ignore it? Will hackers eventually defeat them? Will everybody just get more comfortable with this new world over time? Will TV programming just get horrendously awful due to lower budgets?
Stayed tuned at 11...
Two weeks ago broadbandreports.com ran an article regarding Rupert Murdoch's rep on the Hulu board. The gist of the article was that Murdoch's New Corp.rep to the board wants Hulu to move to a paid model--no more watching for free with ad revenue. They want to follow the cable/sat. TV model--consumer subscription + ad revenue. I think Hulu is doomed to fail if the board follows Murdoch's commands. Unfortunately, far too many industries just don't get how the economy is affecting average consumers. People don't have as much disposable income to throw at countless fees that everyone wants to charge. Services like Hulu aren't essential so I don't see a paid subscription model serving Hulu very well--their consumer base will shrink drastically, resulting in lower advertising revenues.
well, a subscription Hulu would be pretty much like cable without the need for a DVR, and by cutting out the middleman (TV cable) they theoretically save you money. Sure, there's still the middleman of the ISP, but people need that anyway.
@Chad: I would totally be willing to pay for Hulu, up to $30 a month. However, the following criteria would need to be met:
1. HD. 720p. 4Mbps MINIMUM. All content (excepting the obvious like old reruns of "I Love Lucy" that would get almost no benefit from this).
2. A looooooooooot more content. I'm so tired of going to shows like "The Simpsons", finding 150 clips, and five full episodes. At minimum, I'd better be able to get every show from every broadcast network (which means they would need to get CBS/ABC on-board with them), as well as the cable companies that they own (Sci-Fi, etc), and any movie made 365 days or longer ago. (so any movie older than one year)
3. Zero commercials. None. If I'm paying for it, I don't want to see one damn commercial. This is exactly how cable started, "You pay for it, but there's no commercials!" Yeah, sorry, that's not gonna fly with me.
4. I don't care if I'm trying to access it via a Fischer-Price "My First Computer" connected over a series of strings and tin-cans, you'd better not block my access. I have devices. LOTS of devices. Most of them connect to the Internet. ALL of them had better be able to connect to you.
**BONUS** Add in music, for God's sake. Your stupid studios own or influence about 90% of the friggin' music studios in some way. Get some music on there, both videos and just the audio version.
You get all that, and you have my $30-40 a month.
That's just too much work to enjoy video on hdtv..... why don't people just connect their laptops directly to their HDTV then things are solved immediately. PS3.... ;p
Tell me when the Hulu supports iPhone.
I use PlayOn - my PC acts as a PVR anyway, so it's always on.
I like that I don't have to fool around w/ the PS3's browser...
Well son of a b----. That would explain why I haven't been able to get Hulu to work via Skyfire lately. Oh well, not the best platform anyways. I still find it funny how many people are upset about the PS3 block and other similar blocks (i.e. Boxee). It's not Hulu's fault, it's the media companies who won't have it. No surprise there, but why so many complainers? Just hook your laptop up to your TV. Problem solved. And if you have a WMC remote, all the better w/ Hulu Desktop.
I gave up on Hulu after the whole boxee drama. i cant remember the last time i visited there site but i can remember the last time i visited mini nova
Skyfire for Symbian won't play either.
"it's a small price to pay for enjoying relatively low res Flash video running on an HDTV"
Wait, does this workaround convert to low-res video?
Its a joke. j-o-k-e
I got sick of this crap a while ago and decided instead of all these streamers to get movies from my PC to my TV I would just run an HDMI cable to it. Cost me 20 dollars for 25 feet on monoprice and it passes audio through it as well with my 4870. Something to think about if you have a computer in the same room as the TV and are sick of all the restrictions.
Hulu has become a joke lately. I haven't even bothered going to their site.
As soon as any device under $300 with an HDMI port can play Hulu, it's game over. A netbook would do fine if any model had enough GPU to decode 720p. Maybe by Christmas?
Meanwhile if Microsoft really wants to make a splash with Zune HD or Zunephone, there's hardly anything bigger they could announce than Hulu on Zune, even if it only worked over WiFi. It'd be their style to pay an "undisclosed amount" of cash up front for Hulu access.
If you are going to jump through all the hoops of using PlayOn, etc... Just hook a damn PC up to your Home Theater system. A refurb Mac Mini can be had for about 500 bucks. Install Plex on it and you are good to go. They can't block Hulu from Plex because it uses Safari to retrieve the content. It works with the remote and is really awesome to be honest. Plus, you get the flexibility to do whatever you want and don't have to worry about it being blocked because it is using a regular browser. Boxee got blocked because they used their own browser, Plex does not suffer from that problem.
Or just run the Hulu desktop client that works with Windows Media Center & Remotes
@bcurran
Yeah, because buying an HTPC and installing it in your media center with supporting software is much simpler than downloading TVersity or PlayOn.
This is the first step in the Hulu fail. Although it could be good for their bandwidth - like youtube throttling of their streams.
Has anyone tried changing the User Agent registry value on their WinMo phone? This has worked for me to trick some user agent detection based websites but I have not tried it on Skyfire/Hulu. And also doesn't Skyfire "Proxy" the entire browser and connection onto the phone to achieve the capabilities and performance it has?
It's not blocked, I'm watching Family Guy on Hulu right now -- Skyfire on WinMo 6.1, no proxy no nothing.
The purpose of Hulu was supposedly to give us an ad-supported legal way to watch content, thus eliminating the need to download shows via illegal means. With arbitrary decisions like this, selective blocking of some web browsers but not others, they are, in fact, forcing the sort of activity they initially set out to curtail.
Seems like someone at Hulu needs to re-read their mission statement.
Hulu's decision to block PS3 users just opens the door for any competing website to come in and instantly grab a huge viewing audience. Way to shoot yourself in the foot Hulu!
Building on the proxy solution developed by the ypass.net guys, I have tweaked the configuration so that it only affects Hulu related network traffic and then packaged it up into a small VM image which should "just work" for people.
It is available here : http://www.kikkoman.org/blog/2009/08/09/hulu-the-ps3-fixed-with-a-small-vm/