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Hulu for iPad Likely to Be a Paid Subscription Service
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Yes. If you wish it real, real hard, it will be so.
And so here we are, again, with the lunacy of Steve Jobs not allowing Flash.
Many people called it long ago. It has nothing to do with Flash performance and stability, and all to do with eliminating any way of content such as this to make its way onto a mobile device without going through iTunes.
Many people called it long ago. It has nothing to do with Flash performance and stability, and all to do with eliminating any way of content such as this to make its way onto a mobile device without going through iTunes.
As several people have said before...paying for content was always coming, but there'll almost certainly be free options as well. If content is good, I'm happy to pay. If not, I won't use a particular service.
Content has to be funded, by ads, by subscriptions, or even (as here in the UK) by compulsory licence fees.
The bottom line is...someone has to pay for quality content to be made.
Content has to be funded, by ads, by subscriptions, or even (as here in the UK) by compulsory licence fees.
The bottom line is...someone has to pay for quality content to be made.
Ok folks, see the text from the guy I quoted above? Those of you who insist on ripping on Flash and other web standards need to read it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again until it permeates your skulls. I'm no Flash fan, in fact, it doesn't effect me that greatly, but people need to stop being so damn myopic and consider the needs/requirements/preferences of others....like the other 94% of users out there.
Perhaps it will give some insight into why there is so much negativity over SJ's latest decisions.
The fact is that everyone is upset by this because if they want to use it they have to pay for it. That isn't Apples doing. Apple is making Hulu charge for the service.
I think sites should just work without the need for a plug-in.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hulu charges down the road for the service on the PC.
I think sites should just work without the need for a plug-in.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hulu charges down the road for the service on the PC.
Amazing no one asks the most fundamental question - how is there enough bandwidth over wireless to support heavy use of streaming video? 
I am happy with commercials and ads that pay for free content. I, along with 99% of all people, are happy to not have to pay for content in lieu of living with ads and commercials.
Eh, I could really live without Hulu on the iPad. The iPad isn't really a mobile device. Are you really going to be out walking down the street with a huge ass iPad? Hell even if I was in a coffee house, I wouldn't have one. You have to have a carrying case for the damn thing. Might as well have a laptop.
The iPad is a coffee table device. I already have a HD projector that is connected to my computer that I can watch Hulu on all day long. I can't see Hulu on the iPad being necessary at all. The only place I would want an iPad in public would be an airplane, but since most of them still don't have wifi it would be pointless anyhow.
And I'm not paying for non-HD subscription content that would either be in 4:3 or 16:9 with bars on top and bottom. Screw all that.
The iPad is a coffee table device. I already have a HD projector that is connected to my computer that I can watch Hulu on all day long. I can't see Hulu on the iPad being necessary at all. The only place I would want an iPad in public would be an airplane, but since most of them still don't have wifi it would be pointless anyhow.
And I'm not paying for non-HD subscription content that would either be in 4:3 or 16:9 with bars on top and bottom. Screw all that.
Is reality really such a hard pill for you to swallow?
I always find it amusing to read statements presented "as fact" within the MacRumors forms by the site's more opinionated members and a host of renowned futurists. I do try to never under-estimate the "power" of topics fueled by dreams and powered by imagination. But at times, even I am pleasantly surprised at the results.
Actually, it is Apple's doing. Hulu plays perfectly fine right now in my laptop browser. Apple's refusal of Flash makes Hulu impossible on an ultramobile, hence this new direction.
And if site's should work fine without a plug-in, then how about you take Quicktime off your computer and see how well apple.com functions.
If everybody moved to h.264, you will still be able to bypass iTunes. Even MS recently unveiled a way to still have Silverlight content but also the ability to stream in h.264 to mobile devices such as the iPhone.
Isn't it even the slightest chance, in your mind, that Jobs actually believes what he's saying? If Flash is a dead format, wouldn't Apple be the quickest to replace it? If Flash is so great, why do so many complain about it?
Maybe Jobs does actually care about the performance and experience of the iPhone.
ok, let me get this straight. If I need to pay for everything I want to enjoy in my iPad, I'm sorry but then the iPad need to be free or a $150.00 device. How in the hell they expect we pay $500.00 and never be able to enjoy nothing for free? I mean.. or it's a device in between a smartphone and a laptop or it's a consumer device for free for us to buy everything with it. WHAT IS THE IPAD?
5 random episodes of a TV show and they want a subscription to that?
There is no way that I would pay for a hulu subscription when they only have five episodes of the popular series, and random - not in order - episodes at that. I mean look at "Firefly" a show that ended ten years ago and they went from having all the episodes to just five.
For me to pay a subscription hulu will have to carry all the episodes from every season, including any pilots, for the series they have.
Otherwise it is pure bs.
There is no way that I would pay for a hulu subscription when they only have five episodes of the popular series, and random - not in order - episodes at that. I mean look at "Firefly" a show that ended ten years ago and they went from having all the episodes to just five.
For me to pay a subscription hulu will have to carry all the episodes from every season, including any pilots, for the series they have.
Otherwise it is pure bs.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Jobs: PowerPC is far superior to Intel chips
Fans: Yeah, intel is garbage. Megahertz means nothing. Intel chips are just cheap crap. etc.
Jobs: Apple is switching to Intel, because Intel is now great
Fans: Yeah, powerPC is dated, PowerPC just can't keep up, You PowerPC users need to upgrade to faster, better chips, etc
Jobs: Mac OS 9 is superior to Windows
Fans: Yeah, it should be called windblows, Windows sucks, Mac OS 9 is way better...
Jobs, We're switching to OS X
Fans: Yes, OS X is way better. Far superior to OS 9. Windows sucks even more
Jobs: Video on portable devices is dumb
Fans: Yeah, who wants to watch a movie on a tiny screen, hard drive space is way too small for movies, <other company's> portable devices with video are stupid, etc
Jobs: Introducing iPod with video
Fans: I got to get one today, credit card is ready, video on an iPod screen is great, how nice it will be to watch movies when I'm traveling, etc
Jobs: Blu Ray is a big bag of hurt
Fans: Yeah, who needs blu ray? You can't see the benefits of HD on a computer screen anyway. I have a blu ray player hooked up to my TV- why do I need one for my computer?, etc
Jobs: (we're still waiting for even a BTO option when everyone else pretty much has blu ray drives for several years now; massive cheap portable optical storage would be very nice)
Jobs: HD on
TV is here
Fans: no one can see the difference of 720p vs. 1080p, bandwith for 1080p movies is too great, storage of 1080p content is too great
Jobs: (we're still waiting for a new version ofTV with a 1080p chipset but as soon as he rolls out the 1080p TV) 1080p is soooo much better than 720p, wow 1080p blows my mind, how could I ever have been happy with 720p? etc
Jobs: Flash is a buggy, power hog
Fans: Who needs Flash? Flash is responsible for all the bad on the Internet. Every time my computer crashes, it's Flash that caused it. I had bad indigestion today and I know it was related to Flash. My dog died and Flash killed it.
Jobs: Today, I'm announcing that Apple just bought Adobe... Introducing Apple iFlash.
Fans: iFlash is unbelievably great. Wow- iFlash is fantastic. How did I ever use my iPad without iFlash? This is a complete game changer. Etc.
Jobs: your spouse is ugly
Fans: you know-my spouse is ugly. I just never knew such ugliness before. she or he is the ugliest thing on earth. Why can't Microsoft innovate such honest views of my spouse? etc
Jobs: Introducing the iPoop, the best poop ever
Fans: that is the best poop I've ever seen. Why can't HP develop poop as good as that poop? my credit card is ready to buy that poop as soon as the store comes back up! That poop is definitely snappier. Dell's poop just can't even compare.
(sorry on those last ones; I got a little carried away.)
Fans: Yeah, intel is garbage. Megahertz means nothing. Intel chips are just cheap crap. etc.
Jobs: Apple is switching to Intel, because Intel is now great
Fans: Yeah, powerPC is dated, PowerPC just can't keep up, You PowerPC users need to upgrade to faster, better chips, etc
Jobs: Mac OS 9 is superior to Windows
Fans: Yeah, it should be called windblows, Windows sucks, Mac OS 9 is way better...
Jobs, We're switching to OS X
Fans: Yes, OS X is way better. Far superior to OS 9. Windows sucks even more
Jobs: Video on portable devices is dumb
Fans: Yeah, who wants to watch a movie on a tiny screen, hard drive space is way too small for movies, <other company's> portable devices with video are stupid, etc
Jobs: Introducing iPod with video
Fans: I got to get one today, credit card is ready, video on an iPod screen is great, how nice it will be to watch movies when I'm traveling, etc
Jobs: Blu Ray is a big bag of hurt
Fans: Yeah, who needs blu ray? You can't see the benefits of HD on a computer screen anyway. I have a blu ray player hooked up to my TV- why do I need one for my computer?, etc
Jobs: (we're still waiting for even a BTO option when everyone else pretty much has blu ray drives for several years now; massive cheap portable optical storage would be very nice)
Jobs: HD on
TV is hereFans: no one can see the difference of 720p vs. 1080p, bandwith for 1080p movies is too great, storage of 1080p content is too great
Jobs: (we're still waiting for a new version of
TV with a 1080p chipset but as soon as he rolls out the 1080p TV) 1080p is soooo much better than 720p, wow 1080p blows my mind, how could I ever have been happy with 720p? etcJobs: Flash is a buggy, power hog
Fans: Who needs Flash? Flash is responsible for all the bad on the Internet. Every time my computer crashes, it's Flash that caused it. I had bad indigestion today and I know it was related to Flash. My dog died and Flash killed it.
Jobs: Today, I'm announcing that Apple just bought Adobe... Introducing Apple iFlash.
Fans: iFlash is unbelievably great. Wow- iFlash is fantastic. How did I ever use my iPad without iFlash? This is a complete game changer. Etc.
Jobs: your spouse is ugly
Fans: you know-my spouse is ugly. I just never knew such ugliness before. she or he is the ugliest thing on earth. Why can't Microsoft innovate such honest views of my spouse? etc
Jobs: Introducing the iPoop, the best poop ever
Fans: that is the best poop I've ever seen. Why can't HP develop poop as good as that poop? my credit card is ready to buy that poop as soon as the store comes back up! That poop is definitely snappier. Dell's poop just can't even compare.
(sorry on those last ones; I got a little carried away.)
Amazing no one asks the most fundamental question - how is there enough bandwidth over wireless to support heavy use of streaming video?
Most iPads will be wi-fi only.
Hulu App!
The paid version I doubt it's a subscription. I would say buy the app on iTunes store maybe for $9.99 and above. That way they can still keep the advertising and generate more money from the ads. There is no way they gonna drop advertising and start making money from subscription I think that's stupid. What more stupid is when you still pay subscription and watch their commercials then that would be a rip-off.
The paid version I doubt it's a subscription. I would say buy the app on iTunes store maybe for $9.99 and above. That way they can still keep the advertising and generate more money from the ads. There is no way they gonna drop advertising and start making money from subscription I think that's stupid. What more stupid is when you still pay subscription and watch their commercials then that would be a rip-off.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Flash isn't just streaming video. H.264 couldn't replace all Flash even if there was a magic wand to wave today. Flash has interactivity, animation formats (that are driven by programming- not just a linear stream). Flash gave us iTunes-like apps long before there were iTunes apps (even long before there was an iTunes). There are many more free Flash games (including many very good ones) than there are games in the app store. There are tons of tools that allow people to create multimedia- not just streaming video- in Flash format without having to write a lick of code, that will run in all of the major browsers on both Windows and Macs.
Can all that be converted to HTML5 + H.264 + javascript? Yes. But it won't happen today, or this year, or even this decade. It's not a matter of just re-rendering one video format to another, Flash delivers rich app-like capabilities far beyond just what can be done in H.264.
So many HERE complain about it because Jobs has come out against it. If he flip-flopped tomorrow, many of these same people would flip-flop with him. See my last post and then remember all the other flip-flops in the past.
No doubt at all about that. I definitely believe he is clearly focused on the performance and experience of all Apple devices. It is one of the things that he- and Apple- does very well. Much of the time, they get much of this kind of thing right.
But sometimes, they miss. A problem with some fans is that they can't believe that anything Apple says or does is a miss, until Apple itself flip flops. Once Apple flips, then the fans are quick to go with the (Apple) flow- whatever it is... even when it is going to hit them directly in the pocketbook. Again, see my last post and remember.
My guts says something has happened between Apple & Adobe, formerly pretty good partners. It wouldn't surprise me to see Apple beat Adobe down, then buy them cheap, then rebrand everything with an Apple logo and call it all "the best stuff we've ever done." Apple fans would go bonkers in approval, and (formerly) buggy, battery-hogs like Flash would then be praised like the second coming.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
The thing is the vast majority of the people have already thoroughly demonstrated we will pay for cable/satt subscriptions for programming loaded with commercials. Their just thinking of doing something already well proven to work. Are we stupid enough to buy this same business model yet again? Unfortunately (probably) yes.
Just look through this thread of intelligent Apple-product buyers appearing to support this concept with posts like "we have to pay for content sooner or later", "I'd pay $XXX per month if it was done right", etc. What would help most is if Jobs would directly communicate that being a Hulu paid subscriber is cool. The new Hulu subscription store would probably crash from too much demand.
As someone else mentioned, will h.264 also run an interactive website? Nope. Flash is much more than video.
Does Jobs care about performance? I'm sure he does. He is also a marketer. He's using his care about performance to mask his other reasons why he doesn't want Flash (mainly, anti-competitive behavior).
Them more I think about this, I really think they will need to offer some free content, at least some number of free minutes a day.