Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hulu Sticking With Flash For Now, Says HTML5 Not Ready Yet

Hulu ain't jack!!!!!
I went to that ad riddled site and was not impressed. Yeah you can watch some television shows there but the viewer is forced to deal with intermittent commercial during the program.
AND YOU CAN'T SPEED THROUGH THE ADS!!!!!!
Remember, television programs are commercials for commercials. That is the business.

So scr** HULU!!!
 
Capt T said:
So show me. but try to explain it in layman terms so as others can join in that are not well versed in all of it. And not wikipedia.
Click to expand...

I used wikipedia in hopes some of the folks here would take the time to learn the difference between a codec and a container. If you get it, cool.

You may get it, but there are obviously a lot of folks that do not. The bigger issue is DRM. Hulu is about as likely with go with the standard HTML5 video tags for their site as Apple is to start letting you buy unprotected video from the iTunes Store. As of today, you still cannot buy completely unprotected AUDIO from iTMS. Yes, you can get AAC files that play without installing a digital license, but your iTMS account information is watermarked on the file and that is very much a method of protection.

It may happen sometime in the future, but it is not going to happen in the short term. Apple is embracing HTML5 and its video tag for regular web sites, they are NOT using it for the iTunes Store. Like the iTunes Store, Hulu is contractually bound to protect the content is serves. Legally they could not switch to unprotected H.264 streams even if they wanted to.
 
PeterQVenkman said:
And this is how the site looks on my iPod touch:

161g3uh.jpg


Big oops! ;)
Click to expand...
This is a bit decietful isn't it? If you scroll down to the actual chart it displays fine. You make out like the whole thing is not working when in reality the legend in the top corner is a bit garbled is all.
 
tbrinkma said:
I'll just say this:
If your business model absolutely requires that you use only a specific tool available only from a single vendor, you haven't thought out your business very well.
Click to expand...
Conversely, if you suddenly feel the need to run out and spend tens of thousands of dollars rewriting critical web apps because a vendor that controls only 16.1% of the mobile market says so, you're high.
 
jorgie said:
I used wikipedia in hopes some of the folks here would take the time to learn the difference between a codec and a container. If you get it, cool.

You may get it, but there are obviously a lot of folks that do not. The bigger issue is DRM. Hulu is about as likely with go with the standard HTML5 video tags for their site as Apple is to start letting you buy unprotected video from the iTunes Store. As of today, you still cannot buy completely unprotected AUDIO from iTMS. Yes, you can get AAC files that play without installing a digital license, but your iTMS account information is watermarked on the file and that is very much a method of protection.

It may happen sometime in the future, but it is not going to happen in the short term. Apple is embracing HTML5 and its video tag for regular web sites, they are NOT using it for the iTunes Store. Like the iTunes Store, Hulu is contractually bound to protect the content is serves. Legally they could not switch to unprotected H.264 streams even if they wanted to.
Click to expand...

And that is the real point here. For Hulu (and their clients) this is the smart move for them to make. For those of us that go there to watch free TV shows are not really the concern except we earn them money watching ads.

Thing is, on the iPad in the ABC app I watch the ads (since there is not multitasking). On hulu on my computer I look at something else on the web or check email during those commercial times. It may be playing audio that I hear but only enough to notice we have returned to the regular programming. I wonder how many others do the same thing.
 
Gazoobee said:
This is a bit decietful isn't it? If you scroll down to the actual chart it displays fine. You make out like the whole thing is not working when in reality the legend in the top corner is a bit garbled is all.
Click to expand...

Relax, man, just laugh at it (and it is a bit deceitful, but I did it to make a joke!). The page just isn't built properly. You can get the same thing to happen in safari (or any browser) if you squish the window:

2vn5jqr.jpg



Despite all the complaints on these forums about lazy flash programmers - HTML5, CSS3, H264, the video tag, or the canvas tag won't save us from poorly developed content. It's just funny that this page, of all pages, isn't built well. ;)

Capt T said:
Thing is, on the iPad in the ABC app I watch the ads (since there is not multitasking). On hulu on my computer I look at something else on the web or check email during those commercial times. It may be playing audio that I hear but only enough to notice we have returned to the regular programming. I wonder how many others do the same thing.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what Apple and the advertisers want to do - make it harder and harder to skip or ignore commercials.

carmenodie said:
Hulu ain't jack!!!!! I went to that ad riddled site and was not impressed. Yeah you can watch some television shows there but the viewer is forced to deal with intermittent commercial during the program. AND YOU CAN'T SPEED THROUGH THE ADS!!!!!! So scr** HULU!!!
Click to expand...

Man, are you going to HATE the new wave of advertising coming at us through iAd and HTML5. They try to sell us on the fact that "they are more engaging! they are interactive!" Wow, thanks Apple. If people hated this same stuff in flash, iAd and HTML5 are going to be a hellish landscape by comparison.
 
carmenodie said:
Hulu ain't jack!!!!!
I went to that ad riddled site and was not impressed. Yeah you can watch some television shows there but the viewer is forced to deal with intermittent commercial during the program.
AND YOU CAN'T SPEED THROUGH THE ADS!!!!!!
Remember, television programs are commercials for commercials. That is the business.

So scr** HULU!!!
Click to expand...

Gee, imagine that. Advertisers are paying for the "free" programming you're watching on Hulu and they don't want you "speeding through" them but to actually watch them and consider their products. Imagine that! :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I agree in my hatred of commercials but you got to figure that those that are footing the bills aren't too keen on you just skipping over them. If you believe for one second that HTML5 will change that when all is said and done you are SADLY MISTAKEN.

Now I do take issue with commercials on CABLE because I'm PAYING for cable. When cable first came out that is why there was no commercials. Now they think they can have their cake and eat it too (expect them on HBO some day as well, I'm sure; it's only a matter of time before they get greedier) so I skip over everything with my DVR and feel completely justified in doing so.
 
I would say they are being a bit disingenious.

This has to do with their content partners and nobody else.

They can certainly use HTML5 to provide video to people, that is not an issue.

The issue is being able to secure it to the degree that their content partners are okay with... and they can't do that with HTML5 right now.

So while their reasons for doing it are legitimate, they are being a bit disingenious claiming this decision is based on what is best for everyone.

It is best for the content providers, and at this time Hulu because they don't have to do any work. Not progressing to HTML5 is not better for the viewer, because moving to HTML5 would obviously create a choice.

Again, don't have a problem with their decision, just have a problem with how they tried to couch their reasoning.
 
Hulu

I am not all that familiar with Hulu and its content but wasn't Hulu born out of NBC and AOL?

Isn't NBC the lowest rated network around right now and AOL a sinking ship?

Makes you wonder who is making the decisions. :confused:
 
midwstguy69 said:
I am not all that familiar with Hulu and its content but wasn't Hulu born out of NBC and AOL?

Isn't NBC the lowest rated network around right now and AOL a sinking ship?

Makes you wonder who is making the decisions. :confused:
Click to expand...
Hulu is owned by Fox, ABC and NBC. They're #2 after YouTube in # of videos viewed online. #3 is Microsoft/MSN, #4 is Yahoo, Turner Network is #5.

YouTube holds 42% of the # of videos viewed, but of course it's easy to accumulate a high number when people watch 30-second poop videos, not as easy when your content is TV shows (30 min / 60 min).
 
midwstguy69 said:
I am not all that familiar with Hulu and its content but wasn't Hulu born out of NBC and AOL?

Isn't NBC the lowest rated network around right now and AOL a sinking ship?

Makes you wonder who is making the decisions. :confused:
Click to expand...


Hulu makes money now. :)

Hulu Turns Profitable, We Eat Crow
http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-hulu-turns-profitable-we-eat-crow-2010-4

andy721 said:
No one really cares about hulu.
Click to expand...

By "no one" do you mean "massive amounts of people"?

Hulu Now No. 2 Online-Video Site, Behind YouTube
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=135187
 
Who Cares?

Who Cares, hulu is lame and does not have anything good on it anyway and all the major networks are now supporting the ipad and iphone, including abc, cbs is building out html5, same with fox, and nbc. Even the CW, so hulu is going to be way behind and find themselves irrelevant, if they are not already.
 
marksman said:
I would say they are being a bit disingenious.

This has to do with their content partners and nobody else.

They can certainly use HTML5 to provide video to people, that is not an issue.

The issue is being able to secure it to the degree that their content partners are okay with... and they can't do that with HTML5 right now.

So while their reasons for doing it are legitimate, they are being a bit disingenious claiming this decision is based on what is best for everyone.

It is best for the content providers, and at this time Hulu because they don't have to do any work. Not progressing to HTML5 is not better for the viewer, because moving to HTML5 would obviously create a choice.

Again, don't have a problem with their decision, just have a problem with how they tried to couch their reasoning.
Click to expand...

You can actually protect content in the H.264 format which is what you would encode it, has nothing to do with HTML5, I think it is more the fact they don't want to put money behind it because they know the content creators (the networks) are going around them and giving video out to the net users directly now which is making hulu a moot point and they know their days are numbered.
 
HTML5 simply isn't ready. Why is this a big surprise?


I guess we're supposed to be hating on Hulu now? Right?
 
BaldiMac said:
I'll say it again. HTML5 does not specify a video codec. So a video codec (including one that supports DRM) cannot defeat the purpose of HTML5.
Click to expand...

Except the only two secure streaming products available for general purpose computing platforms that work on any Macs are Silverlight and Flash. Both of which are plug ins.

So if you're going to use them anyway there's no point in using the HTML5 tag, since the plug in provides for it anyway and gives you backwards compatibility with older browsers such as IE6 which still has a huge marketshare.

DRM on video to stop stream ripping is going nowhere. And conversely that means HTML5 isn't going anywhere fast either. Flash is building in proper HDCP support in Access, so HD will only get served via it.

As I've mentioned before, people say YouTube is using HTML5, but an increasing chunk of it's videos contractually obligate RTMPE as the streaming protocol for security, and are hence missing from it's HTML5 trial and aren't ever coming. And YouTube's corporate strategy is that these encrypted videos will be a third of their views in a few years, as these videos are the only ones where the ads make money. So YouTube will never deliver a full HTML5 site either.

Phazer
 
PeterQVenkman said:
That's what Steve commands. He has pressed the button on the console in his glass tower to activate his drones.

And only captain power can save us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M678PVOf5F0


;)
Click to expand...
Yeah, Steve knows his methods of controlling the masses... rally everyone and rile them up by targeting a common enemy. It worked for Stalin and Hitler. It worked for Big Brother in 1984. Just pick an enemy (Eurasia, Eastasia, Oceania, Microsoft, Google, Adobe, whatever), rile up the crowd in preparation for the Two Minute Hate, and watch the little pawns shake their fists and chant "ADOBE IS DEAD. MICROSOFT IS DEAD. GOOGLE IS DEAD."

So easy, so sad.
 
Nobody cares...

We don't really care about HTML5 when it comes to Hulu - we want H.264 and a dedicated app although if they don't get on it the content providers are going to realize that when it comes to the iPad (and hopefully iPhone soon) they can make more by just doing it themselves instead of going through Hulu...
 
All this smack talk about Flash, and HTML5 isn't even ready?

As for flash, while I don't care for it; it works fine on all of my Mac's, no crashing, no problems at all. Is it on older Mac's or something? After reading a bunch of posts about flash CPU usage, I checked iStat and I noticed my system heat went up 1c after having 2 flash sites up and running for 3 hours, no lag anything at all. *shrugs*

Whatever the case, this isn't about Flash or HTML5, it's about control and money, it always is.

As for DRM- it needs be supported in online distribution channels, period. Companies have a right to protect their hard work and content.
 
libmanj said:
Big disappointment.
Click to expand...

You could read into the quote from Hulu this way.

Possible translation, "We are operating at razor thin margins. If we go to HTML5, it would skyrocket developer and maintenance costs with no effective payback. Also, we are looking at someone to give us fiscal incentive to go in a particular media format direction. Perhaps just writing an iPad app specifically for Hulu is a better option."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back