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iPhone/iPod Touch Compatible Hulu.com Coming?

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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An anonymous source is claiming that Hulu.com and Apple will be launching an iPhone/iPod Touch compatible version of the site as early as this Thursday.

Anonymous sources tend to be inaccurate more times than not, but lending some level of credence to the rumor is that it appears that Hulu's base encoding is H.264 which would make such a version of the site at least technically feasible.

Hulu.com came out of private beta last week and is now open to the public.

Article Link
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/18/iphone-ipod-touch-compatible-hulu-com-coming/
Sounds pretty nifty. I assume it would only work using wi-fi and not edge.

The question is would you be able to hook the iPhone/Touch up to a tv using the av/cables and watch the shows (correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the av cables only outputted video if it was stored on the device it self and wouldn't output things such as web surfing):confused:
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

Motley said:
Sounds pretty nifty. I assume it would only work using wi-fi and not edge.

The question is would you be able to hook the iPhone/Touch up to a tv using the av/cables and watch the shows (correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the av cables only outputted video if it was stored on the device it self and wouldn't output things such as web surfing):confused:
Click to expand...

thats what I thought too but was extremely pleased when I was loading a QuickTime movie & it worked. Even the youtube app works great on tv. I watched a bunch of Red Vs Blue using my phone on my tv.
 
YouTube is one thing but hulu?...I doubt it.

Kinda seems like a conflict of interest for Apple.
Doesn't the ability to watch full episodes on hulu conflict with Apple's iTunes?
I know I stopped buying eps on iTunes when I found they were available free on Hulul. (Also the fact that iTunes & vista suck ass together didn't help any)
 
integration with Apple TV

Would be huge. I think Apple may go for this in exchange for getting NBC shows back on iTunes. It really would be great to have hulu on my Apple TV the same way youtube is there - hulu really has some great content which would be nice to have access to.
 
In other news Ahmadinejad and Olmert are secretly working to bring peace to the middle east through a song and dance number they will perform live on international TV sometime next month.

Somehow I seriously doubt Apple has a direct hand in this at all even though an iphone version of hulu is entirely possible I'm pretty sure it will come from the broadcasters involved in hulu not Apple/NBC.
 
djdole said:
Kinda seems like a conflict of interest for Apple.
Doesn't the ability to watch full episodes on hulu conflict with Apple's iTunes?
I know I stopped buying eps on iTunes when I found they were available free on Hulul. (Also the fact that iTunes & vista suck ass together didn't help any)
Click to expand...

Hula can create a iPhone/Touch version of their site without any input or blessing from Apple.

How is this a conflict of interest??
 
ibrainch said:
It really would be great to have hulu on my Apple TV the same way youtube is there - hulu really has some great content which would be nice to have access to.
Click to expand...

This would be the key. Hulu on AppleTV. Just a fantastic idea.
 
Roy Hobbs said:
Hula can create a iPhone/Touch version of their site without any input or blessing from Apple.

How is this a conflict of interest??
Click to expand...

It's not if it's only Hulu, but the MacRumors post said:
An anonymous source is claiming that Hulu.com and Apple will be launching an iPhone/iPod Touch compatible version of the site as early as this Thursday.
Click to expand...

Agreed that Hulu can do whatever they like with the sdk, but it would seem to be a conflict of interest for Apple since they sell much of the same content via iTunes (which was my initial point).
 
pauldy said:
In other news Ahmadinejad and Olmert are secretly working to bring peace to the middle east through a song and dance number they will perform live on international TV sometime next month.

Somehow I seriously doubt Apple has a direct hand in this at all even though an iphone version of hulu is entirely possible I'm pretty sure it will come from the broadcasters involved in hulu not Apple/NBC.
Click to expand...

Holy Hyperbole Batman! Apple and NBC are only fighting about money (if they are fighting at all) and it is very, very possible that Apple and NBC would both see that as win-win. Apple can use this to promote the iPhone and move more units. NBC get more more eyeballs on Hulu and can then charge higher ad rates.

Why does this sound so crazy to some? Apple's only fiduciary responsibility is to grow shareholder value. Even if the people and Apple and NBC would never go to Happy Hour together, I don't see what that has to do with anything...even if it is true.

djdole said:
Agreed that Hulu can do whatever they like with the sdk, but it would seem to be a conflict of interest for Apple since they sell much of the same content via iTunes (which was my initial point).
Click to expand...

Do you think they make more money off shows sold on iTunes or from the sales of iPhones? Remember that while Apple does make some money off iTunes, it mainly exists to drive sales of hardware.
 
I would do unmentionable things to have an iPod compatible hulu.

That being said I doubt this will happen. Much like the others have said-- a conflict of interest.
 
briansolomon said:
I would do unmentionable things to have an iPod compatible hulu.

That being said I doubt this will happen. Much like the others have said-- a conflict of interest.
Click to expand...


Please explain why this is a conflict of interest. I don't see it.
 
slu said:
Please explain why this is a conflict of interest. I don't see it.
Click to expand...

iTunes store sells TV and movies. Boosting the on line model could canabalize these sales. NBC pulled out of iTunes and now most of their content is free at hulu. I for one am a huge hulu fan and have been using it since the begining. I liked it even when the content was limited. The public release blew me away with how much content is on there.
 
CTYankee said:
iTunes store sells TV and movies. Boosting the on line model could canabalize these sales. NBC pulled out of iTunes and now most of their content is free at hulu. I for one am a huge hulu fan and have been using it since the begining. I liked it even when the content was limited. The public release blew me away with how much content is on there.
Click to expand...

This what others have already said, but this reason is shortsighted and makes no sense. To be more clear:

1. Why can't the shows exist in both places (like Fox is doing now)? Ad-free on iTunes, ad supported on Hulu.

2. And this is the big one: Apple wants to sell iPhones and iPods way more then they want to sell TV shows. Apple makes lots more money on hardware. The main reason iTunes exists is to sell iPods. If Hulu support helps sell more iPods, then they will be for it.
 
If this does happen, I doubt it will be "ipod compatible" in the sense that it is actually an application that streams content. More probably, I can see Hulu placing buttons on their site that allow for free download and sync to iPod or iPhone... with advertisements, of course. MAYBE in June we'll see a Hulu wifi app. I'd sure like to see that!

I was originally a Hulu skeptic, but after using it FOR FREE, I have found it is very well done, has a nice interface, and saves me money. Only thing it is lacking is higher quality video... then i'd be completely sold.:D
 
The article does have some valid point but I hope things will change in the near future as this might be one of the selling points for the iPhone. The more options there are for media, particularly streaming with limited storage space, the more appealing it becomes to people. I will be keeping my fingers crossed that this does happen since Hulu isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They just need to have more CC content as does iTunes but I know that's being worked on at least.
 
This is ridiculous. NBC would block Hulu from ever allowing this. Hulu can't afford to lose NBC's content, and NBC would threaten pulling their content if Hulu went through with any kind of deal with Apple. Regardless, this would be pretty cool!

~ARDesigns
 
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