Hulu Plus Arrives on Apple TV | Hacker News Reader

Hulu Plus Arrives on Apple TV

blog.hulu.com

63 pointsshawndumas54 comments

This app has been purportedly ready for 10 months and was just waiting for the "politics" to be worked out between Apple and Hulu.[1]

Now that it's here, I wonder if the sticking point was Apple's cut of any new subscriptions. If you start a Hulu+ subscription from the Apple TV itself, it seems to be charged to your Apple account, instead of being billed by Hulu directly.

I wonder if that means Apple is getting a lifetime 30% cut, like they've recently started enforcing for iOS apps with subscriptions?

[1] http://9to5mac.com/2011/10/31/hulu-plus-app-is-ready-for-app...

I'm pretty sure Apple and these big vendors work out custom terms for the Apple cut. And I would almost guarantee it's not 30%.

I wonder if Mountain Lion's Airplay feature kind of forced Hulu's hand.

Wouldn't it be the other way around, if Hulu Plus subscribers could just use ML's airplay feature without an official app?

I tried Hulu Plus for exactly 5 minutes, then I realized that the shows that I wanted to watch didn't have their previous seasons available or even episodes from earlier in a season. What is the rationalle behind that?! If I'm a new viewer to a show, why would I pay if I can't watch a series or at least a season from the beginning? So it was back to piracy for me.

I think a better way to look at is that if you are currently buying all your shows on iTunes, Hulu+ could save you quite a bit of money if you are willing to watch some ads. Like you get The Daily Show on Hulu+, which would normally run you about $15-20 a month if you were buying it.

It complements NetFlix well in that regard too.

Comparing it to piracy seems silly.

I think the main difference in content between Netflix and Hulu Plus is that Hulu Plus gives you access to episodes from the current season (and often the full season beyond the most recent ones available on regular Hulu.)

Also, the Daily Show isn't a great example since episodes deal with news so I can't imagine many people buying up old episodes. (And you can get free episodes going back a month at http://www.thedailyshow.com/)

Edit: The Daily Show is actually an okay example now that I realize that you wanted Hulu+ for the non-desktop experience rather than for back episodes.

Both of which are desktop solutions. Yes, they kinda work on a TV with mirroring and such but they don't have a good couch / remote experience like AppleTV or the various other systems. If my non-techie girlfriend can't figure it out easily, then it's not worth my time.

Hmmm... I think you're still missing the point, so let me try.

The point was that for most TV shows the viewer is likely going to watch the entire series not just the current season. The GP's point was not that the back catalog is available for free in a clunky way, but that that most viewers won't care about old episodes. `

Agreed that if you want to be able to watch recent shows on non-desktop systems, Hulu+ is a good choice. (Added an edit to previous comment.)

I just don't understand the statement "It complements NetFlix well in that regard too." in the context of your previous comment. Hulu+ complements Netflix in a different way than it complements iTunes. While Hulu+ offers a way to get a lot of iTunes content for a flat monthly rate (albeit with commercials), Hulu+'s advantage over Netflix is getting newer content.

>Hulu+ complements Netflix in a different way than it complements iTunes.

My meaning was that both fill in the "current season" gap that Netflix has.

Broadcasters weren't giving them the rights to the shows they still want to sell on DVD or VOD.

Here's a specific example my wife discovered last night. Downtown Abbey Season 2 is not available on Netflix or PBS (which does typically offer streaming without much delay), but the whole season is available on Hulu.

I will say, though, that for every time this happens, there have been ten other times where Hulu only had the previous five episodes. If Hulu+ offered the full current season it would be so much more worth it.

I subscribed to Hulu and was paying monthly fees. Its no different to watching crappy TV. Got fed up with commercials in between. No Thanks Hulu.

(European here) Wait! There are COMMERCIALS in between? Why? Doesn't that defy the idea of high-quality service?

You don't get high quality service at only $7.99/month.

In my opinion, this is a problem with Hulu Plus and Netflix: it's too cheap. Unlimited access to a catalog of movies should/could be more expensive. That could possibly allow them to have a better offering/no commercials.

For the record Netflix does not have commercials (yet).

Totally agree on Netflix. I would easily pay $25 a month for Netflix streaming if it had great content (e.g., same movies as the DVD by mail service + HBO)

I wholeheartely agree. NetFlix has made some silly missteps, but the outcry over raising their rates was confusing to me. The value per dollar is mind-boggling. It already has more great stuff that I have time to watch, and I would still pay substantially more for a deeper catalog.

I really don't understand why they don't do netflix premium with per-movie rentals for $4-5 per streamed movie.

Given that all the big box movie rental stores have died, this would make them a player vs iTunes and Amazon who manage to have better selection than Netflix.

The user outcry of "I already pay Netflix a whole $10 a month, and now they want me to pay MORE?" would be ridiculously huge, if the previous fiasco is any indication.

Well, that's why people are so ambivalent about Hulu Plus, compared to something like Netflix. It has negatives, but it's cheap, so...

The day netflix gets commercials I am out

Well, you get 80% of what a normal cable or satellite subscription would cost at like a quarter of the price. And there are still less commercials.

I'm no fan of commercials, but it certainly beats paying $3/episode from iTunes.

Less commercials but more often... and I can't buffer up and skip past them like I can with my DVR.

Sorry I don't watch adverts at all if possible - after 10 years of Tivo, I get jittery when forced to.

I and many other cinephiles prefer Hulu Plus because of the commercial-free Criterion catalog. I also find Hulu's software to be superior, at least on 360 and PS3. I'm a satisfied Netflix customer, too, though.

For all it's faults, Hulu Plus is pretty great. $8/month for around 80% of what you want. I'll buy the rest from iTunes on a seasonal basis. I hate the ads. I hate that some shows aren't all there or there at all. But it's the best way to watch current TV legally on demand at a reasonable price. Combined with Netflix, it's enough to cord-cut.

Apple TV can be awesome if they allow app developers to create apps for it. As it stands, the Netflix + Hulu Plus combo is nice but Roku has had that forever. Roku also has HBOGO, Amazon Instant Video, Dish World, a few news channels, live sports and more.

The nice integration between OSX, iOS and Apple TV is not enough reason to jump to Apple TV just yet but I'd switch in a heart beat if/when they add App Store to it.

I like the variety available on Roku, but the painfully slow UI has me ready to walk away.

Completely agree. It feels very clunky. Apple TV with it's responsive UI does smoke the experience on Roku. However, content is king.

I feel the same way about Boxee.

The Boxee netflix app is painful to use. It's so much faster to load up Netflix on the iPad and then use Airplay to stream to the Boxee.

plus the missing Youtube channel on Roku makes me want to buy Apple TV.

I agree on the app store. We cut the netflix subscription for Amazon Instant Video (the wife and I just don't watch enough videos in a month for $8/month), and the lack of that app makes Apple TV basically just a better way of screen sharing photos. Which is no mean feat, as I've been defeated trying to get the resolution perfect every time I've tried to hook up my Air to a TV via HDMI and use iPhoto.

While I agree with all this, there is one thing Apple TV has that makes it a must buy in my case... and that is Airplay. Whatever slack it has now, I can simply make up for by screen mirroring (ie. use Amazon Instant Video) from my Macbook Air using ML Airplay.

The nice integration between OSX, iOS and Apple TV is not enough reason to jump to Apple TV just yet but I'd switch in a heart beat if/when they add App Store to it.

What's crazy to me is that Google develops the Nexus Q, and then makes the terrible decision not to allow you to run apps on it. It obviously is technically capable, as seen by the various mods people are doing to it. But for the price they are asking, I want access to more than just Google's inferior media offerings.

I have a Roku and an AppleTV and the latter gets a lot more use because of one feature above all - Airplay (and the Netflix UI on AppleTV is way better than the Roku).

Ah, another service that I would happily pay for, but cannot for being Canadian.

PIRACY IT IS!

It's even less likely to come to Europe, so … unfortunately you're right.

People use pre-paid credit cards and an IP unblocker to get past the IP Wall.

It's kind of ridiculous how much more stuff is on US Netflix and HuluPlus compared to Canadian Netflix.

I wonder how many roadblocks they've put into the way for signing up on Hulu Plus from Canada? You might need a US iTunes account as well to get the app.

The problem in Canada is that the major ISPs own the Canadian distribution rights to many of these popular programs. There is no incentive for them to provide them over the internet because they:

A. Want to reduce their network bandwidth costs

B. Want you to pay for their TV services in which to watch said programming

By far the best way to fight piracy: Supply high quality content that is easily viewed. Now what about view-as-you-go instead of subscription-based?

"View-as-you-go"? Isn't that just iTunes?

Unfortunately, you can't rent TV Shows from iTunes anymore[1].

[1] http://allthingsd.com/20110826/apple-pulls-the-plug-on-tv-re...

I'm not sure why iTunes rentals didn't take off. It seems like most people do want rentals, since they watch a show only once. Maybe the price point wasn't very compelling? Or the selection of rentals wasn't as good as that for buying?

I don't think it was the selection of rentals, but other reasons including: Apple TV wasn't as popular as it is now [1]; and, most likely, you're already paying for TV Service with your internet service provider - so why you would pay (again) for a show you've already paid for? (And, most likely, you're paying for DVR service, so you could have just recorded your show for future (and, potentially, unlimited) viewing.)

1. http://daringfireball.net/linked/2012/07/24/apple-tv-xbox

I wonder if that means Redbox and other physical renters still have a chance of staying on.

I feel that if renting media still exists in the future, it would be a solid niche for physical media to exist for. I always imagine that one is more likely to watch Netflix DVD's that arrive in the mail, because it exists in physical form and are more of an "incentive" to customers to continue with their experience. Whereas I always see my friends with Netflix's streaming library on endlessly scrolling through it, unwilling to commit to watching any particular film or show. Is there a random function?

A physical rental is like an investment that you've already committed to.

Getting Hulu plus on the Apple TV is something I was looking for a long time. For watching TV shows (for me) at least Hulu is a lot better than Netflix. The only thing Netflix has going for it in our household at least is the Kids section. If not for that I would drop them without a second thought. Have to check out how the kids section is on Hulu.

You can sign up through iTunes, and Apple likely gets a cut of this, but I'm guessing Hulu's hand was sort of forced once Mountain Lion allowed AirPlay streaming from the Mac to Apple TV.

I'd be surprised if that was it. iOS already allowed AirPlay streaming of Hulu Plus. And there are far more iOS devices out there than Macs.

Not to mention how much easier it is to shoot content from your mobile device to an AppleTV, vs getting off the couch, going to your PC, starting the content, starting Airplay...

Interestingly, if you sign up using a US Apple ID, there doesn't seem to be any additional Geo-IP filtering in place currently. I was able to watch an episode from Germany without a VPN/DNS solution.

I have had Hulu Plus on Apple TV for 6 months... what is the difference?

Not a typical Apple fan, but the Apple TV is an excellent device. It fulfills its role brilliantly, uses very little power, and is very inexpensive. It should be their most successful product.

I have the first generation Apple TV and - for me - it's a great device. (Although sync'ing content to the device is a pain, which is why the newer generations stream content from your computer.)

The problem with the Apple TV is that it's not intuitively easy to understand what it does or why you would want one.

For example, when someone sees my Apple TV for the first time, they always asked "how much does it cost per month?" and they are always amazed at the amount of content that can be viewed, purchased, rented, etc. (I always explain it as "iTunes for your TV", but I feel like that's a disservice to the device.)

Apple TV is great if you have kids since you can easily view videos (like PBS's "Word Girl", "Curious George"), look at family pictures or watch family movies.

I like the reporting about the Apple TV outselling the XBox this past quarter, and Apple just consider it a "hobby"[1]

[1]http://www.geekwire.com/2012/apple-tv-outsells-xbox-360-late...

This may be due to the inefficiency of my wifi setup, but watching home photos/videos on the ATV2 is slow as hell - no pre-buffering or caching of content means lots of delays.

Otherwise I completely agree.

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