I watch all my television on my computer by hooking it up to my television through an HDMI cable. At this point there just isn't any point to watching TV "live" since everyone can get everything over the web whenever they want, and for most of the shows watching it in Hi-Def is beyond unnecessary. Many others might use their PS3s to watch TV. They may have also used Hulu to do this, but no more.
Yesterday many PS3 owners may have seen this little message when trying to watch video on Hulu: "Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform." Where did the Hulu go? Engadget decided to find out and, using Matlockery, discovered that "the Hulu TOS was just updated as of June 26, and although we haven't found any PS3-specific passages, changing a browser's user-string to match the console reveals it is definitely being specifically blocked."
Mystery abounds and Hulu isn't responding yet. For now PS3 owners will have to wait and see what happens and maybe try to make their brains turn back into a solid state.
Matthew Razak is Destructoid's Associate editor and co-founder of film site
Flixist. He began as community member "cowzilla" and was since sequestered to write brainy features material. He lives in Los Angeles with his beautiful wife.
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 06.28.2009
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Unless we don't like what you are using to view it. And people wonder why TV torrents are incredibly popular.
When someone from the studios noticed Boxee, it was blocked (Hulu knew, but once threats of programme withdrawal or lawsuits happen, Hulu has to move very quickly), and a game of cat and mouse begins.
Exactly the same has obviously happened here. Kinda surprising it lasted this long really.
Similar things have happened before - for example the BBC's iPlayer blocks some shows on the Wii (like Heroes) for similar reasons.
Oh that made me lol. I'd like to see that article on a slow news day though.
The broadcast networks are suffering from extremely diminished ratings. The networks have been pretty clear on their desire to keep Hulu off television sets and on monitors only. There are of course easy ways around this, like connecting your computer to your TV if you have the right video car/TV. Most Americans don't do this though.
At any rate, the networks don't want Hulu on TV and so I think it will be a while before you see consoles having that kind of capability. Services you pay for however, like Netflix, are a different story.
But, like has been mentioned, you can easily hook up a PC to a TV anyway so what's the point? Oh yeah, most high-level executives, regardless of their industry, are redundant, over-paid, out of touch fucktards. So now they're not getting me to watch their shows, and by extension, the paid advertisements that go along with them at all. Brilliant move guys, that's why you make the big bucks, huh? Fucking suit-douches...
I also wonder if it would make any difference if you use Linux on your PS3. Because then it is running as a PC. Anyone tried that yet?
Honestly, when are these people going to crawl into the 21st century instead of trying to drag everyone else backward?
Hulu has paid advertisements, so wtf is your point. Sorry to be harsh, but I think that was a pretty fucking pointless comment.
Given the choice for Hulu is being sued by millions of individual contributors to the programmes and the networks withdrawing all the programmes, I imagine Hulu would rather post photos on their frontpage of them defacating on a PS3 if they were told to, never mind just blocking them.
It's not even just the networks - the issue is that lots of old TV contracts tended to define delivering to a set top box as Video On Demand rather than online streaming. And because cable VOD used to be pay-per-view, that means the actors and writers residuals are higher, which is probably enough to make Hulu unprofitable... So they're blocked. That won't be the case with all programmes, but probably enough to justify not doing the admin on a case by case basis.
I'm afraid I'll never understand the logic that this justifies piracy though. Congrats, then the jobbing actors don't get paid! That'll teach the networks!
First off all these "little" individual companies are controlled by one large company typically in the universe we live in this still counts as being one company. This includes a lot of these TV networks you mention. For instance NBC Universal owns Hulu. As far as I know I have not heard about NBC being sued by anyone. Also they are in turned owned by GE. Also as you can tell NBC is part of Universal. Which in turn they are part of Vivendi Universal or now called Vivendi.
Which funny enough this becomes game related right here because Vivendi owns Activision-Blizzard.
Anyway point being stfu if you don't know what your talking about. A lot of these "individual" networks you talk about are owned by the parent company. As are the movies.
Also
Hulu is free and legal through an advertising supported model.
* Videos are available for unlimited streaming; watch favorite shows and clips over and over, for free
Right on the website. So ya it's for streaming.
So can we just label you as know nothing talk a lot of nothing?
On another note thought the reason they are doing this is either because PS3 works region free allowing restricted regions to use hulu or xbox has hulu on lock down. Which if I'm not mistaken is the case.
http://gizmodo.com/5114459/could-hulu-be-coming-to-xbox-360
The network doesn't see any money from me watching it live on my tube OR torrenting it since I'm not part of a Nielson family. In fact, the company doesn't even know what the hell the 99% of people WITHOUT Nielson boxes are doing with their time at all.
I don't even feel a TINGE of remorse for torrenting TV shows (except for ones on premium channels) for this reason. Why should I? And I don't watch anything on Hulu so they wouldn't have gotten ad money from me there anyway.
You heard it here first
@dinnertime ninja : you're actually only half right. The audience commodity is as Predictable as any other. They know what we're watching based on the desirability of advertizing space. Time shifting via hulu likely has little impact on that.
That, my friend, is a retarded statement.
It's a bit of a shitter for you that I'm a broadcast rights consultant professionally then, isn't it?
First off all these "little" individual companies are controlled by one large company typically in the universe we live in this still counts as being one company. This includes a lot of these TV networks you mention. For instance NBC Universal owns Hulu.
No it doesn't. Hulu is a separate company. NBC is a shareholder, but a minority one. Broadcast rights are complicated. Rights in shows will typically be owned by dozens of indviduals and companies, all with different holders and objectives.
As far as I know I have not heard about NBC being sued by anyone.
Any large company gets sued every week over issues. NBC are no exception. It's not even news.
Anyway point being stfu if you don't know what your talking about.
Well hello Mr Kettle! You are as black as a dead Transformer in a Michael Bay film.
A lot of these "individual" networks you talk about are owned by the parent company.
No they're not. Almost no networks have majority shareholders. And networks rarely own their own programmes - they have some licencable rights, but the copyright ultimately resides with the studios. Sometimes they might own the studios, but not necessarily, and not necessarily the same network that shows the programme.
On another note thought the reason they are doing this is either because PS3 works region free allowing restricted regions to use hulu or xbox has hulu on lock down. Which if I'm not mistaken is the case.
Now you're really talking nonsense - Hulu's access is controlled by IP geo-location. The PS3 doesn't somehow magically connect to the internet in a way that doesn't use an IP address, and nor is it region free (it's games aren't region protected, though it's quite technically capable of doing so, and it does use regional blu-ray movie lockouts).
The Xbox deal as it rumoured ain't likely to happen either, precisely because of the above.
But since the PS3 can run Linux and function exactly as a computer, isn't there room for argument here legally?
Room for arguement legally, sure - indeed, I actually suspect a court would probably find in Hulu's favour.
But of course, nobody has to licence any shows to Hulu, so if it gets that far they probably end up with no content and hence no jobs straight afterwards.
The desirability of ad space doesn't equate directly AT ALL to who (and how many of the "who") is watching which shows.
All it tells you is who the ad companies THINK are watching the shows. And their thoughts are based off of Nielson data which almost no one is a part of.
Couple that with the fact that if ad space pricing is artificially inflated by any source, the demand from other advertisers can increase without ANY change in viewership.