Hulu Partners With Sony

Source: Home Media Magazine

There were serious rumors that Hulu was in talks with Microsoft for exclusive rights for the Xbox, but Sony seems to have beaten them to the punch. Sony is in final talks with the Hulu people and it looks like, for a price, you will have another streaming option for your PS3. Hulu may still be coming to an Xbox near you, but not in the immediate future.

Recently Hulu, which has previously been free, has been toying with premium subscriptions for around $10 a month. The benefits of paying for a subscription have been more content and fewer commercials, now they are bringing that business model to your PSTriple.

While the PS3 already has Netflix capabilities Hulu would be a big boost as far as TV shows go. Netflix can sometimes be a bit stingy and erratic when it comes to TV shows while Hulu has tons of your favorite programming available soon after it airs on TV. Hulu also has a decent catalog of movies too, but no where near as extensive as Netflix.

I would say if you are into movies (Which I assume you are reader otherwise I have no idea why you are wasting your time here!) Netflix is probably still the best route. But if TV is more your bag Hulu on the PS3 might just be what you were looking for!

And if you like both well use both! Who am I to judge?

XBox Live getting Hulu?

Source: Cnet.com

Word is that Microsoft plans on unveiling its new partnership with Hulu at this years E3 conference.

Xbox Live has already had success with video streaming services such as Netflix, and the addition of Hulu would be seamlessly integrated within the existing Xbox Live dashboard.

The only downside to this news for Xbox owners is there will apparently be a subscription fee for the Hulu service. While there is no definite news on how much a subscription would cost speculation puts it around the $8 a month mark, but that is by no means set in stone.

What do you Xbox guys think about this planned merger? Would you be willing to pay for the service, would you even use it?

Hulu Adds New Features

Source: Hulu Blog

Hulu has just announced some new features that should make streaming your TV shows and flicks a little more convenient and enjoyable. These new tools allow more customization by the viewer and an in general more streamlined viewing experience.

There are several new features; here are some of the highlights:

• Adaptive Bit-rate Streaming: This optional feature will allow for the video quality to be adjusted based on the individual users available bandwidth. This should significantly cut down on buffering times, and compensate for any connection problems by smoothing out the video playback.
• Ad Volume Normalization: We've all been there, watching our show at the appropriate volume and then -BAM!- extra loud commercial comes out of no where! This welcomed new feature will automatically balance out the volume on the commercials, so you can ignore them in peace.
• Seek Preview: Now when you hold your cursor over any point in the timeline of the video a thumbnail will appear allowing you to see exactly what is happening at that point in the video. This will make it a lot easier to find certain scenes or pick up from where you left off.
• A Bigger, Sleeker Player: The video dimensions are now 25% larger and all of the buttons only appear now when you mouse scrolls across them. This change is both larger and less distracting then the previous format and looks pretty slick too.

For details on the rest of the features check out the official Hulu blog and be sure to try out the new features when you get a chance. I plan on catching up on my 24 as soon as I am done here.