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Hulu takes a pass on iPad (for now at least)

Chupa Chupa

Chupa Chupa

macrumors G5
Original poster
Jul 16, 2002
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Well this is not the news I wanted to read: it seems Hulu isn't a fan of HTML5 after all and has no current plans for an iPad app. This is contradictory to the recent rumors and also to the recent HTML5 plans of other media outlets like CBS.

So I'm wondering if Adobe had a little talk with Hulu. Hulu is a joint venture between FOX, NBC and ABC. ABC, of course is owned by Disney, whose largest shareholder is Steve Jobs. Fox is owned by Newscorp, which owns the WSJ, and does use HTML5 in it's iPad App. So I don't know how Adobe won't that "battle." Interesting if disappointing.
 
A little bit off-topic, but is there a possibility that Apple or some third party is in the works with a flash to html5 conversion app?
 
It's on the front page.

Also, the story only indicates that we won't be seeing browser compatibility. It doesn't preclude a dedicated app.
 
iSingandiDance said:
A little bit off-topic, but is there a possibility that Apple or some third party is in the works with a flash to html5 conversion app?
Click to expand...

Given Hulu uses encrypted streaming and hence creating or distributing such conversion software would be a criminal offense with a hefty prison sentence in the US and most of Europe (especially the UK, where it's a five year sentence), I think it's unlikely Jobs is eager to experience prison food any time soon.

Phazer
 
gibbz said:
It's on the front page.

Also, the story only indicates that we won't be seeing browser compatibility. It doesn't preclude a dedicated app.
Click to expand...

That's true, but wouldn't Hulu have mentioned future apps in the press release? It could be they were working on an app, but Adobe made some sweet deal they couldn't refuse. I could see Adobe wanting to keep Hulu off the iPad unti Google or some other maker gets a tablet out that runs flash. Adobe could then say "See, iPad users are missing out without our software"

Make no mistake, Adobe is going to use all tactics at it's disposal to save it's standard. They want control.
 
The Phazer said:
Given Hulu uses encrypted streaming and hence creating or distributing such conversion software would be a criminal offense with a hefty prison sentence in the US and most of Europe (especially the UK, where it's a five year sentence), I think it's unlikely Jobs is eager to experience prison food any time soon.

Phazer
Click to expand...
I didn't know this. Thanks.
 
Once they started charging for service I stopped using them anyhow. No big loss for me.
 
Hulu is passing on HTML5 because it doesn't have DRM. The movie studios (Big Content) will eventually reach the conclusion the record labels have reached. DRM is ineffective because everything is being pirated anyway.

The big question is: Does it matter?

Not really. There are plenty of solutions available for streaming to your iPad. Air Video looks promising and I'm sure PlayOn (or similar software) will eventually support streaming to the iPad via your PC or Mac.
 
dagomike said:
It doesn't say anything about an app. Hulu could have been planning an app all along which would make a major investment in HTML5 right now make even less sense.
Click to expand...

Huh? An iPad app would obviously require HTML5. From Hulu's remarks, it can easily and logically be inferred that there is no iPad app coming anytime soon. But also, if Hulu did encode in HTLM5 an app wouldn't necessarily even be needed as you could just go to the Hulu.com site and the site would detect the iPad browser and serve you HTML5.
 
BeachChair said:
Not a logical inference at all. An app could be html5 and have DRM while a html5 webapp could not.
Click to expand...

They could easily do the same thing the ABC Player does.

I do agree with the idea that Adobe would be using any leverage they might have to slow down any non-Flash alternatives on major video sites.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Huh? An iPad app would obviously require HTML5. From Hulu's remarks, it can easily and logically be inferred that there is no iPad app coming anytime soon. But also, if Hulu did encode in HTLM5 an app wouldn't necessarily even be needed as you could just go to the Hulu.com site and the site would detect the iPad browser and serve you HTML5.
Click to expand...

How would an iPad app obviously require HTML5?
 
Why couldn't an app play whatever video container format they want to use? Obviously Apple wouldn't approve a Flash player, but any other format could probably be done in an app.
 
Just shows that HTML5 is a while away from being a standard. Maybe Adobe and Apple can work together and get flash on iDevices.
 
dagomike said:
How would an iPad app obviously require HTML5?
Click to expand...

What else is going to work with the iPad? It's what every compatible site is using. If there were something that Apple allowed and was more efficient stands to reason they would use it instead.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
What else is going to work with the iPad? It's what every compatible site is using. If there were something that Apple allowed and was more efficient stands to reason they would use it instead.
Click to expand...

Native iPad video is H.264 (a specific form of MPEG4) and it most certainly DOES support DRM - it's the same format used by Directv for HD satellite TV broadcasts, as well as natively supported by Quicktime. A Hulu app doesn't specifically need HTML5 - it needs to provide some kind of framework to provide H.264 video streams. That's all.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
What else is going to work with the iPad? It's what every compatible site is using. If there were something that Apple allowed and was more efficient stands to reason they would use it instead.
Click to expand...

OK, I think I see now.

HTML5 is not video. The Hulu video is h.264, which the iPad is built to eat. An app would simply be a front-end for delivering the video which is already on their servers in nice multi-bitrate forms.
 
Battlestar said:
Just shows that HTML5 is a while away from being a standard. Maybe Adobe and Apple can work together and get flash on iDevices.
Click to expand...

I think it's slated as a "standard" in 2012. But, as with any HTML standard, the browsers are well ahead of the committee process.

HTML5 needs solutions for DRM, ads, and other content controls. It's not surprising that the consortium responsible for open (free!) standards have not developed these solutions. This is going to come from the private companies to build server and client side tools to embed in and interface with HTML5.

I can think of one maker of developer tools who could use this as a giant opportunity to innovate rather than crying on the playground.
 
LinMac said:
Hulu is passing on HTML5 because it doesn't have DRM. The movie studios (Big Content) will eventually reach the conclusion the record labels have reached. DRM is ineffective because everything is being pirated anyway.
Click to expand...

It's not about DRM. The video on Hulu's site can easily be extracted. However, there are no libraries available that provide interactivity in the videos using pure HTML5. That means ads, dynamic video quality adjustment, etc. Youtube has this same issue with their videos using their HTML5 player. It's clear we are still a few years away from these technologies being available in HTML5. For now, it is easy to play a simple video using a single stream quality. But when you try to get more advanced, HTML5 doesn't have the support yet. My guess is the only way you will see Hulu on the iPad in the foreseeable future will be with a native app that can provide these same features.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Except that Hulu is rejecting HTLM5 for now. Period. So please tell me how Hulu makes an iPad app without HTML5, especially when Apple has forbidden Flash to HTML5 conversion w/i an app.
Click to expand...

Chupa Chupa said:
What else is going to work with the iPad? It's what every compatible site is using. If there were something that Apple allowed and was more efficient stands to reason they would use it instead.
Click to expand...

You misunderstand what Flash and HTML5 are, apparently.

Flash and HTML5 are two different methods that you would use you use to deliver H.264 video in a web site[/i].

There's no way to protect the video delivered with HTML5 using DRM.

If Hulu were to write an app to deliver the video directly, complete with DRM, they could do so without using HTML5 or Flash since they're not going through a web site.


iPad APPS don't use HTML5. Web sites do. The ABC app, for example, delivers H.264 video through the app- no HTML5 or Flash involved.
 
Chupa Chupa said:
Huh? An iPad app would obviously require HTML5. From Hulu's remarks, it can easily and logically be inferred that there is no iPad app coming anytime soon. But also, if Hulu did encode in HTLM5 an app wouldn't necessarily even be needed as you could just go to the Hulu.com site and the site would detect the iPad browser and serve you HTML5.
Click to expand...

No - an iPad app would require you to use the Sdk and obj C - the browser only supports HTML5...

You can't "encode" something in HTML5.
 
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