The nice thing about having an actual application for an online media center, which is what Hulu is really becoming, is that you have the opportunity to discover more shows and networks that have been added to the service in an app rather than navigating the web page.
HULU MAC APP MAC
Using boxee for the Mac wasn't always the smoothest experience, so this is a step-up.
HULU MAC APP TV
Watching standard definition TV like "NewsRadio" or "Sesame Street" clips was excellent and without any lag. Watching the pilot for "Glee," for instnace, wasn't as sharp as the HD iTunes downlad, of course, but it was quite good. By default, my Internet connection played back everything at High Quality (you can adjust this in the settings), and the quality looked even better than in the browser. As a long-time boxee user who hates trying to fast-forward or rewind Hulu playback (even before they switched serving mechanisms), this is nice. Switching from playing a program to searching for others is easy (the Menu button) and fast-forwarding through content is a joy. I also managed to crash the application, but that's to be expected.Īll in all, finding programming to watch is easy and intutiive, not unlike the original Hulu implementation in boxee. My only problem was with my screensaver - unlike FrontRow, Hulu doesn't turn the screensaver off when playing back content. The Apple remote works flawlessly with the Hulu application. I should also note that the size of the application window was larger than 1280x800 by default, so mobile users might get the "full screen" upon launch experience.
HULU MAC APP FULL
Although Hulu Desktop didn't take up the full-screen of my 22" external monitor when it was initially launched, a quick ⌘-F will take you full screen. I totally want to figure out if the arbitrary system requirements can be bypassed so this can get running on the Apple TV. Regardless of the double-speak, how well does this application actually work? Well, based on my limited testing (I did want to get this post done), it is awesome. I don't know, maybe Hulu really believes that people won't be using this application with their TV-connected Macs or Windows Media PCs, but this app certainly feels like it was meant for big screens. Although the tagline for Hulu Desktop, " Lean-back viewing for your PC," keeps the sematic difference between a 24" LCD monitor and a 25" LCD TV in check, the execution, especially with extensive remote support, seems to say something else. Hulu's justification (well, one of many justifications) for going after boxee was that the content is designed to be viewed from a web browser and not from the couch.
HULU MAC APP UPDATE
The last big boxee update changed how boxee serves Hulu content, in an effort to make it more difficult for Hulu to pull the plug. That doesn't mean this isn't still exciting.įor some background, Hulu has been involved in a back-and-forth battle with the social media center application, boxee, which allows users to access online content from their Mac or Apple TV and makes big-screen viewing a pleasure. After all of the boxee nastiness, I'm a bit surprised by the development. NBC's online video site, Hulu, has launched a desktop app that allows Mac users to watch Hulu content without using a web browser, and with full Apple Remote support.
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