PlayOn streams Hulu videos to gaming consoles, TVs
Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:30PM EDT
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Sick of watching Hulu's collection of TV shows over your desktop? A new, Windows-only plug-in promises to stream Hulu videos straight to your PS3, Xbox 360, or HP MediaSmart TV. Netflix and Wii support are supposedly on the way.
Engadget HD has the scoop on PlayOn, a downloadable, still-in-beta plug-in for Windows PCs and laptops (sorry, no sign of Mac or Linux support).
Setup looks pretty simple—just install the plug-in on your Windows system, fire up your console, and search for the PlayOn video server (you'll have to make sure that your Windows machine and gaming console/MediaSmart TV are both running under the same local network). Once connected, PlayOn taps into the video RSS feeds of Hulu and YouTube, delivering videos to your console and/or TV in a series of alphabetical folders.
For now, PlayOn only supports Hulu and YouTube, although the developers promise that Netflix streams are coming soon, along with support for streaming videos over the Nintendo Wii.
Sounds cool, but there are a few caveats to keep in mind. First off, the PlayOn beta is free for 60 days only—after that, you'll have to cough up $30 to keep watching. Also, PlayOn is still in beta, so expect plenty of bugs as you go.
Finally, there's the question of how the suits at Hulu will react once they get wind of PlayOn. The TV networks tend to get pretty paranoid over their shows, so don't be surprised if Hulu moves to block streaming via PlayOn—which would be a shame (and their loss), if you ask me.
[Photo courtesy of Engadget HD]
Related:
PlayOn media server brings Hulu / YouTube to consoles, Netflix coming soon? [Engadget HD]
Comments on PlayOn streams Hulu videos to gaming consoles, TVs
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2 Posted by nofear_noshame on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:40PM EDT Report Abuse
for downloading flash-based videos, I use this: Video DownloadHelper 3.2 (a firefox add-on): https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3006 for watching them, I use this: and Combined Community Codec Pack: http://www.cccp-project.net/ and if I want to convert them to put them on my pmp, I use this: www.any-video-converter.com
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3 Posted by final_station on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:59PM EDT Report Abuse
No Wii support and $30? That's why we go to Hulu and Youtube, it's free! I can just go to the internet channel on my Wii and watch it that way. If you don't have it a one time 500 wii point fee will do it. :) Sigh.
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4 Posted by precisely1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:18PM EDT Report Abuse
I have downloaded the program and have found it on my server on xbox, when I try to play a video an error occurs the same error that occurs when I try to play several videos from my computer that linked to my xbox can anyone help????
1 Posted by gooddayz39 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:11PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree Mr. Patterson it will be thier loss