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No HTML5 Hulu Anytime Soon
99BottlesOfBeerInMyF writes "The Hulu website briefly commented the other day about why they would not be implementing HTML5 video for their service: 'We continue to monitor developments on HTML5, but as of now it doesn't yet meet all of our customers' needs. Our player doesn't just simply stream video, it must also secure the content, handle reporting for our advertisers, render the video using a high performance codec to ensure premium visual quality, communicate back with the server to determine how long to buffer and what bitrate to stream, and dozens of other things that aren't necessarily visible to the end user.' They plan to release a dedicated application for the iPad and iPhone instead, likely a paid subscription service. Perhaps this is a good sign for Web-based television, as it will move more users away from the single, locked down channel from the networks and to more diverse options less interested in extracting subscription fees (like YouTube)."
That's because Steve Jobs touches you at night^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H rips your dick off with his devil horns
Living With a Nerd
I think there is actually a good middle ground a DRM level that "keeps the honest, honest" Much like locking your car door. If someone wants to get in really badly they can (A few months ago I lost an old GPS from someone breaking my window to steal it)... However if you lock your door most of the time they will just see if the door is locked if it is then they move on no harm no foul.
The same thing should be with DRM. It should be strong enough to discourage illegal activity. Hey it is not easy it will require work to get at it. So for most people they will skip it.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Hulu certainly does not represent the viewers interests or the internet's interest. If Hulu says they represent their "customers' needs", well, their definition of customer is certainly not the viewer.
Securing content slows down the internet because it takes up more bandwidth to happen. Where's the net-neutrality friendly approach here?
Handling reporting to the advertisers is certainly something viewers don't care about. Can't they just use their web/media server logs and submit the data without creating direct connections from the viewers' web browser? I find all this advertiser functionality just excuses for prying on viewer privacy. Again it takes up needless bandwidth. Where's the net-neutrality friendly approach here?
Rendering video with a high performance codec to ensure premium visual quality is absurd because it implies the viewer having premium quality hardware which is exclusively expensive. I'm sure many people are perfectly content with normal NTSC resolution and quality. Rendering should be more in line with the lowest common denominator in order to catch the widest possible viewer audience on the widest possible number of devices.
HULU also discriminates against viewers not residing in the U.S.A. What's the point of having an internet if you are not going to extend your audience to the entire internet's reach? HULU are a bunch of idiots and don't have a clue as to what viewer audience they are losing.
I won't be using HULU until they get their act together and acknowledge viewers that 1)use Linux 2)use non-FLASH html5 alternatives and 3)are located in elsewhere on the internet, NOT IN THE U.S.A..