Hulu To Work Around Flash For iPad?

[Michael Essany]

They say people do crazy things for love. And if it's true that Hulu is in love with the iPad and its potential, something "crazy" may be on the horizon for the second largest video distribution website on the Internet.

Although Apple continues to crank out new products and devices that can't accommodate flash, Hulu isn't going to wait around for Cupertino to get with the program. If rumors are to be believed, Hulu is hard at work on a flash work-around that will enable the iPad to play videos from the hugely popular website. Sound too good to be true? It might be. But one could certainly observe how this move would work to the advantage of both Hulu and Apple. And for that reason, perhaps Hulu and Apple will pull off a marriage made in digital heaven.

It should be noted, of course, that the bulk of Hulu's content is in a format that will be accommodated by the iPad - H.264. The nagging commercials that interrupt our favorite videos, however, require flash. Without the ads, Hulu wouldn't have a problem moseying on over to the iPad. Except, that is, for the gazillion dollars it would lose from the disappearance of its advertising revenue model.

Yet, as my ModMyi colleague Paul reported earlier this week, persistent indications reveal that Apple may use the iPad to propel its TV distribution system through iTunes. Whether Apple pushes downloadable content through iTunes for a small fee or allows other video distribution or streaming services to dwell on the iPad platform, it's evident that Apple's tablet will be the king of digital content absorption - something that's kind of difficult to imagine without Hulu's involvement. So if Hulu remains serious about a paid model of programming and content distribution, the iPad could fit perfectly into the video juggernaut's ambitious and potentially lucrative plans.

[Windmeel]

Hey thanks for the info

[Nehal3m]

I wonder if they would convert the ads from flash to a different format. Maybe then, Hulu would be able to work for the iPad. (Probably not the only one to think of that...)

[StealthBravo]

I would love to have hulu on the iPad

[thetoothfairy]

^ Yup me also! We can keep our fingers crossed X

[GadgetX]

I feel that Hulu support would only hurt apple's sales when it comes to TV shows. After all why would someone want to pay for the latest episode of a show when they could stream it for free on the same device?

[StealthBravo]

Only benefit would be its ad free

[tudtran]

Good news. There been rumors about flash for iPhone for the past two years. I'm just hoping iPhone OS 4.0 will deliver flash.

[NSXrebel]

I feel that Hulu support would only hurt apple's sales when it comes to TV shows. After all why would someone want to pay for the latest episode of a show when they could stream it for free on the same device?

ad free. I hate how Hulu sticks like 8 ads on a 30-40 min show.
Also, yeah you can stream Hulu for free, but what about once you're up in the air on a flight. You can't stream Hulu, Youtube, or any other web content for that matter. You're still gonna need to buy movies/shows from iTunes, other online sources, or rip your own movies if you wanna watch any video on your iPad when there is no internet connectivity.

[GadgetX]

Good news. There been rumors about flash for iPhone for the past two years. I'm just hoping iPhone OS 4.0 will deliver flash.

Dont hold your breath. If Apple wanted to implement flash on the iphone OS I think they would've done it already.

The whole ad part of Hulu doesn't bother me that much, its way less invasive then typical commercials on tv anyways. However those who opt for the wifi only version would have the benefit of watching their downloaded shows where ever they please. Regardless I think that Apple would see a huge drop in sales if they decided to approve a Hulu app or Hulu switched over to HTML5.

[adrian1480]

would be a big win for the iPad, but it still needs flash.

bigger question: when does Hulu begin to charge for content? It's supposed to be THIS YEAR...

[rhekt]

[html 5]

[bckane]

I would love to have hulu on the iPad

I second this HULU

[GTOpilot]

It's obvious that Apple isnt going to budge on Flash. So it's up to Hulu and other big content providers to convert their video to a format capable of playing on Iphones/Ipads. YouTube converted their entire library, so can Hulu and everyone else if they want to be competitive.

If you havent seen this round table discussion of the Ipad, give it a look. They speak of this very subject and its kind of interesting although long winded.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ysq7mmGaWoU]YouTube - Charlie Rose on The iPad, With David Carr, Michael Arrington and Walter Mossberg[/ame]

[matthew1111]

HULU on iPad would be great-but seriously? Apple needs Flash

[iLaw-One]

I'll wait till I have physically tried one in my hands...

[zoso10]

Really when it comes down to it Flash has a lot of pitfalls which makes it unstable and that's the exact reason Apple won't implement it on a lot of their products. I would love to see flash die altogether, and I think it would be great if sites start to use other methods because Apple refuses to support it. Oh the persuasiveness of Apple!

[NSXrebel]

HULU on iPad would be great-but seriously? Apple needs Flash

No, Apple doesn't need Flash, you do.

[karo_80]

I'm so glad about this news my TV quit the other day and I was wanting to watch a movie on my ipod

[rel1215]

hahaha...get used to seeing stories like this

Apple: 1
Adobe/Flash: 0