Hulu has rolled out a newly-updated version of its video player, with many new features added which will enhance the user experience. However, as an aside, Hulu has made it clear HTML support isn’t a priority, which means an iPad app is still a way off.
Hulu
continues to go from strength to strength, building a dedicated set of regular users who watch multichannel content from the site.
However, no company can stand still or rest on its laurels, and Hulu is seeking to expand its horizons. Unfortunately, the planned international launch looks to have stalled, and the need for Adobe Flash means the service cannot move to the iPad, allowing individual networks to jump ahead.
Still, there’s nothing like the rolling out of some new features to help build momentum.
Hulu Update
Hulu’s latest update has brought many new features with it:
Adaptive Bitrate Streaming means video bitrates and resolution can be changed on the fly depending on the user’s bandwidth. This lessens the chances of stuttering or constant buffering, meaning a smoother viewing experience.
Ad Volume Normalization means ads will no longer blast out your eardrums when they show up in the middle of a quiet show.
Closed Captioning Display has two new options which should help captions stand out against any background.
Seek Preview should prevent that annoying stop/start searching to find the point of the video you want to watch or begin watching from. Hover your mouse over the timeline of the video and a preview of that moment will magically appear.
Heat Map shows how popular each part of a particular video is. So if you want to dip in and out of a clip rather than watch the whole thing, you can easily guage which bits others have deemed unmissable.
Ad Tailor is designed to make the ads you’re shown while watching Hulu more relevant.
The player itself is now 25 percent larger and all controls disappear until the mouse is moved. And new customization options have also been added.
No HTML5, Only Flash
All of the above is brilliant, but it won’t help iPad owners who currently can’t view Hulu due to Apple’s insistence on not supporting Flash in its mobile devices.
And this situation looks unlikely to change in the short term, with Hulu currently resisting the move to HTML5:
“When it comes to technology, our only guiding principle is to best serve the needs of all of our key customers: our viewers, our content partners who license programs to us, our advertisers, and each other. We continue to monitor developments on HTML5, but as of now it doesn’t yet meet all of our customers’ needs.”
This is a shame for iPad users but does make sense. A Hulu iPad and mobile app will likely appear in time, but it likely won’t be for a while or be free to use.
