Skyfire Revisited: Hulu Works... For Now

[exfileme]

Flash playback is now working in the Android version of Skyfire.

Skyfire Revisited: Hulu Works... For Now : Read more

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Skyfire does work for other non-hulu related streaming. Like right now i'm watching a hockey game on my droid incredible. Wings vs sharks game.

 

[dreamphantom_1977]

When I first got my lg incite I downloaded it, and hulu worked fine for about a month, but then all of the sudden it stopped working. I don't know what happened.

 

[tipmen]

I just tried just tried it now. I got an error saying it isn't available on my platform. I'm not sure if this is just me or everyone.

 

[tipmen]

I Just tried it with my Droid and got an error message saying it isn't available on my platform.

 

[Guest]

Skyfire is awsome they do all the processing server side and even crappy phones can play videos with it. Thats why flash works.

 

[webbwbb]

Am I the only one who thinks of the Autobot when he hears "Skyfire"?

 

[dannyaa]

it's because Hulu is intentionally blocking it to pave the way for their PAID service on mobile devices.

That's not based on fact, just rumor and speculation. But mark my words - I am right

 

[husker]

[citation][nom]dannyaa[/nom]it's because Hulu is intentionally blocking it to pave the way for their PAID service on mobile devices.That's not based on fact, just rumor and speculation. But mark my words - I am right[/citation]
Is that strictly legal? I mean if I pay for my internet access, then what right does Hulu have say what device I use to access it? If you say they can do what they want, then it's not a big leap to say they could block service to, say, a particular brand of computer or target AMD platforms, etc. Assuming, of course, they had some way of determining the difference. Phones are computers, and computers are phones, the difference is getting blurred and they are setting a bad president.

 

[husker]

Sorry for multiple posts, but I just noticed that the previous story on Tom's makes my point for me as well. Here is the first paragraph in case you didn't read it:

On Thursday the FCC is expected to reveal its roadmap for regulating broadband in attempt to maintain net neutrality. The plan is expected to change the way the FCC defines broadband without adding additional regulations, forcing phone companies, wireless carriers, and cable companies to treat all Internet traffic equally, and not block websites or throttle connections.

 

[webbwbb]

Husker, the difference here is that it is not an ISP which is blocking it, it is an actual website. Hulu also blocks connections outside the US since they are not licensed to provide content in any other country. A good comparison here is that if your bank site detects someone attempting to hack their systems they can block them from accessing their servers and are in good legal grounds to do so. It is likely that when Skyfire converts the ads (which is Hulu's only source of revenue) to HTML5 it either removes the advertisements or removes Hulu's ability to track that the ads have been played by the user. In this case Hulu's systems have been compromised and they are losing money instead of making it. Another thought is that if they do not pursue things like this they may be punished by content providers in some way (I am sure that Skyfire's filtration of the files would allow people outside the US to watch things on Hulu).

 

[mdillenbeck]

Although I have heard the rumors about various paid content services from Hulu, I thought the main reason that they blocked Skyfire was due to those IP laws we all love so much - specifically, since the Skyfire servers can be accessed from anywhere in the world but identify themselves in the US, people may be streaming content in countries where Hulu has not paid to stream those videos. (Sort of like how I can't get my Doctor Who fix here in the states because BBCs iPlayer is only available in the UK and I'm not going to pay a fortune to my cable company to get old episodes on BBC America - buried in a premium channel package. *sigh*)

 

[JohnnyLucky]

According to the article it isn't just HULU. The article did mention "abc.com and other media-laden websites"

 

[joe gamer]

God damn cock blocking Media, guess I'll just pirate the shows with no commercials and send em to my droid instead.

 

[husker]

@webbwbb - Thanks for your response.
I agree in particular with the point you make regarding add tracking and revenue since that is their bread & butter -- at least for now. I do appreciate the difference between an ISP filtering or throttling content vs.website provider doing the same; however, I am extrapolating a bit on the concept of what rights a web content provider has on limiting the type of device the end user ultimately uses to view their content - even if it is in the interest of protecting their revenue stream. It kind of opens the door for webistes to use this practice in "unfair" ways. Imagine if ebay decided to block all content to Apple computers because they don't like them. This is not exactly the same thing, I realize, but you get my point. It might fall under anti-trust law or something like that, but what do I know?. Like many things regarding the internet, existing laws don't begin to cover it.

 

[dreamphantom_1977]

[citation][nom]tipmen[/nom]I just tried just tried it now. I got an error saying it isn't available on my platform. I'm not sure if this is just me or everyone.[/citation]

Thats exactly what happened. It used to work, then it just stopped, and that message popped up.