A preview of online HD
December 4th, 2007
While we love the convenience of watching our favorite shows on the web anytime we want, we also love the stunning resolution, true colors, and widescreen landscapes of high definition video on an HDTV. We're video geeks at heart. You know the type of person who insists on driving an extra half hour to see a movie at the theater with the nicest projection system in town? That's us.
We've kept our streaming video bitrates at modest levels to allow as many people as possible to enjoy our videos. But computing power and internet bandwidth continue to increase, and with that comes the promise of widespread High Definition video streaming over the web. We're as anxious for that day to arrive as anyone.
Thanks to the efficient compression of the H.264 video codec, that day may be coming sooner than anticipated. Today we're excited to launch an HD Gallery featuring a selection of High Definition video clips at 1280 x 720 resolution. Those of you with a fast internet connection of 2,400 Kbps or higher, the latest build of Adobe Flash Player 9, and a fast computer (check out our system requirements) can stream these High Definition clips and preview the future. We realize the requirements are still fairly hefty, but we know and empathize with those of you who like to stay on the cutting edge and wanted to give you a sneak peek of streaming high definition video.
We’ve limited the bitrates on these HD streams to allow as many users as possible to sample high definition streaming. Even so, we think you'll agree that the results are a huge step up from what we're used to seeing on the web. We look forward to a day when this becomes the baseline for video quality on the web, and we plan to play our part in making that a reality.
If you don't have a fast enough internet connection at home (like me), you can buffer the stream by clicking pause at the start of the video and waiting. Or, you might find that your internet connection at work is fast enough. We're not necessarily advocating that you watch our videos while you're supposed to be working, but if you want to take a moment during your lunch break to watch an HD clip or two, we won't tell.
Eric Feng
Hulu tech guy (and CTO)
eric.feng@hulu.com
36 Responses to “A preview of online HD”
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December 5th, 2007 at 12:34 AM "Unfortunately this video is not available in this country or region" What's with that, we can't even watch HD preview videos is Australia.
December 5th, 2007 at 12:49 AM Okay thats cool, all people like HD but where's some progress in global access to hulu?? I think most of people care more about that than quality as it's probably good anyway.. Well..?
December 5th, 2007 at 02:28 AM That link resolves to the hulu homepage... did I miss the preview? Maybe it's not firefox compatible?
December 5th, 2007 at 02:52 AM How About HULU on the Wii ,PS3 and Xbox please ;)
December 5th, 2007 at 04:51 AM mmm. I wanna watch TV on my TV, not on my computer. And there's no way I'm sticking a computer in my living room next to my flatscreen.
December 5th, 2007 at 05:02 AM With the pause to buffer the stream, I viewed the HD videos. The resolution is awesome. Thank you, Hulu, for bringing the internet video watching experience one notch higher. Congratulations!
December 5th, 2007 at 08:09 AM Hi On my 42" LCD where my PC is hook up to, the HD doesn't blow me away while in full screen. It's the same quality you'd see while watching Divx/Xvid content on Stage6. Either way though it's good stuff as technology progresses towards full screen HD.
December 5th, 2007 at 10:06 PM Eric, What a great job you guys have done here. This is MOST appreciated!! Going through the ENTIRE site now, but so far...WOW! Dave
December 5th, 2007 at 10:40 PM I'm at work and the HD streams are definitely not streaming at 2.5Mbps. Not sure if it's the server load is too high right now or not. But it's impossible to watch an HD clip without fully loading it first.
December 6th, 2007 at 03:27 AM Hi Eric, couldn't you please license just some short sampler material that is accessible to anyone anywhere -maybe present it to them when they're told they can't access the media they wanted to. You have your own rersouces for that, but you could also use most under fair-use. Also, AS the embeds have an expiry date, couldn't you offer a minitiarised/watermarked version, or/and a click-through (with animated flash explaining) to a buy-site; or if you want to be really ambitious and into the long-tail; how about offering individual blog-owners the semi-persistent right via site-license an existing embed for a negligable sum beyond the standard self-destruct. Appreciate your thought. Yours kindly, Shakir Razak P.s. separate b2b question, how do 3rd-parties get their content into hula cms.
December 6th, 2007 at 08:06 AM While I'm sure that the dev team would LOVE to offer hulu elsewhere, it would be a /huge/ hurdle for them, copyright-wise and getting-other-companies-on-board-for-more-content wise. Still waiting on that hulu invite, guys.
December 7th, 2007 at 07:08 AM Hi, thanks for the content. The ad-support isn't that intrusive either..though seeing the same commercial three times wears on you. Also, towards the end of clips I experience skippy like quality even when it's fully loaded. And I tried to add the RSS feed for my playlist (I assume hulu adds new videos of shows that I subscribe to) but got an error. It might be my reader or just some minor hulu development kink.
December 7th, 2007 at 09:13 PM Well out all the video and video beta places for video your doing wonderful right out of the gate. No lag here on HD stream. :)
December 8th, 2007 at 02:14 AM I've been using this for only a few hours and I have to say; I'm totally blown away.
December 8th, 2007 at 08:22 AM First of all, I have got to thank you for all the work you and the rest of the Hulu.com group have done. This is going to be a fantastic service. The only suggestion I have so far is that hopefully we'll be able to have some "Social Network" style interactions. Maybe that would include some shared playlists or some forums for fans to discus things. Perhaps as Hulu.com gets more progressed, we'll be able to see shows the day they are featured on regular TV.
December 9th, 2007 at 06:15 PM Is there some way a non-member can download some test clips to see if this is even going to work on my hardware? I've got AMD running a 2-cpu 64-bit linux, and I'm able to run youtube flash movies now. The clips in the other blog post don't go to fullscreen. Commercials can be ok if they play correctly, are decent quality, and if the same ones don't repeat again and again and again. Thanks.
December 10th, 2007 at 08:22 AM why not do hulu AND leave the itunes contract in place...??? i love itunes, and i like the hulu site... to offer everything for free with commerials, but to tell iTS that $2 for an episode is not enough??? what's up with that argument... you guys don't want to tell me that advertisers pay $2 per epsiode and individual hit...
December 10th, 2007 at 08:24 AM and i have no problems with the HD streams in the beta HD gallery, i wish you guys would put all episodes in there, not just pilots of upcoming shows... but i'm on a 16Mbit down DSL line... ;-)
December 10th, 2007 at 09:17 AM Wow this is a great site. I am happy to see something like this hit the web. There are a few questions I do have though. Are you going to be putting a purchase/membership model in place? Do you plan to integrate full length movies into your system? I love the fact that you have compatibility with Firefox and Mac OS X, not even Netflix can do that ;) Keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing the site grow in the future.
December 10th, 2007 at 09:41 PM Apple TV likes H.264. Do you have any plans to allow hulu to be streamed to my TV through Apple TV?
December 10th, 2007 at 10:20 PM Stop wasting time (yours and mine) and sell these shows in iTunes so I can watch it conveniently on my TV rather than sitting in fromt of a tiny computer screen. What good is HD if it doesnt play on the HDTV? I would much rather pay 1.99 and have automatic download into my iTunes library from where I can watch it on my TV, iPod and iPhone.
December 11th, 2007 at 05:49 AM I am so happy to finally get an invite to try out Hulu.com. I am totally psyched that older programming was added in with newer programming. Revisiting Dougie Howser is pretty neat. :D
December 11th, 2007 at 06:35 AM This site is still useless to me until downloads are offered so I can take my shows with me on the train. . .why oh why did you have to get so greedy and leave i-tunes. . .for christ's sakes I'd gladly spend the 40 or 45 bucks to get Heroes on my ipod. . .stop with the greed and give the people what they want!!!!!
December 11th, 2007 at 09:35 AM yay! I finally got invite to Hulu and I'm glad to find they have HD 'cause I love HD. Even the videos not on HD still looks awesome. I just wish there's option for close caption for those of us that are hard to hear. But other than that, everything looks great. I'd like to see classic shows that we liked to watch before but was cancelled. Keep up the good work Hulu!
December 11th, 2007 at 10:41 AM OK, I'm confused by the OH MY GOD HULU THANK YOU FOR BEING SO AWESOME comments here. They all reek of PR plants or praise from those who have never watched video anywhere else on the web. What is so remarkable about this site? It's a collection of programming from a few networks ranging from stuff you would never want to watch to passable series NBC pulled from iTunes. There is NOTHING here that hasn't been done before and done better. Want free streams of network series with limited commercial interruptions? Go to abc.com and check out their broadband video area. It's been going strong for two full seasons now and the quality of the entire experience makes this site look quaint. They stream entire season and HD offerings are also available. The video quality is amazing...even in the full screen mode (which is a joke here). Want clever video shorts with amazing production values and insane celebrity interviews? Go to ngtv.com and skip the retread clips from SNL and the late night talk shows posted here. Warning: the stuff on ngtv.com is uncensored so no kiddies! I'm still scratching my head about NBC leaving both YouTube and iTunes to set up this ramshakle shop. It doesn't make sense from a consumer or business perspective...especially when most NBC shows are struggling to attract anything more than a niche audience (I mean their biggest series is DEAL OR NO DEAL). If this site is going to do anything more than die a sloe death it needs a heck of a lot more compelling content delivered in a way that is consumer-friendly and revolutionary. As it stands now, all hulu.com does is remind me how much better the competition is. Sorry, I'll stick with iTunes.
December 11th, 2007 at 04:21 PM Those of you who do not have access to Hulu can test out HD streaming over at ABC.com's webpage. They have offering some shows in HD--full episodes. HD streaming is very cool! I hope to see more of this in the future.
December 11th, 2007 at 08:30 PM Awesome site! I love it. Can't wait till you have more shows up! Also, I would like to see this on the PS3, Xbox 360, and the Wii. More work on the Mac would be great as too. Keep up to the splendid work!
December 11th, 2007 at 08:38 PM Any videos from Animal Planet in HD? Or just any videos from Animal Planet at all? Thanks!
December 12th, 2007 at 12:21 AM Aww Gee Shucks Eric. CTO without DSL or cable modem at home? Really? Here's what I heard from you (I'm not a techie) blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah HI DEF blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Whatever, I still love you. xoxo Sue
December 12th, 2007 at 02:55 AM Are the writers being paid fairly for this online distribution of content?
December 12th, 2007 at 08:31 AM Great idea guys! I love streaming things on my laptop, but hate how pixelated it always is. Luckily I have the setup requirements, since I work at home to enjoy. I can't wait to get approved and start watching!! Love it! ~Michelle
December 12th, 2007 at 08:53 AM Great service, it's nice to see a lot of work going into getting legal television online. I hope you're making sure the writers get paid. Or is this promotional material?
December 13th, 2007 at 03:15 AM Why did you send out invitations to people who don't have access to Hulu? I live in Alaska...clearly I'm used to disclaimers. It's one thing to say it upfront. But when you invite someone, allow them to create a profile and enter a zip code, you obviously haven't thought the whole thing through. I heard the forgotten passwords option is available now. Nice work.
December 13th, 2007 at 08:33 PM HD COPS FTW :D
May 13th, 2008 at 06:45 PM bring back genre with TV.
May 14th, 2008 at 04:18 PM very good stream. good technology. very pleased with the service. thankyou