Boxee media player adds Hulu CBS to Apple TV [video]

Developers of Boxee have added access to Hulu and CBS.com to the media player software, which can be installed on an Apple TV. The final alpha version released Monday brings Hulu's entire catalog, including The Daily Show, Heroes and The Office. Social networking features allow users to share videos and recommendations.

The company says it used a specially-adapted Adobe Flash player to provide direct access to the additional content from the Boxee interface. Although the company says it has notified Hulu and CBS.com that it is providing access to their content, there are no partnership agreements with either site.

Based on the open source XMBC platform, Boxee was designed as a universal media player that can handle virtually any kind of content, including video, photos and music. The software organizes digital content, and searches the internet for background material such as album art, and content descriptions.

Developer Scott Davila recently posted a hack to install Boxee on an Apple TV using a USB Flash drive. The hack works alongside the existing Apple interface and can be removed by restoring the original settings. The company says it hopes to license Boxee for use in a variety of consumer devices, including set-top boxes like the Apple TV.

The software is free, but users must sign up for an invitation to the Boxee alpha program. Boxee requires Mac OSX 10.5 and works with the Apple Remote. A Linux alpha is also available.