Hulu Plus for iOS regains HDMI output
updated 12:45 pm EDT, Thu September 1, 2011
Small victory in war over Hulu on TVs
In addition to expanding to Japan, Hulu has released an updated Hulu Plus iOS app for the US. Of special interest is the return of HDMI output support for the iPad 2. The option was blocked in April, little more than a month after the launch of the iPad 2 itself.
Hulu has regularly served as a frontline in the conflict between new and old TV business models. While an increasing number of people are turning to the Internet to watch TV, the networks which provide content on Hulu have become worried about sacrificing old cable and satellite arrangements. The result has been content delays and platform restrictions, to the extent that Hulu is outright blocked on some devices that connect to TVs, like the Boxee Box. Disabling HDMI output for iOS was likely a brief attempt at closing another bypass; the restored option is limited to standard definition.
Unrelated improvements to the app include the ability save an entire season to the Queue, and closed captioning for "a subset" of video. Subscriptions have been renamed as "Favorites."
