hulu

Online video is really taking off, according to stats firm ComScore. Not that we should be particularly surprised by that assertion. But the leader in the space, Google's YouTube, during October pulled in 100 million viewers in the U.S. for a market share of almost 40 percent.

That market share is about the same as it was this spring. But lower in the ranks, there's some change afoot. Video content hub Hulu, a joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., has edged its way into sixth place behind YouTube, Fox Interactive Media (which owns MySpace and … Read more

Sony issued firmware upgrade 2.53 for the PlayStation 3 Tuesday, enabling full-screen flash video playback.

Full-screen flash video for the browser might seem like a minor upgrade, but it's been a highly desired feature for those who use their PS3s for online video services like Hulu and YouTube. We also noticed that the new flash upgrade enabled us to select the "480p" option in Hulu, which provides a significantly better image quality, especially on a big-screen HDTV.

The full-screen and 480p options are nice, but we couldn't help but notice that simply watching full-screen Hulu on our laptop looked better. While the resolution looked pretty close between the two screens, motion on the PS3 looked significantly worse, with dropped frames. For comparison, motion was completely fluid and natural on our laptop in full-screen mode--and that was with a wireless connection (the PS3 was wired).

Once we took Hulu out of full-screen mode on the PS3, motion was handled about as well as on the laptop and we were able to manually zoom the screen to get full-screen playback without the motion issues. We're not sure what's holding back flawless full-screen flash video playback in the browser, but given the PS3's powerful processor, we expect more.… Read more

Last week, we reported that Sling.com, the streaming site of Slingbox maker Sling Media, was moving from the private beta phase and launching to the public. Well, that move is now official, as Sling has sent the site live to the world--though the "beta" moniker remains.

Much has been written about the impending launch of Sling.com. A partial list of partners has been circulating the last few weeks, but Sling's PR reps wanted to use today's announcement to showcase the full list, which naturally is "growing each and every week."

I'd … Read more

If ever there was a Web service that experienced a rapid fall from grace, it was online video start-up Joost. What started out as a much anticipated new service ultimately fell short of expectations and has recently struggled for attention. Friday, Joost released an iPhone app for its service that might be a game changer. Joost's iPhone app lets users stream and watch any of Joost's 46,000-plus videos for free.

Say what you will about Joost's library of content, the concept behind this app is fantastic. The ability to stream a movie, TV show, or other … Read more

We've got a host of Black Friday news today, like Apple retail stores matching online promotions; Sony still refuses to lower the price on the PS3, but they will let you get a PlayStation credit card and a $150 discount (along with whopping interest rates, of course, so pay that sucker off right away, mmkay?); and Nintendo has a couple of new DS Lite bundles on offer instead of the DSi. At least one of them comes in ICE BLUE. Listen now: Download today's podcast

Apple retail stores will match reseller prices http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10107987-37.html… Read more

If you just purchased a Neuros Link and you can't find the video you're looking for on Hulu or any other free streaming video Web site, don't fret: there is one more place you can access videos, but it will cost you. The Neuros Link supports Amazon.com video rentals, allowing you to select from thousands of titles ranging from 99 cents to $5.99 per rental.

According to a Neuros representative, there is no update necessary or installation of any kind. You simply go to the site create an account, if you don't already have … Read more

Much is made about YouTube and the democratization of content, but if the top-20 YouTube videos of all time are any indication, the future of YouTube is corporate, as The Guardian reports.

A look last week at the site's current 20 most viewed clips of all time--all with more than 50m hits--offered a snapshot of the corporatizing effect. A good half of them were professional music videos...Even among actual user-generated content, many of the most popular clips are based on bestselling pop culture.

So, while Hulu has been winning the profit war against YouTube because of its focus on quality, … Read more

With so many broadcast networks making their content available via the Internet, you may find yourself catching up with shows on your PC more often than on your television. But now there's a product that lets you stream that same PC content directly to your TV.

The Neuros Link gives your TV access to sites such as CBS (Disclaimer: CBS is CNET's parent company), Hulu, CNN.com, FanCast, NBC.com, and YouTube. All those channels can be accessed by The Neuros Link via Neuros TV, a free service that lets you organize and watch Internet video on your … Read more

I was surfing around the Web today and didn't have to go far to find a quick column by Matt Asay over on CNET's "Open Road" discussing YouTube and Hulu.

In a piece entitled, "Quality pays: Hulu trumping YouTube," Asay makes the point that because of Hulu's $12 million profit, Google needs to do more with YouTube. Asay believes that Google "needs to show equal care for the [entertainment] industry's IP" and "improve quality."

Generalizations aside, I need to disagree with my colleague on what YouTube should do. Asay claims that YouTube shouldn't become Hulu, but I think that's plain wrong. Hulu is a success today not because it has high-quality programming or respects intellectual property. Hulu is a success today because all the content contained on the site is controlled and demographic data is readily available.

Rest assured that no matter how much money Google is losing on YouTube, it's well worth the cost. No matter what we may think about YouTube and its obvious issues, we can't lose sight of the fact that without all that copyrighted material, YouTube wouldn't be half as popular as it is today and whether Google wants to admit it or not, it needs those clips on there.

It's no longer a question of whether user-generated video is important -- it is -- or if it should be kept on YouTube. User-generated video is how YouTube can bring people to the site and allow it to funnel those people to professional content that Google can monetize. User-generated video isn't the key to making money, it's the professional video that matters most to advertisers.… Read more