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Google in talks to buy Hulu

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Home Entertainment, Internet,

Google Hulu

Google is now in preliminary talks to buy Hulu, the Internet video powerhouse that allows you to watch ad-supported television and movies, according to the LA Times. This is in addition to other companies like Microsoft and Yahoo, who've also met with Hulu about a potential acquisition. Interestingly enough, Google has been hard at work on finding a way to get the content that you typically find on Hulu over to YouTube to make the video sharing site a bigger competitor in the media space (not to mention a bigger money-maker as well.) The rights that Hulu has to current season television shows is obviously a valuable asset, and they've got over 600 advertisers as well. In fact, this year Hulu expects to earn over $500 million in ad revenue. The point here isn't to buy Hulu's technology--it's all about the content deals. The big question, though, is how long before those deals expire, and what happens then? This will be an interesting one to watch.

Read More | LA Times

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Tennessee may throw you in jail for sharing your Netflix password

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet,

Netflix password tenessee

Have you shared your Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Rhapsody password with a friend? While it might seem harmless, this type of activity could now land you in some legal trouble in Tennessee.

Gov. Bill Haslam this week signed a bill that would make it illegal to share your password on subscription-based entertainment services like Netflix, Pandora, or Hulu Plus. As the AP explained, the bill is intended to stop hackers who sell batches of passwords, but it could extend to the average user who lets friends or family members watch a movie using their Netflix login or listen to music streams on Rhapsody.

"What becomes not legal is if you send your username and password to all your friends so they can get free subscriptions," bill sponsor Rep. Gerald McCormick, a Republican, told the AP.

Click to continue reading Tennessee may throw you in jail for sharing your Netflix password


Bleeding Edge TV 381: Hulu Plus on Xbox 360 review

Earlier today we brought you the news that Hulu Plus will launch on the Xbox 360 tomorrow morning, noting that it will be free for all Xbox Live members (Gold or Silver) for a full week, even for those without a Hulu Plus subscription. After that, you'll need both a $7.99 per month Hulu Plus membership as well as an Xbox Live Gold account. Well, we've had access to a Hulu Plus preview on the Xbox 360, and we've put together a tour through the service and interface so you'd know exactly what to expect. We even give you a look at the (somewhat limited) Kinect support for Hulu Plus as well. Hit the play button above, or grab the download from one of the links below!

Big thank you to JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Hulu Plus launches on Xbox 360 tomorrow with one-week free trial for all

Hulu Plus Xbox 360

Xbox 360 users in the U.S. will have access to Hulu Plus starting Friday, Microsoft announced today.

Hulu Plus members will be able to stream the site's content over the Xbox 360 console, and those with the Kinect can control their Hulu queue with their voice or gestures.

As a promotion, Microsoft is teaming up with Jack Link's Beef Jerky, which will offer all Xbox Live users free access to Hulu Plus from April 29 to May 6.

"Through this sponsorship, all Xbox Live members (Free or Gold) will be able to enjoy Hulu Plus on Xbox Live, no Hulu Plus subscription or Xbox Live Gold membership required for an entire week," Larry Hryb, the director of programming for Xbox Live, wrote in a blog post.

For $7.99 per month, Hulu Plus provides users with access to full seasons of the TV shows it has available, as well as movies.

Click to continue reading Hulu Plus launches on Xbox 360 tomorrow with one-week free trial for all


Top 10 Gear Live stories of 2010

Fring Skype video calls

We've come to the end of another year, and as we wave goodbye to 2010, we figured it was only fitting that we share the most popular stories published on Gear Live in 2010, as determined by our readers (we've also got the top ten most read stories regardless of publish date!) These are the ten stories that were read the most, and when you consider that fact, it's pretty surprising to see what made the list. Let's kick it off with our most read story of the year:

Fring App Brings Skype Video Calling to iPhone 4 over Wi-Fi and 3G:
Sure, Skype just formally announced video calling in the Skype 3.0 iOS app, but Fring brought us Skype video calls months ago! The thing is, Skype pulled that feature from Fring with the quickness, but that didn't stop this from being the most read story we published in 2010!

Click to continue reading Top 10 Gear Live stories of 2010


Hulu Plus coming to Roku and TiVo Premiere

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Home Entertainment, Internet,

Hulu Plus Roku TiVo

If you’re ready to cut the cable cord, it looks like may be just the thing to facilitate that. Already available in beta on the PS3, as well as on the and iOS devices, it was just announced that the service is coming to ‘s line of set top boxes, and that it’ll also be added to the as a service. Hulu Plus will also be made available to the general public on the Xbox 360 in 2011 as well. Depending on which shows you watch, the $10 Hulu Plus monthly fee may very well allow you to ditch your cable TV package, especially if paired with Netflix. Get ready for a shift in the way television gets consumed.

The only thing we are wondering now is if the new will also be picking up Hulu Plus at some point, or if Apple plans on just going with Netflix plus $.99 TV rentals.


Xbox LIVE membership fee increasing $10 per year—lock in lower price now

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Xbox Live,

Xbox Live Price Lock

If you haven’t heard by now, Microsoft is going to be increasing the yearly cost of Xbox LIVE membership by $10 per year starting on November 1. This comes after 8 years of the service remaining at a steady $50 per year, and kills rumors that the service would actually go free sometime soon. On November 1, a year of Xbox LIVE Gold will cost you $59.99, one month will cost $9.99 (up from $7.99,) and the three-month subscriptions will go from $19.99 to $24.99. They say it’s to support new features like , ESPN, and Hulu Plus coming to Xbox LIVE (despite the fact that Hulu Plus costs $10 a month in the first place.)

The one silver lining here is that you can currently buy yourself a one-year Xbox LIVE subscription for just $39.99, locking in that $20 savings for a year. It will just get tacked on to your current subscription if you already have one. If you want multiple years of savings, you can always find Xbox LIVE discounts on Amazon.

Read More | Xbox LIVE Price Lock

Will you pay for a Hulu Plus subscription?

Now that has been announced and priced at $9.99 per month, we wanted to find out just how many readers plan on subscribing to the expanded Hulu service. Remember, that $10 gets you access to high definition shows, access to a much wider catalog of content, the ability to use Hulu on the iPhone and iPad, and future access on game consoles like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

So, are you in?


Hulu Plus now available for iPhone and iPad

Hulu Plus iPad iphone app

We just gave you the rundown on , which is Hulu’s new subscription-based service that gives you access to way more content on way more devices. A few of those devices happen to the be , , and iPhone 3GS. Hulu Plus will actually work on both Wi-Fi and 3G, dynamically optimizing quality for the best experience possible. The app is available now, so go ahead and download Hulu Plus now!

Read More | Hulu Plus app

Hulu Plus: HD, $9.99 per month, full details

Hulu Plus

has finally announced their Hulu Plus programming package, and we’ve got all the details here for you. First and foremost, a Hulu Plus subscription will run you $9.99 per month. For that price, you get expanded access and features to the Hulu service:

  • Hulu Plus Season Ticket: Every episode of the full current season of a bunch of shows are available to you, whenever you want (rather than just the last few episodes)
  • Watch past seasons of shows in their entirety
  • Watch Hulu on your iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or iPad
  • Watch Hulu on television-connected devices. Launches on Samsung devices, but coming soon to Xbox 360, PS3, Sony devices TV and Blu-ray devices
  • Hulu Plus gives you access to watch shows in 720p high definition

The Hulu Plus service will be publicly available next month, but they are accepting email addresses from people who’d like to be part of the Hulu Plus Preview, starting today. Get ready to ditch cable, y’all.

Read More | Hulu Plus

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