Two weeks ago, the popular online video site Hulu pulled its TV content from two rivals, TV.com and Boxee, sparking some outrage from viewers who enjoyed being able to see content from many distributors on one site.
Within a week however, a workaround was found, using public RSS feeds. Hulu crushed that “hack” however, by blocking all Boxee users from accessing any Hulu RSS feeds.
Boxee today has updated its alpha stage software and with it comes another hack in the company’s ongoing battle with Hulu. The new XUL-based browser mimics Firefox “and makes it harder for Hulu to block access to Boxee users by preventing a simple ban; any block of Boxee’s video feed would block Hulu’s as well.”
Additionally, Boxee has added Pandora internet radio and content from PBS as well as a new feature, RadioTime, which adds instant access to thousands of terrestrial radio stations.
Result for: pbs
Denon, through the large e-tailer Amazon, has begun a new promotion in which they are giving away a Blu-ray player for free with the purchase of a Denon receiver.
The player, the Denon DVD-2500BTCI, has a list price of $900 USD but is currently selling on Amazon for $489.46 USD.
The deal works in conjunction with 5 different receivers, ranging in price from $1199-5500 USD.
According to BPBS, the BD player has the following specs:
DVD-2500BDTCI Features and Performance Overview:
* Complete digital-only transport to eliminate interference
* Single-cable HDMI connection and Digital HD output up to 1080p
* Full 10-bit processing for i/p and scaling circuit
* Blu-ray 1080p/24fps output capability
* Up to 36 bit Deep Color support via HDMI
* Native bitstream output for Dolby Digital+, Dolby TrueHD, and dts-HD Master Audio
* Bonus View functionality (BD-ROM Profile 1.1), providing simultaneous Audio and Video options for greater interactivity.
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Result for: pbs
The popular online video site Hulu has pulled its TV content from two rivals this past week, sparking some outrage from viewers who enjoyed being able to see content from many distributors on one site.
Hulu is backed by NBC Universal and News Corp. and the sites the content was removed from were CBS-backed TV.com and the startup Boxee.
A few of the popular shows removed from the rival sites were Heroes, Family Guy, The Simpsons, and The Office.
Hulu had previously signed a syndication deal with TV.com allowing the site to play Hulu’s content. Since then, CBS has relaunched the site with ad-supported full-length TV programming from CBS, Showtime and PBS.
NBC added in a statement that it “has contractual rights with regards to our relationship with TV.com, and we are exercising those rights. Out of respect for their confidentiality, we will not disclose our discussions.”
