Hillcrest Labs has just issued a new release of its Web browser for TV, Kylo, that includes a workaround that will give users access to Hulu on their TVs. But, how long before Hulu blocks it is anyone's guess.
Hulu's parents, News Corp., Disney and NBC Universal, have no desire to lose more eyes from their networks, even to their prodigy. That's prompted Hulu to quickly act to block access from hacks in the past. In March, online video fans who were excited to see Hillcrest Labs debut Kylo--which easily interfaced with conventional TV screens--were met by a black screen that read "Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience," when they tried to access Hulu content.
The new release, in addition to giving users another shot at Hulu, enables users to launch Kylo from a plug-in created for Windows Media Center; hide Kylo's control bar and keyboard; configure Kylo's settings in order to access Web site pages designed for other hardware platforms; enjoy enhanced zooming; print from their TV, and more.
Hillcrest CEO and founder Dan Simpkins said he has no doubt the ability of a workaround for Hulu access will draw the most attention from users.
"We know that one feature that is likely to attract attention is the capability for advanced users to configure the Kylo browser to access Hulu," he said. "It remains our position that Kylo is simply a Web browser based on open-source Mozilla code, like Firefox. We fully respect the rights of content owners and aggregators, and as such, we do not deep link, re-index, divert users past ads, or overlay different user interfaces on video players.
"However, we believe consumers should be able to use the Kylo browser to visit any site on the Web on the display screen of their choice. Our hope is that a respectful dialog with Hulu will encourage them to consider changing their policies."
For more:
- see this release
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