Hulu Back on Boxee Without NBC OK

Once again, a big media company has made a big fuss over trying to control where and when there content is viewed only to discover that a) it pisses off a number of their viewers and b) doesn’t stop anyone who really wants to see the content where they want to see it.

Last week, NBC, reportedly bowing to pressure from cable companies, pulled Hulu off of the increasingly popular computer application Boxee.  And the internet responded as it often does, by proving that people can do whatever they want online if they are clever:

A hacker’s plug-in can put streaming Hulu content back into your Boxee media center on Linux, Macs, or Apple TV. Let’s take a walk through removing the busted Hulu and dropping in the new hotness. (via)

One has to wonder if “big media” will ever learn to work with consumers to provide them with exactly what they want instead of forcing and challenging their potential customers to form workarounds that make the efforts moot.

Dear HBO, Showtime, et. al., Your Business Model is Absurd

It just sort of dawned on me how completely ridiculous the whole notion of a network like HBO is in today’s digital world.

Back when HBO was born, their big offering was the chance to see lots and lots of movies for a pretty low price.  Sure, you had to wait maybe a year for it to make it there from the big screen, and you had to watch it when they decided to air it and you had to want to see the movies they had licensed.

For a time, this wasn’t a bad deal.  It was a good enough deal that millions decided to pay an extra $20 or whatever for that programming. But that was before DVRs and Hulu and Boxee and NetFlix WatchNow and all the other ways I can watch all the same basic movies HBO (et. al.) offers but I can decide when I want to watch them and it’s FREE!.

Now, HBO (et. al.) are trying to convince people that, while you can see the same movies they charge you to watch for free through other methods BUT check it out, now they have original programming. Actually, they’ve had that for decades, but now it is the centerpiece, it’s what they’re asking you to pay for – and they’re asking for the same amount of money as before.

So, to review, HBO wants me to pay them a premium above and beyond my basic cable fees to watch original dramas and comedies. Isn’t that what all the basic cable channels already do? Sure, they have ads, but that’s what DVR is for.

That leaves only two things HBO (et. al.) still offer that you can’t get on basic cable – boobs and cursing.  Is that really worth $20 a month? Really?

Oh, and that HBO show you love enough to pay for, “Flight of the Conchords?”  Yeah, HBO is premiering the new season on FunnyOrDie.com. That’s a free website they bought.

Why the hell are people paying for HBO (et. al.)? Seriously? No kidding.  Leave me a comment.

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A Quick Boxee Update

Image via Wikipedia

Since the powers the be at Boxee were kind enough to let me into the alpha test their cool new software I thought I’d share a few brief thoughts.

I am in the process of ending my relationship with my cable company (Time Warner Cable of NY/NJ) because it is so damn expensive and I am finding more and more of what I want to watch if available online even without the sort of “piracy” big media fears.

My first step was to replace my ancient 19″ not-flat, not-even-square, TV with an inexpensive 19″ flatscreen LCD monitor ($99 at Staples on sale).  I am also getting myself the eyeTV device from El Gato.

So, last night, I hooked up my monitor to my MacBook Pro, fired up Boxee and within minutes was watching Sunday’s episode of American Dad (underrated show, I think).  Not only that, but I was able to control the entire Boxee menu system with my tiny Apple remote!

The amount of content already available on Boxee was impressive and there is certainly more to come.  Combined with my HD-over-the-air antenna, the ABC player and a few choice grey-law pirate sites there is almost nothing left I won’t be able to watch.

So, I spent a total of $200 to save a total of $90/month!

Sweet.

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Boxee Looks So Cool… Let Me In!

Boxee is sort of a mashup of AppleTV, DVR and Sling.Box but looks so much cooler:

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.748107&w=425&h=350&fv=]

There are only two problems:

1) It is still in beta and they have yet to send me an invite.

2) It feels a bit like a technological placeholder than an actual evolution.  It is one big step closer to a full integration of web and cable but it is not the final step by any stretch of the imagination.

Still, in the meantime, it looks pretty sweet.

Hey, Boxee, can I please get an invite?

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