
YouTube pulls a Hulu -- yanking API access from TV-connected devices - jasonlbaptiste
http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/20/youtube-pulls-a-hulu-yanking-api-access-from-popcorn-hour-ot/
======
arohner
I love these contracts that talk about viewing content on a TV. What's the
difference between a 30" iMac and an LCD TV?

I claim the essential difference is whether or not you're sitting on a couch
when you watch it. Good luck writing a contract that bans that.

~~~
jasonlbaptiste
Well said. Once the TV (or whats hooked up to it) becomes "another computer",
the same way our phones became "another computer", this will be a very very
big issue.

------
teilo
Yeah. Just great. Granted, I use my Popcorn Hour mostly for watching MKVs and
playing music, but I have watched the occasional YouTube clip fairly often.

Obviously, the real problem is that the API-based access is ad-free. It is not
really that surprising that Google would prevent the circumvention of its ads.

I wonder if alternate schemes such as PlayOn will continue to work? Using
PlayOn, I can still watch Hulu on my PCH. They have a YouTube plugin, but I am
guessing that they are relying upon the same API that the MSP folks used.

------
psranga
I'm a little puzzled here: what does Google gain out of this?

I thought their goal was to eventually insert video ads into videos; that goal
will not be impacted by people watching videos on TV.

And it can't be copyright concerns either.

~~~
ephermata
Why couldn't it be copyright concerns? YouTube has negotiated deals with
different copyright holders. We don't know all the provisions of those deals.
One provision might be "no playing videos on set top boxes." Instead of trying
to explicitly mark which videos have this restriction and which don't, they
could opt to just disallow TV viewing entirely -- and try to drive views to
the XL product as a replacement for people who still really want to see
YouTube on the TV.

That being said, the points made elsewhere in the thread about the line being
blurry are valid. My phone (HTC Touch Pro 2) has TV out and explicitly lists
YouTube as a video source for that TV out. Does that count?

------
jrockway
My pirated videos continue to be ad-free and work fine on my TV. When will the
media companies learn that you can't punish your customers when they can get
better versions of your product for free!?

------
elblanco
Solution, connect a cheap laptop to the VGA port on your TV. Done.

~~~
adamc
-1 goodwill to Google. The whole thing is ridiculous.

------
tdavis
Drat! I'll no longer be able to watch 320px-wide video on my 40" TV! Do people
really watch YouTube on their televisions? It seems like a terrible waste to
me.

~~~
jasonlbaptiste
I spend most of my time watching things like hulu/cnn from the net over UGC
internet content on my TV, but having youtube is nice. I'd certainly rather
have it than not have it. The 1080p and 720p content changes the usefulness of
it quite a bit though. I hope Boxee doesn't get banned. If it does, there will
be a work around within 24 hours.

This also reinforces my hypothesis that going with "toy" boxes like roku,
popcorn hour,etc. are a bad idea. We don't need to dumb down the hardware
that's connected to our tv, but adapt it's purpose/interface. We have "OS'"
for our 3 inch screens. We need one for our 50 inch screens.

~~~
dagw
The so called "toy" boxes may be a bad idea in theory, but until something
significantly better comes along they're hard to fault. I replaced an old PC
with a popcorn hour box and I couldn't be happier. It does what I need, it's
silent, it start up faster, it's more aesthetically pleasing, it's much easier
for everybody to use and it's super cheap.

~~~
jrockway
I use a PC to drive my TV. It's small, it's quiet, it wakes up from sleep
instantly, and it doesn't break when some third party changes their API.

The only downside is cost; I think it cost like $500 a few years ago. (It's a
Core 2 Duo mac mini.)

~~~
jasonlbaptiste
I do something similar and it's amazing. I cannot live without it. Costs will
go down. Mac minis START at 599. This is a good price point for a full fledged
HD capable computer.

