Do any of you use Hulu Plus? (Criterion & TV shows)

[srinivas1015]

I recently started using Hulu Plus two months ago and I gotta say that it's pretty awesome.
It's possible to stream almost any TV show. They've got a pretty nice collection of movies as well, mostly Criterion.

It is possible to sign up from India without a VPN.

Hulu has apps for the iOS, Android, Xbox 360 and PS3. So it's possible to watch it anywhere.

I have a 512kbps connection and I can stream 480p without any problems. IMO, 480p downscaled from 1080p looks better than a DVD.

I'll leave detailed instructions on how to sign up if anybody's interested.

I pay R.S 500 per month.

[srinivas1015]

@Ravenus

I noticed you watch a lot of Criterion. Have you checked this out?

[ravenus]

Not yet, may be sometime later because I'm going to be pretty busy for the next year or so and wouldn't be able to make good use of a streaming service.

[srinivas1015]

In case anybody's interested, these are the instructions :

1)In your network settings, enter the following DNS numbers:

109.123.111.24
198.147.22.212




Detailed Instructions for this step:

For Windows

1)Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Network and Internet, clicking Network and Sharing Center, and then clicking Manage network connections.
2)Right-click the connection that you want to change, and then click Properties. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3)Click the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then click Properties.
4)Click Use the following DNS server addresses, and then, in the preferred DNS server and alternate DNS server boxes, type the addresses of the primary and secondary DNS servers.
The primary (preferred) DNS server is 142.54.177.158
The secondary (alternate) DNS server is: 198.147.22.212
5)Click OK
6)Reboot your computer


For Playstation 3

1)Go to Settings
2)Select Network Settings
3)Select Internet Connection Settings
4)Select Custom
5)Choose wired/wireless (whichever your connection is)
6)Select Ip address setting as 'automatic'
7)Select DHCP setting as 'do not set'
8)Select DNS setting as 'manual'
9)Enter the following DNS numbers:
The primary (preferred) DNS server is 142.54.177.158
The secondary (alternate) DNS server is: 198.147.22.212
10)Select MTU as 'automatic'
11)Select Proxy server as 'do not use'
12)Select UPnP as 'Enable'
13)Press Enter
14)You will need to create a new US Playstation ID in order to access the US Playstation Store and download the Hulu app.

For iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

1)Select Settings
2)Select General
3)Select Network
4)Select Wi-Fi (we’re assuming you’re already connected to a Wi-Fi network)
Press the blue button on the right of the Wi-Fi network you’re currently connected)
5)Select the line named DNS
6)Write down the name of your current DNS IP address in case you want to switch back
7)Enter Tunlr’s DNS addresses separated by comma as your new DNS IP address: 142.54.177.158,198.147.22.212
8)Press the back arrow at the top
9)Hit the home button
10)Restart the device
11)14)You will need to create a new US Apple ID in order to access the US iTunes Store and download the Hulu app.



For Android

1)Open Settings
2)Make sure Wi-Fi is on and you’re connected to a network
3)Select Wi-Fi (not the switch, the text)
4)Long press your preferred network until the forget/modify menu opens
5)Select modify
6)Select Show advanced options
7)Select Static in IP settings
8)All relevant addresses should already be pre-filled
Select DNS 1 and enter: 142.54.177.158
Select DNS 2 and enter: 198.147.22.212
9)Press Save
10)Reboot your device








2)Now, you'll need a US credit card to sign up. There are two ways of going about this.

Option 1:
Using your normal credit card, buy the hulu pack here:
http://www.buyfrompowerseller.com/hu...utside-the-us/

They'll send an email with detailed instructions, a prepaid virtual credit card as well. You will need to enter this number when you sign up for Hulu Plus and this virtual credit card will be charged. You'll need to enter a US address when you sign up for Hulu.


Option 2:
Buy a prepaid virtual credit card on your own and top up the amount as and when you need it. One of the available options is
https://www.entropay.com




I've used both sites and they're legit. I used the first site for Hulu and I've used entropay for my US Xbox Live Gold account.




I've been using Hulu Plus and atleast for me, it's really worth it. There are loads of shows like the entire series of Battlestar Galactica and a bunch of other shows that are not worth buying on Blu-ray or not available to buy on Blu-ray or even DVD. (like Jon Stewart's Daily Show, Comedy Central's Saturday Night Live, etc).
There are a lot of classic movies and Criterion as well.

You can check out the collection before you sign up:
http://www.hulu.com

[sanjay0864]

You might want to try Netflix. It not only has a much larger collection of movies than Hulu+, it also does not have any commercial breaks. Also, it streams much better than Hulu+ which at least for me, fails to stream half the time.

The Primary (Preferred) DNS server: 109.123.111.24
The Secondary (Alternate) DNS server: 190.14.36.90

Simply entering the above in my WiFi Router works for me. This way I am able to leave the settings in Windows and on the PS3 at 'Obtain an IP address automatically'.

PS: Are you paying a subscription to 'playmo.tv' ?

[amit5500]

#srinivas
I am having Ultraviolet DVDs of UK & US. Is there any way to redeem it in India?

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by sanjay0864

You might want to try Netflix. It not only has a much larger collection of movies than Hulu+, it also does not have any commercial breaks. Also, it streams much better than Hulu+ which at least for me, fails to stream half the time.

The Primary (Preferred) DNS server: 109.123.111.24
The Secondary (Alternate) DNS server: 190.14.36.90

Simply entering the above in my WiFi Router works for me. This way I am able to leave the settings in Windows and on the PS3 at 'Obtain an IP address automatically'.

PS: Are you paying a subscription to 'playmo.tv' ?

I took the 1 month free trial of Netflix and I agree with you on the front that it has a MUCH MUCH better selection of movies but I was quite disappointed with their TV shows. Most of them are ones I've seen or are available on Blu-ray/DVD . For me, Netflix isn't as useful as I'm looking only for TV shows (especially ones that are not available for purchase like 'The Daily Show', 'Saturday Night Live' and other sitcoms like 'The Inbetweeners' that I'm not gonna waste money buying on BD/DVD.)
The way I see it,
Netflix : Great for movies
Hulu Plus : Great for (current) TV shows

The advertisements are a pain in the ass (especially since it's a paid service) but I've more or less learned to live with it. Besides, Hulu sometimes gives you the option to watch a movie trailer before the episode begins and once you do, the entire ep is ad free.
Hulu streams fine for me on Windows/Mac but I run into trouble sometimes on the PS3. I reckon this is an issue with their app.

I'm not using playmo, I got the DNS numbers from this site caller tunlr. Their service is free and the DNS numbers work for Netflix, Hulu Plus and the US Playstation store.

http://tunlr.net/get-started/



Tunlr doesn't work for Amazon Instant Video though. ( https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=211453 )
I didn't use Amazon Instant Video that much during the free trial so I cancelled it. For me, I don't think it's worth it as I have yet to watch a lot of BDs that I already have. I would have definitely considered it if Amazon gave some sort of shipping discount for Prime members.


The only thing that I haven't managed to get running is Playstation's music service (Music Unlimited). Can't circumvent the geo restrictions .

Originally Posted by amit5500

#srinivas
I am having Ultraviolet DVDs of UK & US. Is there any way to redeem it in India?

Yes you can.
1)Download Hotspot shield (http://download.cnet.com/hotspot-shield/)
2)Make your accounts (Flixter, Ultraviolet,etc) and link them.
3)Follow the instructions and redeem them.
4)You can close Hotspot shield and enter the DNS numbers above.
5)Stream/download normally.

The exact step-by-step instructions vary slightly from studio to studio. With Universal Studio's UV copies, you get to choose two ways (from 4 options) to redeem them.
I usually go with Vudu and Amazon Instant Video. (You'll have to make a Vudu account and link it to your flixter and UV accounts.You can then view the movie at Vudu's site or by using their apps.)
With Amazon Instant Video, you don't get a direct redemption of the movie. Instead, you get a gift card certificate (around 15$) that you can use to purchase the movie on Amazon Instant Video. But you don't have to purchase THAT movie, you can buy something else on Amazon Instant Video . But note that you can't use the gift card towards anything else (like a Blu-ray), it can be used only towards an Instant Video purchase.
Once you purchase a movie/tv show on Instant Video, you can stream or download the file. But note that the downloaded file is DRM protected which means you can play it only on Amazon's proprietary software and can't transfer it to your phone, etc.

For example, I redeemed the UV copy of Universal Studio's 'The Bourne Legacy' and got a Vudu streaming copy and a gift card certificate of 15$ on Amazon Instant Video. I used that to purchase a season of The Walking Dead . But as far as I know, only Universal offers Amazon Instant Video. Other studios like Sony allow you to view it only on their site or other apps like Flixter. Like I said, the procedure varies from studio to studio.



iTunes Digital Copies were awesome. You don't need Hotspot Shield or DNS numbers or anything. All you have to do is create a US/UK itunes account and redeem your Digital Copy. That's it. I hate this new complicated UV system that doesn't even work as well .


I usually rip my BDs and make my own digital copies for my iDevices and video editing. That's way easier than going through the hell I described above.
Streaming from the cloud is useful when you don't have physical or actual digital copies on your hard disk but it doesn't really work very well. (or atleast they didn't for me.) I love the idea of the Cloud and it sounds great on paper but the execution by these studios has been very poor.


Feel free to ask if you have any more doubts.

[amit5500]

#srinivas
Thanks for the detailed info
I have downloaded Hotspot Shield and created a UV account with US as my default location.
Now do I have to change my network settings?
Never done such kind of stuff...
As I thought Hotspot would protect in tracking my location, but I am not shown any download option.
The message I get from UltravioletUniversal.com is the download is not available in my region.

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by amit5500

#srinivas
Thanks for the detailed info
I have downloaded Hotspot Shield and created a UV account with US as my default location.
Now do I have to change my network settings?
Never done such kind of stuff...
As I thought Hotspot would protect in tracking my location, but I am not shown any download option.
The message I get from UltravioletUniversal.com is the download is not available in my region.

Hotspot sometimes assigns you a non-US IP. Disconnect Hotspot and connect again. Enter the DNS numbers as well. Don't mess with your router yet. Follow the instructions in the post above where it says 'for windows'. Note down your existing settings to be on the safe side.
Go here to check that you have a US IP : http://whatismyipaddress.com
Keep restarting Hotspot until you do. I don't like using a VPN service as they really SLOW down your internet. Redeeming UV copies are the only time I use them.


Edit:
Which country title are you trying to redeem? US or UK?

[amit5500]

I was trying with a UK UV DVD, so here I went wrong.
At present just discovered that I can actually play and convert the UV DVD.
All of my previous digital copies DVD were a one time use, as I transferred my copy from DvD to my iPad.
But could not use it for conversion, but this UV DVD is actually been accepted by my iPad video converter and its conversion is in progress at present.
If this conversion works, I will never look forward to UltaViolet- Innovative but not great.
Previous Digital Copies were superb, took just seconds for file transfer.
Sri as you convert from BD's, did you ever tried conversion from UV DvD?
Hope it works, will get to know within a few minutes

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by amit5500

I was trying with a UK UV DVD, so here I went wrong.
At present just discovered that I can actually play and convert the UV DVD.
All of my previous digital copies DVD were a one time use, as I transferred my copy from DvD to my iPad.
But could not use it for conversion, but this UV DVD is actually been accepted by my iPad video converter and its conversion is in progress at present.
If this conversion works, I will never look forward to UltaViolet- Innovative but not great.
Previous Digital Copies were superb, took just seconds for file transfer.
Sri as you convert from BD's, did you ever tried conversion from UV DvD?
Hope it works, will get to know within a few minutes

I'm a little confused. UV copies aren't physical copies, they're just a code written on a piece of paper.
Are you talking about DRMed iTunes Digital Copies? If so, even if you convert them, they'll be pixelated with green cubes or will be blank.
Or are you talking about converting an actual DVD to mp4 format for your iPad?

[amit5500]

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

I'm a little confused. UV copies aren't physical copies, they're just a code written on a piece of paper.
Are you talking about DRMed iTunes Digital Copies? If so, even if you convert them, they'll be pixelated with green cubes or will be blank.
Or are you talking about converting an actual DVD to mp4 format for your iPad?

Earlier with BD's like Jurrasic Park, Step Up 3D I got a DVD to transfer digital copies on iTunes or windows with an activation code.
Those DvDs couldn't get converted, I tried.
Now over a year the latest Blurays come with the DvD but not having an iTunes file, but an Ultra Violet file.
I thought the DVD provided is the UV DVD so that I don't need to download it online and just make a transfer to my PC as I earlier did with the activation code.
Correct me if its not the case with DVD provided

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by amit5500

Earlier with BD's like Jurrasic Park, Step Up 3D I got a DVD to transfer digital copies on iTunes or windows with an activation code.
Those DvDs couldn't get converted, I tried.
Now over a year the latest Blurays come with the DvD but not having an iTunes file, but an Ultra Violet file.
I thought the DVD provided is the UV DVD so that I don't need to download it online and just make a transfer to my PC as I earlier did with the activation code.
Correct me if its not the case with DVD provided

In regards to the earlier BDs which came with an iTunes Digital Copy, all you have to do as make a US/UK iTunes account and click 'redeem'. You don't need to enter any DNS number or use Hotspot Shield or anything. All you have to do is select the country while registering. Make one UK iTunes account and one US iTunes account and you're good to go. You don't have to convert them. Since you have an iPad, go for the iTunes copy and redeem it. The file will be transferred from the disc onto your hard disk and will automatically be added to your iTunes library. Once you connect your iPad, it will show up in iTunes. Drag and drop the earlier file in your iTunes library into your iPad tab in iTunes.




With Ultraviolet, you get NO PHYSICAL COPY ON DISC. All you get is a code on a piece of paper. You can redeem it according to the instructions in the earlier post. The disc provided is just a normal DVD. You can rip a BD/DVD using an iPad video converter like Aiseesoft's and then transfer it to your device using iTunes.

[amit5500]

Yeh
The DVD conversion went perfect
Can play it on iPad
Was very much familiar with previous ITunes Digital copies, but not with the UV ones.
Thanks for all the info
DVD conversion is much better than UV download, as per me

[srinivas1015]

Originally Posted by amit5500

Yeh
The DVD conversion went perfect
Can play it on iPad
Was very much familiar with previous ITunes Digital copies, but not with the UV ones.
Thanks for all the info

You're welcome . You can use a pic of the movie poster from google images and paste it in the 'artwork' tab of the film in itunes (accessed by right clicking the file in itunes and clicking 'Get info'). Do this and then transfer it to your iPad. You'll get a poster to represent the movie on your iPad instead of a black box with text.

Originally Posted by amit5500

DVD conversion is much better than UV download, as per me

I think everybody's with you on that one . How hard is it for studios to provide the same converted file on a disc as the digital copy and setting up a streaming service that is as easy to use as YouTube?!?