Stream Netflix and Hulu into FrontRow using 'understudy'

Tue, 02/17/2009 - 8:33am — Cleve Nettles
7095

A new Google Code project dubbed understudy promises to deliver Hulu and Netflix right into your FrontRow interface.  We haven't tried this yet (damn you work!) but will the second we get home.  Any takers out there?

Update: Hulu is working fantastically for us!  We have confirmation that Netflix works well, but you must be logged into your account in Safari (not Firefox).  Head to the comments for more details.

Description Understudy allows access to streaming video through the Front Row interface of Mac OS X. The user can subscribe to multiple feeds, and select a video to watch from them. Understudy currently supports Hulu and Netflix.

Understudy is stable, but is also a work in progress. Please feel free to report any problems on the issue tracker. If you would like to know about future releasees, please subscribe to the "Downloads" feed.

Understudy is not affiliated with any of the streaming video sites the plugin supports, and will only work in cases where those site would (typically this means you must live in the United States).

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Comments

Not Done Yet

4241

Tried it. It only allows limited access to Hulu. If all Hulu content were available, it would be awesome.

copy a feed url into the

4643

copy a feed url into the clipboard before you go into frontrow.  (for instance the daily show)  Then add from there.

Nice, all it needs is BBC

4340

Nice, all it needs is BBC iPlayer for those of us who aren't American and the living room Mac takes a stride forward.

now somebody hack this into

4242

now somebody hack this into the appletv!

see boxee

4657

see boxee

boxee is a bit heavy, and

4065

boxee is a bit heavy, and doesn't stream netflix on the appleTV

I second that motion

3535

I second that motion

Netflix Works Great

5142

Netflix works!!! You have to be logged into your account in Safari (Firefox didn't work when I tried). Also, you have to add your "Instant Queue" to the feeds, but it is easy, intuitive, and works great.

I have been trying Undertudy

4950

I have been trying Undertudy since last Friday, and I cannot get it to see my "Hulu's Subscriptions" and "My Queue" feeds. Standard Hulu feeds work fine, though.

There's a thread about this problem on the Understudy "Issues" page:
http://code.google.com/p/understudy/issues/list

From the same page, it seems that Understudy has a few other issues that people are complaining about. The project is barely a month old, though, so I am hoping that this will become a good alternative to Boxee.

So far, I like the way Understudy integrates with Front Row better than Boxee. Frankly, I installed Boxee on my Mac, and could not figure out how to get any feeds in it, although I didn't spend much time on it. I also did not like the current Boxee GUI for Mac. I don't have an Apple TV, so I am not sure what Boxee looks lik on it.

Understudy looks sleek, but I wish the developer would fix the obvious problems. Also, I wonder if Understudy can be installed on an Apple TV because that's really the only reason to have a plugin like that so that you can control playback of the content with a remote control. Otherwise, if you are watching content on a PC screen, why not use the browser to access Hulu or Netfix instead of using Front Row, which only supports keyboard or remote control.

S

Close but no cigar....yet

4343

 Nice idea, Netflix does not go to full screen for some reason, it is off center to the top right.  I cannot access any of my Hulu information yet.  I have been trying to use Boxee, but it still has a lot of bugs as well.  When I view it on my TV (external Monitor) the navigation bar is off the screen and I can't do anything with it.  Both great ideas but still need to work out the bugs.  I would prefer the understudy if they can make it work better.

Only for the US

3749

Why the heck is this Hulu only for people living in the US? This would be so great for us out-USers.

Their official non-answer:

5142

Their official non-answer: http://www.hulu.com/support/geofilter

That being said, I heard some whispers that they are trying for Canada "and other countries" this year. Take that any way you like

Boxee?

4443

Why not just use Boxee? Does all this and more.

So I installed it but I don't

4146

So I installed it but I don't know what to do next. I don't see anything new in Front Row. I'm on Snow Leopard 10A222 btw

you're savvy enough to have

4544

you're savvy enough to have access to a dev build of snow leopard but you can't get figure out understudy?

something smells fishy

The problem I reported yesterday has been resolved.

5050

I can now get to both Hulu's Subscription and My Queue feeds. You have to add http:// to the beginning of the feeds in Front Row's .plist file. The instructions are now posted in the thread that covers this bug on the project's web site.

Hulu pulls plug on Boxee expect

3960

Yesterday Hulu pulled their content from both Boxee & TV.com.
So Boxee is no longer an option.
Understudy could run into some serious issues with Hulu now that they are clamping down on where their content is displayed.