Appletell

MacRumors.com is reporting that Hulu, the joint venture between NBC and FOX, is planning an iPhone and iPod Touch compatible version of the site to be released as early as Thursday. MacRumors stresses that this is an anonymous tip, which means it is not very reliable.

An iPhone compatible site is technically feasible, because Hulu videos are based off of Apple’s H.264 video codec, which is what YouTube uses to get video onto the iPhone. BBC recently launched their iPlayer in the same fashion, so there is proof that it can be done. Making an iPhone compatible version would be a sizeable blow to iTunes, because up until now, if you wanted to take TV shows on the go, iTunes was the easiest and most obvious way to do it. If Hulu offers a free, on the go repository of all NBC, FOX and many old TV shows, iTunes might see a decrease in traffic.

The tip says that the iPhone version of Hulu will be released Thursday, so we’ll know in a couple of days.

Read [MacRumors]

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Video site Hulu has moved out of private beta, effective Thursday. Hulu is a joint venture between NBC and FOX that was created after NBC pulled out of iTunes due to pricing disputes. It offers free streaming video of full episodes of most shows on General electric (NBC Parent Company) and FOX owned stations, plus some older shows, like “Who’s the Boss” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.“

Hulu is funded by ads placed at commercial breaks in shows. A 15 or 30 second ad, usually from the same sponsor, plays 3 times during an hour-long show, and twice during a half-hour show.

In the new version, a Hulu operator notes, users can pick the ads they want to view. The new version also adds Warner Bros. full length feature films and NBA and NHL highlights and historic games.

While not direct competition to iTunes, Hulu is an obvious alternate to iTunes for watching TV shows you may have missed.

Via [Electronista]

• Bill O’Reilly complains about video games, Heidi Klum
• New MacBooks and MacBook Pros require HDCP for some iTunes videos
• Sharp TV Christmas Tree in Grand Central