Peter Kafka

Recent Posts by Peter Kafka

Chromecast Adds Hulu to Its Modest App Collection

Back in July, when Google introduced its Chromecast Web TV gadget, it said that the device would eventually support apps from services like Hulu. So here’s the Hulu app the company had talked about, available via Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

If you’ve played with Hulu Plus apps on devices like Apple TV or Roku boxes, then you’ll have a good idea of how this one works: If you’re paying $8 a month for the video service’s premium option, you can now stream it to your TV using Google’s $35 dongle.

You can still stream the free Hulu service — or anything else you can find on a Web browser — via Chromecast, which makes some content owners uneasy.

But, while Google made a point of including that feature on its device, it also plays down that option, and says it thinks the best way to play video on Chromecast is via official apps. It’s reasonable, for instance, to expect Hulu to be joined by services like Pandora and HBO Go.

But, for whatever reason, Chromecast only launched with a handful of apps — Netflix and a couple of Google’s homegrown services — and the addition of Hulu brings the grand total to five.

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