Hey Guys,

I'm a hardcore Apple user, but am considering buying a Roku solely for the fact that I can play Hulu Plus. After doing some searching on these boards, it seems like that may not be the best idea, as a lot of people seem to have issues with it. So my questions would be:

1. Are these technical problems with Hulu Plus isolated, or widespread with all Roku users?
2. Is the content on Roku's Hulu Plus the same exact content as what I get using Hulu Plus on my computer? If not, is there any way to see what content is available via Hulu on Roku?
3. If the ONLY reason I'm buying a Roku and not an AppleTV is for Hulu Plus (since both have netflix), am I gonna be pissed when I get this thing?


Thanks in advance for any help!

the Hulu Plus service is somewhat buggy on every platform I've tried, Roku included. H+ on my WD is no different, my iPhone as well. I no longer sub to H+ but never had a problem when I did. H+ stability has improved with updates to f/w and a channel update by H+.

the content of H+ is the same on all platforms, but be warned that what you see on your pc is web only PLUS H+ content. Go to hulu.com/plus to see what is offered with Hulu plus

being "pissed" is subjective, so really the only way you can find out is if you try it. Like I said many people have had none or next to no problems. Others have had issues but it seems alot of them have been dealt with by updates. Try it from amazon, ship it back if its not acceptable. Oh, if you're a huge Apple fan, I assume you have an iPhone.. Try it on that to see exactly what it has as well

stratcat96 wrote:

the Hulu Plus service is somewhat buggy on every platform I've tried, Roku included. H+ on my WD is no different, my iPhone as well. I no longer sub to H+ but never had a problem when I did. H+ stability has improved with updates to f/w and a channel update by H+.

the content of H+ is the same on all platforms, but be warned that what you see on your pc is web only PLUS H+ content. Go to hulu.com/plus to see what is offered with Hulu plus

being "pissed" is subjective, so really the only way you can find out is if you try it. Like I said many people have had none or next to no problems. Others have had issues but it seems alot of them have been dealt with by updates. Try it from amazon, ship it back if its not acceptable. Oh, if you're a huge Apple fan, I assume you have an iPhone.. Try it on that to see exactly what it has as well

Thanks so much for the reply. I do have Hulu plus for my iPad (first generation) and I'm happy with the content, so I'd assume I'd be happy with the content on the Roku as well.

I love many things about apple, but hate many things as well. And I am upset that you can watch hulu on your TV with an iPad2 and not the first generation. Figure Roku could be my solution to that.

Thanks again!

organizm wrote:

stratcat96 wrote:

the Hulu Plus service is somewhat buggy on every platform I've tried, Roku included. H+ on my WD is no different, my iPhone as well. I no longer sub to H+ but never had a problem when I did. H+ stability has improved with updates to f/w and a channel update by H+.

the content of H+ is the same on all platforms, but be warned that what you see on your pc is web only PLUS H+ content. Go to hulu.com/plus to see what is offered with Hulu plus

being "pissed" is subjective, so really the only way you can find out is if you try it. Like I said many people have had none or next to no problems. Others have had issues but it seems alot of them have been dealt with by updates. Try it from amazon, ship it back if its not acceptable. Oh, if you're a huge Apple fan, I assume you have an iPhone.. Try it on that to see exactly what it has as well

Thanks so much for the reply. I do have Hulu plus for my iPad (first generation) and I'm happy with the content, so I'd assume I'd be happy with the content on the Roku as well.

I love many things about apple, but hate many things as well. And I am upset that you can watch hulu on your TV with an iPad2 and not the first generation. Figure Roku could be my solution to that.

Thanks again!

you're welcome. Whatever model Roku you get, go over to http://www.catastrophegirl.com/rokuchannellist.htm and check all the other things that you can watch that you can't get on the AppleTV. You just might be surprised

stratcat96 wrote:

organizm wrote:

stratcat96 wrote:

the Hulu Plus service is somewhat buggy on every platform I've tried, Roku included. H+ on my WD is no different, my iPhone as well. I no longer sub to H+ but never had a problem when I did. H+ stability has improved with updates to f/w and a channel update by H+.

the content of H+ is the same on all platforms, but be warned that what you see on your pc is web only PLUS H+ content. Go to hulu.com/plus to see what is offered with Hulu plus

being "pissed" is subjective, so really the only way you can find out is if you try it. Like I said many people have had none or next to no problems. Others have had issues but it seems alot of them have been dealt with by updates. Try it from amazon, ship it back if its not acceptable. Oh, if you're a huge Apple fan, I assume you have an iPhone.. Try it on that to see exactly what it has as well

Thanks so much for the reply. I do have Hulu plus for my iPad (first generation) and I'm happy with the content, so I'd assume I'd be happy with the content on the Roku as well.

I love many things about apple, but hate many things as well. And I am upset that you can watch hulu on your TV with an iPad2 and not the first generation. Figure Roku could be my solution to that.

Thanks again!

you're welcome. Whatever model Roku you get, go over to http://www.catastrophegirl.com/rokuchannellist.htm and check all the other things that you can watch that you can't get on the AppleTV. You just might be surprised

Thanks for the link! The HGTV app may have just sold this to my fiancee.

organizm wrote:

Thanks for the link! The HGTV app may have just sold this to my fiancee.

oh hey, please be aware that the HGTV channel is a little behind on the HGTV side. some people have noticed the content isn't getting updated the past couple of weeks so the channel hasn't had anything to pull in. it's nothing the channel developer can fix but we are all hoping it will be resolved soon.

http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=43410

if she likes home and garden stuff though there's plenty on the nowhereTV channel and the ITPC channel too.

organizm wrote:

2. Is the content on Roku's Hulu Plus the same exact content as what I get using Hulu Plus on my computer? If not, is there any way to see what content is available via Hulu on Roku?

Only a small portion of Hulu+ content is available for streaming to a TV. Lots of shows that you can watch on your computer, you won't be able to watch on your TV. I tried Hulu+ a couple months ago and was really disappointed with the limited selection that was available for TV viewing.

On the show page under Availablity, you'll see "We currently don't have the rights to make this show available on TV or mobile devices".

TBDave wrote:

organizm wrote:

2. Is the content on Roku's Hulu Plus the same exact content as what I get using Hulu Plus on my computer? If not, is there any way to see what content is available via Hulu on Roku?

Only a small portion of Hulu+ content is available for streaming to a TV. Lots of shows that you can watch on your computer, you won't be able to watch on your TV. I tried Hulu+ a couple months ago and was really disappointed with the limited selection that was available for TV viewing.

On the show page under Availablity, you'll see "We currently don't have the rights to make this show available on TV or mobile devices".

While it is true that some content available on Hulu is not available on Hulu Plus - and vice versa - the answer to the OP's question is the yes, the content that is available via Hulu Plus is consistent across ALL devices. You may be able to watch more content on your computer with a Hulu Plus subscription because you get that content plus regular Hulu content. But again, the content that is available via Hulu Plus is consistent across all devices. As pointed out in an earlier response, check the Hulu site for content marked with the Hulu Plus symbol. Content marked as such will be available on the Roku player.

Simply put we use the Roku for Hulu + and have had no problems with it. Works great. Also there is a TON of content on there. Yes some as they say is only available at the site because the rights aren't there to stream to the box. But honestly there is so much on there that my wife and I watch we have rarely come across not being able to watch something on the Roku. I say go for it.

Roku1 and hulu+ OK, Roku2 and Hulu+ is a disaster with lockups, Roku resets, not even worth it unless you got a Roku1..

Never any major issues with Hulu on my Roku1 or Roku2 - it's a little slower than other channels (probably because of the interface), but neither locks up or reboots when using the channel.

User jcmolet is correct.

Hulu has two separate catalogs of shows.

Hulu (sometimes called "standard" or "free") which is available via browser (or Hulu Desktop app) only.

Hulu+ (also called "Hulu Plus") content is available via browser (or Hulu Desktop app), plus other devices (Roku, iPad, iPhone, etc).

The only overlap between the two catalogs are some shows were current season is Hulu standard, and previous seasons are Hulu Plus. Those are few.

Like organizm, I am a Mac user. I actually have both Roku and Apple TV. The main thing with the Apple TV is iTunes content (my wife loves playing music via the sound system) that's not available via other means, while for me, the Roku is great for Hulu Plus and Amazon streaming, which isn't on Apple TV.

I was able to swing getting both, so I did. If i had to choose between the two, or choose which of the two to get first, I'd choose Roku.

The biggest problem I found with Hulu Plus is that most of the content is ONLY available to stream to a computer - ie it is blocked to the Roku & Xbox360 etc. Fortunately, I was only on a free week trial. I quickly cancelled before they could start billing me. There is no way I am going to pay for a service that forces me to only watch on a PC. I'll find other entertainment.

photobug_fred wrote:

The biggest problem I found with Hulu Plus is that most of the content is ONLY available to stream to a computer - ie it is blocked to the Roku & Xbox360 etc. Fortunately, I was only on a free week trial. I quickly cancelled before they could start billing me. There is no way I am going to pay for a service that forces me to only watch on a PC. I'll find other entertainment.

It's not "blocked", it's a different level of service. "Standard" Hulu stuff isn't available on any mobile devices or streaming set-top boxes due to copyright restrictions in place by the content owners.

hulu+ has gotten alot better lately, less crashes that reboot the Roku...