Dish Online issues with Motorola XOOM

Bradtothebone

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Pub Member / Supporter
Sep 12, 2003
785
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KC Area
Can anyone explain why a Hulu stream from Dish Online won't play on my XOOM tablet? I always get a message that says something like, "Sorry this program is not supported on this platform." Movies play fine (when the wifi is good). I'm running Android 3.2 with Flash 11.xxx (flavor of the day). This is using the Android browser - Firefox for Android doesn't seem to support Flash at all. Very annoying........
 
I don't mean to belittle ... but the statement its giving you is exactly what it means.

Hulu has identified something about how you are connected and does not like that type of connection, be it that the app isn't supported or more likely has some security setting its not getting or some lock that tells it you're not a fake connection trying to abscond with a digital copy of the streamed content.. etc..

so if other things do play correctly.. there's something about that one content piece that refuses based upon how you're connecting and what you're connecting with.

You may be able to get some specifics from Hulu ... I know that when something similar happened with Youtube videos via bluray.. it turned out that Youtube enabled an option to block videos from mobile devices .. and while a "bluray" player may not really be mobile, its not a PC and so the user of that one video had to go in and edit that setting to allow it.

Hulu is the main controller of content in that case, not just some user on the net, so its more likely they will know exactly why its denied.
 
Yes I agree it is probably coming from hulu, program checks to see what platform you are using and the error message kicks out due to unsupported platform.
I have the same issue with my $99 HP Touchpad going direct into hulu via webpage. I'd check alternative sources, example ABC works great for me, going directly to FOX also works for my platform. i.e. WebOS..
 
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Look for an extension for your respective browser apps ... something to change the USER AGENT STRING ... so that when the web server gets information about your browser app, you spoof something else.. something that it might like.. such an extension may not be available for your devices, its common in Firefox.
 
Changing the UA String wont work either. Hulu.com tries really hard to only work on PCs/Macs. If you want to use it on a tablet or smartphone, they want you to pay for Hulu Plus. However, I don't think it is available on Android 3.x yet. And limited to select 2.3 devices.
 
Changing the UA String wont work either. Hulu.com tries really hard to only work on PCs/Macs. If you want to use it on a tablet or smartphone, they want you to pay for Hulu Plus. However, I don't think it is available on Android 3.x yet. And limited to select 2.3 devices.

Thanks, everyone, for your help, especially BBruin66 for your "non-judgemental" help! I'm just an old geezer who's naive enough to think that, if DishOnline works on my tablet, all the content on DishOnline ought to work on my tablet. I guess I don't see why Hulu or anyone else would want to restrict their content to PCs or Macs, especially since you could just as easily be on a laptop somewhere as sitting at home with your PC. Oh, well..........

Brad
 
It's all about money and licensing.

Hulu checks your system (tablet in this case) to see what platform you're on. This is important to them because some platforms support their DRM (Digital Rights Management, or "Copy Protection") correctly, and others do not.

It's not DISH, and in my opinion, and really not HULU either, but rather the content creators (the Netoworks/Sudios) that require that HULU enforces their rules. If HULU doesn't play by their rules, the studio's won't let them have their content.

It's the same reason that our DISH receivers all support HDCP on the HDMI outputs. It's so that the content creators can opt to enforce restrictions on the output of the box and require a compliant display to ensure that you're not making high quality copies of content that you receive over DISH. As far as I'm aware, nobody is enforcing HDCP... yet.

It seems counter productive, but that's the battle that the music, TV, and movie industries have been fighting for the last 10+ years.

-SF
 
Changing the UA String wont work either. Hulu.com tries really hard to only work on PCs/Macs. If you want to use it on a tablet or smartphone, they want you to pay for Hulu Plus. However, I don't think it is available on Android 3.x yet. And limited to select 2.3 devices.

I went on Hulu's discussion board to see what others are saying. Hulu's replies to complaints about Hulu not working on various Android devices seem to always say something like (paraphrasing here), "We're trying very hard to get onto your device so that you can enjoy Hulu Plus!" I think BBruin66 is exactly right. It would sure be nice to have one place to go to see missed shows (DishOnline), but I guess that's life in the electronic fast lane......
 
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