Thursday, 17 May 2018

Hulu adds a slew of improvements for when you're on the road

Posted By: Rockerz May 17, 2018 Leave a Reply

Better playback on phones, laptops, HDMI and Chromecast are on tap.

A lot more people are watching Hulu these days, and a lot more of them are watching on their phones. According to the company, we're talking about 84 percent more hours a month compared to a year ago.

Same goes for laptops, of course. When you're on the move, those are two of the most likely devices to be with you. And in that spirit, Hulu has announced a bunch of improvements for viewing video on your phone or laptop.

First, Hulu is adding a "dedicated live TV destination" that'll quickly take you right back to the last channel you were watching. It'll come in the form a lightning bold on your nav bar. The mobile experience alway will get that fancy new live TV guide, so you can see what's coming up over the next day, and make it easier to switch channels.

There's also a new portrait-mode player, so you can view the guide while you're watching something else. (As someone who hopelessly flips around looking to see what else is on, that's greatly appreciated.)

Also, scrubbing is being improved so you get a preview of where you're seeking to.

All in all, yeah, those are features that Hulu probably should have already had. But it's nice to see them added now, anyway.

Hulu also is making it easier to control recommended shows. There's a new "Stop Suggesting" button that will — wait for it — stop suggesting a specific show. And they're also adding a dedicated "remove from watch history" button that'll get those embarrassing binges out of your history.

And finally, Hulu says it's adding HDMI support for iOS and improving Chromecast playback for those times you're on the road but have access to a nice big TV. And the new guide experience is coming out of beta and will be available for everyone at new.hulu.com.