[jimt35126]

For those of you still looking for a leanback Hulu experience from within XBMC, there are still a few options left. Each of them uses the Hulu desktop interface:

Option 1 - Install Chrome Launcher from https://github.com/AddonScriptorDE/repos...master.zip

Then add http://download.hulu.com/huludesktop.swf as a URL.

Advantages - Quick and Easy setup in XBMC, no additional downloads required
Drawbacks - You will have to press Enter twice and the site always starts with movie trailers. You have to login every time to bring up your own Hulu profile.

Option 2 - Install Advanced Launcher from https://github.com/Angelscry/plugin.prog...master.zip

Then, download one of the Hulu Desktop apps, depending upon your O.S.:

http://download.hulu.com/huludesktop_i386.deb
http://download.hulu.com/HuluDesktopSetup.exe
http://download.hulu.com/HuluDesktop.dmg

The above links are case-sensitive, but you should be able to click on them.

Note: the Debian version requires some manual tweaking, among which is opening the hidden file .huludesktop and telling the app where to find libflashplugin. You can point it to the Firefox plugin, that will work fine. Also, the correct screen dimensions have to be set for 1st time start up or the app will self-destruct as it tries to open. Mainly, the width and height need to correspond to the dimensions of your desktop.

Note: the Windows version will be installed in a hidden location, something like %username%\Local Settings\Application Data\... etc.

Once the app has been installed on your desktop, then use Advanced Launcher inside XBMC and add the Hulu app so it can be opened from within XBMC.

Advantages: You only have to press Enter once, to acknowledge that support for Hulu Desktop has been discontinued. From that point, you can login for the first time and let the app store your credentials. The app is keyboard driven and fun to use.

Drawbacks: XBMC is still running in the background, so Hulu Desktop may be starved for resources, depending on your onboard RAM.

Option 3 - There are several more complex solutions, such as defining an external player, which are covered in these threads. It is possible to write a script to shutdiwn XBMC as Hulu Desktop launches, and then to restart XBMC after Hulu Desktop ends.

In closing, there is one more URL which some of you may find interesting: http://www.hulu.com/site-player/player.swf

The above is apparently the base URL for the normal Hulu web interface, and could possibly be used in some of these alternate solutions.

This post is admittedly "breezy" as I cannot go into all the little details of how to do everything. Hopefully, it will give you enough to get started on while we all wait with baited breath for librtmp to decode encrypted Hulu streans for the Hulu Video Plugin,

Special thanks to learningit, moneymaker365, and others who have contributed to this project!

~Jim :-)