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HuluDesktopWMC - Just released new plugin...
Posted: 5/28/2009 6:46:49 PM | By: Yaggs
File Under: Home Page News

I just wrote a quick plugin to allow you to launch the new Hulu Desktop application inside Media Center... Since Hulu Desktop works with a remote this will make it feel like it is just a Media Center application!

Sorry... it doesn't work on Extenders... Hulu Desktop was written completely in Flash and that doesn't work correctly on Extenders.

But hey... this will give everyone yet another way to watch Hulu stuff *inside* Media Center!

Hit the HuluDesktopWMC link in the button bar on the site for install instructions and download!

NOTES: If you are getting "The Program Has Stopped Responding" make sure you have moved a copy of the Hulu Desktop application folder (the Hulu one... not my plugin) to the root of the C: drive...

Also... if you run Hulu Desktop once and maximize it then it should open maximized from that point forward.

And... You can exit the Hulu Desktop application with the remote... you just have to navigate all the way to the bottom of the menu on the far left... there is an "Exit" option.

Comments (40)

Reader Comments

Awesome app! Any way to maximize the window with the remote control? Any way to end the Hulu Desktop session with the remote control? Thanks! Jon

Posted: 5/28/2009 7:09:51 PM | By: Jon Deutsch | Rating:

Works great, except that in Win7 x64, I can't navigate the menu in Media Center using my remote after exiting Hulu. I have to restart Media Center to use my remote again. Also, think you can rename the program so it fits on one line under the program tile in Win 7?

Posted: 5/28/2009 7:20:49 PM | By: Brad | Rating:

In Windows 7 RC1 I get "The huluDesktopWMC Program has stopped responding and you will be returned to WMC. " error. Just thought I'd let you know.

Posted: 5/28/2009 7:51:42 PM | By: Chris | Rating:

In a future installer, why not ask the user to locate the HuluDesktop install location?

Posted: 5/28/2009 8:20:26 PM | By: Pointlisse | Rating:

There is an application called "RemoteKC" (Google it)that allow everyone with a media center remote to switch it into a mouse or keyboard. t\The application work great and switches can be done at anytime by pressing the star button. Witch resolve the problem for people who wonder how to put Hulu in full screen or exit from full screen. Another very smart "integration in that application is the ability to use the window magnifier by a simple click on clear button witch allow to see where the mouse is and what you are clicking on from your couch or bed. other possibility Copy/past drag windows enter text with the remote pad ...and a few other things By the way the application is stand alone and work great on vista

Posted: 5/28/2009 10:11:41 PM | By: Alpha | Rating:

When the hulu desktop VMC plugin launches hulu desktop and brings up the main screen, every time I press the up/down/right/left arrows I get put back into VMC. Anybody else having this problem? I have a feeling that the issue may relate to having VMC always on top, but I am not sure.

Posted: 5/28/2009 11:04:17 PM | By: Robert | Rating:

Thanks Yaggs! I haven't had a chance to try this yet but that was a damn fast turn around!

Posted: 5/29/2009 7:02:41 AM | By: Mark | Rating:

I run VMC in always-on-top and am not having the problem Robert describes. I'm running HuluDesktopWMC and so far it has worked perfectly in terms of launching HuluDeskop and allowing me back to VMC when I've exited. As a suggestion, what about folding the HuluDeskopWMC functionality into SecondRun.Tv and launching from within SecondRun when the user selects the Hulu channel (or, perhaps, as an additional option within SecondRun). That way, there's the best of both worlds. The turnaround on the HuluDesktopWMC plugin is nothing short of brilliant. As always, great work Yaggs. My donation money has definitely been worth it.

Posted: 5/29/2009 7:25:14 AM | By: Vernon | Rating:

Under Windows 7 x64 I also get the "The huluDesktopWMC Program has stopped responding and you will be returned to WMC. " error. Any ideas?

Posted: 5/29/2009 9:23:22 AM | By: JP | Rating:

Hey this is awesome. I'm a mid level C# .NET developer and was wondering if you need some help. This looks like a great project and wonderful idea and I would love to see it fully functional as soon as possible since I think this is a great answer for so many of us. Thanks.

Posted: 5/29/2009 10:20:32 AM | By: David | Rating:

Yaggs, Thanks for the updates/tips on the site! Now my Hulu is full screen, and I'm using it as if it were another Media Center extension... brilliant quick-fix! I love how practical and timely you are with your apps... Jon

Posted: 5/30/2009 9:17:59 AM | By: Jon Deutsch | Rating:

OK, new "problem" -- though it's not Yaggs' fault! When I exit the Hulu app and go back to Media Center, in exactly 1 minute and 5 seconds, Media Center loses "focus" and I see the Vista task bar exposed, and a little bit of "black" to the right of Media Center. A quick "green button" press puts things back in focus, but only for the next 1:05 minutes! No other programs are running in the task manager, and only a reboot seems to clear things up. Any solutions out there? I'd hate to have to reboot every time I run Hulu Desktop!! Thanks, Jon

Posted: 5/30/2009 11:31:36 AM | By: Jon Deutsch | Rating:

Hulu did an update recently (within the past day) that might account for this. I've experienced this once since I've been using it in conjunction with Yaggs' plugin. Does exiting and restarting Media Center by itself work or has the only solution been to reboot?

Posted: 5/30/2009 1:45:07 PM | By: Vernon | Rating:

Can you please explain what you mean when you say"make sure you move a copy of the desktop application folder"? Are you saying I need two copies of the HD program?

Posted: 5/30/2009 9:47:36 PM | By: Ekow | Rating:

Why not make it to where when you launch the HuluWMC plug in that it launches the Hulu app but closes VMC or 7MC. That way when you close out of Hulu you just press start and it opens up a new instance of VMC?

Posted: 5/31/2009 10:51:52 AM | By: Chris | Rating:

A problem I am now having is that once I exit Hulu (which returns me to VMC) - the arrow pad keys no longer function. I have to exit VMC and restart it. I believe this is new with the latest Hulu updates, but it seems also related to the new plugin. Again - a great plugin. Thanks again Yaggs'.

Posted: 5/31/2009 1:06:42 PM | By: Vernon | Rating:

***When the hulu desktop VMC plugin launches hulu desktop and brings up the main screen, every time I press the up/down/right/left arrows I get put back into VMC. Anybody else having this problem? I have a feeling that the issue may relate to having VMC always on top, but I am not sure.**** I believe I have tracked down the problem, it appears there is a known issue with VMC and the IMON VFD. When launching a program through VMC the focus will switch from the app to VMC whenever a button is pressed on the controller. There is a thread on Green button here: http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/thread/354916.aspx and on Soundgraph's forums here: http://www.soundgraph.com/Eng_/Forum/ForumDetail.aspx?topMenu=4&subMenu;=4&writingId;=1958&TB;=T&CurrentPage;=1&fcStateId;=1&writingLevel;=8

Posted: 6/2/2020 2:29:50 PM | By: Robert | Rating:

I use the hauppauge remote...is there any way to get this to work? It works in WMC, but won't do anything in the Hulu plugin.

Posted: 6/2/2020 10:23:17 PM | By: Matt | Rating:

Amazing! Thank you so much for the portal to make this work... It feels like media Center is finally coming together after years of headaches... One note.... You have a spelling mistake on the plugin... Instead of "Launching in new window...When your finished just hit BACK" it should read: "Launching in new window... When you're finished just hit BACK" Thanks.

Posted: 6/9/2020 5:55:39 PM | By: Nathan | Rating:

This ? is about secondrun.tv beta. NONE of my videos go to fullscreen and I don't know how to do this manually. PLEASE HELP

Posted: 6/10/2020 6:04:56 PM | By: twainj | Rating:

Boxee is coming to Windows on June 23, http://www.downloadsquad.com/2020/06/04/boxee-alpha-media-center-for-windows-to-go-public-on-june-23/

Posted: 6/14/2009 1:35:09 PM | By: Rob | Rating:

@twainj remote mapping: http://secondrun.tv/default.asp?action=drawpage&pageid;=74

Posted: 6/14/2009 1:37:08 PM | By: Rob | Rating:

I am new to VMC and have the TV pack installed (64 bit Vista). I am also getting the "Program Not Responding - The HuluDesktopWMC program has stopped responding and you will be returned to Windows Media Center" error. Any ideas, or if not, how do I get this program link out of my TV strip? Thanks

Posted: 6/14/2009 5:03:12 PM | By: Ron | Rating:

I would really like a configurable location to place the copy of the folder. I am runnning a dual boot system and my vista system is on my D drive. Any solution for this scenario? Thanks, Greg

Posted: 6/19/2009 5:47:56 PM | By: greg p | Rating:

This is great!! Question: after closing out of Hulu, and going back to the Media Center interface, only the left and right nav buttons appear to work. The up/down ones do not - unless you go into another "screen" (Music, for example). Closing down Media Center and re-launching it of course works. Anyone else seeing this?

Posted: 7/1/2020 3:50:11 PM | By: Tom | Rating:

Hi - great idea - I'd love to be to use it! My problem is that I am unable to exit Hulu Desktop (either via back button or menu navigation to exit). When I do try and exit, it appears as though Media Center instantly tries to re-launch Hulu Desktop and I am then stuck on the "Launching new window... When your finished just hit BACK" window. The only way to correct is to restart Media Center. This with Vista Media Center and I'm using a iMon MCE emulated remote. The remote works fine in Hula desktop... I mention only as others have noted issues with this remote mgmt software and other MCE plugins. Still, it appears to me to be something amiss with how Media Center is responding to the closing of the desktop app that it spawned. Thanks again... looking forward to trying SecondRun next!

Posted: 7/18/2009 11:53:03 AM | By: John | Rating:

Same issue here... with the arrow keys on the remote being unresponsive in Media Center after exiting out of Hulu Desktop. I'm seeing this on 7MC RTM with the OEM Microsoft MCE Remote. Has anyone been able to figure out a fix for this? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Posted: 8/11/2020 10:36:36 PM | By: Orijnal | Rating:

It just crashes out when I try to launch it. Using Vista Ultimate SP2.

Posted: 9/5/2020 8:52:48 PM | By: Brian Richards | Rating:

I installed it on a Vista 64 system and when I load it from the Media Center menu, I get a black screen with a loading bar that says "opening in another window, press BACK to exit". But nothing happens after that. Yes, I copied HuluDesktop folder and contents under C:\ I tried running it as administrator. I believe I tried both the locations of the Hulu Desktop. Any ideas?

Posted: 10/5/2020 6:47:25 PM | By: Robert L Santuci Jr | Rating:

Nice little app - makes it almost fully integrated into WMC. I have the same small problems of WMC not being responsive after exiting from hulu desktop. Though I can use the shortcuts on the remote to get to recorded tv, guide, and live tv, the main menu appears to freeze.

Posted: 10/13/2009 8:09:05 PM | By: Andrew | Rating:

I have this installed on my Vista Ultimate desktop and it appears under TV & Movies as it does in the header on this page. I just installed it in Win 7 Pro but putting it on the start menu only makes it show up in Extras. Is there any way to move it? Thanks in advance.

Posted: 10/25/2009 10:52:47 PM | By: Chris | Rating:

i'm retarded, i cant find the file that i'm supposed to copy to the C: drive root. any advice?

Posted: 11/3/2020 8:08:58 PM | By: Ben | Rating:

I'm having the remote issue as well after exiting. Has anyone found a solution to this? It makes this app less appealing to have to dig out the mouse, close media center and reopen it so that the remote works again. Win7 64

Posted: 11/4/2020 9:27:04 AM | By: Wingzman | Rating:

Same problem with exiting hulu and having the remote no longer work. Running Windows Media Center 7 (64-bit) and the latest version of hulu. Interesting thing is, I don't have to restart Media Center, I only have to minimize it and then bring it back up. The remote works from that point on until I try and quit hulu again after watching. Love to hear of a fix or workaround for the disabled remote issue upon exiting hulu.

Posted: 11/10/2020 10:34:56 PM | By: Jim | Rating:

For you having trouble with the hulu plugin in Windows 7, may I suggest using Media Center Studio, to add an application to the menu. I have Win 7 and all seems to work fine now that I have linked to hulu desktop that way. I would still suggest moving the Hulu file folder to the C: like was recommended for this pluggin.

Posted: 12/21/2009 4:05:55 PM | By: Sean | Rating:

Geat tool and working great, thanks !!! Does anyone know how to lunch HuluDesktop directly into the main menu ??

Posted: 12/22/2009 11:14:45 AM | By: Tester | Rating:

I am using Windows Vista Home Premium SP2 and I get the "program not responding" no matter where I put the hulu file.

Posted: 1/11/2020 3:58:41 AM | By: Wes | Rating:

It took me a long time to figure out, but the error message" XXX Program has stopped responding and you will be returned to WMC" can be fixed : From WMC, choose Tasks, Settings, General, Program Library Options. Checkmark "Control the Windows Media Experience in Windows Media Center". Now the plugi inis will work.

Posted: 3/7/2020 6:01:36 PM | By: J Robinson | Rating:

Nice plugin, thanks! Any way you could make one to run Sirius internet stream on the Vista Media center?

Posted: 7/20/2010 3:12:29 PM | By: Israel | Rating:

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