Hulu Plus on Xbox Live Launched with Kinect and TV Integration

Let start streaming TV engines, because Hulu Plus on Xbox on Friday, April 29. Microsoft will unlock the service for all Xbox Live members for a trial period of one week, that will end in May 6, 2011, in order to attempt to entice new users to sign up with a week-long free preview of the service.Users will require be Xbox Live Gold Subscriber in order to access Hulu Plus.  That’s $60 a year in addition to Hulu Plus’s $7.99 a month subscription cost.

Hulu Plus made its Internet and iOS debut last summer and made its way to the PS3, Roku and TiVo last fall. Some Blu-ray players and TVs can also access the subscription streaming service, which gives users access to current and past programs with limited advertising for $7.99 a month.

Hulu Plus is drastically expanding its availability today, now opening up to millions of gamers and owners of Xbox game consoles. The subscription video service, which is competing with Netflix and an increasing number of TV Everywhere apps from pay TV providers and cable networks, could see a big boost in adoption thanks to its rollout on Microsoft Xbox Live platform.

Launching on Xbox opens up a huge new potential user base for Hulu’s subscription service. The Gaming Console offers a new way for viewers to catch up on Hulu’s on-demand movies and broadcast video content directly on their TV screens. And with more than 30 million Xbox Live users, Hulu has a good opportunity to add new subscribers for its Plus service.

Microsoft, meanwhile, couldn’t have picked a better time to make Hulu available on Xbox Live. While rival Sony is struggling with downtime on its PlayStation Network due to a hack attack last week, the Xbox now becomes the only game console through which users can access the streaming video service.

Not only that, but the Microsoft implementation takes a step beyond the typical Hulu Plus user experience. Deep integration with the Xbox will enable Hulu Plus Subscribers with Xbox Kinect to control the system through hand motions or through the system’s voice recognition technology. You know, in case hitting buttons on a game controller is just too much work.

Hulu Plus is now available on the iPad, iPhone and select Android mobile devices, as well as TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung, Sony and Vizio, and Roku broadband set-top boxes. Later this year, the service plans to add availability on TiVo DVRs, WD Live Media Players, and Panasonic, LG and Haier TVs and Blu-ray players.