14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Kirk Kelsey has released a cool plug-in for Mac users and Front Row fans, enabling them to stream video from the likes of Hulu and Netflix through the Front Row interface of Mac OS X Leopard.
According to the official description over at Google code (Google is simply doing the hosting), Understudy allows access to streaming video through Front Row, while the user can subscribe to multiple feeds, and select a video to watch. Understudy only supports Hulu and Netflix for the time being, but they're both great so, surely no Front Row user will smug.
The developer claims Understudy is stable, but still a work in progress. Version 0.5 of the software is available for free download (at the bottom of this article), but may contain a bug or two, so feel free to report any problems on the issue tracker. Also, those looking to learn about future releases should subscribe to the "Downloads" feed.
“Understudy is not affiliated with any of the streaming video sites the plugin supports, and will only work in cases where those site [sic] would (typically this means you must live in the United States),” Google code reveals.
There are multiple ways to add feeds to Understudy, one of which involves using provided feeds (like Hulu's popular shows). Letting Understudy automatically discover your profile is another way you can add feeds, as is copying a feed from the clipboard. Each of these options is available for each video provider, says developer Kirk Kelsey.
To use the tool, start Front Row and select Understudy, Manage Feeds, Add, and then the provider you're interested in. You will be presented with a default set of feeds, and any that you select will appear in the main Understudy menu. Those already logged into their (Netflix, Hulu) account through Safari should see a few more options.
Using the copy-to-clipboard method, with the URL “in hand,” fire up Front Row and it will be available as the "URL in Clipboard" option. Be sure that you have a feed URL ready to be pasted, and not a regular URL (like http://www.hulu.com).