Hulu.py

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Synopsis

The MythNetvision Hulu grabber (hulu.py) searches and creates treeviews of the http://www.hulu.comsite.
Treeview user customizations:

  • Disable any of the standard RSS feeds [1]
  • Add search terms whose results become their own directory [2]
  • Control the maximum number of items that can be added to directories globally or for a single directory [3]

Country Restrictions

  • Videos can only be played in the US

Treeview Customization Instructions

Initialization steps

  1. You need to enable this treeview from the Media Library menu, select the Browse Internet Video menu option and press MENU (M). Select Scan/Manage Subscriptions, then Manage Site Subscriptions. Now subscribe to the "Hulu" grabber.
  2. You will need to download the treeview. To do so, select MENU (M). Select Scan/Manage Subscriptions, then Update Site Maps. The update process can take several minutes. Once this is complete the Hulu will contain the standard RSS feeds (e.g. "Recent Videos").

Customization

When you updated the treeview in Initialization step #2 a user configuration file was created at:
"~/.mythtv/MythNetvision/userGrabberPrefs/hulu.xml". To customize the Treeview open the "hulu.xml" file with a text editor and make changes according to the instructions below. After you have made your changes and saved the "hulu.xml" file, update your subscriptions again (Initialization step #2).

Adding your own search terms

You can have one or more specific search terms that will be presented as individual directories in your Hulu tree view. With each search you need a "dirName" and the "searchTerm". Use the Hulu advanced search web page to create your specific search. Cut and paste the search text (bottom of the web page) as the "searchTerm". Hulu advance search is at: Hulu Advanced Search
Here are two example search terms. which are included but commented out in your "hulu.xml" file.

<userSearchStrings>
   <userSearch>
       <dirName>Burn Notice Season 1</dirName>
       <searchTerm>"Burn Notice" season:1</searchTerm>
   </userSearch>
   <userSearch>
       <dirName>Family Friendly Fringe Season 2</dirName>
       <searchTerm>"show:Fringe season:2 safe:yes</searchTerm>
   </userSearch>
</userSearchStrings>

Disabling the standard RSS feeds

You can disable the display of specific standard RSS feeds by changing the "enabled" attribute to "false". Here is an example of a disabled RSS feed:

<treeviewURLS globalmax="0">
   <url enabled="false">http://www.hulu.com/feed/expiring/videos</url>
   ...
</treeviewURLS>

Controlling the number of items included in a RSS feed directory

Some of the RSS feeds return a large number of video/audio items. You can optionally control the standard RSS feeds through two attributes:

  • "globalmax" - Limits the number of items included per "treeviewURLS" RSS feed. A value of zero (0) means there are no limits.
  • "max" - Limits the number of items included for an individual RSS feed. This value will override the "globalmax" setting. A value of zero (0) means there are no limits.

In this example any "treeviewURLS" without their own maximum setting will not exceed 25 items but the "Recent Videos" feed will be specifically restricted to no more than 5 items:

<treeviewURLS globalmax="25">
   <url enabled="false" max="5">http://www.hulu.com/feed/recent/videos</url>
</treeviewURLS>