Hulu Plus subscribers are getting a little bit more control over their streaming experience on game consoles with a new update.
The company launched a new feature called “Remote Control” today, which allows subscribers to its premium streaming service to control Hulu Plus apps on the Xbox One, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 with their smartphone. Users can find what they want to watch on their iOS or Android device, and then have it play on their game console.
In addition, people can continue to browse Hulu’s catalog on their mobile device while a show is playing, so it’s possible to cue up another show for marathon watching sessions.
The console in question does need to be turned on, and users must have logged into the Hulu Plus app prior to using Remote Control. After that, the app should automatically detect a user’s console running on the same wireless network, and handle the rest from there.
Remote Control and similar technologies like Apple’s AirPlay and Google Chromecast solve one of the key problems with streaming video on a television screen: running text searches using only a game console controller or a small remote control can be infuriating and slow. By allowing users to control the experience with their smartphones, Hulu and others manage to avoid that problem.
People who don’t have one of the game consoles that supports Remote Control can still look forward to the new feature. Hulu said that it will “continue to add remote control functionality to more living room devices over the coming months.”
Here’s a video that shows how the new feature works:
