Hulu, the company that was, at first, publicly ridiculed because of its name is now making big strides with video on-demand. Not only has Hulu given internet TV the justice that it has deserved for so long, but it has forever changed the future of the television broadcast industry. Big networks are taking notice. This is Tech In Demand's review of Hulu.
The Great Stuff
The greatest thing about Hulu is that users can now access some of their favorite shows that are being watched on the tube, now via internet on-demand. It was such an obvious direction for broadcast networks to take, yet their hesitancy probably cost them huge bucks; Hulu is making up for it though.
The one thing that impresses me most is the video quality that Hulu provides. If any user's computer has enough processing power, some shows offer a beautiful 16:9 picture that is suitable for full-screen use. Unfortunately, like Family Guy, not all shows offer this quality, but it is more than acceptable. YouTube users will certainly be impressed.
Making these shows is not cheap, and that is why they have advertisers, of course. Hulu places 5 to 15 second advertisements throughout the videos in logical locations (where the shows would normally take commercial breaks on cable/satellite). Most videos contain anywhere from 3 to 5 advertisements per video. However, I must say that I honestly do not mind the advertisements in Hulu, and they are done really well--I can't believe I just said that.
The Not So Great Stuff
As we all know, there is no such thing as a perfect world, and there are a few strikes against Hulu; however, these issues could easily be fixed without much effort from the developers. With future updates, I expect that these will be fixed in time.
My first complaint is that the site design--while good in general--is not so good in the way it organizes its content, and in some ways the site lacks critical organization. For example, only by navigating to the recent video RSS feed (for the entire site) or the individual show's RSS feeds or the show's homepage can users see the latest shows available on the site. Something relatively close to YouTube's subscription system, which shows recent videos on the homepage, would be sufficient for me.
I have yet to try embedding any video, so I will begin by posting one here on Tech In Demand. What I hear from other users is that videos will stop functioning after they are restricted/removed on Hulu's website--which is unfortunate if true.
My Thoughts
My only concern with Hulu is that NBC and News Corp. will likely prevent other networks from using their service. While most competition will not rely on Hulu itself, which will ultimately result in competing services like it, smaller competing networks may be interested in the advertising revenue that Hulu could offer.
I use several services for receiving video content that get the job done: Netflix, YouTube, Miro, BitTorrent, basic cable, and now Hulu. While I could say which one is my favorite, I must admit that all of them work well in providing me with a plethora of entertainment. I will say that Hulu is a serious contender, and it offers quality content.
Hulu is currently in private beta. No word yet on when it will be releasing to the public, but I doubt it will be too much longer with the success it appears to be having.
