MacRecon > A look at hulu

hulu has finally left its private beta status and is now open for anyone with a U.S. internet connection to look at. hulu is basically a TV on-demand website that also happens to host some good movies, and is perfect for a boring evening with nothing on the TV. The service is impressive for its first web release. And the best of all… it’s free!

hulu works perfectly with all major web browsers (including Safari), and not much else is required besides the latest version of Macromedia’s Flash and a decent (U.S.) internet connection. Yes, unfortunately, hulu is only available for the U.S., so internationals will walk away disappointed. But once you find hulu’s main page, you’re treated to a media overload.

The most popular section will surely be the TV shows, in case you’ve missed the latest episode of your favorite show or otherwise. Also on the spotlight, users will be pleased to hear that there even are full movies to be watched on demand. Some popular movies available are Ice Age, The Usual Suspects, Master and Commander… and so on. The clips section works perfectly for things like the SNL segments, and a high-def section only contains a few movie trailers, so far.

All videos run at 360p, but some content gives you the option to upgrade the quality to 480p (a good upgrade for full screen mode), if your internet connection can handle it. Once you sign up for a free user account on the website, you’ll gain access to age-restricted videos (granted that you input that you’re at least 17 years-old), as well as a queue list for the content you wish to watch, and even a subscription manager for your favorite content.

Now that you’ve read everything hulu has to offer, it should be pointed out that while it may be free, it does have some advertisements within the media you’re watching. In the average 22-minute show there are about three 15-second ad spots. Not bad, really, for keeping the service free. And it’s certainly less than the minutes of advertisements we endure on regular TV programming.

NBC left iTunes to join hulu, but who can blame them? It’s been proven that there is a huge market for on-demand content, even if there’s a little of advertisement involved. I know for sure that if my favorite show is available on hulu, I won’t have an excuse for ever missing an episode again. I know that if I paid two bucks for an episode I’d only watch once, later I’d have thought of something better to spend them in. Even though right now it’s mainly NBC’s and Fox’s content, there’s a good variety to watch.

The next logical step is now to take hulu directly to the TV, but there would appear to be no mainstream device to do that at the moment. Maybe they’ll eventually release a hulu box, or make an alliance with another company, like Amazon did with Tivo. Of course, Apple should pay attention and release an official web browser for their Apple TV. Even though it could hurt iTunes’ sales, they’d get those overstocked boxes moving even faster through retailers. Well, at least those who have a real Mac-based media center will be happy to know that hulu is there to provide an alternative to regular, scheduled TV programming.

UPDATE - David J. mailed me asking about hulu’s sharing capabilities. It does have integration with some of the most popular websites, allows you to email someone about a video, and also allows you to embed it to your blog or website. Here’s an example: