(All I think about is The Industry these. I’m sorry I’ve got none of the personal dirt you’ve come to expect from me. I’m considering a format change.)
I got bored this weekend and ended up watching a lot of shows on Hulu.
What is Hulu? It’s News Corp. (Fox) and NBC Universal’s attempt at a video-on-demand site, built so they can make money and so people will maybe stop illegally uploading TV shows to YouTube. It’s a greed thing, basically.
But I kinda love it. The site’s easy to navigate, there’s quite a bit of content (OPENhulu has an incomplete list, but it’ll give you an idea), the ads are unobtrusive and the video player has lots of options (pop the video into a separate window, make it full screen, embed a customized clip somewhere else, etc.). Will it stop people from uploading copyrighted videos to YouTube? Hardly. But will it make money? Sure.
So I’ve decided it’s my duty as a media type, TV freak and beta tester to report on my findings.
Reasons I love Hulu:
I’ve got a wide range of options. Current shows like Heroes and Friday Night Lights, shows from my childhood like Doogie Howser and Buffy, shows that Real Growups reminisce about like WKRP, and a few random movies like The Jerk thrown in.
You can create a custom clip by setting the in and out points of the video. Want to post a single scene to your blog? Easily done. (I dream of the day CBS gets in on this so I can make clips of favorite Barneyisms from How I Met Your Mother.)
The videos play smoothly, with shorter commercial interruptions than any of the network’s other video players. I only saw it buffer once in MANY hours of playback (this is how I pass time while doing laundry), and that was during peak traffic, I think. One video took a few extra seconds to load, but that may have been because it was fetching a “for mature audiences only” pre-roll. (Who knew It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia wasn’t for children?)
It’s easy to find what you’re looking for. I haven’t used the search because it’s so easy to browse to the exact video I want.
The site layout is clean. It’s getting slightly more cluttered with time as they integrate the advertising (pretty sure that wasn’t there earlier), but it’s far less ugly/busy/confusing than, say, NBC.com’s video pages. Maybe that’s because they’re trying for a Web 2.0 look. I’m sure it won’t last.
You can review each episode/clip. If you’re into that. Not sure if user reviews impact the “most popular” listings.
Things that suck about Hulu:
They’re still holding back content. They’ve got the first season of Buffy, but where’s the rest of the series? Maybe I haven’t gotten my fill of human-on-vampire makeout sessions.
New episodes don’t show up as quickly as they should. Friday’s episode of Friday Night Lights was on NBC’s site on Saturday morning. Why doesn’t Hulu have it yet? Where is Wednesday’s episode of Project Runway? They’ll both be there eventually, but by the time they turn up, I may have resorted to piracy to get my fix. You can’t keep a TV addict waiting, NBC.
It’s not available internationally (yet). I know there’s lots of legal whatever that has to be done first, but…come on, this is the internet. Open it up.
The “related videos” make no freaking sense. Watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and they suggest Firefly. Huh? Watch Heroes and they suggest Family Guy. Hmm. Maybe they’re related by…also being on Hulu? I often play the videos in the popout window, and if they’d just link to the next episode in the series, I could keep watching (increasing the number of ads I see and boosting that valuable time-spent-on-site statistic).
So that’s more good things than bad things, and all the bad things are fixable. In a time when TV is as threatened as we newspaper people are…
…it’s nice to see TV companies making a right step in the web direction. Hulu, I’ve got high expectations. Keep up the surprisingly good work.
This season of The Wire features storylines from The Baltimore Sun. The only difference I can tell between the fictitious scenes on the show and real life in the newsroom is that the show’s writers slightly overestimate the sophistication of our speech patterns.
I hear that The Eagle used to have a photographer who pulled the exact same stunt way-back-when.
Holy crap! Dexter is so awesomely creepy. Since the big reveal at the end of last week’s episode (saw it coming, but daaaaaamn), there’s been a fall-out-of-your-seat-OH-MY-GOD-HOLY-WOW moment in every scene. With three or four more episodes this season, I can’t wait to see how/if they sustain this tension.
Great show. Really great show. Anyone read the books?
Holy crap, why hasn’t Springer been sent home yet?
Holy crap, it’s Trixie the Whore! Who knew she could speak without cursing? The T-shirt really works for her, too.
If Sawyer is smart enough to come up with all those smartass remarks, why isn’t he smart enough to stay out of trouble?
Sayid, please redeem yourself. Please.
So I really don’t think the Others need Kate and Sawyer to chop rocks for them. And while I understand that the manual labor probably all part of their mind games, why don’t they make Kate and Sawyer do something actually helpful?
It still freaks me out that they’re advertising lube on network TV during prime time. Ew? I think it’s because the woman looks so clean and innocent, but no, she’s a dirty, dirty girl.
On the other hand, the My Faves/secret lover commercial gets me every time.
Trixie survives Deadwood just to die on Lost? So wrong.
Wow, Sawyer is smarter than he acts. Oh wait, he’s not. Didn’t see THAT coming.
Henry Gale is even creepier now that we know his real name. Benjamin Linus? Really? Eek.
And then I ran out of yarn (I’m working on the most badass scarf EVER). Right as the episode ended. FREAKY. Okay, not really.
Like Kevin, I was really disappointed in Nada Surf’s latest album, The Weight is a Gift. Because, yeah, Let Go is basically my favorite. And then they go and follow it up with the most embarrassingly uninspired, awkward lyrics ever.
But also like Kevin, it grew on me. A few months and many listens later, I really like it.
(Aside: Dear JJ Abrams, We need to talk. Your new show is boring. And it doesn’t have the magic that Felicity or Lost or even Alias had in the beginning. Are you worn out? Have you run out of decent ideas and charming lines? Call me. I have ideas. Love, Katie)
The point: Buy Let Go. Go see Nada Surf if they play a concert near you — they’re great live. Buy The Weight is a Gift if you have the patience to let it grow on you.
Do any of you remember when I had that internet radio station thing? It was called something “Dancing Barefoot.” I’ve been missing that lately. Too bad the website that ran it started charging money and got all crappy.
Anyway.
It’s been a long time since I asked people to comment and suggest music I should listen to. Suggestions, anyone? My iPod is complaining that I haven’t paid it enough attention lately. What should I load it up with?
So I just watched the first episode of Studio 60 and it was basically awesome.
I’ve always loathed Amanda Peet, and while she did appear to be on drugs, she was more charming than I expected. But Sarah Paulson? Talks like she just saw the dentist and he took every last tooth. Now that’s annoying.
Anyway. Studio 60 gets to be on my Must TiVo list. Congrats, Aaron Sorkin.
