Hulu Plus: Pros And Cons
If you know me at all, you will know that I absolutely love Hulu.com. Television watching has been almost none existent for a few years now (with a few exceptions), so the idea of being able to watch “professional” video content from channels like NBC, Fox, and ABC in my second monitor while working on projects and what not…then I am all for it, and have been a hulu member since 2007.
Hulu has recently announced that it would begin inviting users to subscribe to a premium membership that is able to access whole seasons of certain TV shows, and a few other benefits. And even more recently have sent out the first wave of invites, which included myself. Here are my thoughts and some of the pros and cons of “Hulu Plus“.
Let’s Start With The Good Stuff
HD Video Option – This is my favorite benefit of all of them, the option to choose 720p HD video streaming, as opposed to only having the option between 360p or 48op. Being the type of person to choose an episode right before bed, having a high quality video to full screen makes the experience even more enjoyable.
Access To Whole Seasons – And multiple seasons I might add also. The trend that Hulu is able to display episodes of your favorite shows has been the 5 most current episodes. This obviously has limitations if you just discover a TV show you just can’t get enough of, you can’t go back and catch up on all the episodes you missed. Hulu Plus solves that problem. Now it is a select number of shows with this feature, but a feature none the less.
Mobile and Other Device Support – Now this one I will say up front, feels to me it is still a developing feature. But I’ll say more about that later. Hulu is now getting into the mobile game, supporting devices such as iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Also a good step in taking over how people traditionally watch TV shows, by supporting devices connected to your TV like Sony Playstation 3, XBox 360, Samsung and Vizio Bluray Players, and even some Sony and Samsung TVs. Allowing the ability to watch TV shows on demand on your TV. So no more needing to plan your schedule around a new episode airing. Just watch it on your new Hulu Plus enabled TV.
…And Now The Bad News
Advertisements – Ads are obviously nothing new to traditional television, and is not new to Hulu.com, but the fact that I am now paying a monthly fee, they should lighten up on the number, or length of advertisements they show per video. And maybe I think this is a con because of high expectations. I have noticed recently hulu has increased their ads, so I was hoping that Plus members would go back to seeing less ads like I’m used to.
The Price – This kind of goes along with the previous point, and some may argue that $9,99 a month for HD video and access to whole seasons of shows is fair, but because of the ads, I think it is not. If they aren’t going to lighten up on the ads, the lower the monthly price. Because when Plus subscribers’ wallets start getting tight, Hulu Plus will be the first thing to go. I understand you pay monthly for a cable/satellite TV feed and that feed blasts you with ads all over, but sites likehulu are close to showing a new way of doing things that when you make it convenient for people to watch content, they will watch more content, and there by, advertisements.
Mobile And Other Device Support – I know I said this was a pro, but it’s more of the lack of support in this area is a con. Being android OS fan, since there is no support for android devices, that is a definite thumbs down. However, articles have been popping up saying that an Android app is in development. And there is something to be said about those who are not in need of a new TV or a bluray player, they have no option to view Hulu Plus on their TV. But that I can live with, but I think it’s worth mentioning.
Conclusion:
This is a great step for content consumption. We are getting closer and closer to two big things…watching whatever content we want, whenever we want, on the device that we already used to watching video on, and watching content on the go, in the mobile space. The idea of being almost anywhere and catch up on your favorite show, is almost mind blowing.
Currently, Hulu Plus is invite-only, put in your email address here and wait for the next round of invites. I feel that it will be soon.
