Review of Hulu.com

To be honest I was/am holding a grudge against NBC for removing their content from iTunes. But I have an open mind, and I don't mind watching ads if I am getting content for free. Furthermore, having the ability to watch content whenever I feel like it is a big perk.

Hulu gives you the ability to watch a large selection of Fox and NBC content. This means Battle Star Galactica, Hells Kitchen, The Office, American Dad and The Simpsons. The also have a selection of old movies. The best part is (at least with Battle Star) the episodes appear to get posted as the episode airs, so you don't have to wait.



As will all things there has to be a down side, and Hulu is far from perfect. As I watch their content there is a big difference in user experience between animated shows and live action. I am guessing this has to do with the amount of data required for a good picture. Even so, watching a live action show can be agonizing. It seems that on the good days I can only watch about three min before I have to stop and let Hulu re-buffer. I wish the Hulu designers would just give it time to buffer in the first place so I don't have to keep hitting pause. Hulu, if your listening, create an application that measures the users bandwidth and adjusts the buffer time and quality accordingly. I would rather take a hit in quality than suffer though choppy dialogged.




To be fair, I did attempt to watch Battle Star on Scifi's website and encountered the same problem.



From a marketing point of view, Hulu is really cool. It appears they can place any advertisement in the program breaks (see the dots along the progress bar). This might be the first wave of the new mass media. And its CPM. Just think if you could place you video ads in Hells Kitchen or The Office, using your Ad Words account...