I read about Hulu several months ago in TV Guide, and thought it sounded great. For as long as YouTube has been around, people have been uploading and viewing copyrighted content. Well, after hunting and taking down illegal video, content providers are finally figuring out how to give audiences free video.
From the Hulu about page:
We hope to provide you with the web’s most comprehensive selection from more than 50 content providers including FOX, NBC, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and more to deliver premium programming across all genres and formats, television shows, feature films, and clips. Watch full-length episodes of current primetime TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Nip/Tuck, and others. Hulu also offers full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects, Ice Age, Three Amigos!, and The Big Lebowski as well as clips from films such as Napoleon Dynamite, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Devil Wears Prada and many more. Hulu is free and ad-supported — available anytime in the U.S.
All the video can be embedded and shared on sites like Digg, del.icio.us and Facebook, and you can even select in and out points to embed or share a certain clip. Mature content is only available to registered users (where a birth date is required). So far screenshots are allowed, but there’s no option to download.
The amount of content offered is incredible for only being around for a year. And with even a moderately fast Internet connection the streaming and quality of the video is pretty good.
I can’t wait to see how this one develops! Owned jointly by NBC Universal and News Corp, I wouldn’t be surprised if the other two networks figured out a way to get involved soon. Or even Apple, for that matter.
This model is the future of video. Hulu is where it’s at!
i was very excited about hulu because for what i read on your post i thought it was great!
imagine my disappointment when i realized that i cannot access any content in hulu. every single video i tried to watch was replaced with this message: “Unfortunately this video is not currently available in your country or region. We apologize for the inconvenience.” where do i live? Chile, in South America.
awful. but it’s not my first time. Pandora also canceled their streaming for this region almost 2 years ago. we’re invisible, i guess.
Comment by sotavento — March 29, 2008 @ 8:09 pm
Wow, that’s horrible. I’m sure it has something to do with the U.S. copyright laws, though. Hulu knows how its content will be regulated here, but not in other countries, perhaps.
Comment by Jennifer K. — March 31, 2008 @ 7:52 pm
well, i hope some day regulations change.
it looked like the best idea since YouTube.
Comment by sotavento — March 31, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
there has got to be someone out there that is streaming all of the big channels, regardless of copyright etc. look at the pirate bay dudes – there is someone out there that is doing it…legally.
i’m still looking though
Comment by Jeremiah — August 25, 2008 @ 10:07 am