Hulu - After a Few Weeks out to the Public: Thoughts and Impressions

http://www.hulu.com - On March 12, 2008, online video on demand service, Hulu, came out of private beta and out into the hands of the public. So after two weeks with the service, what do we all think of it?

I've been a member of the Hulu service since October of last year, and from the start I've been very impressed with it. The interface has changed slightly since the private beta but remains easy to use, clean, and organized. Users will have no problem navigating the menus as the layout is intuitive everything is easy to find.

Hulu offers clips and full episodes from several television networks, as well as movies. They all range from old to new (all shows and all movies). However, not all the shows have full episodes from all season. Several only provide the most recent airings. Although, you can subscribe via rss and keep updated on when episodes for your favourite shows become available.

The streaming quality of the videos is crisp. I have no complaints on the visual quality of the shows, even though it would be a plus to see them offered in high definition. What's also nice about Hulu is that advertisements bear minimal distraction. 30 seconds commercials appear in shows every now and then, usually when a commercial break would take place.

At first, I'd thought that Hulu would just be another Joost, which offers many shows I've never heard of. There is an upside to that, because Joost offers original and entertaining programming not found elsewhere. I can safely say that even though Hulu hasn't been out for as long as Joost, I've gotten a lot more use out of it. Also unlike Joost, Hulu doesn't require a separate download and can be accessed on any browser that supports flash.

At any rate, Hulu is the best online on demand service I've used. They have an excellent media collection in a user-friendly environment. And the best thing about it? It's free! Go sign up if you haven't yet.