You may be thinking something along the lines of, "Wait, I can watch all of my favorite shows from Hulu, on my TV? Screw this review, Hulu Plus is a NO BRAINER. So long cable!" Before you do anything rash, let's keep reading. First off, Hulu plus is currently in a preview phase. The amount of "quality" shows are limited. Where the hell is "Archer"?! You won't find the wide selection, that you can find on Hulu's website.
Then there's the issue of picture quality. After watching the promo video, I assumed that every show would be in 720p. This is not the case! About half of the shows I've watched so far offer 720p. Keep in mind that your programs are streaming from the internet. If you have a somewhat spotty internet provider, you may experience lag time and a pixelated picture.
On top of the $9.99 monthly fee, PS3 users will need a Plasystation Plus membership. Membership is currently offered at $17.99 for three months and $49.99 for one year. Playstation Plus will not be required after the preview phase is over. Essentially you are paying to be a beta tester.
For most of the negative aspects, I'm willing to chalk it up to being in a preview phase. Now let's move on to the positve. The interface is simple and runs very smoothly. Watching a show while navigating through the menu is a breeze.
For most of the negative aspects, I'm willing to chalk it up to being in a preview phase. Now let's move on to the positve. The interface is simple and runs very smoothly. Watching a show while navigating through the menu is a breeze. The shows that do offer 720p look great! You can alter the quality while viewing. It's a shame that every show isn't available in HD.
I was pleasantly surprised by the movie selections. Hulu Plus offered a wide variety of documentaries such as Billy The Kid, Freestyle, Darkon, and My Date With Drew. Many of these movies I wouldn't be able to view unless I purchased them.
I don't watch TV often but when I do it usually consists of an all day marathon. Now I can do this with out having to switch out DVD's. Having multiple seasons at my fingertips is a great way to catch up on newly discovered shows.
So, am I ready to drop Comcast and watch exclusively through Hulu Plus? As of right now, the answer is no. The service needs to offer more shows and offer them in HD. Paying 9.99 a month and 49.99 for a year subscription to Playstation Plus seems pretty hefty. Hulu Plus has a huge amount of potential, but for now I would recommend taking a "wait and see" approach until Hulu leaves the preview phase.
I was pleasantly surprised by the movie selections. Hulu Plus offered a wide variety of documentaries such as Billy The Kid, Freestyle, Darkon, and My Date With Drew. Many of these movies I wouldn't be able to view unless I purchased them.
I don't watch TV often but when I do it usually consists of an all day marathon. Now I can do this with out having to switch out DVD's. Having multiple seasons at my fingertips is a great way to catch up on newly discovered shows.
So, am I ready to drop Comcast and watch exclusively through Hulu Plus? As of right now, the answer is no. The service needs to offer more shows and offer them in HD. Paying 9.99 a month and 49.99 for a year subscription to Playstation Plus seems pretty hefty. Hulu Plus has a huge amount of potential, but for now I would recommend taking a "wait and see" approach until Hulu leaves the preview phase.
I'm pretty surprised Hulu isn't offering more content in HD, simply to compete better with Netflix. Every free movie or show that I have watched on Netflix isn't necessarily in HD, but most are, and I have never had a quality issue on my PC or Xbox, which both use wireless Internet. It will be interesting to see how they try to upgrade their features after feedback from this testing phase.
ReplyDeleteIf, however, this does take off in a huge manner, Comcast is going to have to lower their prices significantly or do something amazing to compete.. they'll probably increase their internet bills or limit bandwidth while lowering their cable bills. So, I honestly expect comcast to have some trouble competing with basically an onDemand for every show including brand new ones for only $10 a month.
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