As you may have heard , NBC Universal and News Corp. late unveiled Hulu.com , an online video service , currently in invitation - only beta . With Hulu you ’ll be able to view Fox shows such asThe Simpsons , Prison Break , andHouse ; FX programs likeThe Riches ; and NBC shows includingJourneyman , The Office , andHeroes . The show will be useable from the Hulu site as well as from better half internet site that include AOL , MSN , and MySpace . Sample videos are higher - than - YouTube quality and spare . What ’s not to care ?
Not a thing , unless you ’ve actually experienced television and the Internet during this millennium .
Gripe 1: Couch-less viewing
Hulu ’s videos are bind to a web web browser app . Unless you have a calculator attach to your TV , you must see this stuff on your calculator ’s screen . This is the computer screen that faces the single chairperson implant in front of it . The one that does n’t recumb . The one that does n’t have a loving cup holder . The one that offers room for a single viewer only .
Gripe 2: See Gripe 1
You ’ve heard of this iPod thing , correct ? The gimmick that permit you take your metier with you ? Completely useless for Hulu content because that depicted object is not portable . You ca n’t download it and therefore ca n’t put it on your iPod . I ’m as nostalgic as the next guy but being forced to enjoy contentedness on a gadget bind to an electric outlet and Internet connection is soThree ’s Company .
Gripe 3: And now a word from our sponsor
If I sustained the kind of head injury that cause me to block everything that happen in the last 10 years I might be okay sitting through the commercial message that are embedded in Hulu ’s video oblation , but until I take my next tumble down the stair I ’m going to bet at Hulu and think , “ Oh yeah , this is why human race formulate TiVo and BitTorrent . ”
Gripe 4: Parochial view
TV programs are just starting to come to iTunes Stores outside the U.S. and those living outside these United States , while desiring a greater selection of plan , seem to apprise that they ’re gettingsomething . Hulu.com bring home the bacon nothing — the site is walled off from the rest of the humanity . ( Quel est un beignet de Dunkin ? )
Adding insult to accidental injury , NBC Universal and Apple do n’t see oculus - to - optic on program pricing , NBC threatens to pull up out , and Apple shoot them out the threshold ahead of schedule with a considerate warning to watch their derriere as they pull up stakes .
Gripe 5: You get what you pay for
Big : iTunes . minor : Hulu.com
In regard to Hulu ’s video qualityEntertainment Weekly Corvus :
I understand that too much television can moulder your brainpower , but honestly , in who ’s universe ( or should I sayUniversal ) is Flash video at a settlement of around 384 x 286 “ far better ” than the iTunes Store ’s 640 x 480 H.264 standard ? But what do I know ? You be the judge .
Gripe 6: Mmmm piracy….
So , let ’s sum up , shall we ?
No lounge .
No iPod .
No uninterrupted programs .
No admittance from outside U.S. moulding .
No iTunes ( in the case of NBC Universal ) .
Video caliber poorer than iTunes .
And where exactly does that leave those Internet - savvy individuals who simply will not be tie to their computers to check program they ’ve been train to see free content ?
Arrrr , matey !
EDITOR ’S distinction : Story updated to compare iTunes and Hulu.com ’s video timbre .
