Hulu Is Fantastic
I got into the beta for Hulu.com.
I'll say it right now, TV is about over. I see the future and Hulu is a preview of how we will watch TV. Real time TV was dead for me when I got Tivo but Hulu is almost the final shot to the heart. I'll still need live TV for football and live news events but it's really a matter of time before that is streamed as well.
Yeah I know I wrote a similar thought when I looked at the Joose earlier this year. I never followed through with Joose, for all I know it is still stuck in beta. I thought the idea was innovative but the interface was stodgy and the content was very limited.
Hulu contains content from Fox, NBC and others, both old stuff and new. For instance I was cruising the Hulu library and found the pilot episode of St. Elsewhere. I liked that show but never caught episode 1.
The Hulu player delivers a clean image with an intuitive control panel. I did not intend to do a complete breakdown here but if people wish to get an invitation all they have to do is follow the link above and sign up and wait. The earlier you get signed up the faster you get in.
As for advertising it looks like big brands are filling the spots but in time I can see local targeted ads to individual profiles.
As I was looking over the site and finished watching the episode of St. Elswhere it occurred to me that Youtube is over. Don't get me wrong, I like stupid pet tricks and amateur comedians plying their wares as much as the next guy. "You Are a Pirate" is a kick, my kids love it.
But now that a site exists that offers first run proprietary content of shows I really like I say sayonara Youtube.
I almost feel sorry for Google. As they say it's all about the content.
