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Hulu Offers Free TV and Movies over the Net
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director; Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio and TV Show Host
iwilsker(at)apcug.net

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

WEBSITES:
http://www.hulu.com
http://www.hulu.com/browse/alphabetical/tv  - TV Shows Alphabetically
http://www.hulu.com/browse/genre/tv  - TV shows by Genre
http://www.hulu.com/hd  - HD Videos
http://www.hulu.com/browse/network/movies  - Movies by Studio
http://www.hulu.com/browse/genre/movies  - Movies by Genre
http://www.adobe.com  - Adobe Flash Player (Free)

One of my readers recently emailed me about an offer he received via email (probably a spam email) about a $50 program that will allow him to view what was described as satellite TV over the internet, without paying a monthly fee.  According to the email, with this program, he could discontinue his cable or satellite service, and watch over 3000 channels on his computer.  I researched the product he referenced and found that it was a multilevel marketed program that was, in my opinion, deceptive in that it did not offer real satellite TV, but instead only offered a software utility that could receive the thousands of streaming videos already available for anyone to view for free, and that often required no special software to view.  I strongly recommended to the reader that he not purchase the product, and instead just search for streaming video, and to keep his current TV provider.

In researching this service I came upon a recently released and legitimate way to view thousands of TV programs and movies over the internet, for free, and only using any of the common internet browsers.  This free service (registration required) is the Hulu service available online at www.hulu.com.  Hulu was founded in March of 2007, and is a joint venture owned by NBC Universal, and News Corp, and financed by $100 million of venture capital.  As I type this, Hulu is offering advertising supported content from over 50 sources, such as Fox TV, NBC, MGM, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, and other providers.  The content available for viewing includes TV shows, full length feature films, and clips.  Several full length, prime time shows are available on Hulu the morning after they air, and include such popular shows as The Simpsons, and The Office.  There are also dozens of classical TV shows, available as full length episodes, including such favorites as Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  If users are willing to put up with unobtrusive ads, often in the lower right corner of the image, or standard TV type commercials, they can watch for free such full length feature films as Ice Age, Three Amigos!, and many others.  Hulu is headquartered in Los Angeles, with research and development being done in China.

Hulu will play on almost all current browsers as they are currently configured, and require no special software or add-ons to utilize the service, and requires a broadband connection to view the videos.  Almost all computers already have Adobe’s Flash Player installed, but if not, Flash Player is a free download from Adobe at www.adobe.com.

Once registered at hulu.com (free registration), a broad selection of videos becomes available for viewing at will.  As I type this, there are about 11,200 full length TV episodes and feature clips available, with more being added daily.  Currently available for viewing are almost all of the episodes of The Simpsons, 30 Rock, The Office, Knight Rider, House, Medium, Bionic Woman, American Dad!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 24, Prison Break, Heroes, about 160 full length children’s cartoons (Woody Woodpecker, Spiderman, Astro Boy, and many others), and other TV shows of all genres.  For those partial to Saturday Night Live skits, there are about nearly 500 available, including such contemporary issues as presidential politics.  TV wrestling fans would appreciate the over 300 matches available for viewing, while NBA fans can view over 140 clips from professional basketball games.  A collection of recent (2008) full length college football games, including many of the bowl games are available for viewing, including the 2007 and 2008 Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and others, enough to satiate any college football fans, and keep them glued to the computer screen for days on end.  Soap opera addicts will appreciate the well over 100 clips from Days of Our Lives.  In total, Hulu lists 25 different TV genres for every taste, making something available for everyone.  The large assortment of TV shows (and movies as well) can be displayed by clicking on “Type” (TV or Movie), and then “Genre”; this will display only those selections that meet both criteria.  Simply clicking on the image of the selection will play that selection.  All of the TV shows can be displayed in one window alphabetically at www.hulu.com/browse/alphabetical/tv, and can be run by clicking on their titles.   All of the TV shows can also be displayed in one window, sorted by genre at www.hulu.com/browse/genre/tv.

Hulu is not just about TV, but also full length feature films, clips, and trailers.  As I type this, there are 760 movies available, of which 80 are full length feature films, the remainder being shorts, clips and trailers.  According to Hulu, the most popular full length films viewed by members are Ice Age, Master and Commander: The far Side of the World, The Girl Next Door, The Jerk, Usual Suspects, Planet of the Apes, Weekend at Bernie’s, Dragon – The Bruce Lee Story, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Three Amigos!, All Dogs Go to Heaven, and dozens more.  Movies are divided into 10 genres, including action and adventure, animation, comedy, crime and mystery, documentary and biography, drama, family and kids, horror and thriller, music, and sci-fi and fantasy.  Movies can be selected by genre, or by studio.  Opening www.hulu.com/browse/network/movies will display movies alphabetically by studio, with full length features being clearly indicated.  Each of the movies shown is hyperlinked (click on the title) directly to the movie.  Similarly, all of the movies can be sorted by genre, and displayed in one window at www.hulu.com/browse/genre/movies.

Hulu is about to roll out “HD” (High Definition) videos, and currently has 20 HD movie trailers available to demonstrate the service at www.hulu.com/hd.  Since HD video caries more data then conventional video, the system requirements are higher to view HD.  In order to view the HD videos, the computer must have a minimum of Flash Player 9.0.115.0 (a free download from Adobe, available for most operating systems), a 2.5Mbs or faster broadband connection (many of the basic broadband services are incapable of operating at this speed, and a premium or upgraded broadband may be required to view HD), a fast processor (3Ghz minimum for Windows or Linux, or a 1.83Ghz Intel Core Duo for Mac).  Almost all modern computers of recent manufacturer meet the minimum RAM and video requirements to view HD videos.

While not a substitute for cable or satellite TV, Hulu can provide countless hours of entertainment for free.  Since new content is frequently added, and additional providers are being solicited, Hulu has the potential for becoming a major entertainment resource.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).