Do You Hulu?

OMG. Hulu is awesome.

Hulu is a new website by NBC Universal and Fox. It is, as the New York Times describes, like a 'YouTube Pro' for conventional media outlets to obtain advertising money on current and existing series. They're got everything from Fox's The Riches back to every episode of the old Battlestar Galactica, as well as dozens of movies.

It is awesome. I've been able to revisit some childhood favorites and see just how dated they seem. In an early episode of Buck Rogers, for example, one of the leads has to convince a room full of Speak 'n' Spells to stay the execution of our hero. I was also reminded that, to my six-year-old brain, the show was really more about two women catfighting on an interstellar level over the affections of Buck - vampy trampy Princes Ardela vs prim and proper Colonel Wilma Deering.

But I've only just begun. Hulu is great because it is free. It's like a limited Tivo that spans decades in terms of content. The only price is, like television, having to watch ads, but they are under a minute long - not the epic, interminable three or four minute ad spaces on TV. Hulu remembers your que, allows you to email clips from the shows, has excellent playback quality at all screen sizes, including full-screen, and has a fast and simple search utility. It's a great interface experience and the content is only going to grow.

I could be cynical about the goals and business model, but I won't go there. Hulu is media time-shifting done right. Get Hulu on a PMP like the iPod Touch or Archos series of media players, and you'll see a whole new model of distributing media.