There is only so much time in a person’s day. Worse, there is only so much room on the hard drive of my TiVo*. Like anyone else, I’ve been known to record stuff and never get around to watching it. And some things never get recorded at all because they conflict with other required viewing.
Thus the link to Hulu.com. It’s sort of a “one stop shop” for online content. If it comes from Fox or NBC Universal, it’s available direct from Hulu. Other content is linked, such as CBS. Basically, Hulu makes it relatively easy to locate virtually any online video you could want, including full episodes of many primetime series.
And the online “experience” keeps improving. While it is not my preferred way to watch TV, internet viewing is a perfectly reasonable alternative. The commercials are shorter, though somewhat repetitive. Sometimes there aren’t any commercials at all. A good broadband connection and an adequate monitor are all you need.
Hulu lets you tune in with your basic Flash player. Other network sites may require their own specific plug-in. Most of the time, those work well enough. If not, come back later as these things get updated and reconfigured frequently.
While my online viewing is fairly limited, I use the ‘net as a resource to catch up with some of the stuff I miss and for the occasional marathon viewing session where I can let a video play while doing other things that need doing. I watched the pilot episode of The Philanthropist after I completely spaced it off. Just recently, I finished out Prison Break with a multi-episode session … much less painful.
Online Primetime is not for everyone, but it works for some. In the future, I hope to include occasional reports on various online viewing opportunities. Until then …
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