Hulu

[statman0007]

http://www.hulu.com/

 

Anyone else think this is the greatest invention since sliced bread? There are a lot of other websites that post shows and movies, but I've found none that are as easy to use and have the quantity and quality of materials.

 

For those that don't know, Hulu is affiliated with NBC, but it contains footage from over 50 content providers. It's completely legal; they do have commercials, but I've found that the amount of commercial time is about 1/4 of what you'd see on TV.

 

I just got caught up on the TV series Burn Notice and plan on watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soon. I recommend checking it out!

[homer]

It is cool. I watched an old Remington Steele episode over the weekend.

[jordanmuehl]

I love Hulu. It's nice to know that you can watch episodes of shows (and even movies) online and not have to worry about doing something illegal.

[Nader Raider Tim]

Fancast.com also seems to be a good legal way to watch tv online.

[bork]

Thanks for getting me hooked on Hulu. I've been watching Incredible Hulk episodes that I haven't seen in 30 years.

[SeriesFinale]

As someone who works for an entertainment union, I can tell you that things like Hulu are really crummy for the actual creatives involved with making the show, from the writers to the actors to the directors. The producers are still making bank with all that ad money on older shows like Remington Steele and even newer shows like Firefly from Hulu, but the actors, etc. aren't seeing dime one. The producers claim these are "promotions," not actual shows, and as such they don't pay re-use fees (ie. residuals/royalties) on them. It's a pretty gross situation.

 

Things are a little better with the recent negotiations, but still not where they should be. If you're gonna watch this stuff, take it off torrent sites. Yeah, the creatives still won't get paid for that use, but the producers won't be lining their pockets with others' work, ether.

[Schlitz001]

This is convenient for me seeing that I just got a written warning from my cable company about illegally downloading torrents. This will help curb my evil, evil habit.

I'm not sure how vital DVD sales are to a show versus money from on-air advertisements, but if it weren't for torrents and sites like hulu I wouldn't be watching shows like House, Lost, The Wire, Weeds, the Office and 30 Rock.....all of which I own several seasons of on DVD.