Friday, October 23, 2009

THING 43. ONLINE TV AND VIDEO

This was another Thing I liked. Since I don't have cable, I asked coworkers for suggestions for cable shows they like. Here's what I found on Hulu:

Burn notice had many interviews. I watched one. Didn't see that full episodes were available.

Breaking bad. You have to sit through 2 minutes of ads before seeing an 8 minute minisode.

Life after people. More ads. Watched clip on what would happen to animals if people disappeared from the earth. Wild animals would multiply. Domestic animals would die or turn feral. Gorillas would be the top mammal. Then watched clip on trash and no people. The worst trash would last a million years. A single styrofoam cup could last indefintely. And on that cheery note it's time to move on.

I discovered Hulu is more than TV. There are movies on Hulu and trailers. I watched the trailer for Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood version of Jane Austen's book. National Geographic specials are on Hulu--excerpts as well as some full length programs.

It was while looking through the National Geographic lineup that I had a eureka moment. The trebuchet question. Every year I get the trebuchet question. A patron, usually a young male, wants information about the trebuchet, a medieval siege weapon. I found clips on Hulu from the History Channel showing what trebuchets look like and how they work. I can answer a reference question with Hulu!

What happens when you subscribe on Hulu? Some shows have a subscribe icon. I looked all over the website for an explanation of the features. Hulu's how-tos are buried in a pulldown box I got by using "subscribe" as a search word. There's a list of videos explaining various features, including "How to subscribe to a show." Why isn't there a link on the home page for Hulu how-tos?

I don't watch much TV except for the news. Hulu is fun to play around with, but I don't think it will drastically change my viewing habits. I don't have time to watch hours of TV and movies. With Hulu, you have to spend a lot of time searching, and maybe the full length show you want isn't available. I like the free, on-demand access of Internet video. What impact will Hulu and similar websites have on viewers? Internet TV competes with broadcast and cable TV. It must cut into their number of viewers. How much, I don't know. I can't predict that it will replace them. I have heard of people who watch TV mainly on the Internet.

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