There’s a movement underfoot. A movement to break free of cable providers’ high costs and poor service. A movement to time- and device-shift. A movement to watch what we want, where we want, when we want. For me, personally, there’s no way I can rid myself of my cable bill. My wife is the chief TV watcher in the family who also pays the bills, so, well, we’re getting cable. However, were I to be a single guy, I’d not pay for cable; I just can’t justify the money. Plus, I tend to get wind of the cool TV show to watch three years after it debuted, leaving me to play catch-up. Usually, that’s in the form of an expensive DVD set or iTunes purchase. I am also usually just as comfortable watching something in my office, or in bed on the iPad.
The CliffsNotes version of this article: if you’re a movie person, get Netflix, If you’re a TV person, get Hulu Plus. The reason: Hulu’s movie selection is completely abysmal, whereas Hulu Plus is good for current-run TV shows.
Now, lets look at the apps. Our sister site NewTeeVee has a write-up covering the availability of shows here, so I’m not going to subject you to a large table in this post.
Hulu Plus ($9.99 per month)
There’s been a lot of bloviating about the short ads you’re forced to watch, even on the paid version of Hulu. They are noticeable, with an announcer’s voice that frequently grated on me. While I can kinda see the point, for me, it’s not a big deal; my cable-only channels subject me to longer, more frequent commercial interruptions. The ads on Hulu Plus aren’t a deal-breaker for me, but they are a point against the service.
What’s more of a bother to me is how limited the mobile offerings are. Not all Hulu shows are available for viewing on the iPad or iPhone. Stargate SG-1 is available in its entirety on the web; not at all on mobile (according to Netflix, this will be available for streaming August 15, so we’ll see if it’ll be on Hulu Plus then). However, Hulu Plus’s offering are deeper — where the free version might only have three shows of a season, the Hulu Plus version is more likely to have the full season. I did find Hulu was more likely to have older TV shows, as full seasons of Hill Street Blues and the A-Team are available (and let me say, the A-Team does not hold up well after all these years). Hulu’s movie selection is very weak — no mainstream movies to be found.
The app performs well. You can manage your queue, although, oddly, you can’t add a full season in one press. Because Hulu’s service is entirely streaming, I found the app a little easier to navigate than the Netflix app. However, in a curious technical decision, the Hulu Plus app doesn’t support the VGA output cable. Since I don’t have a 3G iPad, Hulu was the only one I was able to test over a cellular connection, and the results were fair, but from a small sample set: On the train to work, where AT&T coverage is spotty, the video was pixellated; at home with a better signal, it worked fine. One annoying feature in the Hulu Plus app is every time I launched it, it reminded me I was watching a video and did I want to continue watching it?
Netflix ($8.99 per month)
Comparing Hulu to Netflix is a lot like comparing iBookstore to Amazon’s Kindle store; like Amazon, Netflix has the benefit of a large library. As with Hulu, there are shows only available on Netflix — I could not find Nip/Tuck, Weeds, and Thirtysomething on Hulu; the complete offerings are only on Netflix. It also bears repeating for people who skipped my intro bit that Netflix is the place for you to go if you’re into movies.
I found the Netflix app to be a little sluggish. The video playing was usually fine, but I encountered a lot of slowness browsing the libraries. It’s also hard to pull down the Genres list — postings at the bottom were cut off. In addition, it’s impossible to just search by the titles available for streaming. Unlike the Hulu app, Netflix actually uses the VGA cable.
Final Thoughts
I was hoping that, at least for TV shows, one service would be a home run. Sadly, that’s not the case. While I found more TV shows on Netflix than Hulu that I enjoyed, I could convince myself to pay for Hulu for a few months to re-watch Hill Street Blues as well as start House and Law and Order. I’d be well ahead of the DVD costs. Hulu also earns points for current shows.
Given the economics, it’s not a requirement for an either-or service, For less than $20 a month, you can have access to a great library of movies and TV shows. The ads on Hulu Plus are a bummer. You get no commercials and larger selection (including movies, on Netflix) but Hulu Plus also lets you stay current on your shows. If you’re just staying current, and not digging through a backlist, there’s little reason to sign up for Hulu Plus.
Looking Ahead: My Wishlist
Both these apps are fantastic, but operate under the necessity of an Internet connection, which means you’re screwed if you’re on a plane or in a bad cell area without Wi-Fi. What I’d love is for these apps to have the ability to also download movies into their device library for off-line viewing. I’m not sure how the licensing or logistics would work, but I hope that’s in their plans.
If you’re a movie and/or television buff, then the iPad may be your new best friend. We’ve got a round up of six different apps to help you consume your favorite televisions shows and movies. Enjoy!
Netflix has made a name for itself with its excellent service, and many were surprised when it announced it would be coming to the iPad before the iPhone (on launch day, too). The Netflix app is basically a one-window browser that loads a tailored version of the site, allowing you to watch any movie in its instant-watch collection. You can also manage your movie queue, adding or deleting movies as you please. The app isn’t very polished, but it works. I’ve watched the entire three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender on it without incident. The app is free; the subscription, however, isn’t, and it’ll run you $9 a month. There’s a free 30-day trial, though, so you can evaluate whether you like it or not. Personally, I love it.
Hulu, on your iPad is something that’s been anticipated for a long time. Full access requires a subscription to Hulu Plus, which will run you $10 a month. There’s a free gallery that has single episodes of some good shows like 30 Rock and Parenthood, which should give you a good idea of whether you want to pony up the $10/month or not. Unfortunately, a Hulu Plus subscription will not exempt you from the periodic ads that appear during playback.
You can watch full episodes of selected ABC shows, like 20/20, Desperate Housewives, and (my favorite) Modern Family. At last count, there are 33 evening shows, four daytime shows, and any specials that appeared within the last few months available. You can also view ABC’s schedule to find broadcast times for shows that aren’t on the list.
Flixster shows you movie times at your local theaters and lets you buy tickets. It also shows ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and lets you play trailers for upcoming films. Sometimes it can be annoying, like when it pops up an advert for a film that you have to dismiss before you can use the app.
IMDb is a huge database of movies, television shows and actors, so when you’re watching a movie with Netflix and want to know more about it, you can pop over to IMDb and find all the information you could ever want to know, like which actors appear in the movie, reviews and trivia. It also has local showtimes and trailers, like Flixster. The app is fast, well laid-out, and free.
Yahoo! Entertainment has an interesting interface that you’ll either love or hate. On the main screen is a living room, in which an ottoman is parked close to a glowing television, with a magazine, a TV guide, and a DVD case splayed out on the ottoman. Tapping on each item brings up a different part of the app. The magazine takes you to Yahoo! Entertainment News, the TV guide takes you to (what else?) a TV guide, and the DVD case takes you to Yahoo! Video. Each of these has their own unique interfaces, which are all quite attractive. The big thing is the TV guide, which shows you your local programming based on your service provider, and you can hide individual channels.
What apps do you use to keep yourself entertained? Tell us about them in the comments.
DVD to iPhone Converter for both Mac and PC is a handy application that allows you to transfer your DVD movies in to MP4 files optimized for your iPhone 3G, 3GS or 4. It’s incredibly simple to use: just stick your favorite DVD in to your computer, select the appropriate movie file and then click [...]
Heads up, movie fans — today we’ve launched a mobile version of our new Google Search results for movies, which makes it easier to plan a trip to the movies. Just go to google.com in the web browser on your iPhone, Palm WebOS, or Android-powered device, search for “movies”, and then tap on the “More movies” link. From there, you can either browse a list of movies or select the “Theaters” button to browse a list of theaters near you.
Our new movie listings page now includes buttons to play trailers right on your phone, ratings and categories, movie posters, upcoming showtimes, and a concise list of the nearest theaters and their distances from you. We keep information on this page succinct so you can quickly browse through shows and showtimes to help you decide which movie to see. If you want more details about a specific movie, just touch the poster or movie title and you’ll see our new movie details page that has a synopsis of the movie, a more detailed list of showtimes, the cast and crew, and pictures. Watch our trailer for a quick demo:
When you browse by theater, you’ll see a map of the theaters nearest to you. Then, just tap on the link to any particular theater to see what shows are playing there and what times they’re playing. Of course, you can also search for specific movies or theaters and see their listings right away. Try searching for recent movies like “New Moon” or “Where the Wild Things Are” or search for “glendale 18 los angeles”.
If you enjoy searching for movies with Google nearly as much as we have during testing, then this will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Our new search results for movies are available in English in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. As always, let us know your feedback. This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.
Posted by Nick Fey, User Experience Designer, Google mobile team
