Is Hulu worth it?

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Paul1977

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#180840 23-Sep-2015 15:01

I've been using US Netflix for a month or so and find it pretty good value, but it is of course a season behind most shows, and there are still a lot of shows not on there.

I signed up for a free trial of Hulu since they now have a no commercials plan, but at US$11.99 + another US$8.99 for ShowTime it seems quite expensive.

I was looking at it to get current shows quickly, but the only show the last 5 episodes of each show. So if you hear about a good show but they are up to episode 7, then you are out of luck.

Does anyone have Hulu, and do you find it worth it?

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#1392757 23-Sep-2015 15:03

You want Hulu Plus to have access to current and previous seasons. I think it's worth it for us, complementing Netflix and Amazon Instant Video well.

ajobbins

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#1392758 23-Sep-2015 15:03

We use it and find it very good. Only annoying thing is the ads - which were interesting at first (Being US ads) but get old fast.

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Paul1977

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#1392762 23-Sep-2015 15:08

ajobbins: We use it and find it very good. Only annoying thing is the ads - which were interesting at first (Being US ads) but get old fast.

Do you have Netflix, or any other streaming service as well?

They have just released a new plan that removes the ads, but costs more (this is the only reason I am considering it, as I refuse to pay for a service and still be forced to watch ads).

Paul1977

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#1392765 23-Sep-2015 15:11

freitasm: You want Hulu Plus to have access to current and previous seasons. I think it's worth it for us, complementing Netflix and Amazon Instant Video well.

I am on the trial for the full paid plan, but even with the full paid plan you only get the 5 latest episodes of a lot of shows don't you?

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#1392778 23-Sep-2015 15:21

ajobbins: We use it and find it very good. Only annoying thing is the ads - which were interesting at first (Being US ads) but get old fast.

You can pay extra now to avoid the ads. Some content still requires ads however (newgirl, greys anatomy and a few others)

rokki

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#1392780 23-Sep-2015 15:22

ajobbins: We use it and find it very good. Only annoying thing is the ads - which were interesting at first (Being US ads) but get old fast.

Hi you can now pay extra to get rid of adds on all but seven shows :)

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davidcole

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#1392786 23-Sep-2015 15:28

I tried it for a week. It was while watching The Last Ship. I went hunting for that and didn't find it. I also found it didn't have some of the UK based shows we tend to watch (from MTV or Channel 4) and limited Bravo content (yes we're those people). So pretty quickly got sick of it.

Trying it years ago the ads annoyed me, but the new ad free plan is probably a good option to get around that problem.

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Paul1977

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#1392871 23-Sep-2015 16:11

freitasm: You want Hulu Plus to have access to current and previous seasons. I think it's worth it for us, complementing Netflix and Amazon Instant Video well.

I'll try Amazon Prime Instant Video too.

I wish there was one service that offered everything!

Netflix NZ$12.99
Hulu (Ad Free) approx NZ$20.00 (US$11.99)
Showtime (Hulu Add-on) approx NZ$15.00 (US$8.99)
Amazon Prime approx NZ$14.00 (US$99.00 per year)
Unblock US approx NZ$ 7.00 (US$49.90 per year)
TOTAL approx NZ$68.99

It all adds up :(

I'll definitely keep Netflix, and I'll guess I'll just thrash the others for the trial period and see.

turb

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#1392893 23-Sep-2015 16:28

Paul1977:
freitasm: You want Hulu Plus to have access to current and previous seasons. I think it's worth it for us, complementing Netflix and Amazon Instant Video well.

I'll try Amazon Prime Instant Video too.

I wish there was one service that offered everything!

Netflix NZ$12.99
Hulu (Ad Free) approx NZ$20.00 (US$11.99)
Showtime (Hulu Add-on) approx NZ$15.00 (US$8.99)
Amazon Prime approx NZ$14.00 (US$99.00 per year)
Unblock US approx NZ$ 7.00 (US$49.90 per year)
TOTAL approx NZ$68.99

It all adds up :(

I'll definitely keep Netflix, and I'll guess I'll just thrash the others for the trial period and see.

I was looking at that thinking how extravagant it would be to have all those services (we have unotelly and Netflix).

And then I remembered we used to pay way more than that to Sky every month for terribly weak content.

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littleheaven

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#1392897 23-Sep-2015 16:31

Paul1977:
freitasm: You want Hulu Plus to have access to current and previous seasons. I think it's worth it for us, complementing Netflix and Amazon Instant Video well.

I am on the trial for the full paid plan, but even with the full paid plan you only get the 5 latest episodes of a lot of shows don't you?

Depends on the show. We've just watched all of Brooklyn 99 on Hulu Plus right from the very first episode, and finished season 2 just in time for 3 to start this weekend.

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steve98

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#1393088 23-Sep-2015 21:24

Hulu is definitely worth paying for but you have to do your homework to get the most value out of it. The shows on Hulu are primarily from the free-to-air networks in the States - ABC, NBC, FOX are the main ones. American TV runs oin pretty fixed seasons and new seasons of shows all start and end across all of these channels at pretty much the same time. The Fall season is just starting this week in fact. So when each season starts you have to pretty religious about reading about what shows are starting, check out trailers to see if they appeal, and start following them from week one so as not to fall behind or find out about a show only after the first few episodes have dropped off the radar.

Once the seasons are up, Hulu has really nothing to offer until the next season starts and that is usually a good few months, so I'd recommend cancelling your 'plus' subscription during this period. You can cancel and re-join at will. The free version of Hulu will of course remain available to you.

So if you're willing to put in some effort Hulu is well worth the money. I actually like the ads, but after a while it's easy to forget that there isn't a Walgreens or a Target around the corner, we don't have TGI Fridays and that the Burger King offers don't apply! It's a bit like living in NZ But with a US cable subscription. I love that. Oh and the picture quality is to die for.

Enjoy.

Paul1977

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#1393224 24-Sep-2015 08:41

steve98: Hulu is definitely worth paying for but you have to do your homework to get the most value out of it. The shows on Hulu are primarily from the free-to-air networks in the States - ABC, NBC, FOX are the main ones. American TV runs oin pretty fixed seasons and new seasons of shows all start and end across all of these channels at pretty much the same time. The Fall season is just starting this week in fact. So when each season starts you have to pretty religious about reading about what shows are starting, check out trailers to see if they appeal, and start following them from week one so as not to fall behind or find out about a show only after the first few episodes have dropped off the radar.

Once the seasons are up, Hulu has really nothing to offer until the next season starts and that is usually a good few months, so I'd recommend cancelling your 'plus' subscription during this period. You can cancel and re-join at will. The free version of Hulu will of course remain available to you.

So if you're willing to put in some effort Hulu is well worth the money. I actually like the ads, but after a while it's easy to forget that there isn't a Walgreens or a Target around the corner, we don't have TGI Fridays and that the Burger King offers don't apply! It's a bit like living in NZ But with a US cable subscription. I love that. Oh and the picture quality is to die for.

Enjoy.

Thanks for all the info, very helpful. It does sound like just as much work as obtaining the shows through, lets just say, other means.

I'm happy to pay if it's easy and I can watch what I want when I want, but this does sound quite limited in that respect.

As I say, I'll see how the trial goes but it's starting to sound like it's not really going to suit my viewing style.

marlinz

441 posts

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#1393229 24-Sep-2015 08:47

We have Hulu , Showtime and Netflix , have found lately that we are watching more Hulu and Showtime than Netflix (US) , Ray Donovan , Homeland etc .We are enjoying having so much choice (sometimes to much, making hard to decide what to watch )

Try it for a month or two , you can always cancel after that

steve98

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#1393230 24-Sep-2015 08:57

Paul1977:

Thanks for all the info, very helpful. It does sound like just as much work as obtaining the shows through, lets just say, other means.

I'm happy to pay if it's easy and I can watch what I want when I want, but this does sound quite limited in that respect.

As I say, I'll see how the trial goes but it's starting to sound like it's not really going to suit my viewing style.

It's definitely not as much work as doing it *that* way. Once you've decided what you want to watch, it couldn't be easier really. You don't need to remember which episode you got up to (it does that for you), you don't have to hunt around for a good quality copy (it's always pristeen), and you don't need to wonder and keep tabs on when the next season of a show you like is starting (new episodes will just pop up on your watchlist if you watched the last season).

Despite the limitation of it only having the 5 most recent episodes of a show (and we have to remember, this is really meant to be a catch-up service for Americans, rather than a proper Netflix style library), Hulu is hands-down the best way to be watching up-to-date programs in pristeen quality.

dclegg

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#1393231 24-Sep-2015 09:01

We've been Hulu Plus subscribers for a while, and use it regularly. It's great if you're a fan of shows like Modern Family and The Simpsons, as you can get access to the latest episodes usually within a day or two of them airing in the States (and I see the new season of Modern Family is about to start again; yay!).

The ads can get a little annoying, but they're less intrusive than traditional FTA TV.

For reference, we also regularly use Netflix, HBO, and Lightbox, and find that Hulu still has a place in our TV watching ecosystem.

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