While the Xbox 360 is primarily a gaming console, its feature-rich dashboard provides many other forms of entertainment for its consumers. From Netflix and ESPN streaming to Facebook and Twitter integration, Microsoft’s console offers an overwhelming wealth of additional applications. Now gamers can add Hulu Plus to that list. As a promotion, Hulu Plus will be available for all Xbox users (Gold or Silver subscribers) from April 29th to May 6th. If you haven’t gotten around to downloading the weeklong access, head over to the dashboard and get to it! After having toyed around with the service for some time, I must say that I am quite impressed. For those that don’t know, Hulu is a video streaming service that has a wide selection of television shows, movies and clips – much like Netflix. However, unlike Netflix, Hulu has brand new content, including recent television episodes.
While select content is free when accessing Hulu through a computer, in order to enjoy any and all of the available content on your 360, you must be a Plus subscriber. When I first sat down with the service, I was struck by a sense of familiarity. Navigating the videos felt a lot like browsing my Netflix queue, which is quite intuitive and made finding what I wanted to watch that much easier. What immediately caught my attention was the latest episode of The Office, which I didn’t get a chance to see on Thursday. Since I work nights, I miss most of my favorite television shows when the initially air, and without a DVR, finding the latest show online can be a bit of a hassle. Sure, I could go on my laptop and pull up NBC.com and watch it on my 13 inch display, but being able to sit on the couch, select the show, and in no time watch Michael Scott’s swan song episode was pretty awesome.
Awesome enough to justify eight bucks a month? Well, that question will vary depending on your current situation. If you are someone who already has TiVo and uses it regularly, then you probably don’t need the service. While there are plenty of great shows and movies available to Hulu Plus subscribers, chances are you already have Netflix, so you bases are pretty much covered. If on the other hand, you do not own a DVR or game on a decent sized monitor, Hulu Plus may be a reasonable option, especially if you don’t already have Netflix. There is a wide array of content available to subscribers, so television and film fanatics will have plenty of quality content to keep themselves entertained. Harry Potter fans may have noticed that a brand new trailer for part two of The Deathly Hallows was recently released. Well, Hulu had an intriguing little clip from MTV that spliced together reaction videos from fans within the trailer itself. While it’s not the most mind-blowing piece of media, it served as a nice example of how Hulu’s library of short clips contain a variety of content.
From trailer analysis videos to preview clips for upcoming television episodes, it will certainly serve as a viable place for gamers to visit on a daily basis. If you have a decent connection, everything will stream in crystal clear high definition and buffer incredibly fast. I was really impressed with the overall quality of the service and would seriously consider using this as a cheaper alternative to a cable subscription. Granted you won’t be able to stream much of the content offered by cable channels, but those of you who primarily watch the basic networks (like me) won’t be missing all that much. While I can’t currently justify tacking on another monthly payment considering my budget, those of you who can afford the offerings of Hulu Plus won’t be disappointed. While the price of Xbox Live has risen to sixty dollars a year, you can’t deny the quality and sheer breadth of content the service offer gamers.
