TV on the Internet

Hulu

My experience: Hulu is worth mentioning first because it has almost all of the shows I was able to find on the individual network sites. If you haven’t tried Hulu, do so immediately after reading this article because it could change your life. The site makes it a snap to find new episodes of your favorite shows and lays claim to a wealth of small shows you’ve never heard of as well as classics you’ll burn hours reminiscing with. Hulu also has a decent selection of free movies too, including a personal favorite of mine, Weird Science. Everything is full screen with an ad at the beginning and a few ads in between. Hulu also lets you subscribe to shows, a feature that essentially turns the site into the world’s biggest DVR. This went a long way helping replicate my traditional TV viewing experience (and yes, I’m now calling DVR “traditional”).

But here’s my problem with Hulu: Almost without exception, the quality is better on network sites. Watch the same episode of Family Guy on Hulu and then again on Fox’s own site and there’s no disputing the fact that Fox is bogarting the good stuff for itself. Hulu looks pretty decent blown up to full screen, but you’ll always get better reception at the source.

FX

My shows: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Shield
My probationary prospect: Sons of Anarchy
My experience: FX shows aren’t HD, but at full screen they easily match SD broadcast quality. The network makes Sunny and Sons available, but on a weeklong delay. I can live with that since both shows are always backlogged on my DVR anyway. What I can’t forgive, however, is the glaring absence of The Shield episodes—a felony in my book. Thankfully, they’re available on iTunes for two bucks a pop.