Hulu Plus (for iPad)

There are numerous ways to watch TV and movies on your iPad?YouTube, Crackle (Free, 3.5 stars), Netflix (Free, 4 stars)?but if you want professional quality TV, there's no better option than Hulu Plus. The free iPad app (which comes with a $7.99 monthly service charge)?offers a deeper catalog of shows and a higher maximum resolution (720p when available) than the free browser-based, basic Hulu service, making it a must for on-the-go TV fiends. There are a few quibbles; you still have to deal with ads, the movie catalog is weaker than Netflix's, and some content isn't licensed for streaming, but Hulu Plus for iPad is very capable mobile video service.

Hulu Plus, for the most part, gives you everything that the free, browser-based Hulu (Free, 3.5 stars) offers, but with the benefit of more content. The basic Hulu service lets you view the last five episodes of a particular show, but Hulu Plus lets you tune into entire back seasons, better movies, and Hulu Plus exclusive programming?this alone makes this worth the price of admission.

Hulu Plus for iPad Content
When the free, basic Hulu launched in March 2008, it had 50 content providers, the biggest being NBC and FOX, and more than 90 show titles. Now it has more than 350 providers, including ABC, Comedy Central, Criterion, CW, MGM, Sony Pictures, TED, Viz Media, and Warner Bros.?CBS remains a missing component. Still, you can tune into 30 Rock, Community, House, and other top-tier TV shows the day after they air. Quality movie content is a bit harder to come by, however. For every Good Will Hunting, Momento, and Reservoir Dogs, there are a slew of low-end movies featuring washed up celebs, such as High Hopes, the 2006 vehicle starring Corin Nemec (Parker Lewis), David Faustino (Bud Bundy), and Jay Mewes (of the Jay and Silent Bob duo).

Netflix's streaming movie library excels here, offering an even deeper catalog of recognizable flicks (such as Do the Right Thing and Zombieland). The free Crackle iPad app has a nice film selection (The Freshman and Ghostbusters are two of the classics available), but a ho-hum TV selection (Seinfeld and Married with Children are two of only a handful of recognizable names). Note: Content may appear on more than one service. Pulp Fiction, for example, is available on both Hulu Plus and Netflix.

Unlike the browser-based Hulu, Hulu Plus doesn't point you to an external site to find missing content. For example, when I typed "60 Minutes" into Hulu, the results returned links to CBS.com; not so in Hulu Plus. Beginning June 4, 2012 Hulu will debut 10 original series, one of which stars film maker and geek god Kevin Smith.

The Hulu for iPad Experience
Navigating the app is simple and intuitive--even more so now with the new panel-driven interface. The interface will ring familiar if you've used the browser-based version of Hulu, as it keeps the Main, TV, Movies, Queue, Featured, Most Popular, and Recently Added tabs. Tapping a TV or movie thumbnail gives you the option to watch it, add it to your queue, or go to the program's page (where you can find in-depth information).

When I fired up an episode of Tosh.0, it loaded quickly and streamed both the audio and video smoothly. The colors were sharp and the images crisp, but there was no way to know if it was truly HD, as Hulu Plus doesn't designate shows as SD or HD. The app has multiple bit rate support, so it will serve up the best video as determined by wireless network speed, but you can't manually tweak it. Still, it looked sharper than Netflix's visuals.

Netflix for iPad has a similar streaming option for $7.99 per month that lets you watch movies and TV shows on your tablet. It offers much of the same deep catalog as Hulu Plus (multiple seasons, of The X-Files, 30 Rock, The Office, etc.), but from more providers. Of the two apps, Hulu Plus is much easier to navigate and has far better video quality. With Netflix, however, you can see a wider variety of popular shows and movies without dealing with ads. Hulu Plus gives you the ability to watch the full season of a current season you can't get on Netflix. My biggest gripe is that a handful of shows and movies (such as Archer) can only be viewed via the browser?Hulu doesn't have the licensing to stream those shows to the iPad or other devices.

Since Hulu Plus is a paid service, I was hoping for a few privileged perks like reduced ads (or ad-free streaming) and quicker access to shows?it would've been great to have episodes available an hour after they air on TV, as opposed to a day later. Instead, Hulu Plus gives you the same amount of ads and doesn't make episodes available earlier than the free service. On the plus side, it streams content in 720p HD (when available); the highest quality offered for the free, basic Hulu is 480p. The Hulu Plus 2.5 update brings Retina Display support.

That same update also brings improved AirPlay Mirroring (iPad 2 and new iPad) which lets you view content in the new "Split Screen" format. This lets you stream video to an Apple TV while navigating around the Hulu Plus app to view TV or movie information. You can't, however, fire up a second video stream on your iPad.

Should You Subscribe To Hulu Plus for iPad?
Hulu Plus for iPad is an app that I easily recommend to those who want to stay on top of current TV shows?if you're more of a movie person, Crackle and Netflix are where you should turn your attention. One would expect an ad-free experience considering the money that's demanded, but the app is one to check out, even with the so-so movie selection and the odd video that can't be streamed.?Still, Hulu Plus is an excellent streaming video app and more than worthy of an Editors' Choice Award.

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