Jeremy approached me with an idea in January of this year. Usually his ideas involve saving money in one way or another and this one was no different. (Our cable bill was nearly $80 a month!) He said, “what do you think about getting rid of cable?” My first though was it is going to be horrible and boring! Somehow he talked me into it and we got rid of it a few days before our son was born. We decided to try Hulu Plus instead and just a few weeks ago we subscribed for the one month free trial of Netfilx. It has been been an adjustment not being able to flick on the T.V. and watch something live like the news or more importantly to me, the FoodNetwork! However, both Hulu Plus and Netflix have great benefits and some down falls as well.
The Positives
Hulu Plus
- You only have to wait one day to watch the latest episode of your favorite show. For example, Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8pm and I can watch it Friday morning.
- Hulu keeps just about an entire seasons worth of episodes on it’s server so, if you are like us and don’t have cable, you can catch up with a new program before watching the latest episode.
- I like having the ability to watch a new, or old episode whenever I want. It’s sort of like a DVR in the fact that I don’t have to sit down at a specific time to watch a show.
Netflix
- It gives a one month free trial, unlike Hulu Plus which is only a week.
- Netflix has great organizational skills! It categorizes the movies and television shows it offers into groups like comedy, horror, drama and it makes it easy to find shows or movies based on your interests.
- You can start at season 1 with many current television shows. For example, my favorite show One Tree Hill just had its series finale and I have been reminiscing by watching the previous seasons.
The Downfalls
Hulu
- You can only watch episodes from the current season. Sometimes Hulu Plus does not even have the whole current season available to watch.
- Some shows are only available online and cannot be watched from your iPhone or XBox.
Netflix
- ‘New’ releases aren’t so new. Movies become available on Netflix about 90 days after the DVD is released.
- It doesn’t have the Harry Potter series. I mean what if you are in the mood for a Harry Potter marathon?
Overall, both programs are great. They both are affordable and together are cheaper than a monthly cable bill. The combination of the two gives you access to previous seasons of T.V. shows as well as current episodes. Why not give them a try?
Raoul Snyman says
The reality for most of the world is that neither of these two services is an option. They don’t provide the service to anyone outside of the USA. Unfortunately this means that most of the people watching these shows have pirated it – not something that we as Christians want to encourage. I personally don’t pirate stuff, so I’ve never heard of or watched most of these shows. It really sucks not being able to make use of these services though.
seventy8Productions says
It would be great if they offered their services world wide. Maybe some day soon they will.
Rachel Lawson says
Great comparison! We got rid of our cable about 2 years ago and haven’t missed it – especially the cable bill! We have a laptop hooked up to the tv and just stream Hulu whenever we want to watch a show. If it isn’t on Hulu, then we just don’t watch it. :). I think these options provide a great alternative to people on a budget.
seventy8Productions says
Rach- we had our computer hooked up to the T.V. for awhile until we got the X- box either one works great!
eric roos says
I agree that a combination of both services is a good idea. Another option is Amazon Prime since their streaming library is bigger than Netflix and they are cheaper on a yearly basis. They have some of the same titles and some different ones as well. However I would only use Amazon if you have a Sony PS3 since their interface is horrible on other devices, If you don’t have a PS3 then stick to Netflix. Netflix is starting to expand internationally. A great free tool to find where to watch what you want is http://www.watchily.com/. Type in what you want to see and it will show you what streaming platform has it available. It saves you time by not having to check every site for the title you want to watch.
Curious says
Does Hulu plus have harry potter
seventy8Productions says
Nope.