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Netflix vs Hulu Plus

T

theturtle

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 3, 2009
579
35
hey guys, was wondering which one is better. i google'd it but all the articles seem to be dated from august. the general consensus is that hulu plus has alot better vid quality (all platform streaming wise) but that was a few months back so i was curious if netflix improved the quality. i know 8 and 10 dollars isn't alot of money, but rather make the right decision from the start. is hulu plus's vid quality on comp/tv/iphone THAT much better than netflix? thats the deciding factor for me...

thanks!
 
If you want stuff from the current year, then Hulu is your only option.

Otherwise, I prefer Netflix. Much more content that I like, and I actually find the picture quality of Netflix far better. Also, Netflix is currently available on far more devices than Hulu.
 
^ And you pay for Netflix regardless whereas Hulu somehow finds it appropriate to make you pay if you want to watch on say your iPad and in that case they'll still stick you with ads.
 
I have been a Netflix customer since 2003. I would prefer to support them over anything that drowns one with advertisements. That being said, even the ads on Macrumors or the few iAds I have seen have been bearable since they do not force you to watch something before you can even start a program. I understand the need and benefit of ads, but with some level of sanity attached.

I can't stand seeing the videos on the news websites since you ALWAYS have to wait 15 to 45 seconds to view the preceding ad.
 
I tried both and here are my opinions.

Netflix- Great selection of movies that really does grow every day. I am constantly surprised at what gets added and I really feel like I get my money's worth. I can watch from my iPhone, iPad, Windows Desktop, Xbox 360, Wii. All the streaming content can be watched on all devices any time I want. I can even watch two different things at once if I want to share with the family. The UI is not the same across all devices and can be a bit clunky on the iPad. But as far as streaming once you start a movie or show is pretty darn good. This is a service I will happily continue to pay for.

Hulu plus- I tried it for a month. I cancelled it. There was a dismal movie selection. The TV selection at first seemed to best Netflix. But after combing through the crap I realized that all the best shows were on both services.

and a major drawback to Hulu plus is the fact that not all content is available on all devices. There are shows that are on the free Hulu on computers only that you cannot watch on your iPad/iPhone through hulu plus.

There are ads on hulu plus, very short but still annoying.

I feel like hulu plus could be a real option in the future. Its going to take some some killer content deals from the networks to make it fly.

once we can watch all content across all devices (like netflix does now) and be able to watch it on all our great internet connected devices (like xbox, ps3, wii, roku, google tv, apple tv etc etc) then and only then will i look into trying it again.

Also once hulu can be able to stream content day and date from when it was aired on the networks.

there may be a day I go back to hulu plus. its just not going to be any time soon.

Netflix however is a great service at a pretty good price. Good bang for the buck.
 
I have both and if you want to watch movies netflix is a better choice as far as TV shows hulu plus blows netflix out of the water.
 
frunkis54 said:
I have both and if you want to watch movies netflix is a better choice as far as TV shows hulu plus blows netflix out of the water.
Click to expand...

Besides current running seasons, how does Hulu blow out Netflix? I see a ton of the same offerings on each service....
 
iphone1105 said:
Besides current running seasons, how does Hulu blow out Netflix? I see a ton of the same offerings on each service....
Click to expand...

same offerings? i always start my search for a particular tv show i can't think of any at the present second but i don't find them on netflix. then i go to hulu and there it is.

but yes quality on netflix is better.
 
frunkis54 said:
same offerings? i always start my search for a particular tv show i can't think of any at the present second but i don't find them on netflix. then i go to hulu and there it is.

but yes quality on netflix is better.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I see tons of NBC shows that overlap, Fox shows, ABC shows, Discovery, FX, I mean, yeah bro, need me to go on on how many shows overlap between the services??? PLus Netflix has many more films to watch....but yeah man, Hulu and Netflix have a lot of the same shows, and NFlix has no commercials. I enjoyed paying for my Hulu previews, still do, but it wont be renewed unless they get some films of some higher popularity...
 
iphone1105 said:
Yeah, I see tons of NBC shows that overlap, Fox shows, ABC shows, Discovery, FX, I mean, yeah bro, need me to go on on how many shows overlap between the services??? PLus Netflix has many more films to watch....but yeah man, Hulu and Netflix have a lot of the same shows, and NFlix has no commercials. I enjoyed paying for my Hulu previews, still do, but it wont be renewed unless they get some films of some higher popularity...
Click to expand...

as far as movies go yes Netflix way better. as far as TV show go hey thats your opinion. i personally feel hulu plus has more tv shows that i want to watch and yes i have looked up alot that hulu plus has that netflix doesn't.

ok i just check say you want to catch up on the new show chase its on hulu plus but not netflix
 
I have both. Had netflix for 2 years now and just got hulu plus to see what it was about

Netflix to me is bar none the better choice. I love the ease of netflix main page, their customer service to great, and their selection blows hulu out with movies and tv

Hulu impresses me though as I love most of the new shows being available and in great quality. I will just say though that the Hulu movie catalog is atrocious if some did not know.

Also, I find the ad's to be beyond annoying in Hulu. Some claim they are short but in the several that I have had, they last a bit too long for me. Netflix gives me zero and I love them for that
 
got my hulu plus invite today! not sure what to do though.

to be totally honest, im a tv kind of person. netflix def has a large movie collection, but i wasn't really intrigued by it. but thats just me. the only issue is, im not sure if hulu is worth that 10. i think charging people than making them watch commercials is just nonsense. but than again netflix on the iphone had somewhat grainy quality. maybe it was because i was watching a old saturday night live movie?
 
I'm very happy with Netflix. The quality of the movies and TV shows I've watched on my iPhone 4, over both Wi-Fi and the 3G network, has been generally excellent. I'm not into renting DVDs, but the very broad selection of downloadable content makes it well worth the $8.95/month for me.
 
Who gets Hulu for movies? I always thought that they are pretty much specifically for TV. Hell their Hulu pass promo has nothing but TV shows on it (House, Office, 30 Rock, etc)

I've tried both (temporarily), and i gotta agree: Netflix beats the crap outta Hulu plus. Tried the exact same episode on both apps (the first episode in The Office), and it was ridiculously good quality over 3G. There was no lag whatsoever. The Hulu version was chugging after about 20 seconds. .

As of right now, i can't think of a good reason why anyone would choose Hulu plus, unless they really need to watch new episodes/animes or something
 
I gave up on Hulu the moment they started charging. I gladly pay for Netflix every month, but that's because I think they bring enough content to the table for me to get my money's worth.
 
I signed up for a hulu+ invite a while back. While waiting for my invite. Netflix had a free two week trial, no credit card needed. I signed up and tried it and signed up for Netflix a day before my trial ended.

Hulu finally sent me an invite. I didn't even activate it. Didn't see the need to spend $10 for it. I find wait too many things I want to see on Netflix and I just use my laptop to access hulu and catch up on episodes I may have missed from recent tv showing
 
I think the content on Netflix is more than enough to keep me busy. I just cant justify spending the $10 on Hulu, when I really can just wait an extra hour or two and watch it on my laptop for free.
 
all TV shows I'm interested in are on the free Hulu 1 day or one week after air date. So there is no reason to pay for Hulu since in any case I have to watch Ads. The only advantage for Hulu plus is that it runs on the iPad.

I'm thinking about Netflix but then I think I'm not watching enough movies to justify the expense. $120/year on Netflix translates into ~30-40 movie rental in iTunes. Currently I rent about 30 movies a year. The only disadvantage of iTunes is that I have to watch the movie within 24hrs.
 
Quick question for you Netflix users:

How many devices does the $8.99 package let you use? I only need three (xbox and 2 iphones).

Thanks for the help!
 
xenuprime said:
Quick question for you Netflix users:

How many devices does the $8.99 package let you use? I only need three (xbox and 2 iphones).

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

I'll say its not infinite, but I have 4 xbox's and 4 iphones on my instant watch account(spread between family and friends)
 
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