Hulu Plus is a MAJOR disappointment.
So I finally got my Hulu Plus invitation, and signed up immediately. I was expecting not to be charged yet since it's still in "preview" state, but I was. No big deal, but good to know.
I was expecting that I could then use the iPad app to watch all the Hulu Plus videos I wanted, as well as all the publicly available videos that I can watch on the website. Not so. The iPad app only shows the exclusive Hulu Plus content. Granted, there is a lot of content here that I would be interested in. All seasons of Airwolf, for example, and Arrested Devopment. But it seems an unusual limitation to only show premium content in the app, but make me use the computer to view the rest. That's a pain. Also, much of this content is already available from Netflix streaming, which has an iPad app and lets me stream to my TV via my XBox. Also, Hulu Desktop only shows the available public videos, and doesn't show the premium content, so I'm stuck using the website if I want to watch any content on the computer. This separation of content is really annoying. Now I have to keep track of which shows I can watch where. From what I've seen, this applies to the options they offer for getting stuff onto your TV as well, like the XBox streaming (which isn't even available yet) or the PS3. To add insult to injury, the one show that I've wanted to watch that hasn't been recording on my DVR yet this season, and has started expiring on Hulu is not available in Hulu Plus, so I'm stuck. I don't see any reason I'll renew this next month, unless I get really hooked on watching old shows on my iPad. The Hulu Plus app is much better designed than the Netflix app.Update:
I also submitted a complaint to Hulu support, and they got back to me impressively quickly with this response:
"Thanks for taking the time to write in, and I'd like you to know that we recognize the annoyance this cause, and we're working very hard to secure streaming clearances across all devices. We are actively growing our available library and I know you'll see a drastic improvement as we move forward."
