What is Hulu?

Hulu.com is a free to use ad supported website that streams television programs through the web. Viewers are able to watch previously aired television programs through their web browser for free. Ads are displayed as television style commercials embedded with the program being watched. The commercials don't last for more approximately half a minute at a time and their frequency will vary on the length of the program being watched.

While the service is free, members who register for free with the website are able to access certain features not made available to the general viewing public. Any content you watch for free without registering will most likely be family friendly and edited for free viewership. This doesn't seem to be an issue for shows that air on most major networks that censor themselves.

Free television programs are available to stream from just about every genre from always popular reality programs and game shows to sitcoms and hourly dramas. The site is a great place for shows that have been pulled from the air to continue being watched. Deciding on how many programs the show's owners decide to let Hulu.com use on their site, the amount of viewable videos available for one program, may be a few short clips or an entire series.

One show that used to air on NBC continues to play on in Internet browsers around the world. Raines, starring Jeff Goldblum as L.A. Homicide Detective Raines, revolves around Raine's troublesome mental condition that allows him to see the victims of the homicide crimes that he investigates as figments of his imagination. Raines knows that the images are not ghosts and they are simply apparitions from his own subconscious projected and displayed for his eyes to see. This is constantly re-enforced by the fact that Jeff Goldblum is only able to see his victims as he imagines them. Raine's perception of his victims remains limited to the knowledge of his own subconscious. For example, if Raines discovers that his victim doesn't speak any English then he wouldn't be able to communicate with his figment unless he was able to imagine his victim speaking English. Raine's condition not only provided for good detective programming that personified the art of deduction but also a quirky running joke that seemed to work. Watching Raines balance his condition with comedic instances of being caught talking to himself and staring blankly off into space are enough to lighten any homicide investigation.

The show lasted just over a month before being pulled.

Currently, every episode that aired (seven total) is currently available to be streamed online, for now.

One item that is important to note is that shows can be pulled from Hulu's site before you've gotten the chance to catch all of them. Some contracts signed with Hulu.com prevent the company from streaming more than a certain number of shows from one program at a time. This usually seems to be done more with the more popular television shows like "The Office" and "The Simpsons". Users may only stream the last five broadcasted episodes through their browsers.

For those on a budget, Hulu has become quite the treat. People on a budget can't afford to go without Internet in most cases because so much of our public and private business is conducted online, but the cable service doesn't seem to provide any necessary benefit. By limiting themselves to DVDs and Hulu.com those who have given up on cable are still able to get their dosage of their favorite programming and distract themselves for a few minutes a day after hours of work at a computer.

Hulu.com also makes it possible to stream videos through certain cell phones. This can be a life saver on long boring trips or waiting for a connecting flight at the airport.

While there are rumors circulating that Hulu.com is going to begin charging for premium membership, as of the date of this writing all viewing services remain free.

Since the programs available to be watched on line through Hulu.com are still controlled by their studio owners and Hulu pays the studios for the rights to stream a show, this t.v. watching option is 100% legal and won't make a pirate out of anybody. Hulu.com seems to be the best legal alternative to traditional illegal video file sharing.

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Hulu.