Running a free trial on Hulu right now, and I noticed that a lot of content is “locked” unless you connect with your cable or satellite provider. If you want to cut the cord completely, and you no longer have a cable/satellite provider, is Hulu worth it, and how quickly does that content become unlocked, if at all?
I don’t have cable/satellite. I get Hulu (which is internet content) through my Roku. I think it’s worth it, as you have access to zillions of movies and TV shows. Browse the Hulu site on your computer and see if there’s anything there you would like.
BTW you can have a Roku AND cable at the same time. Connect to Hulu through the Roku. Here’s an overviewof Roku in case you don’t know what it is. I didn’t until I actually got it.
How much does it cost to connect through cable? I think my Roku subscription is something like $5 per month.
IMHO unless you watch a lot of live sports, there’s no reason to have cable anymore. I was paying upwards of $200/month and still couldn’t find any stations I liked to watch. Without cable, you can still get your local stations through the air (the old-fashioned way) with a simple indoor antenna.
With streaming, Netflix is the backbone. In my experience most things on amazon prime are also on Netflix so not much benefit there. But when I got hulu plus I realized I could get a lot of shows not on Netflix. I get lots of cartoon network and comedy central shows on hulu plus that Netflix doesn’t offer.
Aside from the problem you describe there is also the fact that some shows have a three week delay. So you may not be able to see a new episode until three weeks after it airs. Plus some shows will work on hulu plus for pc but not hulu plus on TV. I have no idea why.
But it is $8/monyh,the price of two meals at McDonald’s. I’d say it is worth it for that price.
I have both HULU and Netflix, and those seem to cover al my viewing needs. I have no cable or dish now, and I do not believe I have encountered any content locked by the cable provider.
I believe you can get specifically HBO or Showtime or Comedy Central apps, and some of those seem to be limited to existing subscribers.
I want to use Hulu primarily for network content, so how fast they get new shows up is the main factor. Shows like Big Bang Theory, Elementary, etc.
Any experience with those?
I have cable, Hulu, and Netflix, and of the three we watch cable the least, by far.
I believe all three of Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime offer free trial periods. So set up free trial periods for all three and at the end of the period drop the ones which aren’t useful and continue the ones which are.
I don’t have cable either.
I never cared for Hulu’s extra content, since it seemed to be mostly the crap that I don’t like from TV (lame shows and commercials). I stopped my Hulu Plus account after maybe 6 months and haven’t looked back.
Instead I use Netflix and HBO Now via Apple TV. That’s $23 per month with loads and loads of content. There’s also Crackle, which is free, but includes commercials. And of course PBS (though the catalog isn’t very big, which is strange given the long history of shows).
The one thing that I miss after recently canceling cable is AMC. I enjoy the Walking Dead so I’m not sure how that’s going to work.
If it’s just the one show, then maybe just buy the season?
I did that with Mad Men and Better Call Saul. I think I paid like $40 for both seasons.
Netflix has it, but it is a season or two behind. Just gotta be patient. 
We watch the ABC Wednesday night shows (The Middle, Modern Family etc ) and HULU always seem to have them up by Thursday
I do miss Turner Classics though.
That’s probably what will happen. A few years ago I cancelled cable and when walking dead came on I couldn’t resist and resubscribed. This is before streaming was as easy.
Once you have cable, those costs feel sunk, but when you have to buy piecemeal, then it feels like each decision needs to be scrutinized for the marginal value of that purchase. It’s strange I know.
When my wife and I cut the cord we found the only way to get the current shows we liked were eaither Hulu or the CBS app. We couldn’t find anything on netflix that we enjoyed. Now all we use on our fire is Hulu or MLB.tv and since CBS is only on the ipad we don’t watch those shows as much.
ABC, NBC, CW and Fox all show their current shows on Hulu no more then one week behind.
I like hulu. When I have time to watch TV I turn it on and my shows are waiting. It’s just like my directv dvr except I’m saving like $90/month and I have to [del]get up and grab a beer every 8 minutes[/del] watch commercials.
This. You can now get HBO as well without needing a cable subscription.
In short, you buy internet only from the cable company, or fiber/dsl if you are one of the elite few who can get fiber or you can get fast dsl.
You pay $8 for hulu, $8 for Netflix ($18 if you want to rent Blu-rays for those things they don’t the streaming rights to), $15 for HBO. $31-$41, and you get to watch everything on *your *schedule, and most of it is commercial free.
Truly a civilized way to do it, and if you have the $18 Netflix plan, you have access or will have access to basically anything and everything worth watching. (every movie and every TV show that was remotely popular eventually gets released on DVD/blu-ray). Hulu covers most of the low rent network TV programs like SNL, and the majority of the good programs on TV are HBO.
What are you missing out on? Sports.