For $9.99 a month, the service is touted as offering complete seasons of its shows, in HD. Hulu plus is also delivered to the iphone, ipad, and to some TV enabled devices. All nice additions to the existing service.

As mentioned on the last Sci-Guys-Podcast I got an invite to the Hulu Plus beta, and checked it out. I was very excited to finally be able to get Hulu content on apple devices which previously were unable to show this content, due to Hulu.com being flash based.

This is the point where it starts to break down. You see, Hulu Plus, as delivered via their app, includes very little of the content already on the “regular” Hulu.com site. I was looking to get caught up on Fringe. Sorry, no luck. This was rather surprising to me, since “regular” Hulu has the last few episodes of Fringe available. I went looking for a few other shows I want to get caught up on. Still no luck. Here is a list of the series available in Plus, and yes, there is a lot of stuff there. But nowhere near the number of titles available in the “regular” Hulu.

This is the dirty little secret of Hulu Plus. It is deep, but not broad. The series they have on Hulu Plus have every episode, or at least a lot of them, but you are not going to see a lot of the shows you would expect to find. There are tons of shows that are available on Hulu’s “regular” site, but missing from Plus.

Sure they do have some quality shows on there, like Lost, but I was surprised by how few currently running shows are in Hulu Plus. I think that is the deal-breaker, “regular” Hulu works as a poor-mans DVR, allowing you to watch shows you may have missed. Hulu Plus works a poor man’s Netflix, but with similar cost, and way less content – not exactly something I’m looking for.

This lack of current content in Plus might not be a big deal, if you could get the “regular” Hulu content through the app. But no dice. I can’t speak to the PS3 or other TV enabled device’s version of Hulu Plus, but for the Apple Hulu Plus app? None of the “regular” Hulu content is accessible.

To be fair, on the website, you do get all the hulu “regular” and Plus content, and the same goes for the Hulu Desktop application. So if you have a media PC hooked up to your TV, you might be marginally more interested in the service.

As I’ve said before, “regular” Hulu would not be worth paying for as a service, because the reduced quality of the videos, lack of TV enabled device support, and relative scarcity of episodes. Hulu Plus addresses the first two issues, and as such I was more than willing to give it a shot. But the amount of content is Plus is actually less than “regular” Hulu. At least the content I care about. This is still in beta, so things may change, but due to the current division of Regular and Plus in the apps, I simply can’t recommend the service. Especially for $9.99 a month.

With the name Hulu Plus, you would expect to get more, but in reality you get less. This should be called Hulu Minus.

Yours for only 35k.

Check your Netflix watch instant queue. Look for any TV series on there. Almost all of them in my queue are now showing “coming soon”. Just yesterday I tested an episode of Lost on my iPad’s netflix app. Today? NOT AVAILABLE.

I suspect that the companies controlling this content (ABC, NBC, FOX) have pulled the content to make way for the rumored new Hulu pay service, which will probably be announced for the XBOX at E3 next week.

I hope this is just a glitch or a blip on the RADAR, maybe it is just me.  But if not, then there are not two ways about it. This is a disaster for Netflix. I boo thee.

EDIT: Maybe it isn’t the end of the world: netflixhelps twitter feed says they are working on it. AND now confirm it is NOT a content issue, but a technical one. Whew…

UPDATE: Things appear to be back to normal. Crisis averted. BUT FOR HOW LONG?

Ouch.  I thought this kind of thing only happened to users of Microsoft products…

Click over to Gawker.com to read how 114,000 iPad 3G users have had data compromised.

I sure hope Sci-Guy-Jim didn’t have the control code for Sci-Bot 9000 on his iPad…

I updated my Roku two days ago, and immediately couldn’t do anything… Netflix would not load.  The Channel Store would not load.  I could not maintain connectivity.  I checked the Roku support forums and found this…

“Special announcement – If you are inquiring about problems related to the new Netflix channel for Roku, please note that Roku and Netflix are aware of the problems customers encountered this past weekend and are actively working to resolve those issues now. At this time the Netflix channel is working, but some customers are still seeing problems as a result of outage.

Please try the following steps which may resolve your issue without having to speak with a Roku support agent.

             — Restart your Roku player by unplugging and re-plugging in the power connection. This has resolved most user problems.

            — Please check to make sure your network connection is working by selecting Settings/Network on your Roku player. If your Roku player does not have a network connection, you will not be able to retrieve your Instant Queue.

            — In rare cases, when selecting the Netflix channel, you may see a message asking if you are a Netflix subscriber rather than seeing your Instant Queue. You will then be asked to re-link your Netflix account to your Roku player using a new activation code at www.netflix.com/activate.

We are sorry for the inconvenience you may have experienced these past few days. Rest assured, we are working to ensure customers do not continue to experience these problems 

Wow.  I still can’t get my Roku to work correctly.  Rather than allowing you to roll back the software to the 2.5 version, Roku continues to try to apply fixes to the obviously buggy 2.6 version.  Now that every gaming console allows you to stream Netflix, many Blu-Ray players include Netflix streaming, and more people are simply connecting computers to their entertainment center… Roku is shooting themselves in the foot with this one.  I hope they get it fixed soon, because as of this moment I cannot recommend the device to anybody who wants one.

EDIT/UPDATE:  Ten hours later,  I’ve been able to get my Roku to work, but the connection with Netflix has been shabby.  I’m going to lose the wireless connection and see if an ethernet connection will improve performance.  Judging from support forums, there are still plenty of grumpy Broku (Thanks Sci-Guy-John!) users out there.

Damn you, Steve Jobs!  Just when I was really starting to believe myself when I repeated my “I don’t need an iPhone, I don’t need an iPhone” mantra… you announce that the next model will include video chat.  Bastard.

The iPhone 4 becomes the flagship of the fleet on June 24th.  Apple will discontinue the iPhone 3G model, but the 3GS will still be available for $99.  Expect to pay $199 for the 16GB model, and $299 for the 32GB model (with two year contract with AT&T).

The new phone is thinner than the last model, and includes a front facing camera.  An LED flash has been added to the rear facing camera, too.  And did I mention that it shoots video in HD?  Why did I just buy a Flip camera? Argghh.

Check out all the goodies here.

Well, Comixology is at it again. They’ve just announced an online, web based, reader. So soon you should be able to buy your comics in Comixology, and read them on your iPhone, iPad, or web browser (if it supports flash). Check it out here. It’s still beta, so right now it doesn’t appear to have any Marvel or titles already purchased from their store, but there are a bunch of free titles (including the EXCELLENT “Walking Dead” and “Invincible”) that you can check out.

They apparently are still working on getting publishers to allow them to show purchased comics in the web browser.  I’m sure that must be coming, and once it does, and if they can get DC on board, then this might just be the end-all and be-all of digital comics.  If they can work out one place to buy comics from the major publishers, and display those comics on both mobile devices and the web?  This could become iTunes for digital comics. Then we would just need to worry about what they are going to do for Android.

The Flip Ultra HD is the easiest camera I’ve ever used.  Power it on, press the big red “record” button, and you are making movies.  In HD.  OK, so it’s 720p HD… but it is still better than the old VHS machines I grew up around!  Movies are saved in the MP4 format and are amazingly simple to edit and upload to your favorite social networking site.

The Flip Ultra HD has a built-in USB plug, allowing you to simply plug into your laptop or desktop.  The video editing software is onboard the Flip, so the first time you plug in you have the option of installing the FlipShare software.  I found the FlipShare software very easy to use, and Sci-Wife managed to figure it out on her own, too.  (OK, that sounds mean… she’s just not super-techy, so I’m actually proud of her figuring it out on her own.)

This is a “no frills” device, so don’t buy it expecting to use it for recording sporting events or low-light concerts.  It’s great for casual around-the-house or backyard movies.  The portability is great– fits into a coat pocket or cargo pocket on your pants.

The Ultra HD has a two hour video capacity, so you should be able to make plenty of fun short films before you need to download.  You can recharge the device via the USB connection, or with an included charging cable.  The Ultra HD also has the option of simply using AA batteries instead of the rechargable pack. 

The Ultra HD has a mini-HDMI output, so with the right cable you can connect directly to your HD display and check out your work.  As an entry-level camera, I can’t do anything except give it a great recommendation.  If you are an aspiring cinematographer, you probably want something with a better zoom and focusing– the Ultra HD has a 2x zoom, and a fixed focus lens.

Want to see the full specs?  Check them out here.  Want to see a sample?  Here you go…

Falcon Tester from Sci-Guy Mike on Vimeo.

AT&T announced new data plan rates for smart phone users today.  Don’t worry– if you currently have a $30/month unlimited plan for your iPhone, you will be able to continue the plan for as long as you like.  New subscribers in the US will have two choices:  1) a $25/month plan with a cap of 2 gigabytes of downloads per month; or 2) a $15/month plan with a 200 megabyte cap.  Users who go over their cap for the $25 plan will be able to purchase additional download capacity at the rate of $10 per additional gigabyte.  Those on the $15 dollar plan can buy additional capacity at the rate of $15 per 200 megabytes.

AT&T claims that the new $25 plan will satisfy 98% of current subscribers’ needs, and about 65% of current subscribers would be fine under the $15 plan.  I guess the 2% who use over 5 gigabytes of data per month will just want to stick with the current $30 for unlimited download plan!  Hmmm… I wonder if you can transfer ownership of a data plan?  If you can, AT&T probably just created a black market for grandfathered “unlimited data” plans!