tv shows

Note: Sorry about the newsletter snafu yesterday! Still working out the kinks, so stay tuned.

Ah, Hulu. For anyone looking to cut the cable-TV cord, the service is pretty indispensable. Unlike Netflix, it lets you watch many, if not most, current TV shows the day after they air.

But here's the thing: If you want access on your Roku box, game console, Android phone/tablet, iOS device, or whatever, you need to subscribe to Hulu Plus.

Normally that costs $7.99 per month, but right now you can get Hulu Plus free for three months. (Note that if you'… Read more

Watching a Netflix or YouTube video on a computer screen can feel a little crowded, especially in a huddle of friends.

To fix that problem, many televisions are now adding these services to the TV interface, creating what are now considered "smart TVs." Services like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and YouTube are readily available on those TVs for streaming media to the big screen.

But if you don't own a streaming-ready TV, you have dozens of options to emulate the experience. Popular devices like Roku, Boxee, and the Apple TV have cropped up, each offering a different way … Read more

"The Controller" takes six hard-core and/or professional gamers and makes them compete in a video game contest with Battlefield 3 as the game of choice. Instead of using their own hand dexterity to play, however, in an interesting, Shyamalan-like twist, each gamer must instead train one of six newbs to play the game well enough to beat the rest of the newbs and win $50,000.

It's the experts-training-newbs premise that immediately makes the concept of the show much more interesting than simply watching highly skilled gamers battling even more highly skilled gamers.

With the training aspect, I saw an opportunity to dive deeply into a hard-core video game and get insight and details concerning the concepts of higher-level play with the side benefit that the uninitiated would see just how cool and deep games that reward a high skill level can be.… Read more

Hulu is going international for the first time with plans to expand its subscription service to Japan later this year.

The company didn't give too many specifics in yesterday's blog announcing the move. But it sounds like Japanese consumers will be getting their own version of Hulu Plus with access to films and TV shows across PCs, TVs, smartphones, and tablets, all for one monthly price.

Why Japan? The company cited a few reasons for expanding its service to Japanese customers.

Noting that Japanese audiences are "passionate" about video content, Hulu said it sees an "… Read more

A new software update for Apple's Apple TV streaming box has added a feature that makes up for the lack of built-in storage by making purchased video content available whenever viewers want to watch it. The company's $99 box can now stream purchased TV shows on demand directly from Apple's servers, and also lets users buy content directly from the box.

The move to serve up purchased videos is no minor addition. One the Apple TV's biggest losses in the move to a rental-only model (besides no longer storing content locally) was that you ended up … Read more

Google shuts down Google Labs for greater company focus, Darth Vader makes it to Garmin GPS devices, and the space shuttle Atlantis touches down, marking the end of NASA's shuttle program.

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Space Shuttle Atlantis ends final flight

Darth Vader voice comes to Garmin GPS

Google shuts down Labs

Make multiple calls in Gmail

CBS TV shows hit Amazon Instant Video

Want to watch movies and TV shows on your Android phone or tablet? For the moment your choices are a bit limited. There's Netflix, which works with only a handful of phones (unless you're game for a little hacking) and requires a monthly subscription. Same goes for HBO Go.

Enter Crackle, a new app that lets you watch dozens of TV shows and a couple hundred movies, all free of charge (but with commercials, natch).

Available for Android 2.2 and later, Crackle is compatible with around two dozen Android phones (unlike Netflix, which runs on only half a dozen or so). I was hoping to test it with my Samsung Galaxy Tab Wi-Fi, but a tablet-compatible version isn't available--yet. (It's coming soon, according to the developer.) Thankfully, it worked like a charm on my Samsung Nexus S 4G.

Crackle delivers much of (but not all) the same content as its eponymous Web service. On the TV side, you'll find shows like "The Tick," "NewsRadio," "Soap," and AMC's "The Killing."

Unfortunately, a lot of the available series (especially newer ones) are merely clips or "minisodes," not full eps. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I don't want 5 minutes and 30 seconds' worth of "Fat Albert"--I want the whole show. Hey, hey, hey!… Read more

Sure, you can watch movies and TV shows on your iPhone or iPad, but there's always a catch--usually a monetary one. Hulu and Netflix cost money. PlayOn costs money and requires you to leave your PC on. The ABC Player is iPad-only and, well, ABC-only.

Enter Crackle, a new app that lets you watch dozens of TV shows and a couple hundred movies, all free of charge (but with ads, natch).

Available for iPhone, iPod, and iPad (the app is universal), Crackle delivers much of (but not all) the same content as its eponymous Web service. On the TV … Read more

As Netflix faces increased competition from rivals like Amazon, and even Facebook, one of its chief differentiators as a leader of streaming TV shows and movies is its roster of content. And now, add Netflix to the Hollywood studios and others who provide that content.

On Friday, Netflix announced that it has signed a deal with Oscar-nominated director David Fincher--who made "The Social Network" and "Fight Club," among other films--for an original series called "House of Cards" that will be available exclusively to its subscribers. Rumors of the deal had been swirling for days. … Read more