Hulu's new Face Match: Hey, that's, um, what's-his-name
New Hulu Labs feature will give you basic info on an actor by hovering your mouse cursor over the person's face. But keep in mind it's still very much in beta.
Ever see an actor on a show and have trouble remembering what that person's name is? If so, Hulu has a feature for you.
Dubbed Face Match, the new technology from Hulu Labs allows users to find out more about an actor on-screen. In order to use the service, Face Match needs to be turned on in the settings for the show or clip. After that, users need only hover the mouse cursor over the person's face and the video will pause, showing details about the actor.
I took Face Match for a spin today and it seems to work as advertised. The information shared with viewers comes from Wikipedia in many cases, and includes information such as their biggest roles over the years. Hulu also includes links to the actor's Facebook and Twitter accounts, when available. Face Match requires a person to be easily recognizable, though, so if folks are looking away from the camera, don't expect the service to work.
Of course, those issues are to be expected. As Hulu itself points out, Face Match is still a Labs project, which means it's very much in beta. Furthermore, it's currently only available on some episodes of "Glee," "The Office," "Wilfred," "Modern Family," and "Lost."
Still, it's a fun feature for those who want to put a name to a face.