These days there isn’t a ton of difference in Netflix vs Hulu if you are comparing Netflix’s streaming only option. Both services score well for having a wide selection of television shows, including entire seasons programming. Both companies are investing in original programming to differentiate themselves and to retain subscribers because of their unique offerings. Netflix and Hulu are each lacking in newer releases of movies on demand. And, both services cost $7.99 a month.
Netflix, however, has an edge in two areas. For starters, if you opt for DVD + streaming, it will cost you more, but you will have a well-rounded service for movies and TV shows. You will have to deal with the queue, and may have to wait awhile for certain flicks that are in demand with other subscribers via DVD.
Additionally, Hulu has no parental controls, which is certainly an issue for parents, especially of young children. Netflix has rudimentary parental controls, but parental oversight is still required if certain members of the household wish to watch more mature content. The folks over at Independent Game Thoughts wrote a very comprehensive review of the Netflix parental controls that we will summarize here:
- Viewed or rented history cannot be deleted
- Recently watched list, including mature content, bypasses maturity ratings even if account settings are changed back to PG setting
- Even if you set up sub-accounts (and set age-appropriate ratings for these accounts) they do not allow for Instant Watch streaming; so if you want your child to be able to stream content, it will be from the same account you stream from
- It takes up to 8 hours for a parental control setting to take effect
These are fairly serious issues, especially for parents who are concerned about protecting their children’s innocence by restricting the content available to them in an age appropriate manner. On the other hand, Hulu demands parent oversight no matter what. A parent can sign up for Netflix and then make the decision to never watch inappropriate content through the account their children access. This would mean either forgoing your favorite content, or having a 2nd account that only parents and older children can access.
As mentioned before, both Netflix and Hulu have an inadequate online movie selection available for instant view. This is not their fault, but rather a reflection of the entertainment companies who own the copyrights to the hot new releases you wish to see. Blanket license agreements with streaming services will mean that consumers do not purchase DVDs or view the content from other lucrative channels. Utilizing a boutique service like Vudu, Amazon Instant Video or iTunes to rent or purchase individual titles can be the answer to round out your entertainment options.
