Majority of people have embraced themselves to the latest digital trends, by utilizing internet technology effectively for entertainment and other purposes. With more than 37.3% of world using internet, the technology in entertainment world has evolved on vivid scale providing numerous options to users who hate shelling out cash to cable operators for 500 channel packages. User can now make smaller monthly payments to on-demand video streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, or watch YouTube videos for free.
According to broadband service company Sandvine, Netflix and YouTube now account for 50.31% of America’s “downstream” traffic delivered over “fixed networks” — the kind you get at home or at work — during peak hours.
Netflix with more than 38 million subscribers around the world, accounts for close to one-third (31.62%) of Web traffic (Down stream) in the U.S, followed by YouTube with 18.69%. Compared to May 2013, the usage of YouTube increased by 1.58% and that of Netflix decreased by 0.63%. In spite of efficient delivery of Web video signals by yet another similar service named Hulu, Netflix usage decreased by about 1.12% in last 6 months.
Which Service Suits You Best!
Services like Netflix Instant and Hulu Plus offer a massive amount of video content to watch at a low monthly cost. These services offer movies and television programs for users soon after they are aired for the first time, and charge a fraction of what cable operators demand to omit. There are a couple of differences between these services and users prefer choosing one of them based on their needs.
Netflix and Hulu are paid services on subscription basis, whereas in YouTube users can view videos for free. Netflix makes money only from subscriptions and users might not find any commercial ads interrupting, while they view any TV show or movies. Netflix enables streaming of movies and older seasons of TV shows on a variety of devices (gaming consoles, mobile devices, tablets, computers, etc).In case of Hulu, short Ads run before and at preset intervals of each program, this is basically to cover up extra cost occurring, for service providers. World’s 2nd largest search engine YouTube with over 3 Billion monthly searches, is home for users who frequently break into the realm of serial shows and short films on the website. Content posted by filmmakers and show producers on YouTube site rely on advertisements placed before their content in order to make a profit on their videos. However it also hosts a heavy amount of “original” content, in form of channels operated by large companies that produce videos exclusively for the web, and host them on YouTube.
Image source : Cine Hollywood
User’s decision to subscribe to any of these services depends on what kind of movies and shows they enjoy watching, and their entertainment budget. For extremely frugal entertainment budget, Hulu Plus’s referral program suits best; users should also keep an eye on deal sites like SlickDeals or FatWallet for flash deals on prepaid Netflix cards. For users who prefer watching latest episodes of TV series or reality shows, Hulu Plus serves best, but its availability depends on network. Comparatively, in Netflix until the new season of a show begins, previous seasons are not added, which means a user might have to wait for about 3-12 months to view any particular season of TV show. If a user hates watching Ad commercials and prefers subtitles, Netflix would be recommendable. If you need parental controls before viewing mature content, Hulu plus is best option due its unique ‘Kids lock feature’ on the mobile app that allows parents to lock out mature content before handing the mobile device to kids.
Future Trend!
In fast-growing digital world, format in which users intake content is changing. Video tapes are replaced by DVDs, and soon the trend is shifting towards internet streaming of preferred video content on smart TV and Mobile devices. Every individual prefers entertainment in form of TV shows or movies in day-to-day life. During leisure time, while travelling, during breaks between working hours, people prefer watching their favorite shows and YouTube channels via smart phone, tablet or laptop. Netflix, YouTube and Hulu has totally changed the system of feeding viewers with their favorite content. Even content producers are favoring the internet ideology of TV, to avoid triggering issue pertaining to censorship laws, or worry about following strict time formatting as on regular show on TV. Viewers too favor the system that provides more realistic and conducive experience of watching content.
Services like Netflix, YouTube and Hulu are expected to be widely used in future. People are finding tough to set their leisure time for entertainment in line with strict timings of TV shows or movies. Netflix is in talks with several U.S. cable providers with the idea of devising a software application to cable subscribers through existing set-top box hardware. These types of partnerships are likely to benefit Netflix in terms of user base. This deal will prove beneficial to cable providers as well, avoiding hastle of negotiations with channels over new contracts by leveraging Netflix. Recently, a deal was struck between Netflix and Virgin Media in the United Kingdom to offer the app on the Virgin Media TiVo system.
There were rumors earlier in the year, that YouTube is likely to launch subscription based paid service for its YouTube channels to compete with Netflix. But the company (YouTube) is worried if viewers would actually pay for content that they’re used to watching for free. Currently they have launched subscription based service only to its music section on mobile devices, at about $10 a month, which lets users watch videos — or just listen to the music on them — without interruptions from advertising. Based on response of users, YouTube is likely to roll out access to live events, self-help and personal finance shows too within its subscription-based system for accessing.
Source : AllThingsD
