The Richness of Traveling via the Hulu.com Hoop

By Denis Horgan | Last updated Dec 4, 2009, 4:46 pm

Television is the new newspaper. Soon, you can bet, television will go the sad way of the daily paper.

Prospects are ajumble as fewer and fewer people turn to the networks or even cable for their entertainment or news at the moment that the cable or networks are presenting it. Who but the insomniacs watch, say, “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” when it is aired. Instead, we TiVo it. We Hulu it. People watch it on their computer, their YouTubes, their wristwatches, their engagement rings. Advertisers are perplexed at the reality that people fast-forward right over their expensive bits, so often more imgainative and higher quality than the shows they pay for.

In fact, more people than ever may actually be watching but how they are watching is changing entirely. The new Blue-Ray machines can vacuum up shows from the nearby personal computer and put them on the huge TV screen. We can watch movies from any point in time, any point of the compass. And we won’t be watching network shows at the same time. Maybe we’ll Tivo ‘em. Maybe not.

I don’t know whether to lament that or not, but I do love the opportunities the web and Hulu.com offer. They will only expand. As a travel nut, I am always imagining trips to take and have studied the guides and press releases and newspaper and magazine accounts for inspiration. But, who wants to wait? Now with Hulu, I get to call up beautifully rendered shows from everywhere. There are literally thousands of travel videos to watch on Hulu. Rick Steves. National Geographic. EscapeMojo. Greatest Places. Fine Living. Uncorked. From a minute to a full length movie, all just there for the watching.

But, be careful, you might never come up for air.