Higher Resolution Option on Hulu??

I admit my Hulu watching has waned of late, but tonight i was bored with the reruns, so i hopped on to catch a recent Daily Show, seeing as I’ve stopped taping it on Tivo (thanks to Comedy Central not setitng the new show as ‘new’, every stinking episode tapes, so you wind up with a minimum of 4 tapings daily – not cool).

Anyway, halfway through the show, i noticed a new buton on the tools roll over – a high res option (see it on the lower right hand of the image?). I hadn’t seen that before on a show as far as I know. In checking the Interweb, I did find mention of three different resolution options offered – 360p, 480p, and 720p. 480p would be equivalent to standard def tv, while 360p is a smaller, web friendlier option – and, of course, 720 is the smaller version of HD out on the market.

So, being me, I had to compare the 2 versions and I have to say, there was a noticeable difference in quality.

I took 2 screen captures while my laptop was set to full resolution (the way I normally view Hulu) to recreate my viewing experience. In this side by side comparison, the 360p version is on the left, while the 480p version is on the right. Now both are somewhat blocky and a bit blurry, but the 480p is clearly the the better quality option of the two. If you want to compare the full screen versions of each, they are here and here.

In addition to the image quality, the colors seem richer on the 480p version, though its tough to tell with al that glowy blue in the background.

Not sure what the rule is for while videos gets the higher res option, but i hope i find more video like this!

Tags: 360p, 480p, comparison, hires, hulu, side by side