Unfamiliar to many of us in the UK, Hulu, the most popular TV website in the world will begin streaming shows to internet users on these shores from September.

Hulu offers another dimension to streaming your favourite TV programmes in that it is not restricted to the output of its parent companies. Content received through the likes of iPlayer and 4oD video on demand services are restricted to the output of the BBC and Channel 4 respectively.

Hulu brings with it the potential for all your video on demand in one place. With the likes of Disney, NBC and News corporation all having a stake in the service, it certainly has the potential to realise its ambition of becoming the dominant video-on-demand service.

With around 400m downloads by 10m Americans every month, Hulu is already a big hit in the US. A choice of over 1,250 prime time shows (many of which are available immediately after first broadcast) are part of a formula which Hulu are confident will be a success this side of the Atlantic.

Although the idea of a one stop shop has massive potential, Hulu may not have it all its own way in the UK. Although video-on-demand functionality will be built into TV's soon (with the arrival of the 'ARM' processing chip), Hulu will intially be a PC based service only - you will not be able to download programmes and watch them on other devices. Unlike iPlayer, adverts will form an annoying part of the service and these ads cannot be fast forwarded through as they are running on the PC.

The 'ARM' processing chip will be built into TV's by 2011 and given a broad band speed of 100Mb a second will facilitate the streaming of even 1080p (Full HD) video. The change in British TV viewing habits when this type of technology arrives with the likes of Hulu cannot be understated.

Although 'Project Canvas' is a catch up service from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to rival the likes of Hula, it is not destined to be with us for another year at least. Whether Hulu will be the service to dramatically influence UK viewing habits is open to debate, but there is no doubt that it will be part of a process which is destined to revolutionize TV viewing in the UK.

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