NBC.com

NBC fans who want to view the network's deep television content may find NBC.com a solid site for viewing content online (or participating in a wide range of show-themed games, polls, and contests). There are, however, subpar video quality, and a busy page layout keep it from matching the quality standard set by the likes of ABC.com (Free, 3 stars), Hulu (Free, 4 stars), and Hulu Plus (Free, 3.5 stars). In fact, watching NBC content on Hulu (the popular streaming video site that NBC Universal helped found) is actually a better experience thanks to Hulu's slick layout, sharper visuals, and shorter ads. If you want to watch America's Got Talent, it's best to go to Hulu.

Design and Interface
NBC.com has a busy homepage that's loaded with links, images, and video clips. It's not as streamlined as ABC.com or Hulu/Hulu Plus, but you'll find what you're looking for with little effort.

The vertically-aligned page's upper-most section contains a slider that cycles through four highlighted programs America's Got Talent, Minute To Win It, Love In The Wild, and It's Worth What? were the featured shows. A tall vertical column left of the main content area contains a list of upcoming shows and an abbreviated daily prime time schedule which you can view in full by clicking "View Schedule." Located in the page's center is the main content area where you'll find the "Video Clip of the Day," and a few full-length shows (Friday Night Lights, The Marriage Ref, and The Voice were just a few of the shows highlighted). South of that are Web-exclusive shows, and preview of upcoming programming. The right column houses links to classic TV shows (such as Knight Rider, and Magnum PI), ads showcasing more recent shows, and show-related trivia and games. There's a search bar horizontal list of links across the top of the page that gives you quick access to various site areas.

The NBC.com Experience
I wanted to catch up on 30 Rock episodes that I'd missed, so I keyed the show's title into the search engine. This returned results that spanned 30 Rock mentions across the entire site ranging from episodes of the show itself to references on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon?not what I wanted. So I decided to take the direct approach by clicking the "Shows" link at the top of the page and selecting 30 Rock from the drop-down menu. This took me to where I wanted to go?a dedicated 30 Rock page.

The five most recent 30 Rock episodes are listed in the right column, but oddly I could only view two. Hulu had the same episode limitation, but the rest were available on Hulu Plus, which gives users access to entire back seasons for all shows across the service for $7.99 per month. Still, NBC.com has a leg up on the $8.99 Netflix Instant Watch, which doesn't have episodes of any current TV season (typically, shows don't appear until after the home video release). Clicking the NBC.com "Watch All Episodes" link took me to another page where I thought I'd see every episode from the current season?not true. Instead, I was limited to viewing just five full episodes; the two that I could play earlier, and three others from very early in the season, which was more than a little disappointing.

Clicking the "Respawn" episode link opened the video player, which revealed another shortcoming?less than stellar video. The colors were washed out and the images weren't as sharp as those of ABC.com or Hulu (the video looked even worse when viewed in full screen mode). The stream was of decidedly lower quality, and there was no way to switch to adjust the video setting to improve it. America's Got Talent episodes looked equally as rough. The video quality was on a par with Netflix Instant Watch, which also has weak visuals.

Should You Tune Into NBC.com?
NBC.com is a solid portal to the company's array of shows and related entertainment, but if you want just the programming, you'll be better served checking out the company's shows on Hulu (which has a better interface) or Hulu Plus (which has full back seasons and 720p when available). Check out NBC.com if you're keen on the extras?go to Hulu if you want the entertainment experience.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/3u4ZMVNZdIY/0,2817,2388089,00.asp

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