Long before the iPad was launched, we posited that it would change the way people consumed video.  Well, based on some very (very!) early data from MeFeedia the Apple tablet is already considered an ideal devide for watching online video by its users.

Despite a limited number of iPads on the market, the device is already coming up big in MeFeedia’s internal stats. Less than a week after launch, the iPad ranks sixth among mobile devices for accessing video through the site and its search engine, behind the iPhone, iPod touch, SymbianOS, Android, and Blackberry. But the actual viewing numbers are the interesting part: according to MeFeedia, iPad users consume two and a half times as many videos as the typical web user and three times as many videos as iPhone users. More importantly, those users spend three times as much time watching video as the typical web user, lending credence to our theory that the device’s form factor hits a sweet spot for personal media consumption.

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Hulu reportedly will introduce a subscription plan as soon as May 24, which would cost $10 per month for access to anything older than the last five episodes of popular TV shows, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The subscription plan, dubbed Hulu Plus, would not affect those who regularly catch up with recent episodes of their favorite shows on the Hulu.com website. But anyone who wanted to watch episodes older than the latest five free (advertising-supported) episodes would have to pony up $10 per month, the report says.

There are some unknowns about Hulu’s subscription plan, though. There are no details on whether the $10 subscription will let you watch an unlimited number of episodes from the site or if there would be some sort of metering in place. Also, it’s unknown if advertising would be displayed during the back catalogue episodes.

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SES Astra, the company that owns the Astra satellite used to beam Sky and Freesat to the UK, will next month begin transmitting free 3D content.

However, 3D TV buffs needn’t get their hopes up too far. The channel, which begins broadcasting on 4 May, will initially be aimed at retailers and installers, and will feature “demo” material from the worlds of “sports, music and entertainment”.

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Netflix had what could be its best quarter ever, and by all accounts it appears to be a direct result of the company’s Watch Instantly streaming service. Based on the company’s actual results, as well as comments from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on the company’s first-quarter earnings call, it seems clear that the online video service is contributing positively on a number of fronts, including lower churn and lower subscriber acquisition costs.

Hastings said on the call that Netflix attributes this quarter’s record low churn to an increase in streaming. Moreover, the company’s investment in streaming titles, as well as the availability of the service across multiple devices and an improved user interface, is driving more subscriber additions through word of mouth, therefore lowering Netflix’s cost of adding new subscribers.

Over the last several months, Netflix has been striking deals with Hollywood studios Warner Bros, Fox, Universal and HBO, in which it agrees to a 28-day window before it can rent DVD releases by mail, and in return receives discounts on DVDs. The company then pours those savings into licensing more content for its streaming service. Some subscribers have complained about the lack of new releases, but on a whole the strategy appears to be working for the company, as it continues to add new subscribers at record levels.

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