By Erica Ho, Lifehacker – April 12, 2010 at 03:30PM
Google expands their video search engine by adding a TV show filter that allows you to sort videos by season and episode. While YouTube and Hulu remain vastly popular, Google’s episode search yields surprisingly impressive results.
Google Video doesn’t restrict the results to sites that are licensed to stream TV shows, so many videos come from a variety of sources, from Amazon’s Video on Demand service to Russian streaming sites (of questionable legitimacy). Unlike YouTube, which also has content restrictions, Google Video no longer has the option to play videos inline. For longer-running shows like Doctor Who and South Park, the episode search filter proves exceptionally useful.
To use it, just perform your search at Google Video, then click the Episodes link in the search options sidebar. The simple filter addition makes searching Google Video a lot more akin to Clicker, our absolute favorite option for finding a show online without running around to all the various possible streaming destinations. Google Video’s search isn’t quite as polished or helpful as Clicker’s, but if you’re having a tough time finding something, it’s definitely worth a try.