Back in January in this august publication I discussed Hulu, a Web-based online television content delivery platform. I have just discovered a Web-based online television indexing service through which I have been able to find an incredible number of full length TV shows.

The service is called Modern Feed. Through a group of human editors (they call them “feeders”) Modern Feed has compiled a database of content – over 25,000 episodes or 2,700 shows from 500 networks – that are available from the Web sites of most of the major networks, cable channels, and independent producers (which includes university lectures!).

You can search the Modern Feed database for any terms you’re interested in and use either the high level results (essentially those the system considers most relevant) or go on to the “deep” results. An interesting attribute of all indexed shows is an icon and link if the show is available for the iPod Touch and or the iPhone.

When you sign up (free, natch) you can then save playlists. Currently only a “My Playlist” and an “iPhone Playlist” are available, but future plans include multiple shareable playlists. Also missing are user- and system-generated recommendations, and much of the usual litany of social networking features, but as the service has only recently been opened to the public it might be a bit optimistic to expect everything up front.

You might see a similarity between Modern Feed and Prime Time Rewind, but Prime Time’s user interface is much less polished (and that selection cube on the home page! Jeff, what ever possessed you?!) while the range and number of shows is more limited.

I am totally sold on this concept and Modern Feed is doing one of the best jobs of finding and indexing serious television content. In fact it is so good that I can finally see that the day is not far off when I could well dump my DirecTV subscription! Now it is primetime, anytime!

Mark Gibbs is a consultant, author, journalist, columnist and blogger.