Sushant’s Blog

Joost

Brought to us by the same people who invented Skype and Kazzaa - Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis – Joost can best be described as free on-demand online television.

I’ve been using Joost for a week or so (along with more than a million other ‘beta testers’) and I’m pretty impressed. So let me cover the major features and my thoughts on it…

Features and Feel of Joost

Joost is an application that you install on your desktop. It is pretty non-traditional in terms of it’s interface, and it’s sleek, easy to use, and elegant (takes a little getting used to). When on viewing mode, the controls appear when you go to any side of the screen. My Channels on the left provides you a categories list of the 150+ channels they currently offer, along with the ability to have your favorites. The Video Controls are on the bottom and are the standard play, pause, skip to channel/program, and volume controls one could expect, along with a search box to search for keywords, specific programs, or by subject.

Now the coolest thing that I think is going to work to Joost’s favor is their ‘My Joost’ on the right of the screen. These are essentially widgets that people can use and have on the screen while watching television on Joost – useful things like a notice board, instant messaging with friends, rating of programs, chatting with others viewing the same channel, a clock, news ticker, etc. It works well, and this social aspect of Joost is what I think is going to help differentiate it from other TV-on-internet competitors (see section ‘Competitors’).

Technology

Joost is a growing brand of applications that run on something called Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). The way it can deliver near-perfect streaming is by using a peer-to-peer streaming technology (still depends on connection speed of course). Data is delivered to your internet through encrypted packets, which are cached by your browser (the same way it caches content on the web). This cached content is then sent to other users, so users share the burden of the download in a sense.

The other cool thing about Joost is that it 90% of it comes from open source. The Joost founders say that soon, software developers will able to create their own plug-ins for Joost. Smart move.

Competitors

Joost has it’s share of competitors in the online-video market. I’m not including solely user-created video sites like YouTube because I think while they maybe related, they really are two different things. I haven’t tried out the last two, but here are the four major ones:

1. Babelgum - similar to Joost, but smaller and looks less elegant.
2. VeohTV - similar to Joost, but also smaller. Includes user-generated content along with content from major TV networks.
3. Zattoo - only available in Switzerland, streams actual broadcast and cable television networks. A simpler and more traditional interface.
4. UUSee - similar service to Joost – only in China right now. Live streaming of mainstream TV channels. I’ve been told it’s really good quality, and the content licensing is actually legal (that’s quite an achievement in China I hear).

Can Joost take off?

Joost is really nice, but I won’t watch it often unless my favorite television series or a lot more movies are available on it. The main thing it’s missing right now is abundant content. But it is still in beta, and Joost is aggressively working on the issue by signing up content providers. If it can pass this hurdle, here are some reasons why I think it can take off:

1. It’s easier: Even if I can record my favorite shows at my convenience on television, I need to be near a physical television. I have access to the internet much more often. On-demand television which I can watch with just my laptop is a much better proposition – and I’m sure for many others too. Plus, I can watch whatever I want…when I want it.
2. It’s free: Except for the ads and the internet connection of course.
3. Growing library: Television shows – even the most popular ones – are seemingly disposable. You can’t see old episodes unless you buy the DVD or tape all the episodes. Movies stop playing. With Joost or similar technologies, I can access all previous series or movies whenever I want. And easy to search through them too.

Having said that, do I think people are going to be switching entirely from television over to Joost? Not for a few years atleast. There are plenty of competitors with the same goal as Joost, and the television and cable industries have quite a vested interest in making sure things television channels stays on TV’s. But it’s something to keep an eye on, and as Joost starts putting more and more channels and content, I’ll be watching.

Leave a comment and I’ll send you an invite to Joost (I’ll need your email if you want one).