Vincent Ferrari
06-15-2007, 03:00 PM
<img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig0.jpg" /><br /><br /><b>Product Category:</b> Internet Television Service<br /><b>Manufacturer:</b> <a href="http://www.joost.com">Joost</a><br /><b>Where to Buy:</b> N/A<br /><b>System Requirements:</b> Windows XP SP2 / Mac OS 10.4 or later, Fast broadband internet connection<br /><br /><b>Pros</b><li> Good video quality;<br /><li> Neat add-on widgets;<br /><li> Ability to play shows on demand.<b>Cons</b><li> Video quality could be better;<br /><li> Eats a ton of bandwidth;<br /><li> Limited programming options.<b>Summary</b><br />It's the year 2007, and we still don't have the "Internet TV" we were promised years ago. Or do we? Does Joost finally bring the small screen to the smaller screen?<br /><br />Read on for the full review!<!><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>Juiced? No Silly! Joost!</b></span><br />If you've ever used Skype or Kazaa, you know the work of Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.<br /><br />Much like Kazaa and Skype, Joost uses peer to peer technology to bring high quality video and audio right to your desktop (or laptop) computer. The cool part is that it's not just television in the sense that there's a schedule of programs that you watch when the network delivers them, but rather a queue of shows on channels that you can watch at will. Think of a Tivo that records every single show on a channel for you to watch whenever you want.<br /><br /><span><b>Where Do I Sign?</b></span><br />You don't, at least for now.<br /><br />Much like many other Web 2.0 services, Joost is by invitation only. Although they've greatly expanded the allotted invitations given to each user, it's still a closed system and unless you receive an invite, you're out of luck. Considering the technology, it's likely they wanted to make sure it scaled before they opened it up to anyone interested.<br /><br /><span><b>So, What's It Like, Seeing As I Can't Get In?</b></span><br />Frankly, it's pretty cool. The first thing you're going to want to do is pick a channel to watch. There are lots of odd options like CNN, Comedy Central, The Transformers (right now they're showing Armada... UGH), National Geographic, and a few others.<br /><br /><img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig1.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 1: The Joost Channel Guide</i><br /><br />Clicking on a channel brings you to the shows that are on that channel, and from there, it's one click and you're up and running. The show starts relatively quickly, and I experienced very few slowdowns / stuttering on any of the shows I watched. The video quality isn't exactly HD, but it's still halfway decent. It's more than watchable, but don't expect to be wowed.<br /><br />The interface to Joost is what really shines. It's clean, functional, and while it may not be intuitive at first, it makes sense very quickly.<br /><br /><img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig2.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 2: The Joost interface while watching a program. You can clear the entire screen of everything but the program you're watching by clicking the circular control in the upper right corner of the window.</i><br /><br />Across the bottom, you have the usual controls you would expect including a progress bar that you can slide forward or backward, a volume control, show info, channel info, a button to switch from windowed to full screen and back, and many others. On the top of the window is the channel logo, to the left is a widget that brings up the channel guide, and on the right is My Joost which brings up any widgets you might want to try out.<br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig3.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 3: Joost offers widgets for adding functionality.</i><br /><br />With the widgets available, you can add all kinds of functionality to Joost including chatting with other members, a clock, and a news ticker for RSS that you can control the content of. An even bigger plus is that Joost is promising an API for widget development in the future.<br /><br /><img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig4.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 4: What the widgets look like on screen.</i><br /><br />Joost also highlights certain channels or shows in what they call the Catalog. From there you can see the upcoming programming on the various Joost channels.<br /><br /><img src="http://digitalmediathoughts.com/media/users/2256/ferrari_joost_fig5.jpg" /><br /><i>Figure 5: The Catalog highlights some of the more interesting programming on various Joost channels.</i><br /><PAGEBREAK><br /><span><b>So What's The Catch?</b></span><br />Honestly, there isn't one right now. It's 100% free, and all the content is available to everyone who's got access to it. Joost recently announced content deals with Viacom. What form that takes remains to be seen, but we already have Comedy Central content on Joost and I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before we see more big names. Because of its encrypted nature, Joost is an attractive option for the skittish entertainment industry.<br /><br />I went into Joost expecting nothing, so I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's a ways off from replacing my television, but it's a nice diversion when you're tired of the boob tube. The programming is a bit strange, but some of it is good. CNN is always interesting, the Guinness channel is awesome if you're into that sort of thing, and there's plenty more where that came from.<br /><br />As I mentioned earlier, don't expect terrific quality, but it's definitely passable. I have a 15 meg downstream Internet connection and that's more than fast enough. I imagine if you have a slow Internet connection, you won't be too thrilled with the performance. Also be aware that since Joost is peer to peer, you will still be burning bandwidth even when you're not actively watching any programming. Joost warns about this in their FAQ on Joost.com.<br /><br />Finally, it's obvious but bears mention that you can't record your shows. You can always go back and rewatch anything as long as the channel is serving it, but once it's gone, it's gone.<br /><br /><span><b>The Last Word</b></span><br />In the end, I think Joost is cool. I'm not quite sure it's lived up to its hype, but I don't see how it possibly could've anyway. People are rioting in the streets looking for invites to Joost and frankly it isn't quite that good. Knowing the minds behind it, though, I think we have a lot on the way in the future. Also, when you take into account that major media outlets are signing up to provide content, that in itself will give the service some longevity.<br /><br />As of right now, I'd say grab an invite if you can and enjoy it. Seeing as it's free, you're not venturing anything and you have nothing to lose.<br /><br /><i>Vincent M. Ferrari is a blogger, photographer wannabe, digital media junkie, and Apple fanboy from the Bronx, New York. His most famous accomplishment is canceling his AOL account which got him an inordinate amount of fame, something he still brags about to all his friends. When he's not taking down multi-billion dollar corporations, he's writing on his <a href="http://www.insignificantthoughts.com">own blog</a>, <a href="http://www.theaterofmymind.com">taking photos</a>, and working as a Producer for the <a href="http://www.ilifezone.com">iLifeZone</a> podcast.</i>