Joost fancies itself a revolutionary new way to watch TV.
The free online television service, currently in beta testing, offers viewers on-demand programming to satisfy their immediate entertainment needs. While this is a good idea that was bound to happen eventually in today’s YouTube-centric world, it falls short in several key areas.
Joost claims to have high-quality video. Apparently that depends on your idea of high-quality; at best, the picture is about the same quality as something you might see on YouTube. Although YouTube video isn’t terrible by any measure, it’s not as good as recent additions to the online video scene. For example, ABC just launched a new online TV show player, and the quality of their streaming video is extraordinary. The picture is crystal-clear, and viewers have three different video sizes to choose from, including full-screen.
It’s not exactly fair to compare Joost, a relatively new endeavor, to the media mammoth that is ABC, but Joost is going to have to at least catch up with the big dogs if it’s going to be as revolutionary as it thinks it is.
Joost’s second downfall is a serious lack of content. While the service offers some content from networks like MTV and VH1, they only offer a couple shows, like “Laguna Beach” and “Hogan Knows Best.” There’s no “TRL” or “Best Week Ever” in sight, which is unfortunate, considering the popularity of those shows.
One would think that with Joost’s major recent deal with YouTube-hater extraordinaire Viacom, there would be a considerable amount of Viacom programming available and – gasp! – maybe even some original programming, but that’s not the case. All the big Viacom players (Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, VH1, etc.) are all present, but simply having the networks available does not make up for the content that is not available. As of yet, there’s no news about when more content will be added.
In addition to the Viacom channels, there’s a pretty healthy selection of other channels to choose from. The only problem is that in order to watch all the channels Joost has to offer, they have to be added to your “My Channels” menu. You could be using Joost with the pre-set “My Channels” for a while before you realize there’s a whole lot more you could be watching – that is, if you like “Laguna Beach.”
But it’s not all bad. Fans of “Stella” on Comedy Central will be happy to know that Joost offers several episodes of the show, and there are several channels offering international content. There’s even a channel consisting solely of Warner Music videos and numerous channels from Much, a Canadian music network.
In addition to plain old TV to watch, Joost also has a number of special features, including chats and interactive extra content to go along with the shows you’re watching. Luckily all this extra stuff doesn’t get in the way – you can’t see it unless you click the button for it. Some of the features, like the chat, are unlikely to be useful at all until there are more people using Joost, and that won’t be until it is out of beta and open to the public.
Some people might like being able to watch dozens of R.E.M. music videos or the National Geographic Channel at any hour of the day. Others, however, might yearn for something a little more mainstream, and until Joost is able to catch up, “America’s Next Top Model” will be waiting for them on YouTube.
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Joost

What: A free online streaming TV service
Pros: Offers on-demand content without a monthly subscription
Cons: Low video quality and a serious lack of worthy content.
Sign up for Joost beta testing and download the software at joost.com