Don’t turn off the life support just yet: Joost coming to the browser. Joost (last100 review) is planning to let viewers access its Internet TV service via a Web browser, rather than requiring them to download and install the current Mac/Windows application, according to Portfolio.com. This year, viewers will be able to watch Joost videos in a browser window. Go to Joost’s website, click on shows like Seth Green’s edgy Robot Chicken or an old Rocky and Bullwinkle episode and you can watch them as easily as you’d watch a video on YouTube. Previously, all Joost users had to download and install special software. Though no specific launch date is mentioned (Joost has a track record of stating that it has plans to be everything to everybody), the move to a browser based offering is interesting on a number of fronts. Firstly, it would signal an admission that Joost’s strategy to build its service around the kind of “lean back” experience that it hoped to deliver via a full screen desktop application has largely failed.
(via Silicon Alley Insider) Blinkx launches BBTV, a desktop Internet TV application with links to the Web. Blinkx, the company behind the video search engine of the same name, has finally launched its Internet TV service, BBTV (Broadband TV). Like others in this increasingly crowded space, which includes Joost, Babelgum, VeohTV and HP-backed Next.TV, BBTV is a desktop application that utilizes Peer-to-Peer networking to deliver a full screen experience readily suited to long form content such as television episodes or feature films.
Unfortunately, the same criticisms also apply: BBTV requires a download, as apposed to being accessed through a Web browser (see ‘Don’t turn off the life support just yet: Joost coming to the browser‘), and, whilst it’s early days, the service has a very limited content lineup. Highlights currently include independent films from Dogwoof Pictures and news clips from the UK’s ITN. In its defense, however, Blinkx says we can expect a lot more content to come to BBTV courtesy of its existing video search partners and hasn’t ruled out a browser-based version. Internet TV Update: Hulu, Joost, TiVo - ReadWriteWeb. This week there's been a fair bit of action in the Internet TV sector, with announcements from Hulu, Joost and TiVo. Our network blog last100 has been covering the action. This week Hulu - the online video project from Newscorp and NBC/Universal, with participation by Sony, MGM and others (our previous coverage) - launched to the general public in the United States.
It's been in private beta nearly five months, wrote Dan Langendorf at last100. The good news is that Hulu is free and offers legal content to viewers, albeit ad-supported. But it has its bad points, for example Hulus network lineup is missing a few big players - CBS and Walt Disneys ABC, although both are rumored to be in negotiations with Hulu. Joost makes live-streaming video available, starting with March Madness Joost, the Internet TV service, is making live-streaming video available through an update to its desktop client. TiVo continues expansion, adds YouTube to television services lineup. Finland for Thought " The new trend in television watching in Finland | Politics, current events, culture - In Finland & United States | An American's blog in Finland.
YouTube offers a “sneak peak” into future plans; where’s the high-quality streaming? The news wasn’t exactly “stop the presses!” Worthy, but it’s interesting nonetheless to see what the folks at YouTube are thinking about and how they are looking to improve their product. At an invitation only event last night in New York dubbed “Videocracy,” YouTube gave advertising moguls a sneak peak at some upcoming initiatives. In this day and age is it even possible to give a “sneak peak” of anything? Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer jotted down a few notes, which he shared on his blog. “Get ready for active sharing.” Active sharing allows you to share the videos you’re currently watching with the world. Improved tools are always nice, especially for those who don’t want to mess with desktop video editing software. YouTube will be launching its own video recommendations based on your viewing preferences, sort of like Amazon Recommendations.
“Content will be distributed on multiple platforms” Not much of a surprise here. That noise you hear? That moaning you hear? Shafer says they are: Floobs.com. Current. OPENhulu - Hulu Embeds for EVERYONE. Watching full-length TV programs on Internet increasingly popular. Watching a favorite show you missed on television on the Internet is increasingly popular, two recent studies show. Horowitz Associates found that 16 percent of high-speed Internet users watched at least one full-length TV program online during a week, double the number from last year.
Horowitz just released its report: Broadband Content and Services 2007. (Online Media Daily account.) The Nielsen Company found that 25 percent of the 1,599 Americans surveyed in October have watched full episodes of a TV program in the past three months. Both studies point to the increasing popularity of full-length streaming video on the Internet. The Nielsen study notes that ABC.com (50 percent), NBC.com (41), CBS.com (37), and Fox.com (24) were the most watched, with other Internet-based alternatives YouTube (17) and iTunes (15) used less often. last100 is edited by Steve O'Hear. VideoEgg - Video Advertising. Easy. Consumer Electronics Reviews, Product Manuals, Guides and Deals: Retrevo.
Find Internet TV - Search. Find. Watch. Hulu. Brightcove.