Joost

Joost, which is currently in closed beta and was initially known as The Venice Project, is the big new kid on the block. They got the most media coverage of all the startups profiled here (26,527 mentions on Technorati — none of the other sites here crack 1,000) and they have deep pockets by virtue of their founders, Kazaa and Skype creators Janus Friis and Niklas Zennstrom.

Joost is a software product that uses peer-to-peer streaming technology to deliver data in encrypted packets, which are then cached the way your browser caches web content. The cached content is then sent along to other users. Joost differs from traditional TV in that its content is all ‘on demand’, meaning you can download and watch video whenever you want – not only when its ‘on.’

Content

While the content on the Joost network right now isn’t very extensive, content is one area where the product should excel. Friis and Zennstrom are aggressively pursuing content distribution deals with major media companies. In February, they announced a partnership with Viacom that will put content from MTV Networks, BET, and Paramount Pictures on Joost.

Currently, Joost’s content is strong – but limited. Joost boasts 23 channels, including a lot of commercial content – although each channel only seems to have a handful of programs. They have a number of music channels, some dedicated to specific artists, such as, ‘Green Day,’ ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers,’ ‘The Diddy Channel,’ ‘Atlantic Street,’ and ‘Warner Bros. Records.’ These channels show mostly music videos, documentaries, and live performances. ‘Fifth Gear’ is a channel on automobiles and shows short clips about expensive cars, while ‘Saturday Morning’ shows old cartoons (mainly ‘Rocky and Bullwinkle’) and the ‘World’s Strongest Man’ channel shows clips of events from the Met-RX World’s Strongest Man competition.

The channels that held my attention longest were probably ‘National Geographic’ – which showed full documentaries from the National Geographic cable channel – and ‘IndieFlix Premiere Hits’, which showed full length independent films.

Features/UI

The user interface of Joost is non-traditional. When you start up Joost, it opens full screen. Controls appear when you hover your mouse over any edge of the screen. On the right edge is a button that allows you to open up the channel guide, on the left is a button for ‘My Joost’ – which accesses your widgets (more on them below). On the bottom of the screen are video controls.

The video controls are fairly standard: play, pause, skip to next/last program, and volume controls. You can also change channels, or skip ahead to a specific program (not just the next or last), and get info about a program or channel — not unlike the controls found on digital cable and satellite services. The video control bar also includes a search box, that allows you to search by keyword for specific programs, or programs on a certain subject (although this is fairly limited, with such a small program catalog).

Joost’s channel browser is easy to use. You scroll through channels with up and down arrows, and you can get a list of specific programs prior to committing – so you can select a specific program to download.

Joost also has a fairly extensive preferences screen, allowing you to fine tune the user interface by changing things – like the delay before the toolbars reappear when you hover your mouse near the edge of the screen, and whether or not you start in full-screen mode.

Widgets

Widgets are something that only Joost has and really sets them apart from the other IPTV providers. Widgets are extensions that add extra, non-television functionality to the Joost program. Right now, Joost’s selection of widgets are: Notice Board (news about Joost), Instant Message (chat with Jabber or Gmail users from within Joost), Rate (rate programs), Channel Chat (chat with other users watching the program), News Ticker (an RSS reader that you can use to track outside feeds), and Clock (uh, it tells the time). The widgets are all very easy to use and work well.

Widgets are a very smart addition to Joost. They offer a social aspect to Joost that other startups don’t have, allowing users to interact with the content and each other. Further, they minimize the time you are forced to leave Joost in order to get things done