How Far Is Joost Going to Go?

Back when I was giving away free Joost invites, there certainly was a lot of buzz about this application. However, it seems to have quieted down and last night I had a chance to see what has updated with Joost.

There are a lot of new programs and channels since the last time I used it. It’s nice to see some of the 2007 NHL playoff games available as well. However, one major part of Joost has changed for me, and that is its performance.

Its Success Will Depend On Its Content

I did a search on technorati to see what bloggers thought of Joost, and many have said that the content it provides will make or break this service. I totally agree that content is a huge factor on whether or not Joost will take off. It’s similar to a channel station on TV, if there are no good programs to watch, nobody is going to tune into that channel. So far, I’m pleased at the variety of content that’s being offered; music videos, MTV variety shows, short animations from Aardman studios, and some really interesting documentaries. Actually, it’s quite impressive that the people behind Joost were able to strike deals with the studios and offer these types of programs, especially with a service and concept that’s kind of new.

However, back when I first was invited to the beta, it didn’t have as much connection problems as I do now. I was able to watch the entire Arachnophobia documentary from start to finish without it having to stop somewhere in the middle and buffer because the connection was too slow. Last night I tried watching an episode of Fifth Gear and the streaming wasn’t as smooth. It became so bad sometimes that I couldn’t watch anything at all and got the pop-up that said, “Sorry, this program is unavailable right now.”

The Technology Behind Joost

So far, all the information I’ve read about the technology that powers Joost says that the delivery of its on-demand content, is powered by a P2P network (it’s like BitTorrent where you depend on other users to help share the content). If this is the case, I’m surprised that the performance is not better than before. You’d think that more users joining onboard means more sources to download the content from, but it seems to be slower.

If I were to think up a reason as to why this might be the case, I’d think that many people got an invite, weren’t impressed initially, and then never opened it up again. However, I could be an isolated case regarding the slow connection, anybody want to share their recent speed experiences with Joost?

How Far Will It Go?

I’m hoping that Joost takes off and I think it will. The people behind Joost are the same people behind Skype and Kazaa, and although Kazaa sort of died off, Skype is still a very popular internet telphone service. But remember, there are some popular names backing Joost now, and I hope they don’t give up on this new concept.

Since I’m not signed up with any cable TV packages, having some more TV shows to watch is all the more welcomed by me.