3 posts tagged “joost”
So I got back to Amsterdam and found that Joost would work for me. I tried to run it in KL but got an error message about upgrading and didn't have the time to download a newer version of the software.
After I had upgraded I found that I would actually watch content. Not great content, admittedly, but there were moving pictures on the screen and sound coming out of the speakers. I managed to watch my 'toons. Yes, Joost will happily show me poorly animated, 30 year old cartoons.
And once I'd watched nearly 40 seconds of that I tried looking for something... interesting, recent and local. I found material from BoomChicago, who are based in Amsterdam like me. It seems that their vlogs from the 2006 world cup are available through Joost. And here's the problem - topical comedy doesn't age well. Rocky & Bullwinkle might be watchable after 30 years but topical comedy is rarely good after a month. However good the content was at the time (and BoomChicago are often very funny) it was wasn't topical any more.
The other problem is that while the content was local, albeit outdated, the advertising was not. Despite only watching a couple of show and for a couple of minutes I was advertised at three times. The advertising was inserted into the programming at what seemed like random monets, rather than at natural breaks and the advertising was irrelevant to me as the products advertised are not available in this country.
Back in January I wrote that:
Joost is on very shaky ground. The content is going to be the sort of second-rate, mass-market slop that's been killing the concept of the TV channel and raising the importance of the TV show for the last few years. And you won't even be able to record it like you could back in the 1980s.
although I hadn't tried the system then. I got a Joost invitation today, downloaded the application and tried to watch something.
Firstly, I should say that the application is absolutely beautiful. I think it has everything that I could want in a video watching application. It was intuitive to use, responsive and looks incredibly slick. No really. It looks absolutely fabulous.
Of course, the first thing I tried to do was watch a show. Any show. And nothing worked. I tried playing different shows from different channels and they all came up with the same error screen - sadly not so slick.
And it's entirely unclear why it's not working. I doubt it's a lack of bandwidth because I managed to download the player quite fast and I've been doing all sorts of other bandwidth intensive activities. I also doubt the Indonesian government has content filters that block Rocky & Bullwinkle. So maybe it's that Joost won't let me watch content when I'm outside of their service area? I don't know. I'll try again when I'm in KL and then back in Amsterdam. But frankly, I'm disappointed that I've only been able to see a sexy application and haven't been able to watch my 'toons.
When it comes to "user generated content", Saddam isn't hanged every night.
That's what Andrew Orlowski wrote in his article on Joost, yesterday. And it's all based on targeted advertising, apparently. I'm not entirely sure who advertises alongside badly shot video of swinging dictators? Sandline International? Tikmo Limited?
it has already signed up Warner Music and production company Endemol
The video is received over a proprietary DRM connection
I think he may have outlined exactly why Joost is on very shaky ground. The content is going to be the sort of second-rate, mass-market slop that's been killing the concept of the TV channel and raising the importance of the TV show for the last few years. And you won't even be able to record it like you could back in the 1980s.
I just want quality content I can back-up and watch where and when I want. And I'll even pay for it.
