Joost is jammer
The text on the screen shot here reads: For some reason, we can't show you the program right now. Sorry about that -Check out another programme or try a bit later.
This probably isn't working for a number of reasons (my kak bandwidth comes to mind).
After having some trouble logging on (eventually set up a new user name), I clicked through and was greeted by a simple looking and easy to use interface. After a few clicks, I had browsed the limited available content (similar to the old music catalougues the record labels are sitting on -Amor's first CD must be there somewhere -) and decided that caged fighting was the way to go. Before the first mock punch could be thrown and after a few seconds of pixelated image, my first Joost experience was all but over and I was slapped with the parting shot above.
Perhaps this remains the biggest challenge for any product looking to take consumers away from the offline TV screen. That challenge is one of providing a service that just works and Web TV/IPTV needs to work like any other basic utility in the house. Turn on tap and you get warm TV. Flick switch and get Hollywood premier.
It's going to take a lot of work to get Joost running smoothly and who will you call when the screen shot above pops up? A call centre agent in the Philippines?
I'm still all for what Joost is trying to do, but it still remains to be seen who will own the end customer. Simpliity, price, content and functionality are key factors and Joost as a concept scores highlyon all of these. In terms of getting adoption up and getting consumers to switch from the traditional box, the issue of being a trusted brand comes intoplay. Joost is a non-entity.
The fight is on to own the living room.
Will it be a telco with an IPTV offering (like BT in the UK and Telkom Media is trying to do), a Joost/YouTube type, Apple TV, gaming console (PS4), digital set-top box crowd (like Cisco's Scientific Atlanta box in the US; could see DSTV going this way locally), the PC with MS Media Centre or will it be the content owners themselves who float downstream, bypassing their existing channel and buy out the IP from the likes of Joost to offer content direct and take a bigger slice of the margin pie? Then there's the issue of having all this content on the road and what device that will be. My question is who wants video on the road anyway, if you have to watch it on a small mobile phone screen/PSP?
Nough said. I'll try Joost again when Telkom does its next round of upgrades and pushes everyone on their entry level DSL to a 1MB connection (wishful thinking).
Here's a thought, perhaps we can all get together and pool our bandwidth and watch the first 30 mins of any decent content they make available.
I'm very keen to learn about similar/contrasting experiences with Joost and how you think the media/entertainment landscape will pan out.
1 comment:
You touched on the two most important points. You need to keep the dumb end point (the consumer that functions at an average 6th grade level) happy and you need to keep the group of capitalists that run the world rich.
Yes, people are grabbing hold of the web. People know how to format hard drives, are aware of the iPhone, but are they are going to change their very simple plug and play mentality for services like Joost? Not likely. Remember, particularly in an emerging market economy like ours, majority of people don’t spend their lives in front of a PC. We need a lot more people that can build a Gautrain and turn bits of steel into cylinders than we do database managers.
On to the capitalists…they are very clever people that are very good at looking after themselves and know that the majority of us just do what we are told. As long as we are watching Arnold kick the crap out of some Russian in a movie boasting multi million dollar special effects, we are happy. The winner is going to be the brand that can get stuff to the consumer quicker, prettier and cheaper. Cheaper isn’t the most important by a long way, as long as client X doesn’t have to move more than 2 mm on his couch to change from MTN Gladiators to Idols, they will be happy. After all, content is king.
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