Joost réussira-t-il un jour à transformer ses promesses de succès en véritable succès commercial ? Sur PC, la messe semble dite. Face à un échec cuisant dû en grande partie à un manque de contenus attractifs et à l'obligation d'installer un logiciel dédié, Joost s'est reconverti en cette fin d'année en service de streaming en ligne, qui ne semble pas convaincre davantage. Il cherche donc un second souffle, cette fois du côté du mobile.

Sling.com, the online video portal from the makers of the Slingbox, is now open to the public, putting it in direct competition with the likes of Hulu and Joost. Unfortunately, like so many other sites, it’s only open to U.S. citizens.

SlingMedia is the company responsible for the popular Slingbox device which allows you to broadcast a TV signal around your house via the Internet. It’s also recently launched the SlingCatcher, a set-top box to compete with the likes of AppleTV and Roku.

Not content with managing market battles on two fronts, SlingMedia has recently opened its Sling.com video portal up to the public, allowing users to stream movies and TV programs for free in Flash video format.

The selection of content on offer is impressive, with major networks and studios such as CBS, NBC, Fox, Sony, Warner, and MGM offering their wares on the site. Sling is also a Hulu partner so will stream some of its content.

As well as the big sources, Sling offers content from PBS, BBC America, as well as syndicating Web video sites such as College Humor and Break.com. It makes for a site with a nice mix between short clips and longer, professionally made videos.

The big advantage Sling.com has over its competitors is the Slingbox itself. You can stream content directly from any Slingbox you own to your browser, and watch it directly. When signed into your user account, the site automatically detects any box linked.

However, not everything is peachy. For starters, live streaming is only available on computers running Windows, although a Mac version is promised soon. But much worse than that is the fact that once again, international viewers are once again being treated as second-class citizens.

It feels like I’ve mentioned this on numerous different occasions, probably because I have. But it just makes no sense to ban the rest of the world from watching online video content. America may run the world these days, but the Internet is meant to be a global phenomenon supposed to make the world a smaller place.

What it means is that for me, Joost beats any of the other multi-source, multi-platform video sites on the Internet right now. Not because the content is brilliant, or the technology and usability is way ahead of its competitors, but purely because I, as a British person, can watch it. That’s of the utmost importance.

Sling.com is a nice looking portal that does add to the range and breadth of video sites on the Internet. But Hulu beats it for content, and Joost beats it for offering anyone outside of the U.S. a chance to actually take part.

[Via TechCrunch]

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Joost launched an iPhone app over the holiday break, making its P2P web TV service mobile. With the app, users can watch Joost’s content library of more than 46,000 videos on the go for free. The service streams video over Wi-Fi connections and not over the phone’s EDGE or 3G network. The content available is a mix of full-length movies like Men in Black, music videos and TV shows.

VentureBeat had some troubles with the app’s video playback being choppy. CNET praised the app as falling “just short of greatness,” lamenting the lack of decent content.

These outlets have frothed over the prospect of a Hulu app running on the iPhone with all its premium content. But the bigger wildcard may be YouTube, which is already on the iPhone and is making aggressive moves to acquire premium content with the likes of CBS and MGM.

Mobile video has bigger problems than what content is available. Finding a solid signal to stream a full-length movie while on the go is a dicey proposition (hello, train tunnel!). Even Joost’s Wi-Fi solution requires you to stay near your connection, limiting your “mobility.” In a conversation this morning, Liz called the Joost iPhone app “cute,” but thinks they should focus their efforts on the living room. While I agree with her, I like the notion that we are inching (no matter how slowly) to a world where we can pull down a video wherever we may be. Baby steps.

Harrison Hoffman / The Web Services Report:
Joost gets back on our radar with iPhone app  —  Men in Black playing on Joost's new iPhone app.  —  If ever there was a Web service that experienced a rapid fall from grace, it was online video start-up Joost.  What started out as a much anticipated new service ultimately fell short …

Since its debut in 2007, iPhone owners have been capable of consuming video in two ways: via iPod software as well as a YouTube application. And these options presumably remain the exclusive utilities employed for viewing clips.

But they are other methods available now. The launch of the App Store this summer enticed a number of third-party developers to make use of the iPhone’s video playback capabilities. The Web-based television outfit Joost [iTunes] is the latest to joint the fray. Naturally, we thought it’d be fitting to see what’s what in that part of the iPhone market as a whole. Here are ten free highlights. We invite you to share your favorites, too!

For roughly a year’s time, the iPhone’s native YouTube application was pretty sole purveyor of video search on the mobile platform. Given the immensity of the YouTube archive, it works to great effect. But perhaps you’d like to search elsewhere for content. Truveo Video Search [iTunes URL], issued by AOL, gives you another option. The company claims a high six-figure view count via the application to date.

Maybe you like the idea of download applications to your iPhone directly over the air. But a part of your might like to get a quick preview of what those applications might be like. AppVee [iTunes], a service we ourselves reviewed not long ago, presents its app reviews and video walkthroughs both for desktop browsers and iPhone owners.

Remember when the world of how-to videos took the Web by storm? The fact is, the depth of material has only grown with time. And Howcast [iTunes], one of the premier outlets serving the instructional, educational, and DIY market just so happens to provide iPhone and iPod touch users with videos they can really do stuff with. User reviews for the application are nothing short of stellar. This freebie is a definite winner.

Yes, you can use the free Weather Channel iPhone application [iTunes] for quick local map forecasts and text weather reports and things. But if you have a particular love for the Weather Channel’s ever-popular video readings, you can playback the latest news at your leisure.

We’ve all done it. At one time or another, we’ve all searched the Intertubes for footage captured in near-real-time by webcams all across the world. Well, there’s no need to fire up Firefox or IE or whathaveyou to get your fix on Berlin, Germany’s street scene from your home perch in West Coast USA. WorldView [iTunes] makes it happen right on your iPhone. A purported 6,000 webcams are searchable. Want a random view of some place on the map? Just shake. Literally.

Delivered by Fox Sports Interactive Media, the Fox Sports iPhone application [iTunes] puts video  on the backburner, but for coverage of athletic events, that’s somewhat understandable, especially when dealing with the dimensions of a handheld. But video is promised, with a running Top 5 FOX sports clips provided for many a replay.

The baseball season in America is over for now, but the media managers at MLB promise great things in 2009 to carry the torch left idle in 2008. Suffice it to say that video highlights will be included in MLB at Bat 2009 [iTunes]. That goes for gameplay and offseason items like award announcements, free agent signings, etc.

Speaking of gaming, IGN [iTunes], another FIM property, offers a rundown of videogame reviews reaching beyond the iPhone playground. You can set preferences to your favorite gaming platforms and get easy access to new titles and big hits. Hey, it’s a free download. What’s there to lose?

The iPhone itself is a marvel in design, so it seems fitting that Style.com [iTunes] presents its readers with a collection of news, blogs, and videos to follow while on the go. You could go so far as to watch clips while stationed alongside a fashion show runway. Nothing live, however. Though, how weird cool would that be?

Taking the world of fashion and high culture to a more broad perspective, an application by Rhythm NewMedia called vSNAX Videos [iTunes] gives users access to clips from the likes of Ford Models, the Style Network, VH1, Young Hollywood and more. Many customers report having superb video quality on hand.

It’s the most recent one to land in the App Store’s database, but it receives bonus status here as the final pick in this iPhone video app mix. Because, well, why not? It’s Joost [iTunes]. The company recently debuted its browser-based video archive. And now it’s taking things mobile.

A word of warning: the iPhone app currently available for download has shown some playback and search errors in the 24 hours or so that it’s been live. The company acknowledges the problems and is working to better users’ experiences, according to MG Zeigler of VentureBeat.

Image source: iPhonelife

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