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Joost, no match for SlingBox
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If you listen to the hype coming from Joost you would think they are the first coming of TV on the internet, but the reality is that they are late and ill equipped for what end users want. Each time a new player enters the market we end up being let down by lack of selection or subpar video and this is no different with Joost. How is it that only Slingbox gets this right? After all, people already pay for satellite and cable, why would you settle for less with the content on the PC or Web?
Only YouTube seems to understand that the more unique content you have the better, which is why they are so successful, but why is it that these startups need to reinvent the wheel?
The funny thing is most broadcast TV executives are missing out on a huge demographic. Think about how many people are sitting at work catching the game or their soaps while working or on the road with their PDA or Windows Mobile device with a Slingbox now. These people want to watch the same content just in another place. We are no less addicted to TV we just want our TV now and where-ever we are internet style.
Joost does it’s best to cue up content from multiple providers, but we found the selections severely lacking. This of course is not Joost’s fault but the lack of cooperation from TV Studios probably stemming from a deep seated fear of new technology. They see players like Joost as something that they cannot control and are worried about enabling a possible competitor. Joost also suffers from a client that is both slow and hard for novice users to understand. There needs to be more options for how much screen real estate is taken up with Joost’s player. Compared to Slingbox’s software Joost doesn’t even compare. So why the hype? They simply are cashing in on two words “FREE” and “TV”, I imagine once people play with their impractical software for a while they will look towards alternatives, or write off TV on the internet as a gimmick entirely. This of course would be a shame.
Now there are some real alternatives out there to Slingbox like Orb which allows you to install software on your Windows Media Center equipped PC to place-shift your TV content to your PC. The downside to this is if you do not have a TV tuner or Windows Media Center you are going to shell out money for both and end up paying more than a standard Slingbox. There are also services like TiVoToGo which aim to beam your recorded broadcast to your PC with several limitations due to copy protection.
Update: Also don’t forget Pirate solutions such as TVU
The fact is though, no matter where you get your “internet” TV nothing beats Slingbox right now, because services like Joost are not able to acquire the types of channels and content that you already get through cable or satellite. The only thing we can see that may trump Slingbox in the future would be if your satellite or cable provider’s equipment came with a feature to place-shift, however the regulations governing cable companies make this very unlikely.
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5 Responses to “Joost, no match for SlingBox”
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Don’t forget a simple TV tuner card!
This one has some nice links…
http://yourtvlinks.com/
What about Netflix and Itunes too.
Those are all great additions thanks for the comments!
I know it’s not a program but if you don’t feel like downloading software or don’t have a beta invite (see link) for Joost try http://www.freetube.us.tc - it somehow manages to stream tv through windows media player and quicktime. If you get DVM on Linux (only) you can even record and use it like a PVR.