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Displaying entries tagged: Joost
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Hulu hoop
December 17, 2007 - 8:18
- Hulu - Joost - iTunes
A few weeks ago I signed up for the private beta testing of Hulu, a new site that delivers streaming video content online. I received my invitation email today, so I was pretty excited to try the free service out.
I would have to say that my immediate reaction is quite positive. I only browsed around for a few minutes and then watched an episode of "The Office", but the site seems to offer some noteworthy functionality. For one, I was allowed to "pop out" the video window, so I could have it in a corner of the screen while I worked on whatever I was working on. This is a must have feature for any video service I will use on a regular basis. The quality seemed to be a tad above what I get from Joost, but the video (not audio) did freeze when a print dialog box opened from a Google Document I was working on. I didn't count the number of advertisements, but it was definitely far fewer than what you would get on network television; they did not bother me at all.
The selection of shows is certainly one of the sites stronger categories. It boost content such as NBC's "The Office", and "Heroes"; and FOX's "Family Guy" and "Simpsons". After quickly browsing through the 8 pages of content available I am almost shocked with the number of shows that I will likely be watching in the background sometime soon. This selection of shows suits my personal taste more than Joost's selection does. Worthy to note, I have put in a decent amount of time within the past month watching and browsing through Joost's catalog of content, there are some shows I definitely enjoy, but I was having a hard time finding a "channel" I could keep on for a few hours in a row without getting bored with it.
An interesting offering from Hulu is the ability to embed an entire episode onto a personal website. This is pretty cool. I just added an episode of "The Office" above my picbar on my homepage. It seems to function pretty much like the YouTube embedded player.
So, all in all, my first encounter with Hulu has been a good one, I hope I am not disappointed with more use of this service.
Finally, while on this topic, I would like to add the following commentary regarding Universal Studios decision to not re-sign with iTuens under Apples current pricing scheme:
In my opinion, the decision to not re-sign their contract with iTunes is greedy and unethical. I believe it is simply greedy to think that a single episode of television should cost more than $1.99. I think it is unethical to pull a distribution option for a series after already offering one or more seasons in it. I purchased many seasons from iTunes, including "Heroes" and "The Office" from NBC. I think it's ridiculous that I will not be able to complete these series in the format I have already started collecting them in. I could continue ranting about this for a while, but I'm not even going to get into it any further right now.
I have to wake up early again to go back down to the city. I could have chosen to spend the night down there and I probably should have. Oh well, at least I now have Hulu.
From the inside, out, good night.
I would have to say that my immediate reaction is quite positive. I only browsed around for a few minutes and then watched an episode of "The Office", but the site seems to offer some noteworthy functionality. For one, I was allowed to "pop out" the video window, so I could have it in a corner of the screen while I worked on whatever I was working on. This is a must have feature for any video service I will use on a regular basis. The quality seemed to be a tad above what I get from Joost, but the video (not audio) did freeze when a print dialog box opened from a Google Document I was working on. I didn't count the number of advertisements, but it was definitely far fewer than what you would get on network television; they did not bother me at all.
The selection of shows is certainly one of the sites stronger categories. It boost content such as NBC's "The Office", and "Heroes"; and FOX's "Family Guy" and "Simpsons". After quickly browsing through the 8 pages of content available I am almost shocked with the number of shows that I will likely be watching in the background sometime soon. This selection of shows suits my personal taste more than Joost's selection does. Worthy to note, I have put in a decent amount of time within the past month watching and browsing through Joost's catalog of content, there are some shows I definitely enjoy, but I was having a hard time finding a "channel" I could keep on for a few hours in a row without getting bored with it.
An interesting offering from Hulu is the ability to embed an entire episode onto a personal website. This is pretty cool. I just added an episode of "The Office" above my picbar on my homepage. It seems to function pretty much like the YouTube embedded player.
So, all in all, my first encounter with Hulu has been a good one, I hope I am not disappointed with more use of this service.
Finally, while on this topic, I would like to add the following commentary regarding Universal Studios decision to not re-sign with iTuens under Apples current pricing scheme:
In my opinion, the decision to not re-sign their contract with iTunes is greedy and unethical. I believe it is simply greedy to think that a single episode of television should cost more than $1.99. I think it is unethical to pull a distribution option for a series after already offering one or more seasons in it. I purchased many seasons from iTunes, including "Heroes" and "The Office" from NBC. I think it's ridiculous that I will not be able to complete these series in the format I have already started collecting them in. I could continue ranting about this for a while, but I'm not even going to get into it any further right now.
I have to wake up early again to go back down to the city. I could have chosen to spend the night down there and I probably should have. Oh well, at least I now have Hulu.
From the inside, out, good night.
Joost anyone?
April 5, 2007 - 6:50
- Joost - Lost
Hello out there. I just downloaded a pretty cool program that just became available for Mac. [WARNING: my idea of cool is likely much cooler than yours]. It's an Internet TV application called Joost. I heard about it about a month ago and have been getting tidbits of info here and there since. I didn't really know much about Internet TV or IP TV( which may or may not be the same thing, I don't actually know yet). I did know that bad ideas such as Net Neutrality would threaten the idea of high speed content being delivered to someones computer without paying a premium price, therefore directly affecting services like this. So my curiosity about this new idea prompted me to sign up for an email alert from Joost for when a Mac version of the software becomes available, an email I got today. So I downloaded it a little while ago and gave it a whirl. My initial impression is that this application has a ton of potential.I have recently been pricing small LCD's for the office, as sometimes when working on projects I prefer to have a TV on opposed to music. Something like Joost can easily solve that problem while at the same time, giving me the convenience to pick whatever shows I want. The current TV lineup includes channels such as MTV, National Geographic,Soccer Network, Comedy Central, and a bunch of other stray cat channels. The biggest annoyance thus far is the lag. It seems to have a hard time going for a respectable amount of time before "lagging up" for a few seconds. Still, it is free, it is beta, and it's from the people that brought us Skype. I am happy, and will continue to try it out. If you are interested in trying it out, follow the following link :-)
Ok...now onto LOST[spoiler]: very briefly, I really enjoyed last nights episode. I HATED Hurley for almost the entire episode, just the though of him telling Sawyer he might have to bounce from the group! Luckily, we saw what the end motive was. In regards to the "black smoke"...I think that is very cool, and I have NO idea what it is! (maybe it is the death gate keepers to purgatory, hell, and heaven!) One more thing, for the record and maybe for other witnesses to confirm, remember last weeks episode...at the end, Ben shows Locke his father in the closet...well I thought during a flashback to the airport, Nicki and Pallo (sp?) where sitting down at a table, then comes in Boone and his hot sister who's name escapes me at this moment were fighting...Nicki and Pallo where like "let's never let that happen to us...blah blah" well I think the camera panned right for a second, and showed Lockes father. I'm sure people on all the Lost blogs and websites are already ontop of this...but I don't visit those sites all that much, as they seem to be even a little crazier about the show than myself. OK, one more thing... I really liked last weeks episode. The whole, counting backwards in time was cool, and it was GREAT to see the two most annoying characters (yes, more so than even Charlie) get buried alive.
And in closing, I leave you with a nice little screen shot / shout out from a little iChat last night between some good friends.
From the inside, out, take care.
Ok...now onto LOST[spoiler]: very briefly, I really enjoyed last nights episode. I HATED Hurley for almost the entire episode, just the though of him telling Sawyer he might have to bounce from the group! Luckily, we saw what the end motive was. In regards to the "black smoke"...I think that is very cool, and I have NO idea what it is! (maybe it is the death gate keepers to purgatory, hell, and heaven!) One more thing, for the record and maybe for other witnesses to confirm, remember last weeks episode...at the end, Ben shows Locke his father in the closet...well I thought during a flashback to the airport, Nicki and Pallo (sp?) where sitting down at a table, then comes in Boone and his hot sister who's name escapes me at this moment were fighting...Nicki and Pallo where like "let's never let that happen to us...blah blah" well I think the camera panned right for a second, and showed Lockes father. I'm sure people on all the Lost blogs and websites are already ontop of this...but I don't visit those sites all that much, as they seem to be even a little crazier about the show than myself. OK, one more thing... I really liked last weeks episode. The whole, counting backwards in time was cool, and it was GREAT to see the two most annoying characters (yes, more so than even Charlie) get buried alive.
And in closing, I leave you with a nice little screen shot / shout out from a little iChat last night between some good friends.
From the inside, out, take care.