There are two different visions of online video out there in the market place:
Web-based: Youtube, Revver, etc
Client-based (e.g. you use a piece of software that is not your browser): Joost, Zatto
Which will predominate in the medium-term (2 to 3 years)?
The former have the advantage of universality. The latter (at least at first) better performance and perhaps more licensed content. A former scenario is better for us for obvious reasons, but don't let that cloud your thinking.
50NP to the most thoughtful answer.
Answers will be graded not on "correctness", but structured logic that builds to a coherent answer
Splitting the difference allowed if you describe which applications of video will go to which model.
YouTube style video delivering is the most familiar and popular right now, and although the quality of YouTube video is not of the highest level, it is the most practical looking/functioning social networking video format out there IMO.
Joost style is the future of internet TV, no question, and I could see Joost very easily incorporating some type of pop up menu which has almost all the same search engine features as the Youtube style. The difference is, it would not be right in your face, it would just open up a box when you want it, while still maintaining full screen high quality video. I mean they already have this now, but not as complete of search engine and social tools as Youtube or myspace, etc…
People are going to want to have total control and be able to adjust the screen the way they want it, and have the features they want available when and how they want them. They will want to have the giant plasma TV/HDTV at home look like regular TV, they just will want to have more control and be able to adjust parameters, and search for what they want to search for. However they will want the full screen and best quality/sound possible, and that is Joost model IMO.
If YouTube can improve the quality of the video at full screen it might not make a difference and some people might not care which format they use. I think the real question has to do with other technical factors, such as if the features in a typical web browser hinder the TV distribution quality/experience from a development standpoint?
Not being a programmer, I can’t answer that, but it might make sense that Joost is essentialy building a video browser from the bottom up, and this could have technical advantages I know nothing about. Correct me if I’m wrong, but is that what Joost is, a TV program that does not need a browser, rather it functions as almost its own independent browser system?
The real question here isn’t even totally in the software, but in the other factors outside:
1.New devices such as Steve Jobs TV box connector, how long will it take for these to be implemented in to the general market? Will it explode like the IPOD? What will be Microsoft’s answer?
2.Major entertainment and content companies developing .TV websites and driving fans to view video on the web even sooner. As traffic increases, so will competition to make better quality looking sites. The demand to have the DVD quality slick video will drive upper level development companies to go for the high quality site. Perhaps the Joost model will the the superior quality model which will mean the “Big Dogs” will implement it in order to distance themselves from the generic YouTube style sites.
3.Will there be some sort of remote control with a joystick to allow you to navigate smoother through a Joost type environment? Perhaps this will connect to your Apple Box and will allow you to have search capabilities without the need to use your keyboard to quickly access content you want. (This would be significant for your home TV viewing)
4.I think you have to remember that still not everyone has high bandwidth, or the newest computers. The general population takes a few years to update and purchase new computers. So Joost style sites with really high quality video and bandwidth might not be the best idea right away, as I have no knowledge as to how they work on todays computers, do they require higher speed computers and even more bandwidth?
I think the Joost type environment will become significant, but im not sure if in 3 yrs, or if it will overtake the YouTube style in the next 3 years. The YouTube style is already huge, and thousands have sites have copied various components of it.
I think the beefed up good rich media sites (Such as BrightCove) that have better quality video closer to Joost but still maintain the YouTube channel and social network feel will be the norm, almost halfway between YouTube, and Joost. The big difference is the sites will slowly improve video quality and give better features at the full screen viewing. The Brightcove/Flash Style sites look more professional than YouTube.com, and have a slicker design.
Another idea I had was, perhaps APPLE will implant some sort of Joost program in the TV box, or unleash the next OS and computer that has the box features built in with its own dedicated TV browser? Maybe we will see an internet Browser, and then a dedicated TV browser?
Perhaps an entire OS dedicted for full TV browsing???? Again, I am not a programmer and do not know if this is significant, im not sure if standard browsers in anyway hinder the distribution of TV over the internet, but it seems like that is what Joost is working on, and it only makes sense that Steve Jobs would try to go that way if it would improve the overall quality of .TV
So in the next 1-3 yrs, YouTube/Brightcove/KickApps Style/Flash sites will be the norm through your Web. But as we get toward year 3-5 I think we could very well see Joost style or dedicated TV type browsing software, especially as the industry starts to expand, more people start to watch video on the net, and as the Big Media Dogs try to create sites that Trump the average guy. Also, we have to allow the general consumer to be able to have access and fully utilize the technology, and it seems like computer turnover is based around 2-5 yrs for the general population to have access.
50NP?????LOLOLOL
Last edited by larrythecableguy : 03-08-2007 at 01:07 PM.
Id really like to get a better working definition of what Joost is, it seems like it is a seperate browser/file sharing type of video program, where you don't need a traditional browser.
I just read on APPLE that the APPLE tv adaptor is wireless, streams the video in real time to Mac or PC, and comes with some sort of remote control.
I think this can aid to speculation that Apple could very likely be either beefing up Itunes or coming out with some sort of seperate video browsing software to enhance video viewing on tv.
In three years analog broadcast tv will switch to digital broadcasting, here in the US. At the moment the major online (TV) players plan on using (taking over) excess "white space"... created by digitization (ie, Channel 4 becomes Channel 4.1 / 4.3 / 4.7 / 4.9 etc.)
See: Tech Firms Push to Use TV Airwaves for Internet
"A coalition of big technology companies wants to bring high-speed Internet access to consumers in a new way: over television airwaves... The six partners -- Microsoft, Google, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Philips -- say they can meet that challenge. Today, they plan to give FCC officials a prototype device, built by Microsoft, that will undergo months of testing."
Beyond the U.S. I expect that these same firms will launch dedicated digital-broadcast satellites... (mostly) for internet TV (to address unscalable bandwidth issues, as well as to counter the web draining P2P TV model
Seeing that apple tv is now shipping, and how after researching that the remote control has some of the features I was suspecting along with Itunes, I think this brings up a good case for Joost style.
I think Joost will dominate sites, whos owners own large amounts of content, or have plenty of original content to distribute directly.
Movie companies, sit coms, big time shows, etc....
I guess we could consider iTunes Client based?
Found it real interesting that the guys who started Joost were the ones who started Skype.
