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(For full-screen shots click the images)

I just received my invitation to Hulu. So, I spent a good portion of my afternoon checking it out, and here’s what I think….

There are a LOT of shows available. Not everything , of course, but quite a bit. And, they are adding new ones all the time.  There are also clips - such as SNL skits.  You can browse the available titles in several different ways thanks to the very well designed menu system.

You have the option of watching in a browser screen, but going full-screen is the only way to go.  You will need a fairly good monitor because the old CRT will not give the optimal picture - a test on a 19″ CRT produced a darker than desired picture.

The menu options disappear after a few seconds giving you a TV like picture.  To get them back just move the mouse.

As for commercials, they are few and unobtrusive.  It takes about 43 minutes to watch a one hour show, which means an average of 3 minutes of commercials for a one hour show.

Hulu also gives the option of enbedding a video (both full shows and clips) in your web site, ala youtube.

The site is still in beta so you will need to get an invitation to check it out.  As of now it seems very promising.

About a year ago I signed up to be a beta tester for Joost, the new online TV darling of everyone “in-the-know”. It was created by the two geniuses who brouhgt us Kazaa and Skype. At the time I found it vaguely entertaining, but soon lost interest.

After months of ignoring that icon on my desktop I decided to give Joost a second chance. My old beta version no longer worked so I deleted it and downloaded the latest version for Windows - it also has a version for Mac, but, alas, none for Linux. And, as a side note, no Linux version appears to be in the works either.

I downloaded and installed the latest version and launched it from the new task-bar icon (yes, this can be turned off and I am sure I will do so). My, how things have changed - they now boast over 20,000 shows from both mainstream and niche channels. CNN, ESPN and MTV are represented as well as smaller markets like (personal taste here) Cycling TV. I, of course, decided to test Cycling TV. It’s off-season now, but the channel had great repeats of all the big European races from 2007. Before I knew it I was watching the action from the ‘07 edition of Het Volk! For the rest of you, there is now a myriad of programming available.

Downside?

Now, since Joost was created by the same guys who brought us Kazaa, my next question was SPYWARE. I did some searching and found no actual spyware is installed with Joost (unlike Kazaa). Now, for the privacy zealots out there, yes, Joost reports what you watch back to the “networks”, but that should come as no surprise - they aren’t going to give their content to Joost without getting back numbers of viewers. This info goes out on port 11208 (UDP) for anyone interested. This port can’t be closed without disabling Joost so you just have to deal with it. I, for one, find this no concern.

Bottom Line

I thin Joost is coming of age. There are some bugs - I received some strange error messages at some points - but, it is getting close to being ready for prime time so give it a shot, download the latest version HERE. I think the shear number of channels and programs available is worth a look for anyone.

NOTE:

Joost defied my best efforts to bring you any type of screenshot as an example for this article. I am sure this is something mandated by the content providers, who once again prove that they have no clue about today’s market - wouldn’t want to allow that free publicity!