Tech Review: Joost - online video's next step?

Many months ago there were rumors that the guys behind Skype were working on an online video project. We later came to find out that the name of the project was called Joost and that their intent is to reshape the television experience the same way Skype did with voice communications.

About a month ago I downloaded Joost and was interested to see what all the talk was about. I already knew that Joost wasn't going the user generated content route like YouTube, but was instead pursuing mainstream programming like you find on television today and repositioning it for the online world.

What I found in Joost was pretty much what I expected. There were several channels like one from Warner music featuring various music videos and one from Comedy Central playing old programs. Over the last couple weeks I've seen several channels get added but the amount of content is still fairly slim. There didn't appear to be any x-rated content in Joost (hopefully there never will) but there were some risque programs that had a "must be 16 or older to view" tag, so be aware of that and check out the safer stuff.

The Joost experience was everything you'd expect in the melding of television and the Internet: you can fast forward and rewind in every program and chat with other users watching the same program. There are several widgets that display on the screen while you watch your program like a news feed reader, clock, and notice board for updates.

All in all, Joost was interesting to see but the content will be what makes it. I understand from a reliable source that Christian content is coming to Joost in the near future. Whether it's of the TBN variety or not, I'm not totally sure but Joost will provide more niche programming than digital cable ever could.

When Joost can be viewed on my television as easy as my computer we'll have really gotten somewhere. The future is going that direction and Apple TV is one of the leaders in that push. All the pieces are there for this to come together so you know it's just around the corner. How long it takes the population to adopt it, however, may be quite another story.