Thanks to Rod I've just been checking out Joost, a free (ad supported) internet-based TV service.
I just checked out Vicki thrashing a few cars around the racetrack (e.g. old vs new EVO and Volvo vs Legacy) and a few other random things.
The instant start on programs is nice. There is the ocassional fraction of a second pause which is a bit annoying -- it could do with a *tad* more buffering out here on this side of the Pacific. But unlike QuickTime Player, deliberately pausing it for a few seconds to let the buffering get ahead doesn't help. Hope they fix that.
The picture quality is decent when blown up to (the default) full screen on my 17" (1680x1050) MBP. Plenty of detail but some visible blocking if you look closely -- but fine if you sit back at a sane distance. Much the same quality as the typical stuff you find on bittorrent these days. And it's sooo much easier than bittorrent. And legal too!
There are ads in between the programs, but they're less intrusive and shorter than real TV. And the random-access to any show is of course far better. You can also just sit there on a "channel" and it will play shows continuously, just as real TV will.
Watching the OSX Activity Monitor's "Network" tab while playing a show, it seems to average about 80 KB/sec, or around 640 kbps (on my 4 Mbps cable modem). So that's 5 MB per minute, or 300 MB/hour, or a gigabyte in just over three hours of watching. Or 200 MB for a typical 40 minute TV episode. Which is a bit over half that of the typical programs on bittorrent which are usually around 350 MB for a 40 minute ("one hour" with ads) US show such as BSG or Lost. So the H.264 is doing a good job compared to the usual divx encoding you find. Watching a typical 40 minute TV episode is going to cost you about $1 of your initial allocation on a TelstraClear hi speed 10G or 20G cable modem account (or you can watch 30 or 60 hours a month within your initial allocation). It'd be 50c on one of the 10 Mbps 40 GB or 80 GB accounts. So pretty reasonable compared to getting Sky unless you're a *total* TV addict.
The best thing, of course, is that this is internet TV that my grandmother could use.
8 comments:
Hi Bruce - followed (stalked?) you here from Rod Drury's site.
Is there any chance you could pass an invite to Joost to me? I'm keen to have a look around too.
Kind regards
Sam
sam(dot)tobin(dot)nz(at)gmail(dot)com
I don't appear to have any yet!
ok - no worries. Just thought I'd ask. If some should turn up and you can spare it I'd appreciate it.
Thanks
sam
Hi again, just received an email invite from Joost. Thanks.
Will let you know how it goes for me (marginal laptop, on a wireless router, connecting to a dodgy telecom line, to a rubbish exchange...)
Sam
Yeah I'd be interested to hear.
I'm using my laptop on wifi too, but as I swapped my 1.0 GHz G4 for a 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo laptop a few months ago I'm hoping I won't have a "marginal laptop" again for several more years!
Hello. I too am interested in Joost. Could you please send along an invitation (enxx@mac.com)
Eriq
Hi Again
So, the interface was nice enough (though the little crystal shards were a bit blocky to be really cool), but what with our 'broadband' quality it just needs a whole lot more buffering...
I plugged the laptop into my Sony LCD tv - watchable.
Can't wait for a proper internet eh?
Sam
Thanks for that report Sam.
The crystals aren't at all blocky here ... all smooth and translucent and anti-aliased in fact.
The pauses are annoying, but they're usually only a fraction of a second on cable. Only a *tad* more bufferring woudl work wonders I think.
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