On the heels of Joost’s announced intent to offer live TV, I spoke with the CEO of online video distributor Jaman - a company taking a very different approach to delivering content. Jaman has gotten attention from some of the big wigs both for its focus on indie and international films and for its ability to deliver high-def video to via the Apple TV. However, in my discussion with Gaurav Dhillon, I was most fascinated by his take on the importance of focusing on video downloads right now rather than video streaming.

The Jaman strategy is interesting because it combines online interactivity and short-form video (movie trailers) with a desktop client and long-form video delivered for offline viewing. The theory is that mucking up the broadband networks with bandwidth-hogging applications is not responsible. Instead, Jaman uses a content delivery network and progressive downloading to get content to its users. Within a minute of beginning a download, users can start watching their rented or purchased movie. But if there is traffic overload on the Internet, Jaman will throttle the download back - a good way to keep ISPs happy, particularly since Jaman’s content is all HD.

In its online bag of tricks, Jaman has just introduced new social and searching features for its website. There’s a cute Movie Finder app that lets you adjust sliders toward different movie characteristics to help you find the one you’re in the mood for. (See pic above) There’s also a People Finder feature that finds avatars similar to your own so you can meet other Jaman fans. (A bit cheesy, but an interesting novelty.)

And for the basics on Jaman:

• Rentals cost $1.99
• Purchased films cost $4.99
• The Jaman application runs on both Mac and PC
• There are currently almost 2,000 films under license
• Content comes from film festivals and regional aggregators of movies around the globe

If Jaman piques your interest, you can try it and get three movies free to start. I know what I’m watching this weekend.

I got an email from Gotuit the other day about the latest enhanced video site they’re enabling. In this case the news is about a Luke Bryan video remix site (apparently he’s a singer with EMI’s Capitol Records Nashville), but the press release was highly reminiscent of several other Gotuit announcements. In other words, not very interesting, except for the fact that it piles on one more example of Gotuit’s latest success. In September the company announced a deal with the FOX Reality Channel and with Sports Illustrated for the 2007 Heisman Watch site.

Using the announcement as an excuse to revisit the Gotuit website, I found that behind the scenes they appears to be making changes. The company site has been completely revamped to target business customers only, not consumers. Smart. It’s a lot cleaner and quite slick looking. I don’t know anything about the company’s financials, but focusing on a B2B audience has always seemed its most promising route. Rather than fight the consumer video wars, Gotuit is establishing itself as a trusted content delivery system at a time when the business world is just starting to scratch the service of online video applications. I see huge growth potential. (more…)

Joost opens to the public today and NewTeeVee has a video interview with CEO Mike Volpi. The company started handing out beta invites many months ago and brilliantly enlisted the help of tech bloggers (ZNF included) to broaden the invitation process while still making it look exclusive. Then the much-hyped, TV-on-the-Internet application started getting some negative press and consumer interest simmered down a bit.

Despite the company’s funding and incredible connections, Joost can only be successful if people like using it. I’m still skeptical, and here’s what I think is working against it:

• Those of us (tech geeks and early adopters) who tried the beta service and left frustrated. What incentive do we have to give Joost a second try?
• Content, content, content. Even with the recent addition of some MLB playoff content and CBS shows, Joost is hardly a clearinghouse for all the TV you’d want, which means Joost has to work hard to maintain viewership while consumers continue trolling for other places to watch online video.
• No strategy for getting Joost TV to the TV, though apparently the company is looking for hardware partners. Last100 points out that many online video services have now developed a set-top/media-extender strategy so viewers can watch video on their living-room sets. Joost doesn’t have one yet (though SlingCatcher promises a stream-anything platform), and the question is whether Joost really believes it will generate an audience that wants to watch TV only on a computer screen.
• The ever-present bandwidth dilemma. The bandwidth problem is hardly isolated to Joost (and Joost may even have a leg up on competitors), but let’s say the service and others like it become extremely popular. How are the ISPs going to react to so much P2P traffic? And what effects will users feel?

If you have an opinion on Joost, let us know. I’d be particularly interested in anyone using and loving the service now.

When I read the news today that Comcast had upgraded free storage for customers to 1 Gig per Comcast.net email address, it happened to be right after reading another stat from a firm called InfoTrends. InfoTrends predicts that Americans will take 50 billion digital photos in 2007 and 60 billion by 2011. Putting the two data points together pointed me toward a conclusion that I’ve been percolating on for some time now: consumer storage is on the verge of becoming big business.

While Comcast is offering more storage for free (which means storage must be mind-bogglingly cheap), it’s not offering any kind of archiving management solution that I know of. Unfortunately storage isn’t just about finding space, it’s about preserving materials so they’re accessible over the long haul. TWICE magazine had a panel discussion on this issue a while back pertaining specifically to the photo industry, but it’s true whether you’re talking about photos, videos, emails, blogs, or whatever.

There are consumer storage services out there, but none that have broken through to mainstream American consciousness. And more importantly, none that have been tested over years and years to prove they’re lasting solutions. It will be interesting to see how these services hold up and what new ones appear in the next decade.

I should preface effusiveness by saying that there are plenty of things not to like about Amazon’s new digital music store, Amazon MP3. As Om Malik points out, the interface is really not that great, though the downloader application is virtually transparent once you’ve downloaded it. I was also seriously disappointed at not being able to find a lot of the songs I wanted to download. Music that may not be recent, but is relatively mainstream. Bummer.

However…

Wow. Overall I love Amazon MP3. After running through set-up and trying my free download (a song called “Energy” by The Apples), I found and purchased a song by Mike Doughty of former Soul Coughing fame. A click of the mouse and “I Hear the Bells” downloaded to my laptop and transferred automatically into iTunes. Nice touch.

Once I had the song safely on my laptop (for a mere 89 cents) I walked over to my Squeezebox remote. It’s been a long time since I’ve streamed anything from my computer to my Squeezebox since mostly I just listen to Internet stations and podcasts. But that’s because most of my downloaded music is sadly DRM-protected by Apple and can’t be heard through the Squeezebox. Different story with my new Amazon download. A couple of clicks with my remote and my newly purchased song was blasting through my living room speakers. Glorious.

Yes, yes, I know you can get DRM-free music from iTunes, but there’s something great about going to an online store where you know everything available is music that can be moved around to any device. And it’s a bit shocking to pay only 89 cents for some tracks. Dangerous. I see possible addiction ahead.

I can’t wait until Amazon adds more music to its DRM-free catalog. Maybe, just maybe we have an actual iTunes competitor now.

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There’s news out of Sling Media today, and since I don’t work for the company (unlike Dave), I feel perfectly justified in covering it.

Sling is collaborating with DirecTV on a new offering called Supercast, which brings online streams of NFL games to the Web every Sunday. Subscribers to the DirecTV/NFL SuperFan package can access these streams for free, though it appears you will only get access to the games available in your geographic region. (Hmmm– isn’t “placeshifting” the whole idea behind Sling?) Sling designed the SuperCast interface (further updates promised soon) and is hosting the service for DirecTV. More details direct from Dave on the Sling Community forum.

What’s extremely interesting about this news is that it represents the first time Sling has ventured beyond the hardware biz into direct content delivery. The new service does not require a Slingbox or Sling software. And, in working with DirecTV, Sling shows new media and old media distribution are growing ever closer. Maybe there are more partnerships to come?

One other note about the news from a satellite-vs.-cable point of view: it looks like the battles over sports content are not going to die down any time soon. What’s next? Is Comcast going to bring Donovan McNabb on door-to-door sales calls?

Streaming music company Slacker has big news out today. The company has inked a deal with EMI, Universal and Warner Music Group to let customers access their music from soon-to-be launched Slacker Portable Players. This makes Slacker among the first companies to offer a mobile streaming music service that is not accessed on a cell phone (i.e. dependent on your cellular carrier) and doesn’t require satellite radio service. Slacker listeners can refresh personalized streams on their portable players via Wi-Fi or USB.

I love the Pandora music service and specifically I love accessing it on my Squeezebox. But after trying out Slacker last month, I have to admit the customization options on the Slacker desktop app are stellar. I don’t use Slacker much because I don’t like listening to music on my computer, but having a portable device could change things. If the Slacker music players are well-designed (and not inordinately expensive), they’ll be hugely compelling come holiday shopping time.