Comparing Online TV: Hulu, Joost, Fancast and Veoh

Whether you’ve missed your show or the deadline for high definition TV coming in February is looming over your head, you may want to consider what web 2.0 has to offer. Watching online entertainment has never been as easy as it is with the applications we looked this week. With limited commercial breaks and a library of old and new titles, users with these online TV applications can see movies, TV programs, clips, and in some cases music videos, all for free.

As seen in the chart below, we looked at four applications this week: Hulu, Fancast, Joost, and Veoh. We evaluated them on how easy it is to discover new entertainment, their features, and what kind of content they offer. All of the applications offered TV and movies with player controls (rewind, pause, fast forward), and each had categories and search functions to help users find their shows. We’ll talk a bit more after the chart, and to read the full reviews, click on the application names within the chart.

Veoh was one of the most social of the applications, and in addition to the being able to rate and comment on media, Veoh lets users join and create groups and add friends to their profile. Users can then share comments, see what one another is watching, and submit their own videos. Users that want to talk about entertainment also have a forum, or can send a messages to one another. It has two elements that the other applications did not — a Family Filter for keeping adult content off the site, and an optional download that lets users record Veoh content. Where Veoh falls short is in the area of content - there are plenty of titles, yet Veoh, as does Fancast and Joost, relies on Hulu for content. The result of this, for all four, is a similarity of content, especially in the TV category. This may be in large part to the tight fisted approach to distribution rights on the part of studios, but for users looking solely for TV or film content, there may be some frustration. The content that is only in Veoh are user videos and a subcategory called “Sexy”. Sexy appears in the categories once the Family Filter is off and presumably offers more mature content (the term “sexy” may be misleading - unless you consider Eisenstein’s pastoral epic Alexander Nevsky sexy…).

Fancast, to supplement its offering of film and TV, has added tabs for trailers (film) and an online store for its users. The online store is a bonus for hardcore fans - not only can they catch up on the latest shows, but if the shows aren’t streaming (very possible) they can download films for rent or own. It should be mentioned that download-on-demand films and TV programs are at a reduced rate, and that there are ties to the store for easy purchase/rental of each show. To complete the circle of TV to online to ownership, Fancast also offers a ready listing of your local TV and Comcast On Demand which you can subscribe to (email). The downside to Fancast is that it is a commercial site, and often feels as though they are leading you to a purchase, but for free TV anytime it’s a small distraction.

Joost too is a socially minded site, with tabs for Friends and Groups appearing before TV and Movies in the top links. True to its social intent it keeps a feed of what everyone’s doing, called a JoostFeed, so that you can discover not only new content, but what is popular. JoostFeeds specific to your friends and groups can be seen under those tabs and shows can be marked as favorites so that you can share them. Music videos, which are unique to Joost among the four applications, films and movies can be queued, tagged, commented on, and shouted. Shouting is a feature that lets Joost know what you think of it, where users select one of five moods that reflect their feelings about the show. The downside to Joost is navigational; when a video is finished it reverts to default videos too quickly, seamlessly streaming one after another in a way that is likely to distract most users. Also there are no there are no links to separate full length programs from clips.

Best known among the TV applications is Hulu, and for good reason. Of the four applications, the other three of them rely on Hulu to feed currently running shows and movies. With a large selection of TV shows and films, Hulu’s strength is in both its clean design and navigation. When you watch a show (or film) in Hulu you feel as though you are watching a television - the full screen is the size of your monitor, and if you are on the information page you have quick and easy access to every clip and show in that series. Even discussion (comments) related to the show are on the same page, along with show (episode numbers and air dates) and cast information. Hulu is missing listings and user related videos, but for users that are looking for online entertainment, the distraction of listings and videos are not missed.

All of the applications have the downside that they are limited in where they make certain shows available - meaning that users outside the United States will have to experiment with finding content. Despite this restriction, however, through these applications online entertainment has never been so accessible, nor so easy. To read more about these sites or to find similar applications there is the Listio search: watch+TV.

Previously in this series: Hulu: Online TV With Organization

Application: Hulu
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Hulu/
Website: http://www.hulu.com

Hulu is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S.... Learn more

Application: Joost
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Joost/
Website: http://www.joost.com

Use Joost to watch TV through your web browser. Watch various channels including music, sports, travel, adventure, wildlife, and sci-fi. Joost offers full length shows and channel flipping. For specific channel search, Joost offers a show search feature and programming information. Share your thoug... Learn more

Application: Fancast
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Fancast/
Website: http://www.fancast.com

Stay on top of popular TV programming with Fancast. See the top searches on TV shows, movies, celebrities and headline news. Search for TV listings and find out at what time/channel your favorite show is playing. Watch popular clips from our Fancast database. Fancast also provides you with movie re... Learn more

Application: Veoh
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Veoh/
Website: http://www.veoh.com

Video sharing and online TV application. Rate, comment, and join friends with Veoh. Unlike other video distribution networks, the company distributes video clip content also in its original format. Content can be recorded with a free software also.... Learn more

New to Listio? Our tag cloud search offers an easy way to narrow your hunt for the perfect web application or service. No more second guessing of search terms. Just click on one tag, then as many more as you'd like to narrow your search results. It's easy and ensures you get to the listing you want. Finding web 2.0 was never so easy.

Tags: personal, share, TV, watch
Posted in: Product Comparisons, TV | Respond
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