A few years ago I was in college. During that time I majored in Communication Studies. I didn’t have a minor, because they didn’t offer what I wanted as a minor, but rather as a focus. That focus was in “Television & Video Production.” So when someone asks me what I studied in school I have started to tell them the following; I was a Communications Studies major, with a unofficial concentration in Mass Communications & a focus in Television & Video Production. The reason I bring this up is that I studied film A LOT. I have grown accustomed to watching a lot of movies. This was always a difficult and expensive task. At almost $5.00 per DVD rental it got expensive quickly. Enter Netflix, DVD rentals just got a whole lot easier and a whole lot more affordable. I was loving it, renting movie, after movie, after movie. until I got added to “The Slow List.” I put that in quotes because I am not the first person to be put onto the slow list. This is something that Netflix does often. So what can I do, well I can quit, and I did. My next mouse click was on Blockbuster.com. I was signed up in minutes, and it’s way better then Netflix. For every DVD I take out from their online outfit, I get a coupon for an in store rental. This means that I walk into any Blockbuster store and grab a Movie (or game) and place it on the counter with my membership card. Scan, Scan, & X is due back on Y by Z’oclock. That’s it. Just return it on time. Meanwhile, the moment they scan your online DVD, the next one is scheduled for delivery. It actually gets shipped while you are watching your free DVD. I am so impressed. I know this post sounds like an ad, but it is because it is truly as good of a deal as it sounds like in the commercial. I would defiantly recommend checking it out.To see the ad click the image at the top of this post.

So I received my long sought after Joost invite yesterday. I quickly dropped everything and downloaded the program. After the install was complete I ran the program. What I saw was not what I was expecting, but was really impressive. Joost is like nothing I have ever seen before. The interface at first glance appears to be very intuitive. and the video quality is as good or better then I was expecting. My computer is tied into my TV and watching video on demand on my TV is truly impressive. Of course ParPerView and OnDemand have been available for years, but getting content over the Internet is truly impressive. you get the feeling that you are more in control when this is coming from the Internet to your TV rather then a cable provider’s closed, private network. I have only taken a brief look at the program and will offer a more in depth review in the coming weeks.

For weeks I had been intending to make a post about the future of the television industry, but Joost may have just changed some of my opinions or predictions.

For those people who only surfed here because of the words Joost invite. I will be offering Joost beta test invites in the coming weeks as well, once I receive them.