The Venice Project launches Joost

The Venice Project - developed by the founders of Skype to provide IPTV - have announced it’s official launch as Joost.

The intention is to provide full-screen broadcast quality internet TV, and to provide free programming that is funded by advertising.

However, concerns have already been raised about the bandwidth requirements involved, and that some users may end up breaking the conditions of their broadband contracts, especially where bandwidth limits apply.

So far initial press has been unimpressed with Joost’s programming schedule, but it’s certainly a project that could offer potential.

After all, similar negative comments were made about Channel 4 when that channel launched in the UK, but it now has a healthy following.

Additionally, Channel 4 now offers Channel 4 on Demand in association with British Telecom, which allows users to pay for downloads of individual episodes and films from it’s programming.

Or so the site states - no list of the actual available inventory is provided so people must sign up before they can even find out what may be worth downloading.

Overall, the move towards IPTV is gathering real pace - Platinax News has reported on the technical developments and deals that took place in 2005 and 2006 - 2007 offers to be the staging ground for a ground-breaking service looking to mature.