TVSquad

Now that I've had a chance to check out full-screen online video programs Joost, VeohTV, and Babelgum I'd been thinking about writing up a comparison. Mashable beat me to it, and threw in Democracy to boot.

All four programs aim to make the experience of watching online video easier. Web browsers were really designed for viewing text and images, not video. A side benefit is that most of these programs are also welcome additions to an HTPC.

In a nutshell, here's what Mashable found:

• VeohTV has a well designed, easy to use interface and a wide selection of content. But the channels aren't well organized, making it hard to find what you're looking for.
• Babelgum has an excellent design, but very little content.
• Joost has a good balance of decent content and a good layout, but it takes a reasonably fast computer to run.
• Democracy can access almost any video on the web. The downside is you need to download video, there's no streaming capability.

I'll agree with all of those points. I beg to differ with Mashable's decision that Democracy was the best of the bunch. Of course, this is going to be a matter of taste, but I'd go with Joost for now.

The main thing to consider before choosing a video application is what you want from it. Do you want a full screen viewing experience? Do you want to be able to read information about TV shows while watching them?

I'm primarily looking for a program that can run on my home theater PC. Right now I'm getting video content in my living room primarily from a digital antenna and Windows Media Center's online spotlight. Joost, VeohTV, and Babelgum can all help. Democracy just doesn't work that well without a keyboard. If I want to download programs to view on my HTPC, I can use TV Tonic, which integrates with Windows Media Center.

I really like the content available from VeohTV. It includes full length streaming TV episodes from CBS, Fox, NBC, and the CW, as well as tons of short user-generated clips. But the beta software doesn't play well with my Firefly remote control, and wants to start in full screen every time I boot my computer even when I disable the option to start when Windows starts.

I agree that the biggest problem with Babelgum is lack of content right now. And that's why the one program of these four that's earned a permanent place on my HTPC is Joost. It works (most of the time) with my remote control. It's got a great full-screen channel guide. And it's got a reasonable amount of content including comedy, science fiction programs, news, cartoons, and music videos.