Joost just soft-launched its long-awaited in-browser version. It’s throwing several errors (see the red bar in the screen grab) and crashed my browser eight times in a row but, with perseverance, I managed to watch Amy Winehouse buy burgers at a McDonalds drive-thru and an episode of Transformers.

This version requires a small proprietary app, “JoostHelper”, be installed - a bit of a drag, since Joost requires both the plugin and Adobe (NSDQ: ADBE) Flash, while offerings like Hulu and iPlayer manage without the plugin. In fairness, others like Sky Player do use a plugin, too. This is just a “soft launch” for Joost and will be tested in the open.

Writing a blog post, CEO Mike Volpi: “One of the great things about working at a startup is the ability to be flexible and make changes when our users, trends or data suggest a new direction. For much of the past year, we’ve listened to the feedback we’ve received from many of the people who use Joost ... and building a new product based on those recommendations.”

Though the unveiling is a “soft launch”, its gone live across the site, along with a new EPG and more social features - shareability, a Last.fm-like JoostFeed that shows friends every show I watch, and groups for fans of shows. Also today, Blinkx all but abandoned its BBTV app after just four months, instead switching to a web version. BBC iPlayer won exponential traffic growth when it did same earlier this year. Now, how do I uninstall that plugin… ?

• Joost Does The Right Thing: Killing Desktop Version; Focusing On In-Browser
• Joost Denies: No “Major Retrenchement”, Or “Sole U.S. Focus”
• Blinkx Drops BBTV App Like A Stone, Folds In To Website