Online streaming video service Joost relaunched as a flash-based website that no longer requires users to download and install the Joost media player.

"You can now watch video directly in your web browser," Joost CEO Mike Volpi said in a blog post.  "You still get the great quality video you expect but you don't have to launch a separate application to watch shows on Joost."

After Joost entered beta, many users believed it would be the first major service to help users watch TV-based content and movies over the internet.  But a lack of content, latency issues, and the forced download disappointed many users.  

Joost users will have the ability to watch content from CBS, Viacom, Sony Pictures, Showtime, and Warner Bros. through the site.  Along with watching the content, users can rate episodes, see what other users are watching, and take part in group discussions -- the social networking aspects of the site were also recently unveiled.

"Our new Web-based version lets us provide a deeper social experience than we were able to in our Joost software," another Joost blog said.  "With our new social tools, we've come even closer to bridging this gap and bringing the inherently social nature of video into the online world."

Joost reportedly doubled the amount of videos available online, as many users complained about the content library before leaving the service.

The Joost relaunch took place at a time similar to YouTube announcing it will offer full-length television shows that will also have commercial ads.  In its "Theater View" player, YouTube viewers can watch "Beverly Hills 90210," "Californication," "Dexter," and "MacGyver."  The move to show full-length episodes could help the Google-owned web site attract new advertisers.

The NBC-backed Hulu video site currently reigns supreme, after helping clean up the mess when users shied away from Joost.  

Even though almost $1 billion will be spent on online advertising this year, sites like Joost and Hulu need to work with advertisers to try and help commercials evolve, analysts say.  Many sites simply carry over 30-second ad clips from TV to the Internet, although that'll likely change in the future.