AOL.com |  Mail |  Search  
REVIEWS HOW-TO VIDEO DEALS
 
Apple TV

Dijit's NextGuide finally gets personalized TV and streaming video guides right

Sep 7th 2012 2:15 PM EDT


Part of the difficulty Apple is going to have with any next-generation, disruptive Apple TV product is corralling all the stakeholders, rights owners and interested parties. Luckily there are already other solutions for finding, watching and saving video on TV or via streaming services. Enter NextGuide, the new iPad app from Dijit (makers of the remote software used in Griffin's IR remote product, which we reviewed here). The app is on the App Store here.

NextGuide is pretty much the ultimate answer to the age-old question, "What should I watch?" But it's not just a recommendation engine, or a simple listing guide. It's a powerful discovery tool and a launcher, with an array of filters and search options for finding what you want, plus deep integration with services like Netflix and DIRECTV satellite service. With Netflix movies, it will take you directly to what you want to watch. For DIRECTV customers, it can initiate recordings.

The app is free, so I'll let you try it out for yourself. It's iPad-only, because the experience wouldn't be the same on an iPhone. The demo I saw was quite impressive, however. If you're looking for something, you can do a basic search, which will extend across online and TV content, and you can look at what your friends on Facebook might be watching or would recommend (this is smartly done, and I'm very picky about social integration), plus there are Rotten Tomatoes film ratings built right in.



The interface is quite lovely as well, eschewing the standard grid for a more dynamic tiled grouping of shows (seen above). Plus, you can create your own categories from anything -- an actor, a place, your favorite sports team, etc. Later you can also hide the stuff you don't want to see, so if you

fshare tweet
Filed under: Apple TV, iPad
Tags: dijit, features, guide, iOS, iPad, netflix, personalized, streaming media, StreamingMedia, TV
Mac iPhone
iPad iPod
Apple TV Mac 101
*