New iPhone and iPod touch app helps telly addicts to find – and watch - more of what they like

Enabling TV fans both to schedule in the programmes that they like and discover new programmes that they might like, Tioti TV+ from Vizimo went live in the App Store today.

On start-up, Tioti TV+ immediately displays ‘now and next’ information for all UK TV channels.  Precisely which channels are displayed is completely customisable; choose to display only those channels available to you according to your TV package, or choose channel-by-channel which ones to display or ‘turn off’.

Opening a particular programme causes the typical listings-style programme information to be displayed.  But this is the point at which Tioti TV+ starts to shine.

You can choose to ‘mark’ programmes, then, after perhaps marking multiple programmes across multiple channels, you can select ‘My TV' – which promptly causes Tioti TV+ to display your personal TV channel, showing which channel to be watching, and when, in order to fit in everything you marked.

If you’re not going to be at home or even if you’re on the other side of the world on holiday then, if you have the Sky+ service, you can use Tioti TV+ for the iPhone to remotely set your Sky box to record any programme with just two clicks, ready for viewing when you get home.
If all of this is insufficient assistance, or you’re bored, then try ‘You may also like...’.  This function links to a selection of programmes that are about the same topics as the one you are looking at – so you may, indeed, also like them.  Having discovered new programmes in this way, you can mark it or set it to record - and on you go again.

If, in following recommendations, you come across some content available via the BBC’s iPlayer catch-up service, Tioti TV+ also enables you to stream it directly to the handset.  with no searching and no messing around.

Why is Tioti TV+ a great app?  Not just because it helps us to do, better, something that we’re actually going to do at some point each day anyway, but because the dramatic increase in the number of channels available means that people actually miss more programmes of interest than ever before – despite many families now being able to call on the use of a HDD system to record programmes when there are clashes or when they’re out.

In fact there are now more than 400 TV channels available in the UK, and more than 90% of households now have at least one form of multi-channel digital TV service - digital TV receiver, satellite or cable.  Consequently, even though many people try to catch up with popular programmes using services like Channel 4’s 4od and BBC’s iPlayer, they will always be fighting a losing battle.

Simon Steward is chief executive of Vizimo, the developer behind Tioti TV+.  He said: “There are so many channels and so many sources that it’s virtually impossible to find and remember all the programmes that you might want to watch so you can plan your day or evening in front of the TV.  The situation is made even more complex by catch-up content, which means content from the last seven days is available to us if only we knew where to look.  How are we supposed to remember, 20 pages of a listings guide or 20 pages of a website later, what we chose some 300 channels ago for 8.30pm?  Now, we - iPhone users at least - don’t have to.”