[HN Gopher] Show HN: Channel Surfer - Watch YouTube like it's ca...
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Show HN: Channel Surfer - Watch YouTube like it's cable TV
I know, it's a very first-world problem. But in my house, we have a
hard time deciding what to watch. Too many options! So I made this
to recreate Cable TV for YouTube. I made it so it runs in the
browser. Quickly import your subscriptions in the browser via a
bookmarklet. No accounts, no sign-ins. Just quickly import your
data locally.
Author : kilroy123
Score : 361 points
Date : 2026-03-11 14:34 UTC (2 days ago)
(HTM) web link (channelsurfer.tv)
(TXT) w3m dump (channelsurfer.tv)
| realityfactchex wrote:
| Original HN post 2 days prior (0 traction then):
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47336100
|
| Recent media coverage:
|
| https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/12/channel-surfer-watch-youtu...
|
| https://www.theverge.com/tech/893598/this-is-immediately-my-...
|
| https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/this-web-app-...
|
| https://hackaday.com/2025/10/17/channel-surfing-nostalgia-ma...
| dang wrote:
| Thanks! When there was a recent Show HN we usually merge the
| comments thither and re-up that post. I'll do that now.
|
| Normally I'd leave your comment in the original thread as a
| pointer, but since the other links are of interest, I've moved
| it too.
|
| (the other thread was
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47366400)
| pwr1 wrote:
| Love it, but when I clicked another show in the guide, nothing
| happened.
| zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
| You need to click on the channel number. Clicking in the title
| of the show doesn't do anything.
| pwr1 wrote:
| Ahh, now I see it. So cool! Bookmarked.
| shellfishgene wrote:
| You have to click on the channel number in the first column.
| glouwbug wrote:
| Need a DVR for that (and a couple hours)
| downsplat wrote:
| Why would you want to do that? I'm so happy I can search exactly
| what I want among heaps of long tail stuff, I would never want to
| go back to a "live tv" interaction model.
| epiccoleman wrote:
| Sometimes, it's nice to just sit down and watch something
| without needing to make repeated decisions about what's on.
|
| I typically share your mindset, but I can see the appeal. There
| was something nice about the TV that just, ya know, already had
| something going when you turned it on. I spent many happy
| evenings in hazy basement rooms enjoying whatever Adult Swim
| decided was going to be on the TV that night.
| zoklet-enjoyer wrote:
| I was getting my hair cut the other day and one of the guys
| at the barbershop was talking about how his wife bought a
| radio and it's nice to just have NPR going all the time
| instead of searching for a podcast or playlist. I love radio
| too but haven't listened much outside of my car since 2019.
| Back then I had a different work schedule and would regularly
| tune in to Science Friday and just have the radio going much
| of the day. Since 2019, I've moved 4 times, had roommates
| most of that time who wouldn't want the radio playing all
| day, and just never fully unpacked and haven't set up my
| stereo system. Mostly I've listened to podcasts on my phone
| and a Bluetooth speaker or earbuds. Radio is nice, I like it
| better than TV because it's less distracting to me. Those
| moving pictures mesmerize me and I find it difficult to look
| away, which was why I didn't even have a TV for half my adult
| life.
| socalgal2 wrote:
| > it's nice to just have NPR going all the time
|
| I used to do that but the shows repeat and at the top of
| the hour or sometimes multiple times they repeat the same
| news over and over. I get someone else might be tuning in
| and not have heard the latest news
|
| Maybe there's some middle ground where instead of a stream
| it's on demand but continuous. So I go to
| videostream.npr.com and since it knows it's a single user
| it can push the news once and then just be shows.
|
| That said, youtube autoplay is the basic concept, it just
| sucks at what it recommends.
| epiccoleman wrote:
| I like that idea, almost like a prioritized queue of
| content - show me the stuff I'm sure to want to see
| first, and then just gimme whatever. In the context of
| NPR, the "stuff I'm sure to want to see" is probably just
| "the news." But maybe other platforms / distribution
| channels would have a more specific notion of what
| deserves my attention first.
|
| I guess this is basically how TV worked in the pre-
| streaming days - the new episode of whatever hot series
| aired during the prime time slot, and lesser slots were
| filled with reruns / resyndicated stuff.
| ecliptik wrote:
| I miss this too, and sort of get it on airplanes where I
| almost never use my seat back screen and end up watching
| someone else's instead (yes there's no sound).
|
| I chalk it up to overwhelming choices. Sometimes I just want
| to watch something but don't want to go through dozens of
| options and having decision anxiety.
|
| Bonus is sometimes I discover something I never thought I
| would have liked.
| epiccoleman wrote:
| > I chalk it up to overwhelming choices. Sometimes I just
| want to watch something but don't want to go through dozens
| of options and having decision anxiety.
|
| This is by far the biggest annoyance with modern TV for me.
| If I've already decided on something I want to watch, it's
| obviously great to just be able to navigate to it and put
| it on on my schedule, to pause it, have no ads, etc.
|
| But sometimes, for better or worse, I just want to plunk
| down on the couch and turn my brain off, and if I'm in that
| mode the last thing I want to do is try to find something
| worth watching on my own steam.
|
| Like, Youtube is great! Yeah, there's a ton of crap, but
| there's so much on there that would entertain me and be a
| guilt-free, even _edifying_ use of me time. But having to
| choose something new every 10-20 minutes? Actively managing
| a queue while watching stuff? That 's - pardon my French -
| for the birds.
| wonger_ wrote:
| Decision fatigue
| madrox wrote:
| Not the author, but did a LOT of research on this during my
| time at Disney while working on Disney+ prior to its launch.
|
| This is, effectively, no different than a carousel of
| algorithm-recommended content. However, UX studies have found
| users reluctant to watch something recommended to them. It
| requires making an affirmative decision on time investment.
| Most people have the experience of a friend recommending a
| movie or book and still being reluctant to dive in.
|
| The problem is very similar to dating apps, if you think about
| it. This is why Tinder's innovation on "swipe left/right" took
| off the way it did. In UX terms it's better to drop users into
| something and make the cognitive effort be choosing to get out
| of it rather than choosing to get into it. It's a big part of
| why TikTok works.
|
| The reason this isn't more common in video apps has more to do
| with UX norms at this point. Another important thing I learned
| about streaming at Disney was that no one really cares how
| innovative the browsing experience is. They just want to watch
| Frozen. They're used to carousels now, and they're easy to
| program. This, I think, speaks more to your sensibilities.
| j45 wrote:
| Tuning into a channel in channel surfing mode also lets you
| hop in mid story which is it's own experience.
| downsplat wrote:
| I guess it's really not for me though. First thing I do is
| turn autoplay off, and I'd refuse to use a service that
| doesn't give me that option. OTOH, I do sometimes find it fun
| to hunt for good stuff among the recommendations.
| joegahona wrote:
| I prefer searching too, but sometimes it's nice to just "put TV
| on." I do this now with Amazon Prime Video, which has a "Live"
| feature that mimics a guide akin to Channel Surfer. Also my dad
| (age 85) struggles with Youtube on our TV because of the
| decision paralysis.
| Fricken wrote:
| Sometimes I just want to know "what is popular on youtube right
| now? What is it that the world is watching?" and Youtube won't
| tell me anymore. The algorithm isolates me and my preferences
| from consensus reality. Youtube doesn't want me coming out of
| my cave.
| jimt1234 wrote:
| For me it's just nostalgia. Back when I was a teen in the 80s,
| we turned on MTV and just left it there, all day, letting them
| tell us what was cool.
| Bukhmanizer wrote:
| For me it's that usually I can figure out if I'm going to like
| something way more easily if I'm just clicking through and
| watching samples of a show. I don't want to be constrained to a
| predetermined algorithmic category.
| edgarvaldes wrote:
| For me, the best solution is a mixed one. My Plex has a curated
| list of tv shows and movies. Then I have Tunarr for "live"
| channels from own my selection. Best of both worlds.
| sublinear wrote:
| The (forced) decision fatigue and constant interruptions makes
| YouTube a miserable experience.
|
| Good: I choose to when and what to change the channel to. The
| channel never stops.
|
| Bad: YouTube video ends and I'm prompted to do something every
| 5 to 15 mins and even autoplay chooses to show me content from
| another channel.
| majorchord wrote:
| Why would you go eat at a restaurant? I'm so happy I can cook
| anything I want at home, exactly how I want it, instead of
| choosing from a set menu made by someone else.
|
| /s in case it's not obvious
| epiccoleman wrote:
| This is super cool, I love the aesthetic. The biggest thing I
| want out of something like this is _curation_ (and it seems like
| there 's at least some degree of that happening here among the
| various categories).
| thebiblelover7 wrote:
| I like the idea of everyone getting fed the same content. But I
| also especially love being able to discover new videos and
| channels that are hopefully curated by humans.
|
| It might be better to just turn this on when I'm wanting to watch
| something than open YouTube and look at my homepage.
| kilroy123 wrote:
| I'm the creator of this. It is human curated. :-) Actually,
| there's zero AI with this one.
| thebiblelover7 wrote:
| Just curious, how are you curating it? Are you finding videos
| and adding them to the respective channels? or are you adding
| entire YT accounts to specific channels
| kilroy123 wrote:
| I add channels and playlists.
| ranger_danger wrote:
| Is the source code available?
| spudlyo wrote:
| It just so happens I'm right in the middle of trying to change
| how I watch YouTube at my computer. Despite my best efforts, I
| find myself getting sucked into shorts, so I'm starting
| investigate if I can take advantage of YouTube RSS syndication. I
| recently build yt-dlp and got all the dependencies sorted out, so
| I can bring videos to my machine locally. I'm also checking out
| elfeed[0] which is an Emacs based RSS reader, and elfeed-tube[1]
| which further customizes the elfeed experience for YouTube as
| well as adding an mpv integration that lets you control video
| playback directly from Emacs.
|
| [0]: https://github.com/skeeto/elfeed
|
| [1]: https://github.com/karthink/elfeed-tube
| bombcar wrote:
| I do something similar as I hate interruptions of various
| kinds; what I'd love is a way to show a YT playlist in
| something like Jellyfin, where it downloads the "next" episode
| while you're watching the current one.
|
| As it is, I can do that somewhat manually and it makes for a
| nice interface where I'm sure what the kids are watching.
| tssva wrote:
| There are greasemonkey scripts available which hide shorts from
| appearing.
| et1337 wrote:
| Turn off your watch history. It disables the front page and
| shorts, but you can still watch any video you want and also
| follow your subscriptions. You still get recommendations next
| to each video but I find those much less problematic
| personally.
| LorenDB wrote:
| Unfortunately, with watch history off, YouTube still pushes
| Shorts in the subscriptions page (at least on mobile web,
| which is where I primarily use YouTube).
| cubefox wrote:
| The Unhook browser extension gets rid of that. And
| optionally other things.
| MintPaw wrote:
| I did this too, I have pi that downloads and combined a bunch
| of rss feeds every 30min (cron) and downloads the vids, I
| browse them with Thunderbird on my desktop, I inject a special
| link to the mp4 on my pi. So I can just watch vids at
| 192.168.1.106/videos/X.mp4 using the Firefox mp4 player.
|
| Did it in ~300 lines of node.js, was trying to learn how to use
| JS for server stuff, seemed like a good idea at the time. It
| still works 5 years later, but it stands as a reminder to me to
| never use async/await.
| normie3000 wrote:
| > a reminder to me to never use async/await
|
| What issues did you face with async/await?
| cluckindan wrote:
| Not using async/await is worse: you get sucked into
| then/catch, or worse, callback hell or _shudder_ streams,
| which are known to be full of footguns and typically only
| approximate working correctly.
|
| Of course you can go full sync if your app wouldn't do
| anything useful during the time it's blocked waiting for
| network or I/O.
| downsplat wrote:
| You've probably already done this, but first thing, turn off
| autoplay and make sure it stays off. Much easier to not get
| sucked into things when you have to actively click on them.
| j45 wrote:
| Turning Autoplay off, and getting rid of ads (Youtube Premium
| is well worth it across all devices) is a big level up.
| Blocking shorts is the other thing.
| darepublic wrote:
| There are solutions for blocking shorts. Ie unblock origin
| filters, as seen previously on front page of HN
| dexterdog wrote:
| There are also solutions for blocking ads without
| subscribing to premium.
| karthink wrote:
| As a clarification, you don't need elfeed-tube to subscribe to
| YouTube feeds (channels or playlists) with elfeed, or to watch
| the videos with mpv. elfeed-tube only adds text to the feed
| entries, in the form of more video metadata, transcripts and
| synced playback with mpv.
|
| Also, mpv supports lua scripts for a variety of actions on
| YouTube (or other streaming) videos, such as showing you
| YouTube's recommended videos in the video player, clipping and
| downloading videos, sponsorblock and submitting sponsorblock
| segments, and so on.
|
| I've been doing this for almost a decade, and I do recommend
| it. In my experience, just importing my YouTube subscriptions
| into a feed reader was a positive experience. I've had a daily
| digest of mostly interesting videos and rarely (if ever) the
| urge to browse YouTube.
|
| But with YouTube's recommendation algorithm out of the picture,
| it does mean that you'll have to find some other way of
| discovering new channels.
| kaergaard wrote:
| Not sure if this fits to your needs, but uBlock Origin lets you
| block elements directly on the page. It works great for
| removing the pesky shorts section. Haven't seen Youtube shorts
| since. On top of that, i removed the "suggested videos" on the
| right side of an already opened video, to avoid the pitfall of
| continuously moving on to barely related stuff, much like the
| shorts doomscrolling.
|
| I believe Brave too, has this feature.
| Wowfunhappy wrote:
| Fwiw, I made something similar, but it targets an ancient
| version of OS X. It's theoretically possible it works on modern
| macOS too, but I haven't tested it.
|
| https://github.com/Wowfunhappy/media-subscriptions-prefpane
|
| I've been using a version of this for five years, although
| until recently the PrefPane was built via janky Applescript. I
| rewrote it in proper Objective-C last summer.
| rusakov-field wrote:
| That is really creative.
| Minor49er wrote:
| This reminds me of a similar project called Hypertext.tv, but
| instead of YouTube videos, it shows websites. It's an interesting
| take on channel surfing since each airing is interactive
|
| http://hypertext.tv
| Guestmodinfo wrote:
| Thank you so much. Enriching
| spicyusername wrote:
| The StumbleUpon days were a truly magical time on the internet.
| indigodaddy wrote:
| Worker limit exceeded. Dang even comments get HNed
| jasondigitized wrote:
| I built something similar but for podcasts. Swipe up and jump
| into the middle of a podcast like tuning a radio.
| https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stumblecast/id6758248417
| TheSkyHasEyes wrote:
| Any way to toggle full screen?
| BizarroLand wrote:
| No full screen, but you can minimize the channel interface so
| that it's nearly full screen.
| wonger_ wrote:
| See also https://ytch.tv/
| webofunni wrote:
| Good one. Why youtube is not playing any ad in these sites?
| flats wrote:
| Came here for this, thank you. I knew I'd seen this sort of
| thing before.
|
| Curation feels better with this implementation?
| moduspol wrote:
| This is the kind of thing I used to tell myself that I needed to
| exist before I'd be able to drop cable. The ability to just
| mindlessly turn on the TV and drop yourself right into the middle
| of something and leave it on throughout the day was... habit-
| forming, I guess.
|
| Though ultimately it was not that difficult of a habit to drop.
| alejoar wrote:
| Ha, this is amazing. We need a version for Android TV!
| surajcm wrote:
| +1
| janpio wrote:
| I would instantly install and sometimes choose this over the
| Youtube app.
| mpeg wrote:
| A similar site used to exist that had really high quality curated
| content called neverthink, it was acquired in 2021 and eventually
| killed but I always thought it was a great idea.
| bityard wrote:
| Ah, it's interesting but if you really want the cable TV
| experience, there is pluto.tv which works in a browser, and is
| generally installed on most streaming boxes/sticks/TVs.
|
| Does this avoid YouTube ads or pass them through? I somewhat
| wonder if this kind of thing is the reason that YouTube wants to
| progressively lock down their platform. (They don't want users
| avoiding their algorithms and their ads.)
| that_lurker wrote:
| "Pluto TV is not available in your location." :-(
| elbac wrote:
| I love how 'Music 80s' is channel 29, which was MTV on cable when
| I was growing up in the tri-state area in the 80s ;)
| naxtsass wrote:
| This is a really interesting idea.
| redbell wrote:
| Similar project: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41247023
| Contortion wrote:
| Reminds me of https://ytch.tv/ which I really like for its
| simplicity.
| j45 wrote:
| This is really well done as a different take, if the channel
| number listed the name of the channel and show it would be nice
| huhkerrf wrote:
| You can change the settings to have it shown.
| vunderba wrote:
| Which coincidentally also hit the front page on HN a few years
| back!
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41247023
|
| I like that this one adds a classic blue cable guide though.
| realityfactchex wrote:
| FYI - that was only 1 yr 7 months ago, only about half way to
| a few years back
| personalityson wrote:
| I can't phantom they haven't made an app for Android TV yet
| Barbing wrote:
| When yesterday I wondered the best approach to keeping slop off
| elderly seniors' feeds, I suppose the universe heard me. Thank
| you!
| ElijahLynn wrote:
| My first impulse was when pressing the channels that it wasn't
| working. I then realized I had to hold down my thumb for it to
| then give me a prompt to tune to the channel. That user
| experience needs to be improved.
|
| Other than that, this totally fits the nostalgia of old school
| cable channel surfing!
|
| Well done!
| kilroy123 wrote:
| You have to tap on the channels on the left.
| ElijahLynn wrote:
| Ah, yes, that works, thank you. Was not obvious.
| cedws wrote:
| I really like this. Often I just want to watch something but
| YouTube insidiously steers me towards doom videos, even after
| clearing cookies. I like that this bypasses the algorithm and
| lets me just watch stuff, and if there's nothing interesting
| playing, I can just go do something more productive.
| cryptozeus wrote:
| this is so good ! Great idea, not going to use it a lot but great
| concept
| jader201 wrote:
| I wonder how cool it would be to have a live ephemeral chat for
| each channel?
|
| One thing I love(d) about live TV (or even live radio) was the
| community around knowing other people were watching the exact
| same thing I was watching (and then the watercooler chat around
| it afterwards).
|
| If there was live chat attached to each of these "stations", it
| could spark some interesting chatter/community.
|
| I know this already exists OOTB with YouTube Live, FB Live, etc.
|
| But this would be for things that were simply uploaded, and now
| streamed live like you're doing here.
|
| Obviously, that only works if there's enough
| viewership/participation.
| alldayhaterdude wrote:
| THis rules
| mattas wrote:
| My initial reaction to the headline was, "cable TV is terrible,
| why would anyone want to watch YouTube like it's cable?!" But I
| actually love this!
| techteach00 wrote:
| I really like this. Old formats are comforting.
| gerjomarty wrote:
| This reminded me of Ersatz TV [1], which on checking appears to
| have gone into maintenance mode a few weeks ago.
|
| I had wanted to use something that lets me set up an EPG with all
| of the YouTube channels I watch, to see their live streams in a
| TV guide and see their upcoming streams in a nice grid format.
| It's probably harder to do this with live stuff than it is to
| have a set of videos like this site uses.
|
| [1]: https://github.com/ErsatzTV/ErsatzTV
| dml2135 wrote:
| Ah, disappointing, I was planning to set this up at some point
| soon.
|
| Anyone know of good alternatives for setting up your own iptv
| channels?
| holysoles wrote:
| I'll plug a similar project that I found last week, its an
| emulated TV Tuner (HD Homerun) of your Plex/Jellyfin content. Its
| great having an easy option to throw something on for background
| noise.
|
| https://tunarr.com/
| poisonarena wrote:
| i want to be try this but I am unable to import my subscriptions
| like the directions you give, it just brigns me to the my feed
| when i follow your directions
| skyberrys wrote:
| It took me a minute to realize you are recreating the cable menu
| too. It's a nostalgic hit. All it's missing is a chunky remote
| and annoying siblings to fight with.
| lt_kernelpanic wrote:
| Annoying siblings are available on the Pro plan, I believe.
| ekjhgkejhgk wrote:
| There's a nice interview with Stallman where he's asked about
| this: what are people's motivation for contributing to Free
| software.
|
| https://youtu.be/ucXYWG0vqqk?t=1889
|
| I find him speaking really soothing.
| starkeeper wrote:
| This is so weird because yesterday, or the day before I was
| trying to think of some sample code to work on, and I _did_ want
| to simulate a TV set with youtube. Not exactly like yours, no
| channel guide, but the basics and I think there is a weird reason
| besides inside knowledge why prediction markets "work"!!
|
| Looks great!
| fitzroymckay wrote:
| Similar to the ytch.xyz project
| numbers wrote:
| I want something like this for Plex, where I can just turn it on
| and have some of my favorite shows play random episodes, and I
| wish Plex made that easy to do.
| bentt wrote:
| I love this. At a glance, here are some dynamics this reveals:
|
| 1. You can share a channel with a friend and know that they see
| the same thing as you. What's on at 5:03pm on channel 4 is the
| same for everyone.
|
| 2. The decision of what to watch is topical and greatly
| simplified. It extracts the decisions from "the algorithm" and
| gives you agency again.
|
| 3. There's a lot of stuff you never see on Youtube's
| recommendations because the algorithm doesn't show you those
| videos. Ever.
| iamspoilt wrote:
| Is there an app for this I can download on my Apple TV?
| themagician wrote:
| I would 100% pay for this, as long as it let me login with my
| YouTube account to remove the ads.
| commandlinefan wrote:
| > a very first-world problem
|
| Actually I really wish this had existed while my father was still
| alive! Toward the end of his life, he had developed pretty
| debilitating Alzheimers, but he still liked to watch TV. The
| problem was, modern TVs were way too complex for him to use. My
| mom had to come in the room and put on DVDs for him pretty much
| all day. I'm sure he could have figured out how to channel surf
| by himself if that had been an option.
| sublinear wrote:
| Have any plans to release the source?
| hexage1814 wrote:
| It reminds me of this project, that used old clips from the
| 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, to create a TV-like experience from back in
| the day:
|
| https://70s.myretrotvs.com/
| clintonc wrote:
| I love this. Thank you.
| VikingCoder wrote:
| Now make it a Roku app!!! :D
| VikingCoder wrote:
| Also reminds me of Bob Dylan's "How Does It Feel" website:
|
| https://video.bobdylan.com/
|
| Which has folks from The History channel, Pawn Stars, etc
| noah_buddy wrote:
| I love this concept. I was recently thinking about how I used to
| be able to skip from one channel to another when an ad break came
| on. I would love the harness on a smart device to be like this so
| that I may switch between the Hulu and Netflix apps at will. Why
| should I have to restart the app each time I navigate in? Why do
| the apps even know that I am switching around?
| ahnick wrote:
| Classic incentive misalignment for us plebs. The platforms
| want(need?) their advertising revenue.
| BatmansMom wrote:
| Would love a way to get this on my tv! Casting from a browser
| would be too much
| ngokevin wrote:
| I'd love an Inter-dimensional Cable channel, just weird surreal
| stuff
| ProllyInfamous wrote:
| Best I can do:
|
| <https://old.reddit.com/r/InterdimensionalCable/top/?sort=top..
| .>
|
| e.g: <https://youtu.be/qCJJbo8cvzI?si=ivsYh9QviAIpj5GB>
| [probably NSFW "Tifa Lockhart Show You Her Worms" _it 'd be so
| difficult to explain_...]
|
| ----
|
| See also <http://www.ytch.tv>, made by a fellow /hn/er.
|
| Comparing the two, his channel selection is _much more diverse_
| , but your layout is _much more informative_ (e.g. old
| "channel guide" overlay).
| thomastraum wrote:
| made this when youtube api dropped around 2007 in flash. was
| called TraumTV
| airstrike wrote:
| Shameless plug but I think this shares a lot of the same reasons
| why I built this time-traveling radio: https://anthrology.site/
|
| There's something to be said about tuning into some program that
| is already "on", instead of requiring on-demand decision about
| what to watch (or listen to!)
| mind_heist wrote:
| There is something absolutely oddly satisfying about using this
| app. Though there are a handful of channel -- this feels far more
| "bounded" that using Youtube as is. I spend so much more time on
| YT over other streaming services and platforms (and have YT
| premium too). I feel YT natively does a very terrible job of
| presenting "recommendations" to me. I can't put my finger on what
| it is, but your cable TV style wrapper feels very home :) Couple
| of questions
|
| - How did you achieve the grainy cable TV style texture on your
| videos ?
|
| - Are the videos curated ? Sometimes I waste a lot of time
| looking for quality content, or sometimes its good quality but
| you just don't vibe with the presenter or their style - so you
| continue to click around.
| kilroy123 wrote:
| Thank you for the kind words. I was going for that feel.
|
| The grainy interlace effect is just good old-fashioned CSS. :)
|
| It is curated! I will seriously do a lot more work on making it
| better. Especially the music, it's a bit redundant right now.
|
| I haven't had time to get to that. This has really blown up and
| even been in the news, so it's been hectic.
| skrebbel wrote:
| I feel like your excellent curation is a big part of the
| magic here. Amazing work.
| fallinditch wrote:
| I want to automate a feed of text summaries of videos from
| YouTube channels and playlists, and then fetch full transcripts
| of the ones that interest me.
|
| Any idea if this is possible without having to query the YouTube
| API?
| smusamashah wrote:
| It says "Subscribe to unlock channel import. Get weekly weird
| sites delivered to your inbox. Free forever.".
|
| > Quickly import your subscriptions in the browser via a
| bookmarklet
|
| I don't see any mention of bookmarklet anywhere on the page
| rohan_joshi wrote:
| so cool
| morb wrote:
| As others have noticed, this is similar to ytch.xyz.
|
| What ytch does better is that it is mostly keyboard navigable
| (with minor annoyances), which also makes it usable with a remote
| control, unlike this.
|
| I actually do use ytch (alongside Kodi and YT Leanback mode) on
| my Raspberry Pi HTPC that is controlled by remote only. Works
| fine. Chromium, kiosk mode, entry in
| ~/.local/share/applications/ytch.desktop, and you're good to go.
|
| I guess you could use this with a remote if your remote can
| emulate mouse, mine doesn't. Mine is just some old otherwise
| useless remote recycled from the junk drawer, and made useful
| again by a cheap IR receiver diode from Amazon.
|
| I'm not too crazy about the UI of Channel Surfer in general, but
| others have noted that it reminds them of cable services they
| used, I guess that was the goal.
|
| I'll check out Channel Surfer in a few months. I wish you luck
| and lots of users :)
| nomel wrote:
| press the little "Press: ?" for mapping:
| Arrow Up / Down: Change channel G: Toggle guide
| M: Mute I: Import channels ?: This menu
| Esc: Close modal
| darkstar999 wrote:
| These are great! I wish I could use them on Roku or Android tv.
| jondwillis wrote:
| Literally Pluto TV v1 a la 2013/14.
|
| Source: me. I built it with some folks.
| uean wrote:
| I just love it. This calms me in a way I can't put my finger
| on... something about not needing to endless scroll and choose
| based off a thumbnail and endure an intro and like-and-subscribe
| please. It's just there. It removes a bunch of stress.
| feerfreeflight wrote:
| Great work! I had wanted to do something like this for all the
| Star Trek series' back when Netflix US had them up but never got
| around to it. Great to see a similar thought with a much cooler
| implementation.
| ares623 wrote:
| Can I create and curate my own channels?
| MinimalAction wrote:
| This is mindblowingly beautiful! Thanks for making this. Many a
| times, I open YouTube, and get overwhelmed by repeated
| recommendations that I had already decided not to watch, and
| eventually close without watching much. Now that this site puts
| it into 40 different genres, I can decide which one am I in the
| mood for and keep surfing to others if I don't feel like it!
| Brilliant app.
| rconti wrote:
| Tip: Skip recommendations and just go to your subscriptions
| page.
| kmoser wrote:
| Clicking any of the videos/channels doesn't cause the videos to
| play. What am I missing?
| Imustaskforhelp wrote:
| I feel like this can be useful for kids if you can add some
| genuinely nice cartoon shows from Youtube. I remember my
| childhood was filled with adventure time, regular show etc. and
| Cartoon Network and there are many decent cartoons.
|
| And if you do this, please add 3 cartoon channels just for an
| option of 3 for kids. Because I remember that it was 3 cartoon
| channels for me but mostly Cartoon Network, Some disney xd and an
| niche cartoon channel that I used to watch by. Maybe even have it
| between Anime (Shinchan/Doraemon/Kitretsu) and Normal animations
| (Avengers/Spiderman etc.) and Cartoon Network (Regular
| Show/Adventure Time/Steven Universe)
|
| But the reason why I discovered it and why I feel like young kids
| nowadays can't find is that I used to go to my TV after coming
| from school and watch these nice shows for example, whereas now
| its all youtube.
|
| So in a way, your website can help kids and also parents to
| better help moderate what their kids watch.
|
| Also even aside from kids, this is something really cool in it of
| itself that I imagine myself using as well :) Nice project! I
| just hope that if possible you can add something so that kids
| could watch it too maybe as well as I find it to be nice
| possibility to add
|
| I am also curious how you curate the Content for Cable TV in the
| first place.
|
| Edit: But once again, I want to say that this is a project that I
| want to use for myself too for these channels as I also go
| through the same problem where I get the problem of too much
| choices and overstimulus and feeling of overwhelm.
| devrundown wrote:
| This would be amazing to be able to use on a TV with a remote!
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