Yidio is a video discovery service that allows you to browse all the major content providers in one place. Yidio focuses on the way most people watch video online – using subscription services – and let you customize your profile to match your subscriptions and favorite sources for movies and shows.
Yidio joins a long list of video search and discovery services like TV Time and Just Watch, but focuses less on your social graph and more on providing up-to-date comprehensive information about what to watch and when.
The Yidio website
The Yidio website feels like a TV guide thanks to its minimal graphics and simple layout. You can view the site’s listings with or without creating an account.
Signing up will allow you to create playlists, record your taste preferences, and lets you take advantage of Yidio’s credits. The more you use Yidio to discover and watch videos, the more tokens you’ll accumulate, which can be redeemed on Amazon Instant Video.
If you choose to sign up, simply share your information, including a valid email address, or login with your Facebook account.
Site demonstrations appear on the home pages and let you know what’s new and what’s coming back for the year. In addition, the TV schedule is listed on the right side of the page.
Although Yidio focuses on organizing online video options into a TV recording experience, there is also a section for movies, which you’ll find in the menu bar.
In addition to the TV and Movie sections up at the top, you’ll find the social search features in the More menu.
Discover Movies and TV Shows
The “TV Shows” section of the Yidio website has a convenient grid layout that allows you to filter results by streaming video sources, such as Netflix , Amazon Prime, and Hulu , and also by genre.
You can also search for shows from a specific TV channel, such as ABC Family or Discovery, to check their online offerings.
The “Movies” section has the same layout as the “TV Shows” page but features more sources for online content, including Crackle, Vudu, and Netflix DVDs.
In addition to browsing offers from your paid video subscriptions, you can see what’s in theaters near you.
Finally, you can filter the results by genre and rating to make sure your selection is family-friendly.
The TV Schedule
The most unique aspect of Yidio that sets it apart from other search services is the TV Schedule. The TV Schedule lists all available content by time slot and includes shows that are shown online and only on TV.
This makes the Yidio schedule a convenient guide to the latest entertainment, saving you the headache of figuring out where to watch your favorite shows.
If you create a Yidio account, you can customize your TV schedule to display your favorite shows and record available content from your paid video subscriptions.
The Yidio for Mobiles
Right now the Yidio app is only available for iOS devices, but the service plans to release an Android app in the coming months. To get started with Yidio, download the app for free from the App Store. You don’t need to create an account, but doing so will allow you to customize the browsing features and TV schedule.
The app has the same features as the Yidio website. You can browse movies and TV shows based on popularity, different online video sources, and also based on the “Tomatometer” rating – which indicates how enjoyable the video selection is.
You can save any predefined search you create to easily return to a genre you like. In addition, you can edit the list of sources Yidio uses to search for videos based on the providers you like and the subscriptions you maintain.
Yidio is the largest independent programming guide on the web. With a basic layout and handy search tools, you may find that Yidio is a must-have for your video streaming strategy.
