There’s a enjoyable new strategy to watch YouTube: by channel browsing like a boomer with cable TV. This artistic thought comes from London-based developer Steven Irby, who has simply launched an internet app known as Channel Surfer, which presents attention-grabbing YouTube movies in an interface resembling a retro-looking TV information.
In the app, you can flick thru totally different, topic-focused channels and click on to tune in as if you had been watching dwell TV.
At launch, there are 40 of those custom-built “channels” to select from, together with these targeted on normal matters like information, politics, sports activities, and way of life content material, in addition to a choice of music channels and others with a extra tech focus.
The latter group consists of channels like “AI & ML,” “Code & Dev,” “Space,” “Retro Tech,” “Tech & Gadgets,” and “Gaming.”
As you transfer between channels, you be a part of the video being performed mid-stream. Meanwhile, the information informs you of the upcoming content material on all of the channels and what time of day it can play. You may scroll forward to take a look at programming deliberate for the subsequent 24 hours.
This makes watching YouTube really feel quite a bit like watching old-school dwell tv — an expertise that’s confirmed fashionable on free streaming providers like Plex, Pluto TV, Tubi, and others, which provide lineups of dwell channels enjoying TV exhibits and films. YouTube itself, in the meantime, dominates TV streaming in the U.S.
Plus, a small counter on the backside of the display tracks what number of different individuals are at the moment watching YouTube with you.
Irby says he got here up with the concept to construct an identical expertise on the streamers, however for YouTube movies, as a result of discovering one thing to watch can nonetheless be a battle.
“I built Channel Surfer because I’m tired of the algorithms and indecision fatigue,” Irby informed TechCrunch. “I miss channel surfing and not having to decide what to watch. I want to just sit and tune into what’s on and not think about what to watch next.”
“My boomer Mom watches cable TV. I want the same, but with my YouTube channels instead. Also, it’s weirdly comforting to know I’m watching with other people,” he mentioned.
The mission is considered one of many new experiments from Irby, a 40-year-old tech business veteran who has spent the previous decade-plus touring the world.
“I have so much creativity from my long, weird journey. I can’t bear the thought of being a Jira ticket monkey anymore,” he mentioned.
The app appears to be a success, with Irby noting that Channel Surfer’s brand-new website noticed greater than 10,000 views on its first day.
Under the hood, Channel Surfer is, for now, a static Next.js website that makes use of PartyKit and is hosted on Cloudflare. The channels and music it gives are from Ibry’s personal hand-picked record. GitHub Actions is used to run a script that refreshes the information day by day. There’s no again finish but.
And whereas Claude assisted within the coding course of, the positioning isn’t “vibe-coded,” Irby says.
The channels themselves are basically enjoying YouTube embeds, together with YouTube’s advertisements, so the app shouldn’t be violating coverage. Eventually, Irby says he’d like to convey the app to TV platforms, like Fire TV, Google TV, and others. (It additionally runs on cellular gadgets and tablets, however wants extra work.)
At launch, Channel Surfer is a free service providing entry to 175 YouTube channels and 25 music playlists. But if you subscribe to Irby’s newsletter, you’re given the choice to import your personal YouTube subscriptions into the app.
It’s a quick-and-dirty course of to take action: You drag a “Channel Surfer” bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar, then open your YouTube subscriptions, and click on the bookmarklet. The course of begins, directing you again to the app the place you paste the copied JSON textual content right into a field and click on an “import” button. This provides your personal channels to Channel Surfer’s current lineup, doubtlessly giving you lots of extra channels to watch on this format.
The website’s existence harkens again to the online’s earlier days, full of enjoyable experiments and creativity. For Irby, that’s the purpose.
“I’m obsessed with showing the world that the old web is still alive and well,” he says. “It’s just buried under a mountain of slop.”
