Surely this idea is possible

I've thought of this today. I reckon this could be done quite easily actully but never will.

If your a TV series collector like me sometimes you chasing a particular thing or show for years & years so I believe this could be made, A piece of software built into your EPG that allows to enter the name of something then the computer keeps that in its memory and looks though every channel every day in case that (or something close to it) apears somewhere and it does it comes up in a message and tells you whats its found.


Eg. I am forever on the look out for little bits and bobs Eg I have Carrott's Commerical Breakdown 1,2&3 but not 4 (4 was never released on video either) so why not have a piece of software build into the EPG where you type in Eg. 'Carrotts Commerical Breakdown 4' and if it every finds it or something like it an alert system tells you "You were looking for Carrott's Commerical Breakdown 4'' we have found "Carrott's Commerical Breakdown 2" airing Friday 29th June 10.35pm on Bravo and 11.35pm on Bravo+1 press select to have your + box record this for you"

I say its totally possible personally altho how much demand there would be for it I admit will make it very happen. Nice idea and thought tho

There are a lot of potential variant though. In your system Carrot's and Carrots would be two different programmes.

You would have to have a Yahoo style "did you mean..." system to provide a standard spelling for users AND broadcasters.

Sounds like a perfect idea for a bolt of for Sky+ remote record to me

Such functionality exists. I use it every day. A Topfield DTT PVR, with some add on software (called a TAP) does just that. In fact it sets the recording for you too. You can refine the search to channels, days, specific times, and search on an exact match of programme title, or partial.

Start here:-

www.toppy.org.uk

Do you mean particular ?

Windows Media Center and Tivo both allow recordings to be made by particular keywords in the programme title AIUI.

Certainly Tivo's wishlist functionality allows this - as I've set wishlists for a number of films I want to record on Tivo - and a few months later found it sitting there waiting for me to watch, irrespective of the channel it was broadcast on.

If you're a regular computer user there's always the option of a listings app like DigiGuide, which has features to search the programme titles, synopses and / or actors for specified phrases or words.

TiVo is certainly the first thing that cam to mind when I read this.

The Wishlists and Recommendations will take a lot more than mere title matches as well. Programmes starring certain actors/presenters/directors, of certain genre types (so it can gradually work out that you like for example Australian soaps and not US ones, and recommend one and not the other) and so on.

So yes, what you need does exist. Don't go looking for it on Murdoch's crappybox any time soon though!

Don't 'NEED' it was just saying it would be a brillant idea for the future no? I mean unless I go though looking though a weeks worth of Men & Motors, ITV3 and Bravo every single week. The one time one of those does show it (and it will be one of those) I'll never know it was there.

That's only one example anyway if It actully existed I'd save 'Mary Whitehouse Experience' 'Watt On Earth' 'Fist Of Fun' 'The Dreamstone' 'The Mysterious Cities of Gold' 'The Racoons' and about hundred others into its memory just on the million to one off chance ever.

Would digiguide not go a small way to helping you find such programmes?

> Don't 'NEED' it was just saying it would be a brillant idea for the future no?

It would have been a brilliant idea, were it not for the fact that it has already existed for nigh on a decade.

The fact that the average UK numpty chose Murdoch's crap over the one true PVR is immaterial.

And I don't see why I should have to scour a third-party listings site just to achieve it either.

Now, if Digiguide were to be integrated into an existing box.....

With regards to DigiGuide, IMO on the whole it can be pretty darn useful, and comparatively fluid to run through. I'm rarely after a particular programme title as much as a particular subject or whole related series.

Though, if a programme related to a particular genre or topic shows up on some lesser known channel, it'll get detected provided that channel has been added to your listings - such is the payoff of including channels you might not think to add initially, just on the offchance - worth noting should you consider the app.

The fact I can stumble upon something interesting that's a fortnight or more ahead, which I wouldn't have picked up from the Sky box, rather makes 7-day listings look weak...