The TV check-in space continues to heat up. Miso recently announced a partnership with DIRECTV that will allow your Miso app to automatically know when you’ve tuned into a specific channel. And Dijit, an app that turns your iPhone into a universal remote (download here), has created a simplified check-in that ties to what you’re watching (since it’s a remote), turning your Facebook friends into your recommendation guide and building an important bridge between YouTube and TV content.
How does Dijit turn your iPhone into a universal remote?
At the beginning of the summer, the venture-backed startup announced a manufacturing partnership with Griffin to offer an $80, hockey puck-sized device that will convert bluetooth signals from your iOs device to ancient infrared signals for an “easy-to-use never-lost remote.” It’s available online or at Apple Stores
A new spin on checking-in to TV
In the newest iteration of the app, which hit iTunes on Friday, there are multiple new social enhancements. The check-in component that can also push to Twitter and Facebook has a unique spin, according to Chief Product Office Jeremy Toeman. “The number one thing people want to do is tell their friends about the things that they’re doing,” discussed Toeman. “I’m not convinced on mayors, lords, dukes and badges. I might be wrong, and we may add them later, but our check-in feature only does a broadcast on Facebook, Twitter and Dijit”.
Facebook recommendations streamed into your TV guide
A feature that’s already existed in the app, but will now be easier to navigate in the newer version is the integration with the shows your Facebook friends like. Imagine you’re sitting on your couch looking for a new TV show to watch. Maybe you’ll text a friend, do some Googling or try to remember that show someone said you have to watch. Dijit’s “My Shows” feature tells you if your Facebook friends have liked a show, regardless if they’re a Dijit user.
Turning YouTube into the new water cooler conversation around TV
“My favorite new feature here”, according to Toeman, “(is) we do real-time searches on YouTube to find the user related videos to the show they are watching. I think this is a huge step forward for a second screen experience. Plus, once you find a video you like, you can also share it on Facebook and Twitter with one click.”
YouTube, the king of user-generated content, has yet to be a destination for TV content that Hulu and the networks have been providing on their own. Dijit has built an impressive feature that might actually force both worlds to work together to provide added-value content to viewers on the Google-owned network that Dijit recognizes already has it in some capacity.
The future of the social TV check-in
While GetGlue has the user-base and Miso has the coveted relationship with a service provider, will Dijit trump them both by the fact that their app actually improves the technology in your living room by allowing you to merge your remotes and actually tune-in when you check-in? We’ll keep you updated on the latest developments in this quickly-moving space.