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Once you have completed tuning your Taste Preferences and rating shows, you can browse Netflix recommendations. This can be done on any device — even an Apple TV. Simply start up the Netflix channel and select your profile. Suggestions For You is available from the top Netflix menu. This screen displays recommended TV shows and movies organized by category. The first category, Top Picks, is probably the best place to start.
Make sure to enable Netflix Notifications on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. This will allow Netflix to notify you when they add new shows you might like. You can turn on Netflix Notifications by tapping Settings > Notifications > Netflix. By default, Netflix will also send information about new content via email.
Apple was one of the first content providers to offer intelligent recommendations. Of course, in true Apple fashion, they give this system a grandiose name — Genius Recommendations. These recommendations have been a part of iTunes for several years, however, they are often overlooked. Genius recommendations are available in every iTunes Store product, including Apple TV. Even if you don’t purchase the show through iTunes, Genius recommendations can point you to quality programming.
The easiest way to get Genius recommendations is on Apple TV. From the main screen, select TV Shows. If you are looking for popular shows, you can browse Top TV Shows. For personalized recommendations, select Genius from the Top TV Shows menu. The Genius recommendations are surprisingly accurate. Unfortunately, the recommendations are only based on iTunes purchases. Apple is pretty good about privacy. They are not purchasing your viewing behavior data from other providers. If you don’t buy TV shows from iTunes, the Genius recommendations aren’t useful.
You can also browse Genius recommendations using the iTunes Store app for the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Anyone with a Mac or Windows PC can install iTunes and view the Genius recommendations. The iTunes Genius can also suggest music, movies and books. The Genius feature is very mature and sophisticated. It is one of many Apple innovations that has been slavishly copied by others.
How to Find Recommended and Popular TV Shows
You finally found a new show to watch. Now let’s find the best (and least expensive) way to watch it. Maybe you found the show on iTunes, but don’t want to buy it there. It could be on Netflix, Hulu Plus, Hulu, AMC, Crackle or other providers. You could search each of these services one-by-one, but there is a better way. Yidio is an amazing app that provides viewing options for virtually any TV show or movie. It also provides recommendations, if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for.
First, install the Yidio app from the App Store. Yidio also offers a web site, but the app provides better functionality. One can start videos directly from the Yidio app. If you don’t have an iOS device, by all means, use their website. Once you have launched the app, either type or speak the name of the show in the one of the search boxes.
You will see a screen with search results. Tap on the show you wish to browse. Yidio will present a list of episodes. A list of providers is displayed to the right of each episode. Information about the cost of each provider is displayed. This is incredibly useful. You can even tap on the provider to start playing or purchase the show immediately.
For more information on Yidio, please read “Yidio for iPhone“.
I hope this article has provided a better way to find quality TV shows. Unfortunately, following a process can still miss some great shows. The tips provided in this article will make it easier to find a great show amongst myriad mediocre programs. Just remember to give a show a chance. It may take a few episodes to get addicted, but a great show will do just that. When the series ends, you may feel sad that it is over. Don’t worry. There are a lot of great shows out there and you now have the tools to find the best ones.