# Retro TV Guide

33 Hacker News commenters recommended Retro TV Guide and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as a fun, relaxing way to channel-surf your YouTube subscriptions instead of following the recommendation algorithm. Critics note the user experience and mobile layout need work.

## Why people recommend it

- Escapes algorithm for random viewing (6 comments): "This will be the perfect thing to have in the background instead of YT recommendations." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47371599)) "Tools like this that bring back the randomness of channel surfing are a nice antidote" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47377505)) "This is so much better for finding random things to watch than the algo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47372758))
- Nostalgic retro aesthetic (5 comments): "not super mobile friendly (as i’d imagine for an app made for tvs) but amazing aesthetic nonetheless" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47371670)) "There is something absolutely oddly satisfying about using this app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47369759)) "I like that this one adds a classic blue cable guide though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47368848))
- Better than YouTube app (2 comments): "I would instantly install and sometimes choose this over the Youtube app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47370409)) "This is so much better for finding random things to watch than the algo" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47372758))
- Relaxing, reduces stress (2 comments): "I love it, its now my homepage. Very relaxing.." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47374944)) "It removes a bunch of stress." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47370254))

## What people warn about

- User experience needs improvement (1 comments): "That user experience needs to be improved." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47367564))
- Not mobile friendly (1 comments): "not super mobile friendly (as i’d imagine for an app made for tvs) but amazing aesthetic nonetheless" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47371670))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Channel Surfer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/channel-surfer.md): 9 recommend
- [ytch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ytch.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Retro TV Guide", https://hackerapproved.com/p/retro-tv-guide-for-youtube-subscriptions/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).