Sky to make finding the programme you want a less tortuous experience
Sky have announced they’re rolling out a new update to improve search functionality on Sky boxes. The new changes should make it even easier to find what you want to watch.
The new search is vast improvement on the old basic search, which could only find programmes by their exact title. The new system is similar to Google’s autocomplete – so that the user will only have to type the first few characters – for example, “Doc” – for the box to suggest “Doctor Who” is what you’re looking for. And it’ll return currently broadcasting, on-demand and scheduled programmes as results.
Cleverly too, Sky claim that the search algorithm will use real time trending data aggregated from other people’s searches to enhance accuracy – so when everyone is searching for “Game of Thrones” on the night of new episode, it’ll prioritise this over repeats of Gamesmaster from Challenge TV at 3 in the morning.
Sky also say the search will take into account other programme information – not just the name of the show but it’ll also allow you to search by actors and acronyms and so on (as seen in the Tom Cruise screenshot above). That said – this will inevitably depend on the quality of the metadata that the channels provide Sky with for effectiveness.
The new update is compatible with Sky+HD boxes, and will require an internet connection to work. Because this is how the modern world works now.
