Video Time Machine review

We review Video Time Machine on iPhone, a virtual step back in time that shows how our entertainment has changed since it was first recorded in 1860

There's no denying that, at its most basic level, the Video Time Machine app is not much more than a front end for YouTube. But its description certainly doesn't end there, as what appears to be an ordinary portal to existing videos quickly reveals itself to be one of the most entertaining wastes of time on the App Store.

Video Time Machine makes use of a very simple, yet effective interface. To one side you're given a thumbnail preview of the current YouTube video, determined by the year and category selection to the right.

The most important aspect is choosing the year you want to reminisce over, which is achieved using the simple click-wheel-style menu. And there's no shortage of years to choose from. The app goes back as far as 1860, with a rendition of the first ever sound recording.

Obviously there aren't any trailers for the second sound recording ever made and there are no adverts to tug at your childhood memory, so you need to skip forward a few years to get into the meat of what Video Time Machine is all about.

The categories split the available videos up into films (mostly trailers, but that's no bad thing), TV, news items, sports, video games and adverts. Or you can browse through all the year's available vids in one long list, but be warned: some years have dozens, if not hundreds, of clips to remind you of so many different things.

Most of us naturally gravitate toward our childhood years and while this might involve Pathe news items, propaganda clips or public information videos in earlier years, as you work toward the '80s it begins to fill up with superb toy adverts, music videos, crappy film trailers and forgotten news items.

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A tap of the thumbnail brings up the full video through the embedded, native YouTube app, so the viewing experience is pretty much what you've already seen. It also limits the app to Wi-Fi connections, but it's certainly speedy enough when you are hooked into a wireless network, so it's hard to complain too much.

Presentation throughout the rest of the app is quite impeccable, though. The old adage about less being more really applies here, with small details such as custom loading animations as Video Time Machine hunts for your video and a random button to pick out a year for you make the portal shine.

Facebook and Twitter integration allow you to send out any video you're particularly enamoured with, but if you're anything like us you'll get lost in the nostalgic whirlwind and rarely get around to posting anything before the next video snatches your attention.

Video Time Machine is so much more entertaining than it has any right to be. Admittedly, you could get the same videos through YouTube directly, but having them categorised is a huge boon and makes it almost impossible to stop thumbing through your pre-recorded memories until the year you are viewing eventually runs out.

With over 10,000 videos gleamed from the online sharing service, Video Time Machine can easily replace an evening's viewing, and beats the hell out of sitting in front of the trite soap operas that dominate after-work telly. And with a plethora of videos from both sides of the Atlantic, it's got something for everyone and plenty of vids you've yet to discover.

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