His appointment comes 10 days after Stuart Campbell stepped up as player/manager at the struggling club.
"I've known 'Cams' years, we work well together and hopefully that can be good for the club," Hinton told BBC Bristol.
The pair moved to the Memorial Stadium in June 2004 and helped the club claim promotion to League One via the play-offs in 2007.
But that four-season stay in the division is under threat with Rovers bottom of the table and three points from safety with 10 games remaining.
However, Hinton is positive they can escape the relegation zone.
The former Kidderminster man believes the squad are already performing better than they did in Dave Penney's last game at the helm, the defeat to Dagenham and Redbridge which he watched from the stands.
"There seems a massive difference from that and it's about keeping that going and pushing forward," added Hinton, who was on loan at Luton from the Cobblers before returning to Rovers.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport