TiVo on the go

It seems like TiVo is really out to make customers happy this holiday season. First they allow their users to order pizza from their couch, then they made a killer bundle deal withBestBuy and now they launch a new website that allows users to remotely search and record shows from their mobile phone for free.

The service was announced yesterday, November 25, in the form of a press release. TiVo informed the masses that they had launched a new site (https://m.tivo.com) which can be used by anybody to search for show times and will also allow TiVo subscribers to schedule any selected program by providing their account information.

"TiVo started out making television a more convenient, personal experience, and this is the next step to give television lovers total control over their media. Whether you are standing in line at the bank or talking about a new show with friends at dinner, you can now find and record shows whenever, wherever, a perfect tool for everyone."

said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo.

While this is not a totally new feature, it's definitely more convenient. Previously, TiVo subscribers could log into TiVo's main site and remotely schedule programs too. But if you have ever been to TiVo's site... you know it's not the most pleasant experience, and especially not on a phone. The new site features a very minimalistic and light layout which is optimized to be viewed by smaller screens. Big buttons, light background, dark colors and the pages are not text-heavy.

As previously mentioned, you do not need to be a TiVo subscriber (Series2 or Series3/HD) to access the site. They are allowing anybody who goes to the site to search for TV shows, read a description about it and find the next showing time as well as 'recommended' shows. When you select a particular show, you are then prompted to enter our TiVo account credentials which will allow you to record the show.

The site is still in beta and is scheduled to be fully released some time next week, but I was able to access the site and search for a few shows without a hitch. I was not able to test the remote recording feature since I am not a TiVo subscriber. A feature that would be nice to see in the future would be remote management of your recordings - allow users not only to set new recordings but also delete shows that are already there.

Let us not forget what TiVo has already told us to expect before the end of the year:

The new application joins an unmatched set of service features available to TiVo lovers, including content from Amazon Video on Demand and Jaman, as well as videos from YouTube direct to the TV set. Coming this December, thousands of movies and TV episodes can be instantly streamed from Netflix.

TV? Movies? Music? YouTube? Pizza? Seems like TiVo has all of its bases covered.

Link: TiVo Mobile