i.TV 2.0 Allows TiVo Subscribers to Use their iPhone/iPod touch as a Remote Control

i.TV (pronounced "eye-dot-TV"), a Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up that offers a popular free iPhone/iPod application of the same name (note: the app is billed as allowing users to browse constantly updated, localized TV and movie listings, as well as a catalog of hundreds of thousands of TV and movie titles available for download; it also includes 1) various social features, allowing users to write reviews, rate shows, and recommend shows to their friends via email alerts; 2) video support, allowing users to watch TV previews and movie trailers; and 3) ecommerce support, allowing users to purchase movie tickets), will today announce the "i.TV Remote Control Framework."

The framework is billed as enabling third parties to develop solutions to control TV sets, DVR's and other devices via the i.TV app on the iPhone or iPod touch. According to the company, the first integrated "soft" remote control for the i.TV platform to be developed via the framework is for broadband-connected TiVo DVR's, and will be offered as part of i.TV version 2.0. The company says that the design of the i.TV Remote Control Framework allows it to "push" new remote controls down to the user's iPhone/iPod touch dynamically as they become available (it says it will notify users of new remotes via its newsletter, its blog, and its Facebook and Twitter accounts). "With i.TV, you can now use your iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control for televisions, DVR's and other home entertainment devices," i.TV CEO, Brad Pelo, said in a prepared statement. "By bringing together the television guide and remote control on a mobile device you carry in your pocket, i.TV will change how people discover and watch television shows and movies. We are pleased that TiVo is the first of our partners to introduce remote control capabilities for their customers who use i.TV." Added TiVo VP of product marketing, Jim Denney: "TiVo is about giving the user control of the television experience. Having the TiVo remote available through i.TV is another way TiVo customers can access the content they want, the way they want."

According to i.TV, the new i.TV Remote Control Framework provides developers with a "flexible platform upon which to re-imagine the traditional remote control." For example, the company says, developers can make alphanumeric keypads for channel number entry optional, and instead present users with a graphical user interface that allows them to tap on images or links to change channels. Remote controls built on the new framework use scripts that define user interface elements and key-press behavior for controlling external home entertainment devices, the company says, and device discovery and communication between the iPhone/iPod touch and external hardware are handled via the Bonjour protocol for WiFi devices or Apple's External Accessory Framework for Bluetooth and 30-pin connector accessories.

Other new features of i.TV 2.0 (which is currently awaiting App Store approval), in addition to the new TiVo remote, according to the company, include:

• a simplified user interface and user experience, which it says are based on feedback and usage data from millions of users.
• iTunes integration, including show detail screens and the ability to instantly download content from iTunes.
• the ability for users to set alerts for upcoming shows or to ask for an alert any time a new episode airs (note: this feature is based on the iPhone OS's push notification capabilities).