14 DAY TRIAL // i.TV has announced what the company calls the “i.TV Remote Control Framework.” The framework enables third-party devs to develop solutions for controlling external devices (television, an AV receiver or DVR) via i.TV on the iPhone and iPod touch. These remote capabilities are now coming to the iPhone and iPod touch via a software update to the existing i.TV app.
The TiVo remote is the first integrated remote control on i.TV for TiVo subscribers with a broadband-connected TiVo DVR, the company has confirmed. The iPhone app has been sent to Apple for approval and should appear in the App Store any day now.
i.TV reveals that the service now combines the TV guide and the remote control on an iPhone or iPod touch, with remote controls powered by the i.TV Remote Control Framework. Users will be able to change the channel, fast-forward, record and play their favorite shows and movies. The app also has a simplified and streamlined user interface. Tons of other enhancements were made, including the addition of push notifications - “Set alerts for when your favorite TV shows air. Never miss a show again,” i.TV enthusiastically states.
“With i.TV, you can now use your iPhone or iPod touch as a remote control for televisions, DVRs and other home entertainment devices,” i.TV CEO Brad Pelo adds. “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.”
“TiVo is about giving the user control of the television experience,” Jim Denney, vice president of product marketing at TiVo Inc., shares. “Having the TiVo remote available through i.TV is another way TiVo customers can access the content they want, the way they want.”
i.TV 2.0 with integrated TiVo remote control will be made available for free in the month of August. Existing users will be able to update via the App Store on their device, while new customers will grab the newly enhanced 2.0 app directly. Currently, i.TV (version 1.6) requires iPhone OS 2.1. For a better idea of what i.TV 2.0 will be all about, watch the video demonstration below (courtesy of YouTube).