Being away from home doesn't mean missing your favorite television shows.

TiVo Inc. has announced TiVo Mobile, a mobile-optimized Web site that lets consumers browse, search and discover television shows, regardless of mobile platform, carrier or browser. The site at http://m.tivo.com can be accessed with any Web-enabled handset. Mobui is powering the mobile site.

"The strategy is to open up access to TiVo services to every mobile user and allow people to interact with TiVo remotely," said John Burry CEO of Mobui, Redmond, WA. "The TiVo service allows for a time shift and there are times when people hear about shows they'd like to record and they aren't necessarily in front of their TV.

"TiVo Mobile puts the TV's remote control right onto a person's mobile phone, which is always in their pocket," he said.

TiVo is a digital video recording service. The TiVo service brings consumers all their favorite TV shows, ready to watch whenever they want. The TiVo DVR works with cable, satellite,or antenna, and with HDTV or standard TV.

The new mobile site lets TV fans stay in touch with their TiVo DVR when they are away from the living room, allowing them to schedule recordings directly to their TiVo box from their mobile phone.

The site is optimized for a small screen.

Site visitors can search for programs by actor, title, director and keyword. Additional functions include Daily Recommendations and Most Popular.

Like TiVo's famous recommendations engine, the TiVo Mobile site features an If you like this tool to help users find new shows.

"TiVo started out making television a more convenient, personal experience and mobile is the next logical step," Mr. Burry said.

TiVo subscribers have the option to schedule recordings on their Series2 or Series3 TiVo boxes directly through the site, bringing a new level of ease to recording TV.

Anyone can browse, search and discover television shows, whether or not they have a TiVo DVR at home.

The mobile site extends on-the-go functionality to a large audience, resulting in a freedom of TiVo scheduling.

The new application joins an unmatched set of service features available to TiVo lovers, including content Amazon Video on Demand and Jaman, as well as videos from YouTube direct to the TV set.

Additionally, coming this December, thousands of movies and TV episodes can be instantly streamed from Netflix.

The new mobile site also complements remote scheduling through TiVo.com and TiVo Desktop Software, which allows viewers to transfer their shows to an Apple iPod, Sony PSP, or other portable players.
The mobile site is in beta now and will be available on a wide scale within a few weeks.

"The challenge this service addresses is it allows TiVo to give its users an extra benefit," Mr. Burry said. "It allows TiVo to build a better relationship with its audience, as they will now be able to carry TiVo in their pockets at all times."