Yes, you now can schedule recordings on your home DVR -- on your mobile phone. But why would you want to do that? Well, with the Verizon FiOS TV Remote DVR services you can set up show to record even when you're away from home, and review and cancel recordings. And you can browse TV listings and video on demand, and set parental controls.
And Verizon offers three different ways to set up your DVR remotely. You can log in over the Internet at the main FiOS TV Central site, or from any mobile device with an Internet browser at the Mobile Web version of the site.
Or, you can download the Verizon FiOS Mobile application, customized to your device (currently available for some Android, Blackberry, and BREW / Feature phones).
What's interesting about the Verizon FiOS Mobile app for Android, however, is that today's touch-screen smartphones like the Verizon / Motorola Droid have matured enough that they actually provide a better interface for interacting with a DVR than the Internet or a remote control.
You can set up your phone by registering the phone number on your TV (Settings > FiOS TV Remote DVR), and then confirm by entering an authorization code on the phone.
The app then launches quickly, with a several-second delay to download your current program guide and recording schedule -- faster than accessing over the Internet.
Then browsing listings is very fast, as you can use your finger tip to flick through channels and times, or browse into categories -- again quicker than pressing on the remote control.
Even better, the FiOS Mobile app has built-in search, so it's again fast to find matching show titles or actor's names. As you browse, the search is context-sensitive, to only display matches for the actor or show or category (TV, pay per view, on demand) in which you are browsing.
(Of course, you should be aware that you're having information about your recordings passed through Verizon, and opening up an outside connection into your home through the DVR. And it's possible to have fun accessing and controlling someone else's DVR if you have access to their device to set it up -- but this can be stopped by re-entering a different phone number on the DVR.)
The Verizon FiOS Mobile app is a free download from the Android Market -- in the Verizon / VCAST Apps section. It's quite convenient to use, and makes browsing the selections fun as the menus automatically display not only all occurrences of any episode of a particular show, but also list the actors associated with a show, or shows associated with a particular actor, so you can quickly dig in to make more recordings of your favorites.
See my Mobile Communications Gallery for more on smartphones.
See my Smartphone Apps Gallery for more on apps and app stores.
Find the Verizon Droid from Motorola on Amazon.com