Control your TV with your smartphone, tablet

Using your smartphone or tablet to control your Tivo box is easy and offers a lot of flexibility in recording shows and channel surfing.

To see a video how-to, watch on YouTube.

The first thing you need to do is make sure your Tivo box is connected to the Internet. Using your iOS or Android device, download the Tivo application.

Turn on your device's Wi-Fi and make sure it's connected to the same network as the Tivo unit.

When you open the app you'll be able to control your television just like you can with your remote control. You can also schedule programs to record and play back ones that have already been recorded.

If you're out of range of your Wi-Fi network you won't be able to control the Tivo box, but you can schedule programs to record through Tivo's Web application.

Nick Barber covers general technology news in both text and video for IDG News Service. E-mail him at Nick_Barber@idg.com and follow him on Twitter at @nickjb.