I just ran across a great free service from Orb.com that acts as an add-on to your existing Tivo Servies 2 DVR and home computer running the Tivo Desktop called “DVR Everywhere”.  It’s free downloadable software that lets you access your Tivo from anywhere to stream video, control recordings, etc.

Setup really couldn’t be easier.  You just register for a free account at http://www.orb.com/dvreverywhere, download the software, install, and you’re in business.  During set-up, it will ask you what you want to be able to remotely access (MP3′s, pictures, video files, and/or your Tivo).  Keep following the steps and you’ll be up and running in no time!

Using the software is great!  You just go to http://dvr.orb.com, log in, and you’ll see a list of what’s on your Tivo and what’s on your computer.  You can stream anything from your computer to the web browser you’re using.  So that means that first, you’ll have to transfer programs from your Tivo to your computer.  Of course, you can do that right through the web interface as well.  Orb takes care of all of the details, like evaluating your bandwidth and encoding the video accordingly.

My only gripe here is that you can only access one of your Tivos.  This isn’t really a problem, though, as long as you can Terminal Service / Remote Desktop into your computer, you can initiate the transfer using the Tivo Desktop software, and then stream it from there.

This is all MUCH easier than the time I took the family with me to DevTeach in Montreal, and my 1.5-year-old son got mad because none of his favorite shows were on TV, so I connected into my home computer, transferred some Tivo shows, and proceeded to download about 2GB of TV data from my home, across international borders, through the hotel Internet connection, and onto my laptop.  Needless to say, that was not a quick process.  :-)