BitTorrent. GreaseMonkey. RSS. Podcasting. They've all been described as "like TiVo for the web". It's been a useful simile - but not for much longer. Now TiVo itself is set to become… like TiVo for the web.

Early next year the company plans to introduce features that will allow people to use its digital video recorders to watch "some video programming from the Internet" on their televisions. Thus far, though, the enabling processes don't sound particularly elegant.

The New York Times reports that a handful of producers have agreed to convert some of their programming to MPEG2 (TiVo's native format) and make it available to download. TiVo also plans to introduce software that will allow users to watch a much wider range of videos available on the web; however, users must first download the videos onto their computers. And Flash technology (the secret sauce of YouTube) isn't supported.

All in all, it looks like this TiVo for the web isn't really like TiVo for the web, either. What users really, really want is a super-TiVo that allows them to lounge in front of the tube, browse through program listings for favorite shows that aired last night, last week or last year - and point, click, watch. They wouldn't know or care whether the show was retrieved via local hard drive, cable, satellite or internet.

Now that would truly be LTFTW.