Long rumored and eagerly awaited, DirecTV has finally posted their free iPhone app for finding and recording content. The DirecTV app [App Store link] has been pretty hard to find. It didn't come up in an iTunes search last night and this morning, but that may have been fixed.

Locating programming is much faster and friendlier than using the iPhone friendly web page that had been the way to look at the DirecTV schedule.

The new app allows you to search for any shows up to 14 days in advance. You can browse the DirecTV schedule by date and time or by channel. You can select from multiple DVRs if you have them, and you can record a single episode of a program or a series.

The app runs on either the iPhone or iPod touch with version 2.2.1 software or above. You can search the schedule even if you're not a DirecTV subscriber, but if you want to trigger recordings you must use your DirecTV password. I set up a few tests and all the recording worked, one DVR request was made 2 minutes before the program started and the data made it to the DVR via satellite in time to catch the show.

I liked the old web-based method, but this is light years better. You get good program descriptions and ratings when available, and speed over the 3G network or even EDGE was quite usable.

Note: DirecTV says the app requires DIRECTV Plus® DVR (models R15, R16, R22), DIRECTV Plus® HD DVR (models HR20, HR21, HR23) or TiVo® Series 2 receivers with 6.4a software.