With all the competition from streaming video and sexy competitors, Tivo may seem like an outdated relic. However, its new partnership with smart TV app startup Flingo may change that.

As of today, Tivo owners can “fling” video content from the web to their TV screens using Flingo’s technology. Say you spend time finding videos from services like YouTube and Vimeo on your desktop or mobile devices. When you find a video online, you’ll use a bookmarklet via a web browser to send it to the Tivo box. The process is similar to what Boxee has done in the past, but with a greater focus on specific devices.

“Discovery should not be done on a TV screen,” Flingo CEO and co-founder Ashwin Navin said in an interview with VentureBeat. I’m inclined to agree, because trying to navigate through the billions of videos on a native YouTube smart TV app using only a simple TV remote is both aggravating and fruitless.

Under the new partnership, Tivo owners also gain access to Flingo apps for a variety of premium content providers, including TMZ, A&E, History, Showtime, and TV Guide. Additionally, Tivo owners get exclusive interactive apps via a new “Launchpad for Tivo” platform.

“The cost of setting up an app within Tivo on the platform [for broadcasters] is almost negligible at this point if you’re already got that content available on the web,” Navin said. Presumably, that means more content providers should jump on the Tivo bandwagon in the future, which is good news for the set-top box company’s customers.

While it’s not in the immediate future, Navin said Flingo eventually wants to add more interactivity to what’s being watched on Tivo via its SyncApps technology. The SyncApps tech can detect what you’re watching in just a few seconds and communicate that information to your television, smartphone, or computer — sort of like a location-based service for what you’re watching. You can then use that tech within smart TV apps to pull up social content or services related to whatever it is you’re viewing, thus cutting down on multitasking.

Founded in 2008, Flingo has previously raised $8 million in funding from August Capital, Mark Cuban, and others.

Flingo, one of the largest smart TV app publishers, has received another $1 million in funding from entrepreneur Mark Cuban, bringing its total first round to $8 million.

As the company tells it, Cuban first learned about Flingo while strolling by its CES booth earlier this year. After catching a glimpse at the company’s social TV platform, Cuban quickly struck up a conversation with Flingo CEO Ashwin Navin and wiggled his way into the funding round. He’s leading the additional funding together with Gary Lauder, managing director of Lauder Partners. In February, Flingo announced that it raised $7 million from August Capital.

“I’m excited to be part of the Flingo experience,” Cuban — owner of the arthouse cinema chain Landmark and Magnolia Pictures, and chairman of HDNet — said in a statement today. “I truly believe the future of TV is social TV and Flingo will be one of the companies out front.”

Flingo has developed a technology, dubbed SyncApps, that can detect what you’re watching in just a few seconds and communicate that information to your television, smartphone, or computer. Think of it like a location-based service for what you’re watching. SyncApps eliminates the need to track down hashtags or other content related to what you’re viewing, allowing you to seamlessly interact with content while you’re watching it.

The company says it will use the funding to expand its presence among smart TV and device makers. It already has partnerships with Samsung, LG, Vizio, and Western Digital. Navin calls Cuban’s support a “tremendous validation” of the company.

Flingo was founded in 2008 by former early Bittorrent employees Ashwin Navin, Alvir Navin, and David Harrison. The company currently has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and other cities.

Photo via Steven Rosenbaum/Flickr