This assumes ICETV sends the timer name to recording devices. It would be most useful WRT merged timers (if that is ever implemented)
I think it would be a great feature if on the site when you select a show to record (especially a series recording) you have a box to optionally enter a custom title. That way "Australian Idol Season 5", could be reduced to "Idol" on the timer. Obviously its easier to have a listing like "Idol + Superman III" than the full (2 screen wide) listing.
Depending on what you wanted to do, you could also provide suggested short name versions yourself, and/or users could simply select a single setting in their account to use these where available.
Regards
Peter Gillespie