Really want to get that new
TiVo HD DVR, but annoyed that
TiVo stopped offering a lifetime service plan for it or start going month to month? Well guess what,
once again TiVo is sorting you out with a transfer of your lifetime service to the TiVo HD -- for $199 -- if you make your purchase and let them know before November 8th. That's right, all you have to do is qualify your current unit, get your new DVR, then give the boys over at TiVo-central a call to let them know which credit card to swipe. Sure, it seems like you're dropping yet another two-hundred big ones on "lifetime service" when you would think they'd just carry it over for free (or a small fee), but no one ever said life was fair.
posted Oct 11th 2007 5:17PM
how much is it per month?
buying lifetimes subs isn't a good incentive for the firm to keep in operation for a lifetime..
I think its around 13 something a month. Even though its a life time thing, they charge extra to transfer the account to HD. So in essences, should they come out with something much better in the future and if people wanted to switch over they would have to pay another fee for the transfer. In some ways it helps them be more motivated to come out with something better to entice there customers to transfer there lifetime accounts to something better.
Tivo: HOLY SHIT WE'RE POPULAR $$$$$$
Everyone else: WTF
i want one. to bad i cant even a ford and iphone.
...or type or spell.
i know this is off topic, but i'd appreciate anyone's input. i'm trying to decide between a TiVo Series3 or TiVo HD. the Series3 has a higher storage capacity and other little niceties, while the TiVo HD is stripped of the glitz, but has newer components, such as Multi-Stream Cable Card support. i've also heard that the TiVo HD interface is "slow" and the box is generally less reliable. there's about a $100 difference between the two (after rebates), so price is relatively negligible. is anyone able to offer any advice as to which one to get (especially if you've used both)? thanks...
I have little experience with Tivo's only because I keep having problems with them(which is more my cable company's fault then the tivo). But unless you feel like you need the HD, I'd buy the Series3. The HD is newer and I'm guessing it will take a while before any issues are worked out.
I got the TivoHD a couple months ago with Lifetime subscription. Took it home, and upgraded it with a 1TB Hitachi drive. I can do without the front OLED screen, THX certification, and backlit remote. I use my Logitech Harmony anyway. With fall software updates coming out soon, the S3 and the TivoHD will be pretty much on par on the software side. It's really up to you if you feel that the 3 mentioned niceties above are worth your extra money.
I love my TivoHD and most the things that bother me about it will soon be fixed with software updates. Mainly slow menus and lack of TivoToGo and Multi-Room Viewing.
thanks for your input. i'm wanting to get one of the two for my dad for christmas, and i really don't want to open up his TiVo and void the warranty. if i got him the HD, he could always add an external drive whenever the eSATA port is activated. but my other concerns are the "menu slowness" or other such issues with the HD; they're making me think an S3 might be better. maybe the decision will be easier to make if the software update solves those issues.
I just got off the phone with Tivo and a few clarifications:
1.) the lifetime sub transfer is ONLY for the Tivo HD, not the series 3 HD.
2.) The $599 price for the S3 on tivo.com has the rebate already included.
3.) You may not be able to get rid of your cable box, yet, even if you throw some cablecard lovin' into your Tivo HD box. According to Time Warner Cable (yes, flip a coin for accuracy of the following statement), you would not be able to access ondemand channels via cable card.
Gotta love Tivo! They're going to keep putting that "Lifetime" carrot out there.
The jump from SD to HD is a big one though, I'm curious how they'll get people to pay another $200 in two years time when they need to get that next fix from their "Lifetimers".
I'll avoid getting on my "Tivo pricing" soapbox :)
Um, you mean I have to pay $199 for a second lifetime service, and then they cancel my original lifetime service, for which I've already paid?
And this is a good deal why?
Yeah, no kidding. MAN, WHAT A DEAL!!!
TiVo redefines the word "Lifetime". Lifetime = Whatever TiVo wants it to be. Now we know how dumb they think their customers are.
TiVo, please pull head OUT of butt. Make Tarzan glad! Oh-Kaaaaayyyyyy?
The service for the HD box is different - it's HD. Presumably you can still have your regular service on the HD box, but then you wouldn't want an HD box.
@John
Well I do realize it's HD, but I'm not certain why that should have anything to do with it. A person already pays a premium for the HD box to begin with, so why should TiVo be charging $200 over and above the $300 people paid out for lifetime service, just to record HD if they've already paid for a Series3 that handles it?
OK, I see that this is the TiVo HD, not the Series 3. But regardless, what I said above still stands. The Lifetime rollover fee should be very minimal or cost nothing...
...Especially considering that most channels aren't even HD, so the majority of what a person records is going to be SD, anyway.
@Z
TiVo lifetime has ALWAYS been defined as lifetime of the UNIT, not the owner. That they let you transfer it AT ALL is out of the goodness of their hearts. Since you can't even buy lifetime anymore, it's an incentive for people to get the latest.
My S2 has been running (since they offered lifetime transfer from S1 to S2) for 4.5 years. That certainly pays for itself as opposed to the monthly fee.
@Brian
'Lifetime of the unit' makes a little more sense then. But if that's their definition, then they shouldn't call it "Lifetime", because most people will not interpret it as how you just defined it. When you mention the word "lifetime", that means "for all time" or "never ending", as in "Lifetime warranty".
And I see what you're saying, but the only thing I don't agree with is that they're doing it out of 'the goodness of their hearts'. I mean you no offense, but that's bunk. They're offering it because they want to line their pockets with more gold and they see this as an opportunity to do so. If it was out of goodness, they'd transfer it over for free.
Holy poop I might actually upgrade my S2 Tivo now! And Craig I say go with the newer box, if you're remotely tech savvy you can upgrade that drive yourself or wait for the ESATA support to just grab an external drive.
The TiVo HD has a better decoder chip in it in terms of doing MPEG4 codec flavors. However, it is missing out on design perks of the Series 3 unit; not to mention that glossy remote that the Series 3 has which retails for $50 separately. I think I'm going to bite on this offer.
You can find the specs to either of these TiVos on Wikipedia or elsewhere online.
My Tivo Series 2 Dual Tuner died 11 months into a 3-year pre-pay. Tivo's solution? Charge me $50 to send me a *refurbished* replacement Tivo that wouldn't even boot up, and after I called them to complain about that took another 3 weeks to ship me an actual "new" Tivo.
Suffice to say that if they were still offering new "Lifetime" subscriptions these days, I wouldn't be buyin.
@ jason @ Oct 11th 2007 5:48PM - SO true!
Really - still going strong on my Series 1 which I refurb myself every now and then...what a joke of a pricing model.
That Comcast deal is priced right is looking OK...think a hard drive swap is do-able on whatever they are offering...I would think so!
Too bad TiVo will only allow the transfer if your lifetime service was activated prior to October 1, 2003. I entered my TiVo Service Number only to find out that it doesn't qualify. Oh well, I guess I'll just stick with my Series 2.
I think it is a good idea the Tivo decided to offer this "Life Time" subscription transfer, but not for nothing I paid $200.00 when I got my first "Life Time" subscription. This would make it 2 life times now and the last time I check I wasn't doing hard time. Granted I have had my current S2 box for some where along 5 years now, but I paid for a life time service the first time around if I have to buy a another life time subscription they should refund me the first one just to make it even.
But they wont and thats just my 2 cents
This is a tough one because I'm already paying $15 a month for Charter HD DVR service. I would rather pay the five hundred for the Tivo and lifetime transfer, and get rid of my cable box. If you do the math, I would get my return in 3 years.
Thats a tough choice!
I would have to rent cable cards at 1.50 a piece though.
You will still have to pay for the Cable cards, plus connection fee for me it is $3 plus $6 as opened to $11.95 I was paying for non DVR set top from Comcast.
Holy crap if I were a TiVo customer I'd be so pissed off right now. That is f'ing ridiculous.
People seem confused as to how TiVo claims lifetime service. It is for the life of the box you first activate. That box has service until it dies. For $199, they let you switch lifetime service to another box. Since they do not sell lifetime services any longer, and Comcast, as of this point, has crappy DVRS that make me and others long for TiVo, I would say this is a good deal, assuming you use your TiVo for several years to come.
For "just" $199? Since when two hundred bucks is cheap?
I wipe my a** with $100 bills so I guess this seems cheap... Give me a break
If kids today could do math they would realize that $199 "lifetime" quickly pays for itself when the regular monthly fee is $16.95 per month, or $179 per year. The fact that you pay it all up front is irrelevant.
Tivo has *always* said, right from the beginning, that their lifetime subscriptions are non-transferable, that they stay with the machine for which they're activated. Plus, they don't offer lifetime subscriptions at all any more, other than with a transfer offer like this. So the fact that they offer this at all is a perk, especially for those like me who are looking to retire an ancient S1 w/lifetime.
So while on the one hand it sucks to have to pay again for lifetime, on balance it's still an attractive deal if you don't need to continue using your old Tivo beyond the 1-year overlap.
I'll be buying.
i think it's pretty poor customer service when they isolate the promotion only to those people who activated lifetime service "prior" to october 2003...i happened to activate my series 2 lifetime in december 2003 so i don't qualify...looks like it'll just keep collecting dust in the closet until they finally figure it out...pretty dumb tivo, i'd buy your new HD box if you allowed me to transfer my lifetime but i'm not paying a monthly service.
I have a Tivo S2 lifetime and it has lasted 5 years now. Lifetime is the way to go... preaching to the choir I guess here because the only people who can get lifetime already have it..
I couldn't live without TivoToGo functionality (which I mainly use to add videos from my computer)
How long
I'll buy a TIVO HD when it's $60, not $300
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.
These HD TiVo boxes will be $60 around the time everyone has 60" OLED HDTV's...which should be around the time TiVo Series 9 comes out.
A hard drive, a prefab TIVO UI, and a pair of $15 XCeive ATSC tuners?
LOL, I give it six months before it's $99 after rebate.
$199 is a bargain, a lifetime sub was £200 in the UK ($350-400) and mine is still going strong 6 years later. We only got the series 1 box over here, but if tivo would release a new HD box in the UK i would gladly pay the same again. not that they will, cos they hate us. gits
stu
What I like best about this ...
"... you get to keep service on your existing TIVO DVR for 12 months absolutely free."
So let me get this straight, I bought a lifetime subscription for my existing TIVO ... the license is non-transferable. I can buy a new HD TIVO, and purchase a lifetime subscription for it for $200, because I'm cool and have an existing lifetime subscription that I paid $2-300 for ... but, by doing so, it will some how kill my lifetime subscription on my old box, but TIVO will let me use my old non-transferable lifetime subscription FREE for 12 months??
Am I the only one that sees something wrong there?
So you guys are effectively brain dead or did you fail math 101:
I paid $259 for my life time about 70 months ago. Had I not purchased lifetime I would have paid $906.50 to date (@12.95/mo) for TiVo service. So I have already saved $647.50 to date by going lifetime over monthly service.
Now, prepaid TiVo service for a 1yr is $179.00 (I know that there is also a multi-unit discount, but for purposes here I am assuming the full amount and a 1 year term).
Taking the 1 year of TiVo on the old S2 unit (179.00) and the upgrade of lifetime effective cost (199.00) the effective cost to transfer the Lifetime subscription is... wait for it...
$20.
Yep. Horrible Horrible people over at TiVo... What is the likelihood you wouldn't have both boxes connected... This is a great deal. Too bad most of you guys that are complaining failed to see the wisdom of a lifetime subscription in the first place.
RE: Bob @ Oct 11th 2007 5:52PM
i thought you could no longer buy a tivoHD with lifetime subscription. can you?
This isn't a deal.
If you've already got a lifetime Tivo, you're eligible for the multi-service discount on add'l units ($7/month for 3 years).
So instead of buying the Tivo HD at full price ($300, which you have to do to get this offer), you can buy it discounted.
It has been as low as $250 from 3rd party retailers, might even hit $200 refurbed from Tivo by year-end.
Then put the Tivo HD on the $7/month plan instead of paying $200 upfront to make it lifetime.
Time value of money and all that, it would be at least 3 years to recoup the extra costs of paying all this upfront vs. paying monthly - think there might be something better than Tivo HD in 3 years?
A website called www.weakness.com has all the Tivo upgrade drives. I used them to upgrade my old Sony Series 1 Tivo. I ordered the drive and installed it myself in about 5 minutes it was real easy to do. I also ordered the HUMAX Tivo series 2 DVR (Not HD)with a built in DVD Burner little do people know HUMAX has a deal with TIVO and you can still get lifetime subscription for $299.00. HD is great but DVD burner Tivo is better.