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What happens when.....
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Posted by: sharpie108

Hello Tivo community,

I got a curious question. I have been subscribed to TIVO for 8 months now and finally got the courage to post this question. What will happen to my TIVO if I cancel my subscription?

I have a series 2 connected to Directv.

My thinking is:

1 - I will still be able to record the current channel.
2 - I can manually set record times and channel ( daily guide will be
lost. Right? )

Any other things I will lose or retain? Thoughts?

Posted by: scottjf8

I think just manual recordings, and the ability to pause/rewind live tv. Features like Wishlists and Season Passes will go away. Also, i'm not sure if you will still get guide data....

Is $4.99/month that much to you?

Posted by: OLdDog

Series 2 TiVos will not function at all without a subscription.
No live TV.
No pause.
No instant replay.
No recording by SP, wishlist, manual, or time and ch.
Nothing.
Nada.
Zilch.

TiVo series 2's REQUIRE a subscription.

If you have a DirecTV DVR powered by TiVo then the live TV and pause and instant replay will still work but no recording at all.

Posted by: jamesbobo

It sounds as if you have a standalone connected to Direct TV. Why didn't you get the combo box? You can record two shows at once, only pay $4.99 a month for the TiVo service, and get all recordings at best (and olny)quality. And if you subscribe to total choice premiere service you get TiVo subscripton at no charge.

Posted by: MikeekiM

quote:
Originally posted by OLdDog
Series 2 TiVos will not function at all without a subscription.
No live TV.
No pause.
No instant replay.
No recording by SP, wishlist, manual, or time and ch.
Nothing.
Nada.
Zilch.

TiVo series 2's REQUIRE a subscription.

If you have a DirecTV DVR powered by TiVo then the live TV and pause and instant replay will still work but no recording at all.

I am not planning in disconnecting, but this has always been a point of curiosity for me as well...

So what is the process? The TiVo needs to "Phone Home" from time to time to maintain functionality? If it has not connected to "the mother ship" for some amount of time (and what time would that be), it basically dies? :eek:

"Ouch" (Read as though "E.T." were saying it) :D

Posted by: sharpie108

I dont have the combo box. I already had directv at the time I was considering the purchase plus 1) I bought the series 2 60hrs knowing well I was going to open and add another 60gigs.(Worked out well!) 2) The area where I am soon moving to offers cable as part of maintenance. So l I will soon say goodbye to dtv. That does very much suck if TIVO is completely useless if its not able to connect to the mother ship. Has anyone gone through the actual stopage of the sub?
How about if TIVO is bought out buy KMART and then KMART closes shop.
Then, what happens next? Many things to ponder.... I will of course i am planning on TIVO lifetime sub.

Posted by: jsmeeker

As others have mentioned, the series 2 will cease to function if you discontinue the monthly sub. It shouldn't be hard to do, but just understand the TiVo *will not* work.

Posted by: biker

Two words Door Stop! ;)

Posted by: aadam101

Just so you know. Series 1 that came with version 1.3 will work as a manual recorder. You can't get season passes, wishlists or guide data but it works well for me as a backup. If I hadn't been able to do that I would have sold it. I think this is the reason Tivo no longer allows manual recorders for series 2.

Posted by: phone1

quote:
Originally posted by OLdDog
Series 2 TiVos will not function at all without a subscription.
No live TV.
No pause.
No instant replay.
No recording by SP, wishlist, manual, or time and ch.
Nothing.
Nada.
Zilch.

TiVo series 2's REQUIRE a subscription.

If you have a DirecTV DVR powered by TiVo then the live TV and pause and instant replay will still work but no recording at all.

I'm not 100% sure about all this - I think viewing live TV and trickplay (pause, buffer, etc.) will still work, but definitely NO recordings, guide, etc.

Why are you wanting to let your sub lapse?

Posted by: MikeekiM

quote:
Originally posted by mshiu
If it has not connected to "the mother ship" for some amount of time (and what time would that be), it basically dies? :eek:

Anyone know how long can the TiVo without contacting the mother ship?

Let's say we go on vacation to a cabin and take our TiVo as a video server... It does not contact the mother ship for whatever amount of time it takes to deactivate it...

My assumption is that once you get back home and connect the line, that it will "phone home" and come back alive with full functionality...

Posted by: jblake

It will run out of guide data 2 weeks after its last call home, other than that you will be able to use it normally until it runs out of guide data, then, it will still be in subscribed 'mode' but it won't have any guide data (and can't get any until it calls in) so it will be basically useless unless you're JUST playing saved recordings or using it for trick play.