TiVo Community Forums Archives - Life Time Subscription Deals Coming Up?

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Life Time Subscription Deals Coming Up?
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Posted by: dolfer

Does anyone know if Tivo is going to offer discounts on the Lifetime Subscription any time soon??

My Series 1 died and I just got a Series 2 from a friend.

I think Tivo should offer a discount to someone when their Lifetime subbed Tivo dies. Especially now with the availability of cable tv DVRs.

It is rather tempting to just call Time Warner and get their DVR for a few bucks a month more rather than spending $200-300 on a new Tivo and another $300 on a lifetime sub.

Does anyone agree or think this is a good point? Considering that many of the orginal Tivo's are probably reaching the end of their lives? The easy switch to a cable DVR could hurt Tivo in these situations.

Later,
D

Posted by: phone1

quote:
Originally posted by dolfer
My Series 1 died and I just got a Series 2 from a friend.

Nice friend - does he know you have it? :D

How did your TiVo "die?" Most are easily repaired for less than the cost of a new one and you keep your lifetime sub.

I'm sure if TiVo feels that cable co DVRs are pinching them, they'll consider lots of different promotions. I doubt reducing lifetime will be one of them. Why? It's apples/oranges. There's no scenario where you buy the cable box and get free monthly service - it's strictly a rental, you never own it. I believe they want to keep HW prices down and promote TiVo basic (free) to lure people into paying the full monthly service.

Posted by: niea_7

Some sort of "customer loyalty" program would definitely be nice.

Posted by: HDTiVo

If you saw a demo or got a trial of a cable co. DVR, would you really switch FROM TiVo?

Posted by: dolfer

Guys,

Funny, I just saw this article in today's Good Morning Silicon Valley newsletter...

Comcast DVR

here's the box they are using... pretty cool, supports HDTV...
Comcast Box

With both Comcast and TW offering DVRs, Tivo had better get hopping on making some more deals and retaining subscribers. I want them to survive!

I was really hoping that Tivo was going to be integrated with Time Warner boxes due to AOLs early investment in the company. But unfortunately that never happened.

Posted by: dgh

Some of the numbers I've seen posted show that TiVo is much cheaper than cable DVRs if bought with lifetime and resold on ebay when you're done with it. If I were to resell my old TiVo today, my total monthly cost would be about $5.50.

Posted by: dolfer

phone1,

I believe the hard drive died, but I'm not 100%.

I know I could order a kit from Weaknees, but that's a big risk if the hard drive is not the problem.

D

Posted by: dgh

Do you realize that they take back a disk for any reason minus a 15% restocking fee? The risk seems fairly low if you're fairly confident that the disk is your problem.

Posted by: phone1

quote:
Originally posted by dolfer
phone1,

I believe the hard drive died, but I'm not 100%.

I know I could order a kit from Weaknees, but that's a big risk if the hard drive is not the problem.

D

Series 1's have two major failure points: modems and drives, it's obviously not the modem. Other problems are rare. What model and what symptoms?

BTW, read the FAQ's on the DCT6208. It uses TV Guide's IPG, which I haven't seen, but heard many complaints about. You get only 4 days of guide data with only 24 hours of actual program detail within that data. No mention of anything at all like SP's or ARWL's. And don't confuse it with the Scientific Atlanta DVR, it has only one tuner.

And yes, it's HDTV, but it's miniscule 80GB drive can record only 8-10 hours of HDTV. And no upgrading by users, thank you.

Are integrated cable receivers/DVRs where the industry's headed? Probably, but until they improve the UI, you'll be taking a big step backwards with this thing.

Posted by: Dan203

You could probably sell your old unit, even in it's current broken state, for enough money to cover the majority of the cost of the lifetime sub on the new unit. If you were to slap in an upgrade kit you could probably get enough for it to cover the cost of the new unit and the lifetime sub. (people tend to pay excessive amounts for upgraded units with lifetime subs)

Dan

Posted by: Matm03

What? So if you get a l.s. on a series 2 it is always only for the series 2. Like you can't upgrade to series 3 when it comes out?

Posted by: HDTiVo

---------------------------
From MOT FAQ:
Can I watch a show I recorded earlier while I record another show?
Yes. In order to watch one program and record another you will need a TV with multiple cable and/or video connectors. You can watch a program on basic cable from a direct cable input to your TV and record a different program on Digital Cable or basic cable from the tuner in the DCT6208. The switching/video source selecting requires a cable signal splitter with one leg of the output run to the DCT6208 and one to your TV. The switching needs to be done with the internal video source selector for your TV, usually found on the remote control and front panel of the TV.
---------------------------

HUH?

Can you start to watch a program while it is still recording?
That's not in the FAQ.

By the way...MOT claims the 6208 supports the attachment of external firewire HDs for additional storage...What the MSO does with that who knows.

Posted by: richNYC

quote:
Originally posted by Matm03
What? So if you get a l.s. on a series 2 it is always only for the series 2. Like you can't upgrade to series 3 when it comes out?

copied from http://www.tivo.com/1.2.asp :

"A product lifetime subscription to the TiVo service covers the life of the TiVo Digital Video Recorder (DVR) you buy--not the life of the subscriber. The product lifetime subscription accompanies the product in case of ownership transfer. The subscription remains in effect if your DVR needs to be repaired or replaced due to a malfunction (see manufacturer warranty details). Because a product lifetime subscription is linked to a particular DVR, it cannot be transferred to any other DVR (unless the DVR is replaced due to a malfunction covered by the manufacturer's warranty). Each DVR purchased requires its own service subscription and activation.

Of course, hardware products don't last forever and their lifespan will vary among individual products. TiVo makes no representations or warranties as to the expected lifetime of the product aside from the manufacturer's warranty. "

Posted by: staceyeileen

quote:
Originally posted by Matm03
What? So if you get a l.s. on a series 2 it is always only for the series 2. Like you can't upgrade to series 3 when it comes out?

Generally, no. A product lifetime subscription is just that... a subscription for the lifetime of the product. You can upgrade to a new box but you'd have to pay for the subscription again.

However, shortly after Tivo came out with the Series2 boxes, they offered a special deal to owners of Series1 w/ lifetime. Buy a brand new Series 2 box and you can transfer your existing Series 1 lifetime subscription to it. I took advantage of this deal, as did many others. Who is to say if they won't offer another deal like this for the "Series3"? I was especially pleased with this deal since I had previously taken advantage of a different special Tivo offered once when they lowered the lifetime fee to $199. :)

Posted by: dsmdriver

I'll buy that series 1 off you.

Posted by: Dan203

quote:
Originally posted by HDTiVo
---------------------------
From MOT FAQ:
Can I watch a show I recorded earlier while I record another show?
Yes. In order to watch one program and record another you will need a TV with multiple cable and/or video connectors. You can watch a program on basic cable from a direct cable input to your TV and record a different program on Digital Cable or basic cable from the tuner in the DCT6208. The switching/video source selecting requires a cable signal splitter with one leg of the output run to the DCT6208 and one to your TV. The switching needs to be done with the internal video source selector for your TV, usually found on the remote control and front panel of the TV.
---------------------------

HUH?

Can you start to watch a program while it is still recording?
That's not in the FAQ.

By the way...MOT claims the 6208 supports the attachment of external firewire HDs for additional storage...What the MSO does with that who knows.

This post seems kind of out of context for this thread, but to answer your questions... Yes you can watch a show while it is still in the process of recording. TiVo's don't even have firewire ports, and they do NOT support connection of any sort of external storage via their USB ports.

Edit: Never mind I see you're talking about something other then a TiVo. :o

Dan

Posted by: dolfer

guys,

thanks for all of the suggestions...

since it doesn't seem like there will be any discounts on lifetime subs soon, I think i'll get the replace kit from weaknees for $150 and keep the series 2 as a backup.

later,
d

p.s. there is no way i'd switch to a cable dvr. unless of course it is powered by tivo;)

Posted by: HDTiVo

Dan:

Good edit. ;)

Posted by: rseligman

quote:
Originally posted by dolfer
My Series 1 died... I think Tivo should offer a discount to someone when their Lifetime subbed Tivo dies.

They already offer the ultimate discount... free. Send your box back to TiVo to be repaired (they charge like $99 or something), and they'll transfer your sub to the new box for free.

Posted by: Dajad

quote:
Originally posted by dolfer
Does anyone know if Tivo is going to offer discounts on the Lifetime Subscription any time soon??

My Series 1 died and I just got a Series 2 from a friend.

I think Tivo should offer a discount to someone when their Lifetime subbed Tivo dies. Especially now with the availability of cable tv DVRs.

It is rather tempting to just call Time Warner and get their DVR for a few bucks a month more rather than spending $200-300 on a new Tivo and another $300 on a lifetime sub.

Does anyone agree or think this is a good point? Considering that many of the orginal Tivo's are probably reaching the end of their lives? The easy switch to a cable DVR could hurt Tivo in these situations.

Later,
D

If I was in your situation and I lived in a Time Warner neighborhood that offered their DVR, I would at least try it and see what it's like before plunking down $300 on a lifetime sub for a series 2.

To me, the next sweet spot for a TiVo purchase will be if/when they launch a TiVo to the cablelabs standard so that that TiVo could record HD off cable. Until then I wouldn't spend new cash on either a TiVo box or sub if I had an alternative PVR source to take me from here to there.

...Dale

Posted by: Nihilator

quote:
Originally posted by rseligman
They already offer the ultimate discount... free. Send your box back to TiVo to be repaired (they charge like $99 or something), and they'll transfer your sub to the new box for free.

That's a little misleading...the box you get will most likely not be "new", it will be refurbished. And it will be the same make and model as the box that you sent in, so you can't upgrade your hardware.

Oh, and that service is not "free", as your post states...it's $99 (also, I see, as your post states).

--Chris

Posted by: Nihilator

quote:
Originally posted by dgh
Some of the numbers I've seen posted show that TiVo is much cheaper than cable DVRs if bought with lifetime and resold on ebay when you're done with it. If I were to resell my old TiVo today, my total monthly cost would be about $5.50.

If I were to resell my Sony on eBay today, my total monthly cost would be about -$1.42. That's "negative one dollar and forty-two cents."

Sony's lifetime cost three years ago: $199.
Current value of a lifetime sub on eBay: 'bout $250.
"Loss" in value of lifetime sub: -$50.
Spread out over 35 months: -$1.42 per month.

Whoever buys my Sony at this point is paying me $1.42 a month to get TiVo service for the last three years. God, I love TiVo.

--Chris

Posted by: dgh

quote:
Originally posted by Nihilator
Sony's lifetime cost three years ago: $199.
Current value of a lifetime sub on eBay: 'bout $250.
"Loss" in value of lifetime sub: -$50.
Spread out over 35 months: -$1.42 per month.

I see nothing about the TiVo hardware in your post so either you left that out or you bought it later than I did and got a better price ;)

My total cost including service and the cost of early-adopter high-priced full-retail hardware works out to be about $5.50 / month. That makes most of these cable company "VCR with a disk" boxes look kind of pricey when you add up their service cost and hardware rental.

Posted by: Nihilator

quote:
Originally posted by dgh
I see nothing about the TiVo hardware in your post so either you left that out or you bought it later than I did and got a better price ;)

Well, considering it was a gift, I suppose I did get a good price. :-)

But, for the sake of argument, let's pretend I paid $299 for it (which, I think, my brother did). Let's also pretend that I paid $100 for the 120GB drive that it currently has in it. It's got a TurboNet, which I paid $70 for, and which elevates the price by $50. The modem is broken and the RF-in jack is loose (broken and then repaired), so let's say that reduces the value of the box by $50. You can buy a working, no-known-problems Sony box for $125 on eBay, and I think that's a lowballed estimate.

So, the used-and-mildly-distressed TiVo itself is now probably worth $75. The TurboNet is worth $50. The expanded capacity is, oh, I dunno, worth an extra $80. No, make it a hundred, and I'll throw the original 30GB drive back in as a B-drive. And the lifetime service is worth $250. So if I sold my lifetime-subbed Sony SVR-2000 with TurboNet and an extra 120GB drive (170-ish hours), even with the broken modem and hinky RF connector, I could still get $475 for it. I think that's a reasonable estimate, but you're welcome to argue.

Adding up all of the expenses: $300 for TiVo, $200 for sub, $70 for TurboNet, $100 for drive. $570 total.

So this Sony has cost me $95 for 35 months of use. $2.71 per month.

And that, as they say, is "a bargain at twice the price!"

--Chris

Posted by: rseligman

quote:
Originally posted by Nihilator
That's a little misleading...the box you get will most likely not be "new", it will be refurbished. And it will be the same make and model as the box that you sent in, so you can't upgrade your hardware.

Which is no different than what the OP will wind up with after "refurbishing" it himself. Except that his repair won't be covered under warranty, while the one that TiVo does will be.

quote:
Oh, and that service is not "free", as your post states...it's $99 (also, I see, as your post states).

The transfer of the sub is "free". The repair to the hardware is $99, which is less than the OP said he was going to spend on a new disk to do the repair himself. Unless he's going to put in a larger drive, it's cheaper and safer to let TiVo fix it.

Posted by: Nihilator

quote:
Originally posted by rseligman
Which is no different than what the OP will wind up with after "refurbishing" it himself. Except that his repair won't be covered under warranty, while the one that TiVo does will be.

The transfer of the sub is "free". The repair to the hardware is $99, which is less than the OP said he was going to spend on a new disk to do the repair himself. Unless he's going to put in a larger drive, it's cheaper and safer to let TiVo fix it.

Actually, weaknees.com warranties their parts for six months, twice as long as TiVo's repair warranty. No, the upgrade itself isn't guaranteed, unless they do it themselves for the added $50, but still... And their drives come with 3-year manufacturer's warranties (usually, they state), which may not be available with a TiVo-repaired unit.

On top of that, he can't help but get an increased capacity if he gets a drive upgrade from weaknees.com. Their minimum is 80GB.

In all fairness, submitting your TiVo to TiVo does have some merit; they can transfer your sub to a new unit if your old one is unrepairable, and they can diagnose (and "fix") problems that a hard drive substitution won't help.

But I'll argue till the death the assertion that their "lifetime sub transfer" program is "free"; you can't have it done in the first place without shipping your unit to them and paying both freight to their facility as well as the $99 repair fee.

--Chris

Posted by: rseligman

All right, I admit it's overstating it to say that the sub transfer is "free". I was really addressing the original request for a "discount", which to me seemed odd because they technically don't charge you at all for transferring the sub. They charge you for the repair, and the sub comes with it. Or, you pay for repair parts yourself and the sub stays with the original unit. In either case, you're technically paying for repair/parts, and not for the sub. Therefore, unless you want to upgrade to an S2, the sub is not an issue in either case.

Posted by: internex

Hey everyone, I noticed on the tivo site you can 'change your service number'. this seems to be for defective units. check it out on the tivo web site after logging into your account.