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TiVo No Longer Stocked at Best Buy?
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Posted by: MrSanderzX

I just went to my SECOND Best Buy to pick-up a Series 2 TiVo and they were sold out. I talked to the guy at the department and he said that they would not carry them any TiVo's until the new ones roll out in mid-summer. Has anyone any idea what he is talking about? I know many people at Best Buy are idiots. Thought the best people to ask would be the TiVo community. He also mentioned something about the reason being the menu was hard to use? I have never used a TiVo yet so I don't really understand. Any feedback would be GREAT. Gonna try to find one tomorrow after I read the feedback. Thanks guys.

MrSanderzX

Posted by: BrettStah

They're not even supposed to be available until May (still a few days away). Apparently Tivo had some ready early, and so shipped some out already.

Posted by: gatorbait

You may want to go to the Tivo.com site and check out the series 2's from AT&T. They are only $299 but have all the series 2 technology. Best I can tell the only difference is they have 40 hours of record time versus the 60 in the latest TiVo units. The individual who I bought it for thought 40 hours was great, and I didn't mind saving the hundred bucks. I called TiVo and ordered on the phone. Whole process took about 5 minutes. Should have it at the end of the week. Good Luck, and welcome to the TiVolution. Don't get discouraged you will love the product!

Posted by: nextguard2

I don't want to say anything too shocking but it is always possible that a given BB employee does not know what he is talking about

Posted by: Francesco

ROTFLMFFAO!

Posted by: MrSanderzX

So, the TiVo Series 2 isn't suspose to be released until May? Also, what is the difference between an AT&T TiVo and a Standalone? Can I use it in another cable company system or is it keyed only to AT&T? Thanks for the information.

Posted by: waruwaru

The AT&T one is just a standalong Tivo with less space (than the Tivo ones), AT&T logo on the front, and some buttons on the front of the box. Which contains the Tivo button, guide, live TV, display, select, cursor pad, and the stand by button. You can use it with any cable system/video source.

Waruwaru

Posted by: camfangrrl

The menus are hard to use? Beg to differ. I bought my first TiVo ever, a Series 2 from a Best Buy, on the 16th of this month at about 9:55 that night, and within 12 hours I had the thing programmed to within an inch of its life with season passes, wishlists and recordings both guide-chosen and manual by title or date/time. Everything should have menus this "hard to use."

Posted by: jrossi

Not to brag, but I just bought a series 2 to go with my Phillips 30hr S/A yesterday (Friday). The first Best Buy I went to was sold out. The second Best Buy I went to had two (one after I grabbed one). As I was paying for it, the salesperson said he did not know they had them in...

Posted by: jhllnd

Saw about 5 of the things at a Best Buy in San Antonio just yesterday. Maybe he was confusing the Series 1 with the 2?

Posted by: povertyrow

Hi - just registered here. Got my first TIVO last Friday (4/19) at BEST BUY - is the 60 hour Series 2. They has 2 in stock.

Gotta say this box is incredible. Setup is extremely simple, the menus make a lot of sense, and I always find SOMETYHING Tivo shooses for me. Got Season Passes to 67 favorte shows so far. Selected the 2nd best vid quality and is good for about 28 hours. Now all I have to do is exercise a bit to conpensate for te increased TV viewing! LOL.

An amazing thing!

Posted by: thinman

I just purchased a Tivo 2 from Best Buy in Los Angeles and the on-screen setup went fine. I purchased a lifetime subscription from Best Buy and when I went to www.tivo.com/support to register it asked for a credit card. Since I already paid Best Buy how do I activate a membership at Tivo.com? Can anyone enlighten me?

Thank you. David

Posted by: scotty321

You might just want to buy your Series2 TiVo online from Best Buy at:
http://www.bestbuy.com/Detail.asp?m...cat=&e=11122313

Posted by: mtchamp

You talked to a misinformed salesperson. Best Buy has been selling them. They have a limited supply and might be only receiving 2 per week in some stores. The official start for the Best But marketing of TiVo Series2 is May 1st. I just bought the last one at my local Best Buy Saturday. They said it was the 4th one they have sold and more would be in next week. Most Best Buy locations are selling as fast as they get them and most people who buy them found out about it here or stumble upon them while shopping at Best Buy. The new Series2 are packaged in a brightly colored orange box.

As far as talking with the salespeople, be careful and talk to more than one. Before I went to pick one up Saturday, I called to see if they had any in stock and the person who answered the phone didn't even know about the new Series2. A friend of mine told me he saw 2 in the store on Wednesday, so I went to Best Buy and they had one box on the shelf and none on display. Once there, four salespeople gathered around me when I bought it, and they all seemed to know a lot about Series2 and were very proud to tell me they were exclusive to Best Buy. One of them even had a hacked TiVo.

So it's all depends on who you talk to. The Series2 are selling so fast in Best Buy, some stores don't even get a chance to set them up and they sell. Best Buy will often be out of stock until they can catch up with demand, so keep checking your local Best Buy locations or order from Best Buy online or tivo.com. Remember, Best Buy has been trying to stock it's stores with new Series2 ahead of the official May1st launch and they are flying off the shelves without any promotion at all except for the TiVo Inc. Press release and tech community buzz. I have now bought 4 Series2 machines, 1 AT&T 40hr and 3 TiVo 60hr, for myself and friends and they are flawless.

Posted by: timdthomas

quote:
Originally posted by thinman
I just purchased a Tivo 2 from Best Buy in Los Angeles and the on-screen setup went fine. I purchased a lifetime subscription from Best Buy and when I went to www.tivo.com/support to register it asked for a credit card. Since I already paid Best Buy how do I activate a membership at Tivo.com? Can anyone enlighten me?

Thank you. David

Did you buy a lifetime warranty from BestBuy? I wouldn't think that BestBuy is selling lifetime TiVo service (which you would have paid $249 for).

Posted by: jamesbobo

Last week I went to my local BB and there was a series 2 on display but they were sold out of boxed ones. The salesman said that more were being ordered.

Posted by: iaflyer

I happened into the Best Buy in McAllen, TX yesterday (Sat, 4/28). I am happy with my DirecTivo, so I wasn't looking to buy, but just though I'd look and see what they had.

They had one Series 2 Tivo on the shelf. It was in a bright orange box, very different markings than my DirectTivo, and specifically says "Series 2", although in smaller letters. The size of the box is the same. It was a 60 hour unit (don't know much about the Series 2 - they are all 60 hour units correct?).

They had a Sony DirecTivo, but it was marked Clearance and was the floor unit only.

The display was poorly setup - unless you were looking for a Tivo, you wouldn't find it. Personally, I think it should be next to the DirecTv stuff. The series two can receive satellite (right?) as well as all the other stuff, so put it up as a DirecTv receiver, with this neat thing called Tivo.

Anyway - don't trust what the BB people say. I think their goal is to get you to leave with something - no matter if it's not what you want.

iaflyer

Posted by: feldon23

The "AT&T TiVo" sold at TiVo's AT&T website is a 40 hour TiVo Series 2.

Other than size and markings, it is otherwise functionally identical to the 60 hour TiVo Series 2 sold on TiVo's main website and at Best Buy.

It's amazing how much people infer from simple labeling. An AT&T TiVo does not work better with digital cable, it doesn't take the place of a cable box, it doesn't change channels faster, it can't use a serial cable to a cable box, and it works just as well with satellite as any TiVo Series 1 or the 60 hour Series 2, etc.

Apparently, Sony or others will bring out other branded models of TiVo Series 2 in stores too. I'm surprised they don't have a 40 hour widely available, seems like a mistake to me. If TiVo had been $400 at the time I bought mine, well, I probably wouldn't have bought it.

Posted by: LoadStar

quote:
Originally posted by iaflyer
They had one Series 2 Tivo on the shelf. It was in a bright orange box, very different markings than my DirectTivo, and specifically says "Series 2", although in smaller letters. The size of the box is the same. It was a 60 hour unit (don't know much about the Series 2 - they are all 60 hour units correct?).

Well, most are 60 hour units - all TiVo branded Series 2 units are 60 hours at least.

The AT&T TiVo, which is not available through retail channels, is a Series2, but it isn't as obvious that it's a series 2 - and it only has 40 hours of record time.

quote:
The display was poorly setup - unless you were looking for a Tivo, you wouldn't find it. Personally, I think it should be next to the DirecTv stuff. The series two can receive satellite (right?) as well as all the other stuff, so put it up as a DirecTv receiver, with this neat thing called Tivo.

The series 2 that is out now is a "stand-alone" - meaning it can work with a satellite receiver, but it isn't a satellite receiver.

There are Series 2 DirecTiVo receivers coming soon that only work with DirecTV - those are satellite receivers.

Posted by: povertyrow

quote:
Originally posted by thinman
I just purchased a Tivo 2 from Best Buy in Los Angeles and the on-screen setup went fine. I purchased a lifetime subscription from Best Buy and when I went to www.tivo.com/support to register it asked for a credit card. Since I already paid Best Buy how do I activate a membership at Tivo.com? Can anyone enlighten me?

Thank you. David

Did you check your receipt? Was the 249.00 for the lifetime subscription reflected there? They asked me if I wanted monthly or lifetime when I bought mine at Best Buy. Said Monthly. But saw no charge for it on my card and the sales manager implied this was more informational than anything else.

Posted by: mtchamp

When I bought my Series2 at Best Buy Saturday 04/27/02, they had a screen come up where they ask if you want to subscribe monthly for $12.95 or $249.00 Lifetime. I told them Lifetime and they recorded my answer and had me sign to confirm I understood the subscription fee. They don't charge you at this point. I believe they are just trying to insure that before you take it home and try it, you are aware of the need for a subscription and what it cost. I think this is a very good idea to be sure if a customer who dosn't understand the subscription, it's purpose, cost, payment options, can be educated about it before they go home and freak. In the future, maybe it can be registered and paid for on the spot.

Posted by: pin87a

Best Buy's DVR page.

Looks like they are ready to sell some TiVo's.
:D

Posted by: iaflyer

>Best Buy's DVR page.
>Looks like they are ready to sell some TiVo's.

Now THAT is a page to sell Tivos...

Nicely done BB.

iaflyer

Posted by: georgemoe

Have to agree. The BB DVR page looks pretty good. Just wish the BB store folks were more up to snuff. Each store appears to be different though.

On Friday 4/26, I was at the BB in Portland, ME . Had to ask where to find them. Salesperson says they are sold out of the Series 2 but they have a display model. While I actually did see an S2, you could miss it easily sitting next to the DTV receivers. Yet, UltimateTV boxes still command space on an endcap display.

I hope they are going to provide more for a visual presence with TiVo. One would think with May 1st around the corner, BB would already have dedicated space set up for the rollout. Guess the Portland store isn't there yet. :(

Posted by: heada

when are the series 2 Directivos recievers coming out??

Posted by: Corey140

Q3..

Posted by: kramerboy

My local Best Buy had a TiVo demo running on all of the TVs in the DVR area......Including the TV on the UltimateTV endcap!!!!!!!!!!! I thought that was hilarious.....

Go TiVo!!!:D