TiVo Community Forums Archives - lifetime sub

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lifetime sub - transferable yet?
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Posted by: psorensen

I have a tivo w/ a lifetime subscribtion, i read a while back that tivo / DirectTv was thinking of makeing my sub transfer to a new unit?? Have they made a decision yet? My tivo is one of the originals, and I would like to have an integrated unit now.

Posted by: stevel

The only transfer allowed is if you activated a lifetime sub prior to (I think) January 31, 2000 - then you're allowed to transfer the lifetime sub to a new box once.

TiVo has made no announcement of anything else along these lines, and it's not clear to me why they would do so.

Posted by: nineatesix

quote:
Originally posted by stevel
The only transfer allowed is if you activated a lifetime sub prior to (I think) January 31, 2000 - then you're allowed to transfer the lifetime sub to a new box once.

TiVo has made no announcement of anything else along these lines, and it's not clear to me why they would do so.

I think what he is referring to is the new service agreement from DTV effective 10/31/02 which seems to state that lifetime memberships will stay with the account regardless of what equipment is active. I am still looking for clarification/validation of this. TivoPony was attempting to get an answer through channels available to him. No progress as of yet that I am aware of. But if you read the most recent service agreement, it seems to indicate that if you currently have a unit with lifetime, you are free to sell/de-activate that unit and any current or future DTVPVR unit you have will inherit the lifetime status (ie. the lifetime status will stay with the account holder, not the hardware).

Posted by: phone1

This would be a foolish decision for either TiVo or SonicBlue. They're in business to sell the service. Don't expect this ever to change. Replay's language to this effect is every bit as unequivocal as TiVo's.

From Replay TV's Service Agreement:

quote:
If you choose to pay the one-time, up front subscription fee, the ReplayTV Service will be provided only to that particular ReplayTV unit for which you paid the subscription fee and cannot be transferred to any other units you may purchase but the ReplayTV Service will still apply to that unit even if you give it or sell it to a friend or family member. Thus, any service that is activated through the one-time, up front subscription fee follows the ReplayTV unit and not the person.

Posted by: DBCooper

quote:
Originally posted by phone1
This would be a foolish decision for either TiVo or SonicBlue. They're in business to sell the service. Don't expect this ever to change. Replay's language to this effect is every bit as unequivocal as TiVo's.

It has nothing to do with Tivo or SonicBlue. The question relates to a DirectTV decision on boxes they control. TiVo, Inc. has no direct control over subscriptions to DTiVos.

Posted by: phone1

quote:
Originally posted by DBCooper
It has nothing to do with Tivo or SonicBlue. The question relates to a DirectTV decision on boxes they control. TiVo, Inc. has no direct control over subscriptions to DTiVos.

Perhaps you didn't read the first post carefully - he has a SA TiVo now and wants to switch to a DTV combo:

quote:
Originally posted by psorensen
My tivo is one of the originals, and I would like to have an integrated unit now.

My reference to SonicBlue was in response to another post about Replay.

psorensen - how long have you had it? stevel is correct, there is a one time exemption if you bought your sub before Jan. 31, 2000 (due to some confusion over the original language).

Posted by: timf

Since DIRECTV is no longer offering new lifetime subscriptions, this also means that the grandfathering couldn't be used to transfer a lifetime subscription to a DIRECTV account. This change wouldn't affect the ability to transfer to another standalone assuming you meet the time frame requirements.

Posted by: phone1

quote:
Originally posted by timf
Since DIRECTV is no longer offering new lifetime subscriptions, this also means that the grandfathering couldn't be used to transfer a lifetime subscription to a DIRECTV account.

I wondered about that - maybe they'd just grandfather him in like original DTiVo lifetime buyers? $5/month isn't much, but it's a lot more than nothing. Possibly they never allowed you to transfer from one platform to another anyway.

As an alternative, he could sell his lifetime subbed machine and recover most of the original subscription cost.

Posted by: stevel

Did TiVo ever allow the "grandfathering" to apply to a transfer to combo boxes? I had assumed it was for standalones only, but don't know if that was explicitly stated.

Posted by: gfb107

If you are thinkiong of switching to a combo box, remember that if you sell your TiVo, you can sell the lifetime subscription as well. Make sure to include the $249 for the lifetime in the price you ask.

Posted by: psorensen

Hello Paul,

Thank you for contacting TiVo!

Each TiVo Digital Video Recorder (DVR) requires its own TiVo service subscription.

A product lifetime subscription to the TiVo service has always been tied to the TiVo service number of your TiVo DVR, not to your name. In other words, a product lifetime subscription to the TiVo service covers the lifetime of your DVR, not your lifetime. However, don't worry; the subscription remains in effect if your DVR needs to be repaired or replaced due to a malfunction (see manufacturer warranty details).

Please note, however, that a product lifetime subscription remains with the TiVo service number on the DVR in case of ownership transfer. So, if you choose to sell or give the activated TiVo DVR to someone else, the product lifetime subscription remains active on that DVR. The new owner needs to call Customer Support to update his/her account details to ensure the DVR is registered to the correct owner.

For the official definition of Product Lifetime Service, please go to

http://www.tivo.com/productlifetime

We regret any confusion this has caused. We have created case number 938759. If you contact us, please refer to this case number.

Sincerely,

Nance

TiVo Customer Support