quick tivo question: still possible to get in the lifetime subscription?

[LordSnailz]

title says it all, anyone know whether it's too late or not to get into the lifetime subscription?

 

[FoBoT]

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-enterta...scription-deadline-extended-162631.php

Lucky you, the deadline?s been extended through April 15, 2006, but you?ve got to do it over the phone.

 

[mugs]

Possible, yes, but I think the cards are going for a lot more than they used to now that they're no longer available.

 

[allisolm]

No as in no you can't call TiVo and purchase a lifetime subscription anymore.
Maybe as in maybe you can find an already purchased lifetime gift subscription card (they're no longer available to buy at a store AFAIK) on ebay.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: allisolm
No as in no you can't call TiVo and purchase a lifetime subscription anymore.
Maybe as in maybe you can find an already purchased lifetime gift subscription card (they're no longer available to buy at a store AFAIK) on ebay.

They're pretty expensive on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/TiVo-Lifetime-Subsc...26QQcategoryZ11725QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$575 dollars and 17 hours left on the auction. That's about four years of Tivo service paying monthly before you start breaking even.

 

[allisolm]

Yeah, neither mugs nor I said they were cheap - just that they were available. $575 for a $299 subscription! Wow!

 

[jaybert]

isnt it only like $5/month to get a DVR from the cable company? AND you get dual tuners AND are able to record in HD...why even think of Tivo?

 

[dabuddha]

Originally posted by: jaybert
isnt it only like $5/month to get a DVR from the cable company? AND you get dual tuners AND are able to record in HD...why even think of Tivo?

Yep. With comcast up here in DC it's $10 extra a month but still well worth it. If only the hdd was bigger though...

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: jaybert
isnt it only like $5/month to get a DVR from the cable company? AND you get dual tuners AND are able to record in HD...why even think of Tivo?

It would cost me an extra $20 a month since I'd have to get digital cable too.

 

[FoBoT]

tivo has more features than a plain old DVR, i think

i have the standard DVR from dish , it is fine for me, but if my wife knew what the Tivo can do, she'd want one

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: jaybert
isnt it only like $5/month to get a DVR from the cable company? AND you get dual tuners AND are able to record in HD...why even think of Tivo?

It would cost me an extra $20 a month since I'd have to get digital cable too.

Let's see - I'd have to get a cable box - as well as digital cable and HD service, not to mention an HD capable TV. Whew! Look how much I saved by just sticking with the measly $12.95/month I'm paying now.

 

[ColdFusion718]

If you only watch unencrypted-QAM channels (I do), then build your own MythTV for HD.

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
tivo has more features than a plain old DVR, i think

i have the standard DVR from dish , it is fine for me, but if my wife knew what the Tivo can do, she'd want one

Tivo has a really good interface - most people I've heard said they prefer it to the cable company provided DVR interface. There's other things, like season pass recordings and wishlist features that make Tivo nice. The Tivo suggestions are one of my favorite features - once you get your Tivo trained, it will pick programming it thinks you like and record it (always giving priority to your scheduled stuff).

Plus you can pull recordings off your Tivo and burn them to DVD, although the process is sort of tedious.

There is a dual-tuner SDTivo out right now, the HDTivo should be out this year sometime, but I imagine it will be at least 2x the cost of the SDTivo.

If you just have analog cable, the Tivo is great. Best $80 I spent in a long time.