TiVo 40hr $19.99 AR CompUSA starting 1/29

[allisolm]

CompUSA has the Tivo series 2 40hr unit on sale for $169.99 less $150 TiVo rebate = $19.99 starting 1/29. Ad is available for viewing online. The Tivo is on the last page.

313608

Requires activation, monthly fee of $12.95 for service ($6.95 for add'l units), and a 12 month commitment.

TiVo is supposed to come out with Series 3, an HD unit w/250GB drive later this year, but no word that I can find on what the price will be. Description of Series 3.

 

[MrBond]

Here's some Tivo FAQ's that always seem to crop up in Tivo threads:

Can I use the Tivo without a subscription after the initial contract is up?

No, you must either pay for monthly ($12.95/mo) or lifetime service. Do yourself a favor and buy lifetime service for your Tivo right away

Do I need a phone line?

Yes and No. You can use a wireless or wired USB ethernet adapter with your tivo, bypassing the need for a phone line. To perform the initial guided setup, you MUST use a phone line or a WIRED ethernet adapter. If you're using a WIRED ethernet adapter, you should use dialing prefix ,#401 (that's comma, pound, four, zero, one). After guided setup, you can use a wireless adapter as long as it's supported. You might want to save yourself some headaches and just buy the Tivo branded one from their store online.

Can I watch one show while recording another?

This one is tricky. You can watch one recorded show while another is recording. You can't watch a different channel live while recording on another channel, unless you get fancy with your AV Hookups.

I have analog cable, it comes out of the wall into a high-quality splitter. One line goes to my TV, the other goes to my Tivo. The Tivo is hooked to my television via Svideo and RCA audio cables. I watch the Tivo on Input 1, so if it's recording, I just watch channels 2-100 on the TV. It works very well.

Does Tivo work with digital cable/satallite?
Yes, but you'll have to use the included IR blaster to change channels on your cable box. The HDTivo is supposed to have cablecard slots, but again, no one knows anything about the price.

Is Tivo worth it?

Oh yeah. If you watch one hour of TV every night of the week, you'll be able to watch all that TV in 5 hours as opposed to the 7 hours it'd take in real time. Once you get the Tivo trained with shows you like by rating them, it will automatically find shows you might like and record them. A good example is a couple months ago, I saw it had recorded Quantum Leap for me. It was on a 3am on SciFi, I had no idea it was being shown on TV still. It frequently finds shows I like and records them for me - there's always something to watch.

 

[allisolm]

Thanks for a really informative post. :thumbsup: We all appreciate the time and effort you put into that.

There are so many more features available with one (or more) Series 2 units. Check it out here. Love my TiVos. :heart:

 

[marketsons1985]

I've been thinking about this deal for a while. But I come down to the same dilemma:

Buy just 12 months of service? Or buy a lifetime subscription?

It comes down to the question of if I'll use the Tivo for more than 2 years essentially ($13*24 ~~ $300).

and i just can't decide!!!

But thanks for the HD OP, gotta love Tivo rebates

 

[StormRider]

Are there any wireless networking deals this week at CompUSA?

I love my two Tivos too and I can't wait for the Series3 units...

 

[jlee]

What's the main difference between Tivo & a DVR (e.g. the free one with Time Warner Digital Cable)?

 

[allisolm]

CompUSA site is working now. TiVo is on the back page of the ad which can be seen at the site if you choose 84115 zip code. edit: ad now up for all zip codes.

$199.99 - $30 Instant Savings - $150 Tivo Mail-In Rebate through 2/03. SKU 313608

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: CadetLee
What's the main difference between Tivo & a DVR (e.g. the free one with Time Warner Digital Cable)?

I don't know anything about the Time Warner DVR, so bear with me.

With a Tivo, you can set up Wishlists so that any time a movie is playing with your favorite actor, it records it. You can set season passes up to record every episode of a show you watch (most cable company DVRs will do this as well). You can rate TV shows as you watch them, then the Tivo will look for other shows it thinks you might like and record them for you automatically (these Tivo Suggestions will never take priority over scheduled recordings though).

You can also share music and photos over your home network with your Tivo. You can pull recordings off the Tivo and burn them to DVD if you have software that can handle the .tivo files (NeroVison works, Sonic MyDVD is the "official" program)

Since someone mentioned a wireless adapter, if you're going to get one, check the compatible adapter list on Tivo.com, there's only a few that will work.

And definatly get the lifetime subscription. You'll love your Tivo if you watch any amount of TV.

 

[RideFree]

Too bad this deal is not local to Denver...

 

[ric1287]

just say you are thinking about selling it or somthing and they can give you the monthly subscription for 6.95$ a month, thats what i have on mine now

 

[Caminetto]

Originally posted by: CadetLee
What's the main difference between Tivo & a DVR (e.g. the free one with Time Warner Digital Cable)?

I have TW's DVR and it certainly isn't free. There are monthly charges for both the DVR and the Program Guide.
Still the DVR is very nice, and if anything goes bad you can just pick up another. Overall I believe it is a cheaper alternative. However it does not include the Tivo features MrBond mentioned.

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: RideFree
Too bad this deal is not local to Denver...

but it is.

 

[biggiesmallz]

Here's a discussion about TIVO

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=38&threadid=1758241&enterthread=y

 

[Bekker]

Does TIVO require a separate cable or satellite box to receive signals, or does the service also have programming?

Thanks

 

[Morpheux]

They are also this price at BB B&M, looks like they removed it from their website.... Series3 must be on their way.

TiVo has a tuner, but requires programming from somewhere (cable, sat, over the air....).

 

[2occupant]

I had Tivo with Directv, but switched to Comcast (internet and VOIP) which uses different DVR setup. Directv's Tivo kicks the heck out of Comcasts DVR. I would go back to Directv in a sec, if I could get hi speed modem without a phone line.

Usually when companies start giving away product they are trying to get rid of stock before rolling out the newer better version.
I would wait for series3-to get dual tuner version.

With the Directv dual tuner I could watch 2 shows and switch back and forth between 2 live shows (espn and morning news usually) and could rewind each for the last 1/2 hour.
I assume that is how the Tivo system works too. Plus you could rewind/FF in 15 minute blocks, or go jump to the end or beginning.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Caminetto

Originally posted by: CadetLee
What's the main difference between Tivo & a DVR (e.g. the free one with Time Warner Digital Cable)?

I have TW's DVR and it certainly isn't free. There are monthly charges for both the DVR and the Program Guide.
Still the DVR is very nice, and if anything goes bad you can just pick up another. Overall I believe it is a cheaper alternative. However it does not include the Tivo features MrBond mentioned.

Ah - their FAQ was misleading - no contract, no equipment to buy..they conveniently forget to tell you about the monthly fee.

Heck, I might as well cancel digital cable and save 15 bucks a month - we don't really watch anything past ch74 anyway.

 

[bleuless]

is lifetime really better than 1 year contract? can you hack it after 1 year and still get some functionality out of it? the think i don't like lifetime is that the lifetime is with the unit, not with the subscriber. if your unit dies or becomes obsolete, so is your 300 lifetime fee.

 

[allisolm]

Currently shows as available for delivery and it is in-stock at my location. You can check to see if your store had it as of 3AM this morning. Link

 

[MrBond]

Originally posted by: bleuless
is lifetime really better than 1 year contract? can you hack it after 1 year and still get some functionality out of it? the think i don't like lifetime is that the lifetime is with the unit, not with the subscriber. if your unit dies or becomes obsolete, so is your 300 lifetime fee.

The lifetime subscription is indeed the lifetime of the unit, not the buyer. However, if your Tivo does die on you out of warranty, you can send it back to them and they'll send you a replacement and transfer your subscription for $100.

The quality of the Tivo boxes has improved vastly since the original Phillips boxes. My parents have a Series 2 Tivo that's been going strong for probably 4 years now.

There's no way to hack it for additional functionality after the 1 year service contract is up. The Tivo will only pause live TV, you can't schedule recordings or get information from the guide.

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: MrBond

Originally posted by: bleuless
is lifetime really better than 1 year contract? can you hack it after 1 year and still get some functionality out of it? the think i don't like lifetime is that the lifetime is with the unit, not with the subscriber. if your unit dies or becomes obsolete, so is your 300 lifetime fee.

The lifetime subscription is indeed the lifetime of the unit, not the buyer. However, if your Tivo does die on you out of warranty, you can send it back to them and they'll send you a replacement and transfer your subscription for $100.

The quality of the Tivo boxes has improved vastly since the original Phillips boxes. My parents have a Series 2 Tivo that's been going strong for probably 4 years now.

There's no way to hack it for additional functionality after the 1 year service contract is up. The Tivo will only pause live TV, you can't schedule recordings or get information from the guide.

Ouch.. so without the monthly service, the unit is worthless? You can't even use ut as a VCR eh?

 

[azoomee]

If you buy one of the older TIVOs -- I found one on ebay -- you can use it without a subscription just as a DVR. Wife and I use it periodically to start watching a show 10-15 minutes late, then FF right thru the ads.

 

[RedBeard]

But you can't schedule a recording I guess. So without a subscription, it cannot replace the VCR.

 

[Morpheux]

The service is really worth it. I should have purchased the lifetime for the two Series 1 units I still have working at a buddies and my parents house. They've been running for atleast 5 years now. Only one of the drives failed, but I upgraded both units with Maxtor drives quite a long time ago. I miss my TiVo, but the free DVRs from E* are working for the moment. I'll be looking for HD boxes here very soon.

 

[Loopy4U2]

Originally posted by: azoomee

If you buy one of the older TIVOs -- I found one on ebay -- you can use it without a subscription just as a DVR. Wife and I use it periodically to start watching a show 10-15 minutes late, then FF right thru the ads.

Nice to see a fellow TiVo user here. Just thought i'd clarify this a bit. The only units that ever allowed basic (VCR like) functionality were the old Philips units that shipped with software version 1.3 or older. (1.2 was the first release of the software, BTW.) It doesn't matter what version the unit has on it now, just what it shipped with. My 14 hour's current version is 3.0. Although it's not a 14 hour anymore, I upgraded the drive, now it's a 63 hour. It's not subscribed and works well as a digital VCR. All of the 14 hour units came with 1.3 (or 1.2). Many 30 hour units did as well, but some didn't (some came with 2.0). I'm not sure about the 20 hour ones. These are all Series One units. No Series 2 units EVER allowed use without service (except for the 30 minute buffer as previously mentioned). The reason the 14 hour ones did was because they didn't specifically say "TiVo Service Required" on the boxes they were sold in.

Hope this helps.