Warm: TiVo temporarily reinstates $400 lifetime subscription for Series3, HD

[Kaido]

This only applies to Series3 or HD Tivos.

Engadget has the scoop

You have 2 options:

1. Upgrade your Series2 to a Series3 or HD with Lifetime
2. Upgrade the service on your existing Series3 or HD to Lifetime

Pretty steep at $400, but if you're a Tivo junkie then here's your chance for lifetime freedom. Here are some links:

Tivo Series3 ($549.99 on Amazon)
Tivo HD ($253.88 on Amazon)

Weakness Capacity Upgrades (up to 1TB for max of 1350 Hour SD or 144 Hour HD)
Weakness Series3 $200 Rebate (starts at $399 AR)

 

[trevor0323]

OK, I have a series 2 with lifetime subscription, So if I buy the Tivo HD for $253 I can transfer my lifetime subscription to that one?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: trevor0323
OK, I have a series 2 with lifetime subscription, So if I buy the Tivo HD for $253 I can transfer my lifetime subscription to that one?

I would call Tivo to check. The wording is a little funny; I'm not sure if it's a free transfer or if you have to pay $399 just like if you were doing it new. Let us know what you find out!

 

[CalvinHobbes]

After reading the comments about this is sounds like they're just going to allow you to buy the lifetime which was not available before. I can't imagine Tivo letting you transfer your service contract to a new box, they want that $399 (again!).

I will never buy another Tivo until I can move my subscription over.

In other Tivo news:

TiVo has plans to offer advertisers personal information about its users. How personal you ask? How about age, income, marital status and ethnicity. I have a feeling TiVo owners aren?t going to be too thrilled with this one.

TiVo -- which sells advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on subscriber viewing habits -- plans to announce on Thursday that it will soon add demographic data about the viewers themselves, the Journal reported.

 

[trevor0323]

Well I remember when the Series 3 first came out I received an email from Tivo with an offer to
buy a new Series 3 for a ton of money and they would switch my lifetime subscription over. I really wasnt interested seeing as how the Series 3 costs so much, but now with the Tivo HD I would be more interested.

One thing I have learned about Tivo over the years is they have hands down the best DVR setup but they really don't care to much about customer loyalty. It seems as they grow bigger and bigger they are as getting as shrewed as the cable companies.

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
After reading the comments about this is sounds like they're just going to allow you to buy the lifetime which was not available before. I can't imagine Tivo letting you transfer your service contract to a new box, they want that $399 (again!).

I will never buy another Tivo until I can move my subscription over.

In other Tivo news:

TiVo has plans to offer advertisers personal information about its users. How personal you ask? How about age, income, marital status and ethnicity. I have a feeling TiVo owners aren?t going to be too thrilled with this one.

TiVo -- which sells advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on subscriber viewing habits -- plans to announce on Thursday that it will soon add demographic data about the viewers themselves, the Journal reported.

I had thought that the original Lifetime Subscription could be transfered to one new device. Maybe they took that out of the policy at some point.

And about the sale of "Personal Information". It happens all the time, people need to get over it. Not to mention I don't remember giving them any of that information (age, income, ethnicity).

 

[rkgriffin]

Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
In other Tivo news:

TiVo has plans to offer advertisers personal information about its users. How personal you ask? How about age, income, marital status and ethnicity. I have a feeling TiVo owners aren?t going to be too thrilled with this one.

TiVo -- which sells advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on subscriber viewing habits -- plans to announce on Thursday that it will soon add demographic data about the viewers themselves, the Journal reported.

As long as they aren't selling personal info like name, addresses, numbers, etc, I couldn't care less about demographic data.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver

Originally posted by: CalvinHobbes
After reading the comments about this is sounds like they're just going to allow you to buy the lifetime which was not available before. I can't imagine Tivo letting you transfer your service contract to a new box, they want that $399 (again!).

I will never buy another Tivo until I can move my subscription over.

In other Tivo news:

TiVo has plans to offer advertisers personal information about its users. How personal you ask? How about age, income, marital status and ethnicity. I have a feeling TiVo owners aren?t going to be too thrilled with this one.

TiVo -- which sells advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on subscriber viewing habits -- plans to announce on Thursday that it will soon add demographic data about the viewers themselves, the Journal reported.

I had thought that the original Lifetime Subscription could be transfered to one new device. Maybe they took that out of the policy at some point.

And about the sale of "Personal Information". It happens all the time, people need to get over it. Not to mention I don't remember giving them any of that information (age, income, ethnicity).

Yeah and not only that, I don't really care if they sell or give away my personal information as long as my name and address aren't included. I get very little junk mail, physically or in email, and I prefer it to stay that way.

 

[Skiddex]

So if i dont currently have Tivo i am out of luck?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Skiddex
So if i dont currently have Tivo i am out of luck?

No, not at all - you can buy a new Tivo (Series3 or HD), then purchase the Lifetime Subscription for $400.

 

[CPA]

Does this include Directv Tivo sets?

 

[scootermaster]

Originally posted by: trevor0323
Well I remember when the Series 3 first came out I received an email from Tivo with an offer to
buy a new Series 3 for a ton of money and they would switch my lifetime subscription over. I really wasnt interested seeing as how the Series 3 costs so much, but now with the Tivo HD I would be more interested.

One thing I have learned about Tivo over the years is they have hands down the best DVR setup but they really don't care to much about customer loyalty. It seems as they grow bigger and bigger they are as getting as shrewed as the cable companies.

What's the difference between series 3 and HD? Aren't they both just dual cablecard setups or something?

 

[Schadenfroh]

worth every $

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: scootermaster

What's the difference between series 3 and HD? Aren't they both just dual cablecard setups or something?

The Series3 has a shinier remote. That's about it. I think it has a VFD display up front and THX certification, but nothing really worth getting over the HD afaik. Maybe an owner can chime in?

 

[RichNY]

I have an S3. From what I've read, the major visible differences are the OLED display on the front (tells you what show(s) are being recorded), fancier "glo" remote, and larger hard drive (250GB vs. 160GB) on the S3. The S3 also allows any eSATA drive to be connected to expand storage, although only the "official" solution is supported by Tivo. The TivoHD only allows the official Tivo solution (a 500MB WD DVR Expander) to be used.

The TivoHD supposedly has some newer hardware "under the covers" to allow (theoretically) higher storage limits (over 2TB) and more powerful video encoding, but other than the ability to use M-Cards vs. single-stream cablecards, I haven't seen any evidence of what this means (if anything) for end-users.

My S3 has been flawless with both Cablevision and, now, FIOS. I actually like the OLED display and, given that the difference in price right now is about $100 (after rebates) more for the S3, I'd probably choose another S3.

Anyway, hopefully this helps those wondering about the difference between the HD and S3.

 

[diamonddave]

Originally posted by: Skiddex
So if i dont currently have Tivo i am out of luck?

Actually, yes you are out of luck. The deal requires you to be an existing TIVO customer, although I'm not certain if that means 'under contract' (lifetime or a prepaid 1, 2 or 3 year plan) or any kind of monthly TIVO service. (Going by everything I've read, so please don't shoot the messenger.)

However, if someone you knew who had TIVO already acquired a Series 3 or HD TIVO & paid the $399 for a lifetime subscription, nothing would be stopping them from 'giving' it to you & transferring service (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). The lifetime service stays with the box, not the person. It seems like TIVO's trying to provide incentive to current owners to upgrade to an HD box. I know I've been fence-sitting for a while & may do this.

TIVO's stated policy is VERY confusing to say the least, but this seems to be the basics:

If you already have a TIVO & have prepaid a contract or are paying monthly fees, you can buy a TIVO HD or Series 3 & get lifetime service on that Tivo for $399. The policy is very vague for existing owners of Series 2 boxes with Lifetime subscriptions (I have two like this). In the past, they allowed a subscription transfer to the new box with a fee (generally $200); the existing box would retain service for one year before having to go on a monthly plan, while the new TIVO would inherit the lifetime status. TIVO has probably realized they lost some sales to existing owners by removing some of these options, so my guess is they're trying to provide a window to get them to upgrade (esp during the holiday season).

For those wanting the Multi-Service Discount (MSD), it has gone up from $6.95/mo to $9.95/mo. (Monthly cost to add extra TIVOs if you already have one active.) I have one that I was already paying $6.95/mo to use; that will be grandfathered, apparently, but new units with MSD will cost $9.95/mo.

Hope this helps.

 

[PDubs]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: trevor0323
OK, I have a series 2 with lifetime subscription, So if I buy the Tivo HD for $253 I can transfer my lifetime subscription to that one?

I would call Tivo to check. The wording is a little funny; I'm not sure if it's a free transfer or if you have to pay $399 just like if you were doing it new. Let us know what you find out!

Anyone find this out yet? I'm stuck in the same situation with my Tivo/DirecTv combo box and would love to pull the trigger on this thing.

 

[trevor0323]

no answer on my questions?

 

[IeraseU]

I would consider the deal if I am able to transfer my lifetime subscription from an older Tivo.

 

[kki000]

/pull pants down to poop.

I do not understand this lifetime sub AT ALL.
Been tivoing since early 2001, I loves da tivo.
But I would never ever buy a lifetime sub.

Everytime a new machine comes out, its always about the lifetime subscription xfer threads all over the place.
Why in the world would you do this?
Does it really save any money? Wouldnt throwing the 400 clams in an ING account make more sense?
Sure you can maybe xfer this time, but what happens when tivo series 5 comes out? series 6, 7, 8?

 

[RossMAN]

What if I'm an existing TiVO customer not currently under contract?

 

[Delbert]

Originally posted by: PDubs

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: trevor0323
OK, I have a series 2 with lifetime subscription, So if I buy the Tivo HD for $253 I can transfer my lifetime subscription to that one?

I would call Tivo to check. The wording is a little funny; I'm not sure if it's a free transfer or if you have to pay $399 just like if you were doing it new. Let us know what you find out!

Anyone find this out yet? I'm stuck in the same situation with my Tivo/DirecTv combo box and would love to pull the trigger on this thing.

There was a deal to xfer suscription to HD unit for $299 (plus the cost of the unit). It died a week ago.
Text

 

[friendofp]

Originally posted by: kki000
/pull pants down to poop.

I do not understand this lifetime sub AT ALL.
Been tivoing since early 2001, I loves da tivo.
But I would never ever buy a lifetime sub.

Everytime a new machine comes out, its always about the lifetime subscription xfer threads all over the place.
Why in the world would you do this?
Does it really save any money? Wouldnt throwing the 400 clams in an ING account make more sense?
Sure you can maybe xfer this time, but what happens when tivo series 5 comes out? series 6, 7, 8?

Yes it could actually save money. I bought my Tivo in 2001 as well and assumed that when new hardware came out I would get it, so I went with the $100/year plan. Well I'm still using my original 6 years later and at that time the lifetime subscription was $199. So I would have saved $400 dollars. Wish I would have got the lifetime subscription. I guess it may all come down to whether you absolutely need to upgrade every time a new piece of hardware comes out.

Edit: Actually I went and looked just out of curiosity, turns out I got mine in 2000, so that would have been $500 saved.

 

[kki000]

Originally posted by: friendofp

Originally posted by: kki000
/pull pants down to poop.

I do not understand this lifetime sub AT ALL.
Been tivoing since early 2001, I loves da tivo.
But I would never ever buy a lifetime sub.

Everytime a new machine comes out, its always about the lifetime subscription xfer threads all over the place.
Why in the world would you do this?
Does it really save any money? Wouldnt throwing the 400 clams in an ING account make more sense?
Sure you can maybe xfer this time, but what happens when tivo series 5 comes out? series 6, 7, 8?

Yes it could actually save money. I bought my Tivo in 2001 as well and assumed that when new hardware came out I would get it, so I went with the $100/year plan. Well I'm still using my original 6 years later and at that time the lifetime subscription was $199. So I would have saved $400 dollars. Wish I would have got the lifetime subscription. I guess it may all come down to whether you absolutely need to upgrade every time a new piece of hardware comes out.

199 sounds like a decent deal actually, forgot it was that cheap at one point.

Directv (mpeg4) killed my hd directivos. I would love to be using them now, but they sit gathering dust in the basement.
I just hope SDV doesnt do the same to series3 and hd tivos.

 

[diamonddave]

Originally posted by: trevor0323
no answer on my questions?

Being more specific would be helpful.

Failing that, it looks like you were interested in transferring existing lifetime service to a Tivo HD or series 3. As I mentioned in my previous post, TIVO's a little fuzzy/vague about that stuff - they had another offer that just expired for $199, but that means giving up lifetime on your existing TIVO. As of now, I'm not aware of any offers to transfer your existing lifetime subscription to a TIVO HD or Series 3; if they do come available again, my guess is it would cost $199, giving up lifetime on your existing unit.

IMHO, it's a better deal to buy the TIVO HD & pay for lifetime. If you're so inclined, sell your existing box with TIVO service to offset the cost. As I've upgraded my Series 2 to 450 hour machines, I'll probably go this route - selling mine will pay for most of the Tivo HD w/lifetime. It'll probably cost me $650 between the TIVO HD & lifetime ($250+/$399), guessing I will get $500-600 for my 450 hour Series 2 with Lifetime.

Hope this helps.