Lifetime and REBATE on 2nd box?

[NewYorkLaw]

I already have a lifetime subscription on box 1 and am considering purchasing box 2. To get the rebate of $150, I have to pre-pay a year (but in my case, that would actually equal approx 2 years). The break-even point for lifetime on a second box is approx 3.5 years.

1. What are your opinions? A. will the box last that long? B. will new technology (series 3) come out within next 4 years that will make me regret the commitment?

2. Should I just go month to month on that 2nd box, prepaying the first 2 years (which will equal the rebate)?

3. I see people selling units with "1 year" subscriptions on ebay. Do the 1 year subscriptions equal 12 months, or are they equal to approximately $150? (would I get almost 2 years of service on a second box with one of those one-year subscriptions?) *AND* If I purchased someone's 1 year subscription and applied it towards a lifetime subscription, would I have to pay approx $150 more?

Pete

[ZeoTiVo]

I already have a lifetime subscription on box 1 and am considering purchasing box 2. To get the rebate of $150, I have to pre-pay a year (but in my case, that would actually equal approx 2 years). The break-even point for lifetime on a second box is approx 3.5 years.

1. What are your opinions? A. will the box last that long? B. will new technology (series 3) come out within next 4 years that will make me regret the commitment?

2. Should I just go month to month on that 2nd box, prepaying the first 2 years (which will equal the rebate)?

3. I see people selling units with "1 year" subscriptions on ebay. Do the 1 year subscriptions equal 12 months, or are they equal to approximately $150? (would I get almost 2 years of service on a second box with one of those one-year subscriptions?) *AND* If I purchased someone's 1 year subscription and applied it towards a lifetime subscription, would I have to pay approx $150 more?

Pete

the buy one year is a certificate for 155$ and they will pull from it accordingly. on a second box that is almost two years of service at 6.95. I am doing that exact thing right now - as I feel safe to say the series 3 will be out within a year and TiVo has said the second half of 2006.
I go month to month but then I am planning to play with the hardware to make it a linux server when I no longer use it as a TiVo :)


the box will easily last 4 years or more with the possibility of perhaps replacing the hard drive - which is easy and cheap to do.

buying off of ebay on a 1 year and then trying to activate may lead to hassle of being able to apply it to lifetime. A big buyer beware and make sure of the facts first on that one

[NewYorkLaw]

Ok, so then I could buy a new tivo for about $20 (after a 150 rebate), prepay approx 2 years at 7 per month, to offset my 150 rebate?

Or, I could sink in another 150 and take lifetime, but that won't pay for itself for approx 3.5 years.

[ChuckyBox]

Ok, so then I could buy a new tivo for about $20 (after a 150 rebate), prepay approx 2 years at 7 per month, to offset my 150 rebate?

Or, I could sink in another 150 and take lifetime, but that won't pay for itself for approx 3.5 years.
No, but you could sell it on ebay and get your $300 back at any time -- 1 month from now or in a couple of years. Your money is better protected that way in the event you decide you want a Series 3 box and don't need three TiVos..

[atmuscarella]

NewYorkLaw,

I would look at another way, you only have to pay $145 more for lifetime versus the minimum you have to pay with the instant rebate option. So the real question is, is lifetime worth $145? My answer would be yes, even if you wanted to upgrade to a series 3 at some point I would bet a series 2 with lifetime will be worth at least $145 more than one without lifetime.

Good Luck,

atmuscarella

[NewYorkLaw]

When series 3 boxes become available, do you think the series 2 (even with lifetime) will still be *as* desireable? I wonder if the resale value will still stay high at that point...

[atmuscarella]

I think the series 2 will still have value for people who are not interested in HD TV, even after the series 3 is released. How much will the series 2s be worth a year or 2 from now? No one knows, but lets be honest with the price of an 80 hr. unit at $70 new how much can it be worth used? What people will likely still pay for is the lifetime service - which really only costs $145 extra at this point. The other $155 you have to spend for service is guaranteed to be lost if you stay with monthly service and may or may not be lost if you move to lifetime.

If someone thought they were sticking with their SD TV for several years I would spend the $145 if you new for sure you were going to buy a HD TV or already had one I guess the choice is more up in the air.

Good Luck,

atmuscarella

[ChuckyBox]

When series 3 boxes become available, do you think the series 2 (even with lifetime) will still be *as* desireable? I wonder if the resale value will still stay high at that point...
I think initially the price of the older boxes with lifetime will drop because there is a fair bit of pent-up demand for the Series 3, which means a lot of Series 2 boxes will hit ebay at the same time. You can avoid this either by selling your box early (in anticipation of getting a Series 3 at its release), or waiting a few months until things settle down. But the Series 3 box is going to be a high-end product, expensive, and not for everyone. I suspect it will end up being about 10-20 percent of TiVo's annual subscription adds for the first year or two, so there will still be plenty of demand for the Series 2 boxes.