these morons keep changing their policies

[tivoknucklehead]

last week they told me I can either transfer my lifetime service one time to a new unit, or pay $49 to get it fixed with the "new" pricing structure. Today they tell me since it is over 1 year old it will cost me $149 to fix my busted Series 2 and I cannot transfer over a lifetime any more. no wonder these idiots are going bankcrupt. I will throw it in the trash before I pay $149 to fix a Series 2. nice job Tivo, I get 2 years out of a Series two and completely wasted $299 on a lifetime service contract on it

[Billy66]

What's wrong with it Knucklehead? It's almost always the Hard drive and those are cheap. You can likely fix it yourself.

[tivoknucklehead]

What's wrong with it Knucklehead? It's almost always the Hard drive and those are cheap. You can likely fix it yourself.


the thing keeps freezing. I'm not capable of fixing a hard drive and would gladly pay $49 to fix it, but not $149 for obsolete technology

[brschmid]

after 23 months you got your monthly subscription paid off, so if you used it for 24 you got your moneys worth.

try and get the HDD fixed

[SMWinnie]

Don't throw it away - I'm sure you can get a few bucks for a lifetimed S2SA with a bad hard drive.

[ZeoTiVo]

contact TiVoJerry in this forum - he can get you the definitive word and perhaps go the extra mile of customer appreciation. He has before

[Billy66]

I would do it for ya kncucklehead, but by the time you bought a drive and shipped it both ways you'd be over $100 for sure. Don't throw it away though. I know someone who could use it.

[tivoknucklehead]

after 23 months you got your monthly subscription paid off, so if you used it for 24 you got your moneys worth.

try and get the HDD fixed


I fully expected this thing to last more than 2 years. What I don't understand is this bogus $149 repair cost, that is more than the cost of a new one (excluding the service cost of course)

[lajohn27]

Actually without a rebate which applies to new subscriptions .. no.. it's not cheaper than a new box.

You wanna sell the box -- lots of people in this forum will buy it.

You wanna send it to Weaknees - they'll put whatever size hard drive in it you want.

[tibruk]

Bingo! That's what they want. The high repair cost is there to move you towards getting a new unit.

Tibruk

[dgh]

I fully expected this thing to last more than 2 years. What I don't understand is this bogus $149 repair cost, that is more than the cost of a new one (excluding the service cost of course)

That's typical. The last repair quote I got on a VCR was more than twice the new price. It's the difference between building products on an assembly line with cheap foreign labor vs debuging by a trained local technician. And the fact that TiVos are sold at below the manufacturing cost makes it even "worse".

Now add the fact that TiVo seems to be concerned that lifetimes are lasting way too long and... :D

[tivoknucklehead]

Bingo! That's what they want. The high repair cost is there to move you towards getting a new unit.

Tibruk


I would gladly buy a series 3, but that thing is looking more and more like vaporware

[lajohn27]

I would gladly buy a series 3, but that thing is looking more and more like vaporware

How do you figure? Because the promised delivery date of the second half of 2006 has come and gone?

Oh wait. No it hasn't.

J

[gonzotek]

I would gladly buy a series 3, but that thing is looking more and more like vaporwareYou mean the series 3 that they've promised to winner of the Idol Speculation contest is vaporware? Hmm...I bet some heads will roll when the time comes for the winner to collect their prize.

[ChuckyBox]

the thing keeps freezing.
Can you be a little more specific? How often? Under what circumstances? On reboot? During playback? While moving through the menus?

If it is the disk, someone here or in the help forum can probably sell you a formatted disk for cheap, and a local computer shop could install it for you. Even if you don't want to keep the unit, having it in working order will help you get top dollar on ebay. You should be able to recover most of your money.

[Leon WIlkinson]

I fully expected this thing to last more than 2 years. What I don't understand is this bogus $149 repair cost, that is more than the cost of a new one (excluding the service cost of course)

Can you Install a HD? What is the size of your TiVo?

$20 dollar for "Instant cake" or cheaper if you have the knowlage

$100 to $200 for a HD to make your TiVo around 300 hrs.
$49 could get you a 80 hr

A pizza for One freind if needed to do the upgrade.

You could have it fixed and bigger for around $130

[cwerdna]

160 gig IDE drives are regularly $40 after rebate.

[dtreese]

First, I understand your frustration with broken electronics. Second, TiVo isn't the only place to go to get it fixed. If you do a little homework around here & on the weaknees & ptvupgrade sites, you'll see that you can easily fix and even improve your TiVo. If the folks here seem a little hostile, it's because your trashing our favorite piece of home electronics. TiVo isn't obsolete & will last for years if you treat it well. There are three main things that will go bad in a TiVo: the hard drive is the most likely, especially in your case. The other two are the power supply and the case fan. Here are some suggestions you may or may not have dealt with already:
1. Make sure that your TiVo is well ventilated -- you can even look in the system info to see its internal temperature. If you've got it packed in a tight cabinet with a bunch of other hot stuff, it could potentially overheat.
2. If you hear any strange noises coming from TiVo (grinding, louder humming noises than before), try to localize where it's coming from. A bad fan will make noise right at the back of the case, and a bad hard drive may make an unusual noise that sounds like it's coming more from the inside of the case.
3. You can always try to reimage the hard drive you already have. I actually had a problem pretty much like yours, and reimaging the hard drive fixed it. The easiest way to rewrite the hard drive is to purchase InstantCake from www.ptvupgrade.com. Read through the site first to make sure you get the right version and that you can understand how to use it. For $20, it's a great utility to have for TiVo.
4. Upgrading the unit is another option that will actually improve your unit. I like the TwinBreeze kit they sell at www.weaknees.com -- I've used it several times. Last year, I got a second series 2 free after rebates. I bought Instantcake, a TwinBreeze kit and 2 250 GB hard drives. For about $160, my free 40 hr unit became a 500 hr unit. Sure, I had to put a little work into it, but the result was well worth it.
5. If you feel you don't have the know-how, this forum and the sites I mentioned above are great learning tools. Of course, you could always find a geek to do it for you.

Good luck. I hope you can get your TiVo working again.

[Arcady]

I'll buy it for $149.

[tivoknucklehead]

How do you figure? Because the promised delivery date of the second half of 2006 has come and gone?

Oh wait. No it hasn't.

J


it was announced at CES in Jan 2005 and is nowhere on the horizon in March 2006

[HDTiVo]

it was announced at CES in Jan 2005 and is nowhere on the horizon in March 2006
An SA HD-TiVo was shown at 2004, 2005, 2006 CES.

The 2004 and 2005 ones never came about.

The 2006 one has not yet missed its original target release time - or even entered the range.

[ZeoTiVo]

it was announced at CES in Jan 2005 and is nowhere on the horizon in March 2006


well now you are just being pig headed about the whole thing. Just go and get the Series2 fixed in one of the many ways mentioned on this board.

Heck I will top the bid of 149 and buy it for 150$ as is.


the new pricing plans were not just some thing TiVo came up with to fill in March. New hardware is on the way, but a lifetime TiVo will have some good value for years to come.

[lajohn27]

it was announced at CES in Jan 2005 and is nowhere on the horizon in March 2006

Wrong. Patently false statement.

1) Was shown at CES 2006 .. visible to anyone who wished to see.

2) Is a PRIZE in an upcoming TIVO contest.

3) Has been mentioned in numerous investor calls as shipping in the 2nd half of 2006.

4) Previous versions were prototypes that were not committed to production. This unit clearly is committed for production.

Not only is it on the horizon. Many have already seen, touched and played with it.

Your statement is just inflammatory nonsense.

J

[ChuckyBox]

Your statement is just inflammatory nonsense.

Bingo. He posts a problem/complaint. A bunch of people offer suggestions, ask questions, and generally try to help. He doesn't want any of it, and ignores most of it, but somehow finds time to bash on TiVo with his inaccurate BS about the Series 3.

What's the term we usually reserve for that kind of "contributor?"

[ZeoTiVo]

Bingo. He posts a problem/complaint. A bunch of people offer suggestions, ask questions, and generally try to help. He doesn't want any of it, and ignores most of it, but somehow finds time to bash on TiVo with his inaccurate BS about the Series 3.

What's the term we usually reserve for that kind of "contributor?"

stupid nazi ?

[ChuckyBox]

stupid nazi ?
LOL.

No!

The stupid Nazis are TiVo who have never made a profiit and whose SAC is going up while the Series 3 is vaporware and may never ship, and don't you know MCE is better and it is FREE.

[lajohn27]

Bullwinkle's Law Strikes AGAIN!

[tivoknucklehead]

Bingo. He posts a problem/complaint. A bunch of people offer suggestions, ask questions, and generally try to help. He doesn't want any of it, and ignores most of it, but somehow finds time to bash on TiVo with his inaccurate BS about the Series 3.

What's the term we usually reserve for that kind of "contributor?"


I have been a loyal Tivo guy for 3 years, I have three of them plus a HD-DVR from Scientific Atlanta but try calling them for service. LOL, they have gone downhill fast. And I'll believe a functioning Series 3 when I see it in my hands.

[SMWinnie]

Bullwinkle's Law Strikes AGAIN!
Wow...and only two posts after Godwin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) rears its ugly head.

Anybody got a cite to a single post that triggers Bullwinkle and Godwin?

[dtreese]

I'd never encountered Godwin's Law in formal delineation before, but it's totally true.

[ChuckyBox]

Wow...and only two posts after Godwin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law) rears its ugly head.

Anybody got a cite to a single post that triggers Bullwinkle and Godwin?
My #26, above, did, but it was obviously an attempt to do so. Zeo's Godwin was intentional, too. At the time those were posted, there was a thread with a troll/Godwin/Bullwinkle discussion going on. So we were joking.

Shortly thereafter some troll started a thread that was the first known instance of Bullwinkle being invoked on the first post. It's always good times on the TCF.

[jfh3]

I would gladly buy a series 3, but that thing is looking more and more like vaporware

What makes you say this? The Series 3 is looking less and less like vaporware - it'll be out this year for sure.