Transfer S1 or S2 lifetime to S3 for $199!!!

[mick66]

Limited time offer from Tivo - transfer S1 or S2 lifetime to S3 for $199!!!
I just heard it Straight out of the mouth of TiVo Shanon.
Tivo will even keep service on the S1 or S2 for another 12 months at no aditional cost.

Maybe I will get one after all.

This is from the teleworld recording that is taking place right now.
You heard it here first.

[austing]

Yup. The TV was on when TiVo switched over to recorded it's "Enhanced Content". One of the ad's was this promotion.

No mention of how much the S3 box will be but $199 to transfer lifetime over to the S3 from either an S1 or S2. It was referred to as a VIP offer and a webpage was mentioned, tivo website slash vip, but it looks like the page isn't active yet.

My brother happens to have an old Sony S1 box with lifetime that is prime for this promotion.

[cjw2001]

Yep, just saw the same thing.

There were two videos from TiVoShannon announcing the Series 3.

A couple features mentioned...

The new TiVo HD is THX certified.

The new remote is backlit.

The chasis has extra dampening to keep the box quiet.

No mention of box price or availability date.

Now for the big news...

TiVo is allowing current Series 1 or Series 2 lifetime boxes to have the lifetime service transfered to the new Series 3 for a one time charge of $199. They also throw in an additional 12 months of service on the existing box when you pick this option..

Box must be purchased by December 31, 2006 and lifetime transfer by January 31, 2007.

Special hotline to do the transfer 866-424-8486.

www.tivo.com/vip to buy the box (page is not up yet).

[cheerdude]

The $199 fee was the original lifetime fee (before bumped to $249 and before discontinued).

This is GREAT news... especially since you keep the old Lifetime box active for a year.

I also didn't realize (but am also not surprised) about the THX certification. Very cool!

BTW, anyone else notice how great Shanan looked? :D

[mick66]

A couple features mentioned...

The new TiVo HD is THX certified.

The new remote is backlit.


and
The remote is a learning remote.

[Graymalkin]

Nice offer. But you'll have to take a chance on a newly released Series 3.

[DTSDude]

Glad to see TiVo decided to offer this. There were enough people interested.

[cmaasfamily]

Darn you Tivo! Just when I'd mustered the will to say no!

Glad I didn't get wrapped up in the ebay auctions for old S1's or lifetime giftcards!

[SnakeEyes]

I wish I had gottten lifetime on my S1 box.

[cap]

Wow!

Never, I mean NEVER did I think this would happen.

[cwoody222]

Darn it, I didn't have this on my TiVo this morning.

I agree, I NEVER saw that coming. VERY cool! Not please give me a price much cheaper than $799!

It's awesome that my old unit will keep service for a year too so I could, if I wanted to, sell the S3 if I decided it wasn't for me and keep the old unit as a backup for awhile.

[HDTiVo]

Hey, sounds like a great way for TiVo to 'lose even more money on Lifetime.' :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Looks like TiVo made alot of us look pretty foolish. :up:

12/31 ain't so limited. What happens after, Lifetime for $149? ;)

Anyway, this soons pretty good for us, but I am not sure its such a good way for TiVo to move things along.

[TiVo Troll]

This Lifetime Service transfer for $200 illustrates perfectly how unreliable all the "informed" speculation on these Forums really is. But that stupid Forum Troll got ridiculed more than once for posting the bright idea that TiVo ought to price Lifetime Service @ $500! It essentially is, probably to test the market as well as reward existing customers! :p

WOW!

Well it looks like there will be a Series 3 in my future and another Series 2 laying around and not being used (after a year), and it also looks like I'll end up taking a bath on that Lifetime Service Gift Card I bought.

Hmmm. What else was that dummass Troll yakking about lately? Oh, yeah, a Series 2 upgrade which would support OTA STB tuners for TiVo's mass-market.






Sheeit!

Obviously that will never fly.

Or will it? Maybe I'd better hold on to that Gift Card.

[Fist of Death]

I'm in for two! :up: :up:

[stevereis]

Where does this show up under after it's recorded? I just checked and I only have Hollywoodland on TiVo Central.
Do I need to subscribe to the Tivolution showcase?

[cap]

I think it's hidden until Tivo tells your box to display the star icon.

So we will still have to wait to actually see this video.
The posters were just lucky enough to actually see the Tivo recording it.

[TK421]

It won't show up until TiVo sends a second set of instructions to your box. The download and display of showcases/yellow star items are separate.

[sommerfeld]

Where does this show up under after it's recorded?
The recording is hidden until a Tivo Higher Power gives the command to splice it into the menus.

If you can enable backdoors, you can use ThumbsDown ThumbsDown ThumbsUp InstantReplay from Now Playing to see the hidden recordings.

See http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=122090 for the backdoor code list.

[segaily]

I am a little surprised but not shocked by this. TiVo get a little over a $100 transfer fee $199 - 1 year of service at 6.95. In many cases they may also get a series 1 taken out of service in a year that uses dial up for access and can not use the new features they are pushing and replace it with a box that is cheaper for them because it may connect using broadband. I bet TiVo would love to find a way to get all the lifetime series 1 out of service. With the series 2 they can at least try to lure people onto broadband to cut costs. With this offer I may well stop service on my series 1 in a year and replace it with a newer box. Without this offer I would most likely have kept my series 1 in service until my cable company shuts off analog.

I will however be shocked if they ever offer to sell new lifetime services. This lets them keep the total number of lifetimes the same and still make a little money.

[HDTiVo]

The recording is hidden until a Tivo Higher Power gives the command to splice it into the menus.

If you can enable backdoors, you can use ThumbsDown ThumbsDown ThumbsUp InstantReplay from Now Playing to see the hidden recordings.

See http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=122090 for the backdoor code list.
Someone get this up on YouTube!!!!

[sharp1]

Actually, it looks to me like a way for TiVo to get some more revenue off of the existing lifetime subscriptions, and to encourage die-hard people to buy an early release rather than wait for the price to drop.

They aren't supporting any more lifetime subscriptions than they are now, but they have found a way to get more money from the already existing ones.

I could see this offer being repeated for each new major hardware release.

I am still undecided until I see street prices and more offer details. But this does make it a possibility for me where before it was not likely... (Plus I don't have my HDTV yet. 2007 will be the year of the HD TV for me!)

[HDTiVo]

Does the one year free service on the old box require a one year commitment? :he he:

[ZeoTiVo]

This Lifetime Service transfer for $200 illustrates perfectly how unreliable all the "informed" speculation on these Forums really is. But that stupid Forum Troll got ridiculed more than once for posting the bright idea that TiVo ought to price Lifetime Service @ $500! It essentially is, probably to test the market as well as reward existing customers! :p

I don't know so much about 500$ lifetime, though their is definite backlash on not having lifetime.

this 199$ offer though is a great win win as it does resell current lifetimes off of what will soon be legacy hardware onto the new platform. I think a key point is how surprised TiVo has been that people did not move off the series 1.
You can bet that series 1 lifetimes will be dropping like flies on this. Many series 2 will go as well. So they do it now while they command the best dollar for the S3 hardware and boost sales of S3.

The 12 month on the old box is cool but it will hurt any boost in subscriptions as they will have to specially account for the boxes given the 12 month ride.

but yes way to go TiVo on this offer and they may well sell me a S3 before 12/31 even though I was not ready to get one before then. Now we await the price

[TechDreamer]

It sucks that we will have to pay full retail for the S3 in order to take advantage of this deal. I think the S3 will still be $800 on 12-31.

[MickeS]

$1000 for a S3 with lifetime, free S2 service for a year and presumably $6.95/month thereafter ain't too bad...

I wonder if some people who bought Lifetime gift cards off of ebay will be pissed.

[bap]

I told you "never say never" when it comes to lifetime service. Just because they discontinued offering it doesn't mean they wouldn't allow some sort of grandfathering. This is what you all get for all your wild speculation! I hope you've all learned something now - it's always best to wait for the official announcement rather than attempting to second guess.

:D :D :D

[jacques]

I've thought about going to the S3 just to keep up, but I don't have an HD TV nor do I have digital cable...... but if I do have 4 S1 machines with lifetime.

I think that it might make sense to take them up on their offer to upgrade one to the new S3 and do the $199 lifetime transfer.

Since it has dual-tuner I can upgrade one lifetime S1 to the S3 and sell one lifetime S1. I wonder what I will be able to get for a lifetime S1 on ebay after this $199 deal gets around.

[ZeoTiVo]

$1000 for a S3 with lifetime, free S2 service for a year and presumably $6.95/month thereafter ain't too bad...

I wonder if some people who bought Lifetime gift cards off of ebay will be pissed.
well yes and no, if they paid 500$ for it and apply it straight up to an S3 then it is the same result in a way, and they could still sell the legacy lifetimed box they have for a good return on the lifetime. If you paid 800$ then you paid too much.
But this move definitely puts value in the aftersell market. good on TiVo for keeping value in their brand even if some of that value goes to the customer and not the company.

[HDTiVo]

I wonder if some people who bought Lifetime gift cards off of ebay will be pissed.
Will the monthly subs who are struggling to keep TiVo alive be pissed that the blood sucking Lifetime Che@p B@st@rd$ bent on TiVo's destruction are getting a special deal?

[Turtleboy]

I have a lifetime on my S2. If I get a S3, with the multi-unit discount, the fee on the S3 is 6.95 a month.

Or I can transfer the lifetime to the S3 and pay $199, get a year "free" on the S2, and then with the multi-series discount, I pay 6.95 a month.

Tivo is hoping some people are bad at math, which they obviously are.

[MickeS]

Will the monthly subs who are struggling to keep TiVo alive be pissed that the blood sucking Lifetime Che@p B@st@rd$ bent on TiVo's destruction are getting a special deal?

That's another way to look at it I guess. :)

But really, TiVo is essentially just getting $200 for nothing here... they will not lose monthly income to another lifetime, and they will be getting $200 more for providing the exact same service as today (well, excluding that one free year of service, which adds up to $84 in lost income). It's the best kind of deal, where both seller and buyer feel like winners. :)

[TiVo Troll]

I think it's hidden until Tivo tells your box to display the star icon.

So we will still have to wait to actually see this video.
The posters were just lucky enough to actually see the Tivo recording it.

Interesting. That explains why those Teleworld "programs" are often such a jumble.

I have my Series 2 connected to a Philips HDRW 720/17 with a 6 hour live buffer constantly recording so I went back into the buffer and sure enough TiVo recorded the Teleworld program at 6:00 a.m. At 6:05, after Hollywoodland, there are several TiVoShannon segments including a Series 3 intro and then the Lifetime Service offer with a reference to www.tivo.com/vip (which isn't up yet) and a "VIP" 800# (866-424-8486) to order the Lifetime Service upgrade.

TiVoShannon specifically refers to this being a "one time upgrade offer to our most loyal subscribers". Activation must take place before Jan. 31, 2007 on Series 3's purchased before Dec. 31, 2006. Perhaps that's when there will be significant price reductions in the cost of the Series 3.

[ZeoTiVo]

Will the monthly subs who are struggling to keep TiVo alive be pissed that the blood sucking Lifetime Che@p B@st@rd$ bent on TiVo's destruction are getting a special deal?

maybe next year when all monthly drops to 6.95 due to download services revenue and the desire to make bundle deals appeal to everyone then the Monthly sub folks will have their chance to laugh

[ZeoTiVo]

I have a lifetime on my S2. If I get a S3, with the multi-unit discount, the fee on the S3 is 6.95 a month.

Or I can transfer the lifetime to the S3 and pay $199, get a year "free" on the S2, and then with the multi-series discount, I pay 6.95 a month.

Tivo is hoping some people are bad at math, which they obviously are.

or hoping those people will just drop the S2 and S1 boxes and remove that lifetimed legacy burden from TiVo inc.

[lessd]

$1000 for a S3 with lifetime, free S2 service for a year and presumably $6.95/month thereafter ain't too bad...

I wonder if some people who bought Lifetime gift cards off of ebay will be pissed.

It not such a big loss, I sold a series 2 40h TiVo with lifetime within the last three months for $465 on E-Bay. If I had used that money to buy a Gift Card the net cost to me would have been about $130 (I did not do this but I could have) My Series 3 with lifetime would then have cost me $X (series 3 actual cost that we do not know yet, rebates discounts etc) + $130 and I would NOT have one Series 2 TiVo with lifetime. With the TiVo deal the Series 3 Will cost me the same $X + $200 and I would still have a Series 2 with a year of service on it. I would guess that would be worth about $100. So I may have lost $30 or $40 bucks on the gift card buy, not too big a deal. (I assumes $595 for the gift card if someone paid $700 it will cost them another $105 more in loss)

[Shawn95GT]

Hmm.. as an owner of 3x lifetimed S2s.... I'm seriously thinking I'd be dumb not to jump on the promotion and pick up 3x S3s, sell one for a bazillion dollars and pay MSD after the promo for anys S2s I feel the need to used after a year.

[HDTiVo]

But really, TiVo is essentially just getting $200 for nothing here...
But they are extending Lifetime to the Lifetime of the S3 from the Lifetime of the S2.

[segaily]

I have a lifetime on my S2. If I get a S3, with the multi-unit discount, the fee on the S3 is 6.95 a month.

Or I can transfer the lifetime to the S3 and pay $199, get a year "free" on the S2, and then with the multi-series discount, I pay 6.95 a month.

Tivo is hoping some people are bad at math, which they obviously are.

Yes and no. We are paying TiVo and extra $100 but in exchange we are hopefully getting a box we will want to keep in service longer. At this point I still have older Non HD TV’s along with my main HDTV. Someday all my TVS will be HD and I may no longer want my standard definition TiVo in service. I may well keep my old TiVo in service until it dies, but without lifetime on the old box it will make it easier to just purchase a new box instead of getting the old box fixed.

[HDTiVo]

I have a lifetime on my S2. If I get a S3, with the multi-unit discount, the fee on the S3 is 6.95 a month.

Or I can transfer the lifetime to the S3 and pay $199, get a year "free" on the S2, and then with the multi-series discount, I pay 6.95 a month.

Tivo is hoping some people are bad at math, which they obviously are.
But perhaps not the ones you think. ;)

[cmaasfamily]

For those that have seen it:

Did they mention eSATA drive/external expansion? Would be a conspicuous omission if not; probably indicating that it is not enabled in the initial release.

[George Cifranci]

I wish I had gottten lifetime on my S1 box.


Well I DID get a Lifetime on my original Series 1 (still in use). Yippie!!!

I have been waiting for the Series 3 ever since I bought a 60" Sony SXRD HDTV about a year ago and had to deal with Time Warners craptacular SA 8300HD DVR.

So after I switch the Series 3 over to Lifetime that means I will have a Tivo Series 1 and a Series 2 that I will have to pay $6.95 a month on each I guess. Might have to retire good ole Series 1 (after the free 12 months expires).

[jsmeeker]

Heh...

What do you guys do? Check your TiVo the first thing in the morning for updates??

[Bierboy]

Actually, it looks to me like a way for TiVo to get some more revenue off of the existing lifetime subscriptions, and to encourage die-hard people to buy an early release rather than wait for the price to drop.

They aren't supporting any more lifetime subscriptions than they are now, but they have found a way to get more money from the already existing ones.......But really, TiVo is essentially just getting $200 for nothing here... they will not lose monthly income to another lifetime, and they will be getting $200 more for providing the exact same service as today (well, excluding that one free year of service, which adds up to $84 in lost income). It's the best kind of deal, where both seller and buyer feel like winners. :)Everybody says what a great deal this is, but, as MickeS points out, TiVo stands to gain almost everything on this.

Heh...

What do you guys do? Check your TiVo the first thing in the morning for updates??
Some people have NOTHING better to do :rolleyes:

[ah30k]

For TiVo this offer is aimed at a real small target. Those who will likely take them up on this offer already have a lifetime unit on their account and would have only paid $6.95 for the new S3. For instance, many of us on this forum would keep our old lifetime S1s on life support in the basement taking a slow breath twice a year just to gain the MSD.

For this small target they gain $200 and lose $6.95 per month. Probably a good trade.

If they made a one-time lifetime purchase available to everyone they would likely have lost some $12.95 monthly subscribers as well.

[dig_duggler]

Wow. I was so not getting an s3. But my old s2 w/ lifetime won't last long..

so tempting...

[ah30k]

Since we are so good at hypotheticals...

What if they charged you $200 to transfer AND you lose a hypothetical $150 rebate because it is not a new activation?

Would you shell out $350 to transfer?

[cjw2001]

For those that have seen it:

Did they mention eSATA drive/external expansion? Would be a conspicuous omission if not; probably indicating that it is not enabled in the initial release.

No mention in the video on the drive expansion, but they did go over the digital video and audio interfaces.

[cjw2001]

Heh...

What do you guys do? Check your TiVo the first thing in the morning for updates??

Just lucky -- alarm clock goes off at 6 am, turn on TV, there it was.

[ZeoTiVo]

Since we are so good at hypotheticals...

What if they charged you $200 to transfer AND you lose a hypothetical $150 rebate because it is not a new activation?

Would you shell out $350 to transfer?

that is what I am waiting on now, the pricing of the new one will be key in my decision since I have a 240 lifetimed that I very much like and was planning to hack with TiVoweb soon.


and like Mickes says - they will not be making any nore revenue on that S2 of mine so for TiVo it is 200$ from me for nothing from them but the chance to not pay monthly on an s3 I likely could have for quite a while to come. so 199/6.95 = 28 months of value to me but make it 350 upfront and then it is 50 months before I see "value" (net present stuff aside for now) which not coincidentally is the 4 year period TiVo amortizes such deals over.

I do not count the 12 months on S2 as having much value to me since the S3 would go downstairs and the DT would go upstairs. TiVo does not count much value on the free 12 months either since they never would have gotten it anyway.
With more thinking it seems tha the 12 months is designed to keep people from selling the TiVo and that TiVo inc. really hopes the legacy stuff just dies off. Sereis 1 TiVo DVRs defeinitely do not fit into the whole feature set that TiVo hopes to work some revenue out of. Any business partenr would just subtract that number anyway as having no value.


Wonder if you can sell the TiVo and the 12 months go with it?

[MickeS]

If they had not allowed LT transfers, the customers targeted here would have kept their S1/2 lifetimes and then paid $6.95 for the S3, for the duration of the life of the S3 (most likely), which will probably be more than $200 total.

As it is, I'm guessing a lot of people will drop the S1/2 subs after the free year, so TiVo will only get the one-time sum of $200, and be out a year of service for S2.

TiVo must have really wanted to boost sales and get some cash quickly, and must also badly want to get rid of the old TiVos....

[Dajad]

Wow! Great news!

It's not just increased subscription revenue, TiVo's newer (and upcoming) products/revenue streams (like interactive ads and movie downloads) will increasinlgy require S3 power and storage space. So, getting the faithful early adopters to the new platform means better revenue opportunities for TiVo down the line. Ka-ching! That's a smart move TiVo.

Remember that the S3 will not record from digital settops, it only records off OTA-HD, Cablecard-digatal and analogue through COAX. That will take a whole lot of folks relying on set-tops out of the equation. Well, unless they have plans to upgrade to cablecard or OTA-HD over the next year, in which case it should be full steam ahead because they could use their old Tivo to record off set-tops in the interim.

Damn, I still think it would have been so much smarter for TiVo to allow recroding off s-video-connected set-tops in the S3 as people make the transition!!!!

...Dale

[osterber]

This sounds like a great opportunity for me. I activated my S1 Sony lifetime in February 2001. It's been running like a champ with an additional hard drive... but I feel like it's getting ready to die. So is my old 27" tube TV. I've certainly gotten my lifetime use out of my S1... so in my book, transferring it to an S3 for $199 is just like offering me lifetime service straight up for $199, which is what I paid 5.5 years ago for lifetime.

-Rick

[MickeS]

Damn, I still think it would have been so much smarter for TiVo to allow recroding off s-video-connected set-tops in the S3 as people make the transition!!!!


I think that developing that funcitonality in the S3 would have been a waste of time and money for TiVo. You can still use the S3 to record regular non-digital cable without a CableCARD, and it wouldn't have been worth it to do that just for the few who want to keep the digital cable box instead of getting a CableCARD.

[tunnelengineer]

I think this is a great deal. I have a S1 and S2 both lifetimed that I can upgrade with the S1 lifetime now. I can still use the S1 in the bedroom for another year (which is a $83 dollar value at MSD rates). So basically I am paying $120 to have lifetime on a new S3. After 18 months of use I am making out great on the deal. My old S1 tivo can be retired after the free year and I will live in a S2 and S3 tivo home and have access to both on the web. It's a no brainer for me.

[ZeoTiVo]

Well, unless they have plans to upgrade to cablecard or OTA-HD over the next year, in which case it should be full steam ahead because they could use their old Tivo to record off set-tops in the interim.

Damn, I still think it would have been so much smarter for TiVo to allow recroding off s-video-connected set-tops in the S3 as people make the transition!!!!

...Dale

why have the S3 do it. The TiVo you have now is free for 12 months - let it do what it is doing with no interruption and then you have time to deal with getting the cable company to come out, install the cable card, come back , get it right etc...

The 12 month free thing is also a beautiful transition to get over the cable card transition hurdle :up: there is an upside to both TiVo and us with this offer.

[bpurcell]

Wow, I wake up this morning thinking nothing much is happening, and then I see THIS!

Sucks for me, since I sold my lifetime 540 just last week on Ebay! If I'd known they would do this, I definitely would've held off.

[MickeS]

The resale value of a LT S3 should be pretty good...

[sbiller]

If they had not allowed LT transfers, the customers targeted here would have kept their S1/2 lifetimes and then paid $6.95 for the S3, for the duration of the life of the S3 (most likely), which will probably be more than $200 total.

As it is, I'm guessing a lot of people will drop the S1/2 subs after the free year, so TiVo will only get the one-time sum of $200, and be out a year of service for S2.

TiVo must have really wanted to boost sales and get some cash quickly, and must also badly want to get rid of the old TiVos....

My guess is that at $800 ($500 cost) per S3 box, TiVo is not losing any money on the hardware thus driving adoption of the more advance platform without an additional cost to TiVo. In addition, they will save money on monthly costs of dial-up for lifetime S1's without a broadband connection if those users convert to broadband. If they decide to subsidize the hardare cost again with rebates, etc., then the benefit to TiVo diminishes.

[HDTiVo]

Just want to ask, what is generating the premise that an S3 with this deal can't be purchased in the same manner(s) for the same price(s) as any other S3 and get the same $150 Rebate (if so) as any other S3?

[jeffrypennock]

So is this VIP website the site where I'm going to buy the box or the site where I'm going to transfer my lifetime subscription or both?

Same set of questions for the phone number.

[ah30k]

Just want to ask, what is generating the premise that an S3 with this deal can't be purchased in the same manner(s) for the same price(s) as any other S3 and get the same $150 Rebate (if so) as any other S3?Rebates are valid only for NEW subscriptions. For instance back around the launch of the DT you could have bought a lifetime on an old S2 then within 30 days transfer it to the DT, but the catch was the rebate was invalid. A transfer is not a new subscription.

[cjw2001]

So is this VIP website the site where I'm going to buy the box or the site where I'm going to transfer my lifetime subscription or both?

Same set of questions for the phone number.

The video said the phone hotline was for doing the transfer.

The web site (once it is up) will have the details of the offer and the link to buy a box.

[headroll]

I have 4 LT TiVos in the house.

Wonder if there will be any limitations on
1) how many times the offer can be used and
2) If you must have lifetime for any extended period of time on your account (disallowing sale of LT TiVos at a premium on Ebay)

-Roll

[colforbin13]

Has anyone tried calling the number yet?

[MickeS]

Has anyone tried calling the number yet?

What would be the point of that without an S3 to transfer to?

[Riverdome]

What would be the point of that without an S3 to transfer to?

To hear Shannon's voice? j/k :rolleyes:

[classicsat]

For those that have seen it:

Did they mention eSATA drive/external expansion? Would be a conspicuous omission if not; probably indicating that it is not enabled in the initial release.

It wouldn't be, it would be technical minutia not worth flogging yet, although yes, it may not be enabled in the released software versions, although I have a feeling that in might be "hidden" like G support was in the first 7.1, and announced later as official drives are available.

[jeffrypennock]

Has anyone tried calling the number yet?
Yeah, once you get someone on the line, they're like 'um, this is to transfer service or if you've got problems with the cablecard, but it's not for sale yet.'

So I didn't want to waste the opportunity...she obviously wasn't your regular CSR because she answered "hello?" rather than some schpeal, so I played dumb and was like, "Oh, I thought this is where we called to order it. When will it be for sale?"

She tersely responded, "We don't know yet."

[vman41]

My nephew is buying a house and I was planning on giving him my lifetimed series 2 as a housewarming gift. The option to transfer the the lifetime may make me reconsider. I'll stop using the S2 either way, so the calculations are based on standard subscription rate and not MSD.

[tunnelengineer]

The real question is - Did she sound hot?

[jeffrypennock]

The real question is - Did she sound hot?
That's definitely not the question.

[ZeoTiVo]

The real question is - Did she sound hot?
she sounded annoyed that people knew the number already to me :p

[HDTiVo]

she sounded annoyed that people knew the number already to me :p
Heaven forbid people interested in doing business with TiVo should be welcome.

[jeffrypennock]

Heaven forbid people interested in doing business with TiVo should be welcome.
Point well made. And he's right, she DID sound agitated.

[annenoe]

she sounded annoyed that people knew the number already to me :p

Are they so out of touch that they didn't think anyone would be awake at 3 am to see the recording? Well duh. If we see them advertising it and putting up phone numbers and websites, what do they think we're going to do. Would love to be a fly on the wall at the tivo cafeteria today. Lots of "WTF were they thinking???"

[MickeS]

Maybe they didn't think people would be calling to transfer service to a unit that nobody owns?

[ZeoTiVo]

Are they so out of touch that they didn't think anyone would be awake at 3 am to see the recording? Well duh. If we see them advertising it and putting up phone numbers and websites, what do they think we're going to do. Would love to be a fly on the wall at the tivo cafeteria today. Lots of "WTF were they thinking???"

on one TiVo I record the teleworld just out of curiosity. Had not looked at it today though

[jfh3]

If true, I have some crow to eat for lunch.

I was pretty sure Tivo would never offer such a deal.

But $199? Even less than the original $299 lifetime? Why?

[Shawn95GT]

If true, I have some crow to eat for lunch.

I was pretty sure Tivo would never offer such a deal.

But $199? Even less than the original $299 lifetime? Why?
Because we already paid for LT once before?

[bap]

Because we already paid for LT once before?
My thoughts exactly. They want to make some money from people upgrading older lifetimed units but don't want to make it so expensive that people won't do it. It's free money for them and a good way to get more S3 early adopters.

[AJRitz]

Does this mean that if I can find a Humax DVD Tivo unit in stock somewhere that I could purchase lifetime on the new, never before subbed, Humax unit and then transfer it to an S3 box?

[Bierboy]

If true, I have some crow to eat for lunch.

I was pretty sure Tivo would never offer such a deal.

But $199? Even less than the original $299 lifetime? Why?Because it's PURE PROFIT....they already got your $299. Now they're gettin' another $199.

[HiDefGator]

It's also a way for Tivo to keep their sub counts up for another 12 months. A large number of the S3 buyers would have canceled their old S1\2 subs shortly after buying the S3. This keeps both subs active for 12 months. The next two quarters are going to look very bad for Tivo as DTV subs drop away and no new Comcast \Cox subs show up until early 2007.

[JustAllie]

Does this mean that if I can find a Humax DVD Tivo unit in stock somewhere that I could purchase lifetime on the new, never before subbed, Humax unit and then transfer it to an S3 box?Apparently yes, which means that the de facto price of lifetime on a Series3 TiVo is $498.

I think people who were paying $600+ for the lifetime gift cards on eBay are gonna be upset. :D

I already have three TiVos with lifetime service. That gives me lots of options. :)

[jsmeeker]

If true, I have some crow to eat for lunch.

I was pretty sure Tivo would never offer such a deal.

But $199? Even less than the original $299 lifetime? Why?


The original cost for lifetime was $199, not $299.

[petew]

Apparently yes, which means that the de facto price of lifetime on a Series3 TiVo is $498.


It depends `how you look at it. Add in the cost of the Humax and a possible $150 rebate that you're not eligble for and it could be nearer $800

[MickeS]

It's also a way for Tivo to keep their sub counts up for another 12 months. A large number of the S3 buyers would have canceled their old S1\2 subs shortly after buying the S3. This keeps both subs active for 12 months.

This only applies to LT S1/2, so they would not have cancelled those subs. Instead they would have kept them and gotten the MSD on the S3. The sub count will not change.

[JustAllie]

It depends `how you look at it. Add in the cost of the Humax and a possible $150 rebate that you're not eligble for and it could be nearer $800Hmm, the rebate is an open question for sure, but you'd have to subtract out the resale value of a Humax DVD TiVo with one year of service. Or the value to you of using that TiVo as a secondary machine for a year.

[Dajad]

I think that developing that funcitonality in the S3 would have been a waste of time and money for TiVo. You can still use the S3 to record regular non-digital cable without a CableCARD, and it wouldn't have been worth it to do that just for the few who want to keep the digital cable box instead of getting a CableCARD.


why have the S3 do it. The TiVo you have now is free for 12 months - let it do what it is doing with no interruption and then you have time to deal with getting the cable company to come out, install the cable card, come back , get it right etc...

The 12 month free thing is also a beautiful transition to get over the cable card transition hurdle :up: there is an upside to both TiVo and us with this offer.

Because ALL Canadians like me and all the U.S. TiVo users NOT supplied by a major MSO - still al lot of cable users, do not have cablecards as an option and likely won't for years to come.

Yes, the 12 months is a terrific option for people living in areas where cablecards are out now or due out in the next 12 months.

...Dale

[MickeS]

Because ALL Canadians like me and all the U.S. TiVo users NOT supplied by a major MSO - still al lot of cable users, do not have cablecards as an option and likely won't for years to come.

I don't know how it is in Canada, but I'm pretty sure the cable company, no matter the size, HAS to by law provide CableCARDS to those who ask for it.

[cwoody222]

There are exceptions for smaller cable companies, they don't have to supply the CableCARDS. But we're talking about a small percentage of the cable market in the US.

[d_anders]

My thoughts exactly. They want to make some money from people upgrading older lifetimed units but don't want to make it so expensive that people won't do it. It's free money for them and a good way to get more S3 early adopters.

Agreed. It also provides an incentive for people who were going to wait until the initial price drop or wait for a relatively good rebate.

Box must be purchased by December 31, 2006 and lifetime transfer by January 31, 2007. You can bet there will be a reduction in price of the unit or a rebate offered in the Feburary/March timeframe.

I, for one, was certainly going to wait, but with the carrot of moving over lifetime to a Series 3 unit (albeit at a cost) before the end of the year, even with a potential drop in price via rebate, etc., getting lifetime and a year sub on the existing S1/S2 box all for $199 is a good deal.

Rather than waiting for the first $100-$200 price reduction, they're going to get people to give them an additional $200 in revenue on top of a fully loaded early adopter price. So, it's safe to say that they're going to get close to a $400 premium anyway from a likely reduced/rebated price in February/March 2007.

To an earlier point made by someone else, it also provides a way for Tivo to actually maintain and increase the number of subs. Since this would actually net out one additional "sub" based on the 12 months included on the older S1/S2 box...versus people dropping S1/S2 standard subs to add one S/3 sub back in (net zero increase otherwise). Good move for them with Wall Street, given the likely year over year reduction/loss in the overall growth of the DirectTV numbers.

So it's save to say that the offer is going to provide TiVo a good margin on revenue for these boxes, increase the adoption of the new box (which I believe they're going to actually make money on the hardware side on for a while, until they get the early adopter purchasing completed), and also give them additional net subscriptions.

It's all upside for TiVo, and pleases a number of their existing customers who will love the option of having "lifetime" on their new S3s, and can keep their existing boxes or give them as gifts to someone else.

[TiVo Troll]

So is this VIP website the site where I'm going to buy the box or the site where I'm going to transfer my lifetime subscription or both?

Same set of questions for the phone number.

In the Teleworld promo TiVoShannan referred to buying the Series 3 at the VIP website, but didn't explicitly rule out buying one elsewhere. So, as best as I can tell the definitive answer to your first question isn't known for sure. It will be interesting to see how the Series 3 price on TiVo's website compares with prices elsewhere.

She definitely said that the phone number would be where to transfer the service.

(I haven't read all the way through this thread yet, so if I'm repeating info that has been already posted, my apologies.)

[AJRitz]

It depends `how you look at it. Add in the cost of the Humax and a possible $150 rebate that you're not eligble for and it could be nearer $800
Yeah, those Humax boxes are pricer than I'd hoped - I hadn't looked that up before my last post. OTOH, my two hacked S2 DTivo boxes might have some value for folks who are sticking with DirecTV for a while. They're both Zippered and expanded, and I understand that such units are getting a bit scarce. I might be able to make back some of the difference on E-Bay.

[gbronzer]

My question is how does this affect people planning on using the grandfather clause with the S3. I have a lifetime for my S1 from Dec. 1999, and was planning on using the Grandfather clause to transfer my lifetime for free to a new S3. Can I still do this, or do I have to pay $199?

I can just imagine the confusion trying to convince a service rep I don't have to pay $199 for my lifetime transfer.

[TiVo Troll]

It sucks that we will have to pay full retail for the S3 in order to take advantage of this deal. I think the S3 will still be $800 on 12-31.

Fuggen gift horse got lousy teeth, eh?

[golubian]

I have two questions:

1. Will I be able to transfer my lifetime on a DirecTV SAT-T60?; and

2. If I transfer lifetime from one DirecTivo unit to an S3, what is the cost for service on a second S3 unit? Or does it make sense to transfer lifetime service from both of my SAT-T60's? (ok, I guess that's technically 3 questions).

golubian

[Dan203]

My question is how does this affect people planning on using the grandfather clause with the S3. I have a lifetime for my S1 from Dec. 1999, and was planning on using the Grandfather clause to transfer my lifetime for free to a new S3. Can I still do this, or do I have to pay $199?

I can just imagine the confusion trying to convince a service rep I don't have to pay $199 for my lifetime transfer.

This should have no effect on the grandfather clause. And if you run into trouble convincing the CSR that you don't have to pay ask to talk to a superior.

Dan

[Dan203]

1. Will I be able to transfer my lifetime on a DirecTV SAT-T60?; and

2. If I transfer lifetime from one DirecTivo unit to an S3, what is the cost for service on a second S3 unit? Or does it make sense to transfer lifetime service from both of my SAT-T60's? (ok, I guess that's technically 3 questions).

I seriously doubt this will work for DTiVo units as the billing portion of the DTiVo units was transfered to DirecTV a long time ago.

Dan

[TiVo Troll]

Apparently yes, which means that the de facto price of lifetime on a Series3 TiVo is $498.

I think people who were paying $600+ for the lifetime gift cards on eBay are gonna be upset. :D

I already have three TiVos with lifetime service. That gives me lots of options. :)

I'm not upset at all. If I lose on the Gift Card, so what? "Caveat Emptor!"

Also, I'm glad when TiVo's interests line up with mine! If the price of the Series 3 holds at $800 for the duration of this special offer that will mean that I'll be able to add $1000 to TiVo's revenue stream and still have a Gift Card good for more than two additional years.

I'd never buy Series 3 or any TiVo unless the service was included in the price. ReplayTV's original service plan was good and simple even if ultimately it was too honest to be successful.

IMHO, TiVo is going to get a jolt of cash upfront and then significantly lower Series 3's price and get more pay-as-you-go users. As earlier posters have said (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4341908&&#post4341908) many existing TiVo owners will also choose to pay monthly, but they'll be advised to wait until 2007 to buy a Series 3. So TiVo has figured a pretty good way to maximize cash flow at the same time as dealing with potential distribution and availability issues!

[Jonathan_S]

I have two questions:

1. Will I be able to transfer my lifetime on a DirecTV SAT-T60?; and

2. If I transfer lifetime from one DirecTivo unit to an S3, what is the cost for service on a second S3 unit? Or does it make sense to transfer lifetime service from both of my SAT-T60's? (ok, I guess that's technically 3 questions).

golubian
TiVo lifetime and DirecTV DVR with TiVo lifetime are two separate products, the later being handled directly by DirecTV. I'd be hugely surprised if you could transfer a DirecTV lifetime to an S3.

Assuming you have one S3 either lifetime or paying full monthly fee, I would expect the second to cost $6.99 / month, the normal TiVo multi-unit discount rate.

(DirecTV lifetime is per account, not per unit, so I don't think you would be seen as having two lifetime service subscriptions. However, since you can't transfer it anyway that is a moot point).

Final note: S3s won't work with DirecTV, only with cable and antenna. Just wanted to make sure you were aware.

[greg_burns]

This should have no effect on the grandfather clause. And if you run into trouble convincing the CSR that you don't have to pay ask to talk to a superior.

Dan

Or try...
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290723
If you have any trouble when you call, please mention KDB code 09-07-04 to the agent.

[TiVo Troll]

Are they so out of touch that they didn't think anyone would be awake at 3 am to see the recording? Well duh. If we see them advertising it and putting up phone numbers and websites, what do they think we're going to do. Would love to be a fly on the wall at the tivo cafeteria today. Lots of "WTF were they thinking???"

TiVo should realize that the cat's out of the bag and have a gracious voice answer a single phone at the 800# and patiently answer any questions that come in. Resulting busy signals will take care of an undue volume of calls, but having one gracious live person to field questions would be well worth paying the going wage for.

[golubian]

TiVo lifetime and DirecTV DVR with TiVo lifetime are two separate products, the later being handled directly by DirecTV. I'd be hugely surprised if you could transfer a DirecTV lifetime to an S3.

Assuming you have one S3 either lifetime or paying full monthly fee, I would expect the second to cost $6.99 / month, the normal TiVo multi-unit discount rate.

(DirecTV lifetime is per account, not per unit, so I don't think you would be seen as having two lifetime service subscriptions. However, since you can't transfer it anyway that is a moot point).

Final note: S3s won't work with DirecTV, only with cable and antenna. Just wanted to make sure you were aware.

You may be right about the only one lifetime issue. My two boxes have been running nonstop for over 5 years now ( :cool: ), so at this point I really don't recall whether it was one lifetime subscription or two. That said, there would be some benefit to allowing me to transfer that lifetime sub if only to make some money off me that they will not realize so long as I remain on the satellite system. Also, I assume I'd then need to pay $6.95/month for my second S3 box, so that's another stream of income they want but aren't currently getting.

It's all academic, though, since I eventually WILL make the switch back over to cable in order to get the S3.

Also, I do know S3 is cable only. I'm planning on making the switch away from DirecTV sometime next year. IF I could transfer my DTV lifetime and IF that needed to happen before year's end, I would accelerate the transition.

[ZeoTiVo]

Because ALL Canadians like me and all the U.S. TiVo users NOT supplied by a major MSO - still al lot of cable users, do not have cablecards as an option and likely won't for years to come.

Yes, the 12 months is a terrific option for people living in areas where cablecards are out now or due out in the next 12 months.

...Dale

sorry, I forgot your Canadian address. Yes that is a porblem but to my thinking falls under the market segment of such a size they will have to work with the currnent S2 to do SD recording in Canada. I assume you can use the S3 for OTA and analog recordings still. So the 12 months buys you some time but I suppose if I lived in Canada I would keep lifetime on the S2 if I had it and go MSD on the S3 if I thought it worth the money to do OTA and analog cable.

[Bierboy]

...Also, I do know S3 is cable only....Not true...it does OTA also.

[bap]

My question is how does this affect people planning on using the grandfather clause with the S3. I have a lifetime for my S1 from Dec. 1999, and was planning on using the Grandfather clause to transfer my lifetime for free to a new S3. Can I still do this, or do I have to pay $199?

I can just imagine the confusion trying to convince a service rep I don't have to pay $199 for my lifetime transfer.I'm in the same boat as you are. Luckily TivoPony outlined exactly what to do in a post a while back. I just tracked down that post here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=3851329#post3851329). In a nutshell, when you call to active your new TiVo mention KDB code 09-07-04 to the agent. That'll probably point them to whatever documentation they need to verify the status of a free lifetime transfer.

[Troy J B]

Another positive aspect for TiVo, it does not increase the number of lifetime devices out in the wild.
Now instead of LT S2 going on the market as people get S3's, those will be S2's that now need a year commitment. it's a win-win for TiVo

[jsmeeker]

Another positive aspect for TiVo, it does not increase the number of lifetime devices out in the wild.



Well, it does temporarily do that.

[Dan203]

Well, it does temporarily do that.

No it doesn't. It gives people a free year of service, but that service is counted as monthly service, so the number of lifetime subs in the wild is still exactly the same.

Dan

[jsmeeker]

No it doesn't. It gives people a free year of service, but that service is counted as monthly service, so the number of lifetime subs in the wild is still exactly the same.

Dan


ahh.. I see.. If that's how they account for it, then I suppose you are right. The way I was looking at it was that my lifetime Series 1 would still work and my Series 3 would be working, of course.

[cjw2001]

There are exceptions for smaller cable companies, they don't have to supply the CableCARDS. But we're talking about a small percentage of the cable market in the US.

Ouch. Just called my cable company (we have our own small private telco just for our subdivision of 1000 homes that does phone, cable, internet, etc.) and they are not supporting cables cards yet.

[eisenb11]

Hmm, I've just put my plan into motion... since I'm new to this Tivo stuff (I used RTV previously, then my SA crap box from TWC) please let me know if you see any holes in my evil plan.

I just arranged to purchase a used Sony S1 Tivo box for $40 tonight. I called Tivo with the serial and they verified that it has a lifetime on it.

This is where my master plan gets a little foggy.

Option A:

It sounds like when the S3 is released I'll be able to x-fer the lifetime from the S1 for $199.

Option B:

I can used the S1 to get a multi-discount and pay $6.99/month. $199 / $6.99 = 29, so it would take a while for it to pay off...

Option C:

Grandfather clause the thing?

So I have 2 questions...

Under the given circumstances I have two questions:

1. Is it worth $199 to be done with it, or is it better to ping away at $6.99 for 29 months?

2. Can you tell me more about this "grandfather clause"? Is there some way to get the Sony S1's lifetime subscription transferred for free somehow?

Any help would be appreciated, I can't wait to join the Tivo club!

[davezatz]

Anyone have a screen grab for me? :) Feel free to email me at davezatz@yahoo.com. Thanks! (My fiance killed the recording this morning when I was in the shower - she doesn't care for early morning infomercials.)

[ah30k]

The GF clause is for units activated prior to 1/20/2000. I don't think the sony was around then.

[bap]

Can you tell me more about this "grandfather clause"? Is there some way to get the Sony S1's lifetime subscription transferred for free somehow?If the original lifetime service was purchased on or before January 21, 2000 then you are eligible for a one-time transfer of that lifetime service to a new unit. Just log into your account on tivo.com and check the date of the lifetime service.

[miller890]

www.tivo.com/vip to buy the box (page is not up yet).

Looks like Tivo just redirected request for the /VIP page to the existing Coming Soon page.

[Dan203]

I just arranged to purchase a used Sony S1 Tivo box for $40 tonight. I called Tivo with the serial and they verified that it has a lifetime on it.

I hope this is from a trusted source and not an eBay deal, because a S1 with lifetime service is worth 5 times that on eBay so it could be a scam.

Dan

[Fraser+Dief]

Because ALL Canadians like me and all the U.S. TiVo users NOT supplied by a major MSO - still al lot of cable users, do not have cablecards as an option and likely won't for years to come.

Yup. Making this a short term offer really sucks.

By the time Cablecard gets here (if ever), the offer is long gone, and so am I as a tivo customer.

Not smart.

[jfh3]

Does this mean that if I can find a Humax DVD Tivo unit in stock somewhere that I could purchase lifetime on the new, never before subbed, Humax unit and then transfer it to an S3 box?

If this is true, yes.

But that might be a bit expensive - $249+299+$199 = $747 or so for LT on a Series 3 and a year on the Humax.

Unless you want the Humax box as a second box, that's almost 9 years at MSD cost for the S3 service or 5 years if the S3 is your only Tivo.

[eisenb11]

The GF clause is for units activated prior to 1/20/2000. I don't think the sony was around then.

Ah, if that's the case, I think I still did ok. Basically, the $40 then allows me to buy the lifetime for $199... so $249 for a contract that sold for $299 still works in my book :)

[Bierboy]

Looks like Tivo just redirected request for the /VIP page to the existing Coming Soon page.
Already posted. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=314879)

[eisenb11]

I hope this is from a trusted source and not an eBay deal, because a S1 with lifetime service is worth 5 times that on eBay so it could be a scam.

Dan

Aye, it's not from eBay, but from the classifieds so it's a "real world" transaction.

He lost the remote and figured the unit was worthless.

Didn't know it's the serial number that us A/V junkies are interested in :)

[DancnDude]

I was not planning on buying the Series 3 right away since I don't have an HDTV yet, but I want to get both in the coming year. I'm happy with my current TiVos and didn't really need more, but this deal pretty much hooked me. I'll probably now transfer my Series 1 so I can network the Series 3 and transfer shows to my Series 2 machines as well.

So for me, this promo has gotten me interested in Series 3 a lot earlier than I would have been if I would have to pay monthly.

[jes218]

So I have two S2's (a 160 & a 540) with lifetime service and upgraded HD's. I don't use either of them because I have Comcast and use the SA8000HD. The 160 is currently on Ebay, listed for Best Offer. I was going to list the 540 next.

Any suggestions? Should I finish the sale of of the first one, and hold onto the second one to get the lifetime on the new S3? :eek:

[surge]

What are the chances that the S3 box will be able to handle 2-way cable-cards?
Is that a firmware upgrade thing or actual hardware changes?

I use the Comcast VOD service for all the HBO shows, movies and kids programming.

[Shawn95GT]

So I have two S2's (a 160 & a 540) with lifetime service and upgraded HD's. I don't use either of them because I have Comcast and use the SA8000HD. The 160 is currently on Ebay, listed for Best Offer. I was going to list the 540 next.

Any suggestions? Should I finish the sale of of the first one, and hold onto the second one to get the lifetime on the new S3? :eek:
If a lifetime subbed S3 is what you want, then yes :).

If you can live with 1 S3 then you should weigh the vaue of the lifetimed S2 vs a Lifetimed S3 for resale. I'm thinking a Lifetimed S3 will pull a pretty penny.

I was concidering selling one of my Lifetimed S2s to offset the cost of the S3 but I think I'll just do 3x S3s and give one to my Mother. Yeah this makes the S2s nearly worthless but Lifetime subbed S3s + MSD for any S2s I want to keep around past 1yr sounds like a good deal.

[JustAllie]

If this is true, yes.

But that might be a bit expensive - $249+299+$199 = $747 or so for LT on a Series 3 and a year on the Humax.

Unless you want the Humax box as a second box, that's almost 9 years at MSD cost for the S3 service or 5 years if the S3 is your only Tivo.And if you don't want the Humax as a second box, you have to subtract the resale value of the Humax box with a year of service, which is surely worth at least $300 -- probably more like $350 if you don't even open the box when you activate it. So you're probably talking about about $400 net cost for lifetime on a Series 3.

[jfh3]

So I have two S2's (a 160 & a 540) with lifetime service and upgraded HD's. I don't use either of them because I have Comcast and use the SA8000HD. The 160 is currently on Ebay, listed for Best Offer. I was going to list the 540 next.

Any suggestions? Should I finish the sale of of the first one, and hold onto the second one to get the lifetime on the new S3? :eek:

Depends. Is lifetime on an S3 worth $200 over what you could get for the existing lifetime boxes on eBay?

It seems to be you're more likely to be better off selling existing lifetime boxes, assuming current prices hold up.

[greg_burns]

I'll probably now transfer my Series 1 so I can network the Series 3 and transfer shows to my Series 2 machines as well.

AFAIK, this is not a given. Has anybody heard yet whether the S3 will support any sort of MRV?

[cwoody222]

AFAIK, this is not a given. Has anybody heard yet whether the S3 will support any sort of MRV?

I think the general consensus is that it definitely won't allow transfers FROM the S3 because it would then be a digital copy of a digital source.

I guess theoretically they could offer transfers from an S2 TO an S3 but I think they'd think that would confuse users.

Personally, I expect MRV to be disabled altogether on the S3 :(

[cwoody222]

What are the chances that the S3 box will be able to handle 2-way cable-cards?
Is that a firmware upgrade thing or actual hardware changes?

I use the Comcast VOD service for all the HBO shows, movies and kids programming.

Not likely.

I believe it would be a hardware change.

Plus - someone correct me if I'm wrong here - the multistream cards don't even have a standards approved yet, meaning implementation by someone like TiVo is a WAYS off (ie: plan on S4 ;) )

[tunnelengineer]

Yup. Making this a short term offer really sucks.

By the time Cablecard gets here (if ever), the offer is long gone, and so am I as a tivo customer.

Not smart.

A short term offer is far better than no offer.......

Sounds to me like you need to complain to whatever canadian provider you have to get cablecards. It is not Tivo's problem.....

Also the units will still work with a single cable (coax) and an antenna connection (coax). They may not be HD, but you could still use the unit until your cable provider uses cablecards. Here in the states it is mandated that the cable providers supply cablecards (and support them).

[MickeS]

Aye, it's not from eBay, but from the classifieds so it's a "real world" transaction.

He lost the remote and figured the unit was worthless.

Didn't know it's the serial number that us A/V junkies are interested in :)

Man, you're evil if you don't tell him the truth. ;)

[eisenb11]

Man, you're evil if you don't tell him the truth. ;)

Strange, I seem to hear that comment alot from my friends after they find out about my second-hand purchases :D

[surge]

Not likely.

I believe it would be a hardware change.

Plus - someone correct me if I'm wrong here - the multistream cards don't even have a standards approved yet, meaning implementation by someone like TiVo is a WAYS off (ie: plan on S4 ;) )

I still don't have HD because of the lack of Cable Cards in current systems. I have a 4-tuner MCE machine that gets used for everything.. Movies, music, TV, etc.

Seeing that an S3 will be $800 and I can transfer my S1 LT for $200, I'd be out $1000 .

It will be interesting to see the pricing of the Comcast TiVo service.

With Comcast, I would get the TiVo service on a dual tuner box and have VOD plus if the box breaks, I call Comcast and get a new one for free. It would take about 3 years (assuming the TiVo adds $10 to the already $16 rental price of the Comcast PVR) of paying Comcast a monthly fee to come close to $1000. So what would be the advantage of the actual TiVo over the Comcast solution except for having it be a LT sub?

[DancnDude]

AFAIK, this is not a given. Has anybody heard yet whether the S3 will support any sort of MRV?
Yes I realize the transfer part with S2's hasn't been confirmed but I know networking it will be possible. I would be disappointed if I couldn't transfer SD shows to a Series 2 though, or at least transfer shows from a Series 2 to a Series 3.

[mikesay98]

So am I to understand that this $199 transfer will only be good for a certain amount of time?

[c3]

Man, you're evil if you don't tell him the truth. ;)

He is more evil if he tells the seller the truth after the purchase.

[Shawn95GT]

Personally, I expect MRV to be disabled altogether on the S3 :(
That would piss me off beyond belief. Now S3 to a S2 I can see not happening because of the need for a down conversion, but no S3 to S3? Or even S2 to S3?

I wish the content providers would realize that digital doesn't automatically mean 100% perfect copy. More like it'll be as good as you got it from your provider. I guess this is 'bad enough' as far as a the copyright people are concerned.

No MRV / TTG could kill the S3 for me. Right now with my S2s MRV is a necessity and the dual tuner will solve a lot of that, but TTG / off-Tivo archiving is a big part of my Tivo experience right now too.

No MRV would make me buy 1 S3 vs multiples.

[c3]

What happens to the S1/S2 after the 1-year free period? If billing continues, who will be billed? When the lifetime unit is transferred to another owner, TiVo has the billing info for the original owner, not the new owner. If this is not sorted out, billing will be a mess.

[Bierboy]

So am I to understand that this $199 transfer will only be good for a certain amount of time?
"Box must be purchased by December 31, 2006 and lifetime transfer by January 31, 2007."

[cwoody222]

I still don't have HD because of the lack of Cable Cards in current systems. I have a 4-tuner MCE machine that gets used for everything.. Movies, music, TV, etc.

Seeing that an S3 will be $800 and I can transfer my S1 LT for $200, I'd be out $1000 .

It will be interesting to see the pricing of the Comcast TiVo service.

With Comcast, I would get the TiVo service on a dual tuner box and have VOD plus if the box breaks, I call Comcast and get a new one for free. It would take about 3 years (assuming the TiVo adds $10 to the already $16 rental price of the Comcast PVR) of paying Comcast a monthly fee to come close to $1000. So what would be the advantage of the actual TiVo over the Comcast solution except for having it be a LT sub?

Other than losing ancilliary features that only SA features may have I don't think anyone will argue that the Comcast deal will be better. (assumng you have no need to record OTA)

[eisenb11]

I still don't have HD because of the lack of Cable Cards in current systems. I have a 4-tuner MCE machine that gets used for everything.. Movies, music, TV, etc.

Seeing that an S3 will be $800 and I can transfer my S1 LT for $200, I'd be out $1000 .

It will be interesting to see the pricing of the Comcast TiVo service.

With Comcast, I would get the TiVo service on a dual tuner box and have VOD plus if the box breaks, I call Comcast and get a new one for free. It would take about 3 years (assuming the TiVo adds $10 to the already $16 rental price of the Comcast PVR) of paying Comcast a monthly fee to come close to $1000. So what would be the advantage of the actual TiVo over the Comcast solution except for having it be a LT sub?

Well don't forget that there may also be a $150 rebate that you can use on the purchase to drop the OOP price down to $850 with the transfer.

As for Comcast, didn't I read that it wasn't going to be ready until around 2008 or whatever? So you have to wait all that time.

Then add on the extra cost for the DVR services ($10/mo I think)? The price for 2x cablecards from TWC in my area is like $3.00/mo total so the actual savings is about $7/mo. I'm not sure if comcast does it, but I believe TWC also makes me pay more for the DVR box over a regular one (on top of the service cost).

Also I'm not a fan of the SA boxes, though the Motorola ones were ok.

If we assume you keep the S3 for 3 years, the actual cost starts to drop to more like the $500ish range.

I think that's a pretty good deal considering the quality of the S3 over the cable offerings and that Tivo is more likely to listen to consumer input over box features.

[eisenb11]

What happens to the S1/S2 after the 1-year free period? If billing continues, who will be billed? When the lifetime unit is transferred to another owner, TiVo has the billing info for the original owner, not the new owner. If this is not sorted out, billing will be a mess.

Since the original S1/S2 were lifetimes it is possible there would be no billing info on file (some OEMs came pre-configured w lifetime service).

I'd assume that the box would just die...?

[eisenb11]

Guess I'll throw a quick concern into the bunch:

I wonder how Tivo is going to be handling output?

I currently use a SA box and I hate what it does. It takes the source material and converts it to 1080i (or 720p) on the way out.

What would be awesome is to have a box that doesn't do this. I.E. 1080i in = 1080i out... 720p in = 720p out... 480i in = 480i out.

Since the S3 is supposed to not cater to "regular consumers" then it should allow native output to cater to the high-end crowd who have dedicated external scaler units.

Does anyone know if this is the case or if the S3 is going to play the same "pick an output resolution" game that all the other folks play?

[c3]

Well don't forget that there may also be a $150 rebate that you can use on the purchase to drop the OOP price down to $850 with the transfer.

Rebate does not work with transfer.

[jfh3]

What happens to the S1/S2 after the 1-year free period? If billing continues, who will be billed? When the lifetime unit is transferred to another owner, TiVo has the billing info for the original owner, not the new owner. If this is not sorted out, billing will be a mess.

You're confused - no change required for billing.

The person who has the now-monthly S1 or S2 registered to their account will be billed when the year is up.

Doesn't matter if the lifetime unit (now the S3) was transferred to a different owner than the person who owns the S1 or S2 box.

[c3]

Since the original S1/S2 were lifetimes it is possible there would be no billing info on file (some OEMs came pre-configured w lifetime service).


All units have billing info on file, except for "free" units which are probably billed to TiVo.

[cwoody222]

As for Comcast, didn't I read that it wasn't going to be ready until around 2008 or whatever? So you have to wait all that time.



The goal was by the end of this year. Looks like wide availability will be in early 2007. (according to recent TiVo financial filings)

[eisenb11]

Rebate does not work with transfer.

Ouch, if that's the case, I'm glad I was evil in my used S1 purchase... going to have to pay another $150 higher than anticipated because of the transfer!

[eisenb11]

The goal was by the end of this year. Looks like wide availability will be in early 2007. (according to recent TiVo financial filings)

Wow, that's an aggressive rollout. If that's the case, it may be worth waiting to see how Comcasts offering turns out since we're really not talking too much time.

TWC here, so this is a no-brainer for me.

[btwyx]

I currently use a SA boxI'm assuming you don't mean "Stand Alone (TiVo)" which is what "SA" usually means around here. Else I was wondering where you got an HD SA TiVO.What would be awesome is to have a box that doesn't do this. I.E. 1080i in = 1080i out... 720p in = 720p out... 480i in = 480i out.The S3 will be able to output at whatever resolution you want (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) independent of the input signal. The current HD TiVos have that facility. If you want "Native Pass Through" which is where the output is automatically adjusted to be the same (or as similar as possible) to the input, then I'd not sure if that's supposed to be in the S3 or not. Its one of the top requested features.

[vman41]

I'm assuming you don't mean "Stand Alone (TiVo)" which is what "SA" usually means around here.

In the context of High Definition DVRs, SA means Scientific Atlanta.

[c3]

You're confused - no change required for billing.

The person who has the now-monthly S1 or S2 registered to their account will be billed when the year is up.

No, I'm not confused. If the person has to sign up again for the monthly "1-year free" service, then that works fine. Right now, when I transfer a lifetime unit to you, I'm still the billing owner for that unit, not you.

[Dan203]

Plus - someone correct me if I'm wrong here - the multistream cards don't even have a standards approved yet, meaning implementation by someone like TiVo is a WAYS off (ie: plan on S4 ;) )


Your wording is wrong! Multi-Stream cards have been approved and should be available very soon. It's the CableCARD 2.0 standard, which incompasses all the bidirectional communication stuff, which is not yet approved. The Series 3 will support Multi-Stream cards, but it will NOT support the bidirectional communication portion of the CableCARD 2.0 spec as that would require a hardware change.

Dan

[Dan203]

I think the general consensus is that it definitely won't allow transfers FROM the S3 because it would then be a digital copy of a digital source.

That's actually not true! There is a copy protection scheme in place that will allow digital cable channels to prevent you from transfering their content. However it's something they explicitly have to use.

The big "problem" with transferring from a S3 to a S2 is that the S2 is not capable of decoding an HD signal. Which means that there is no way for a S2 to play back a recording from an HD channel even if the user didn't mind watching in SD quality.

Dan

[cwoody222]

Your wording is wrong! Multi-Stream cards have been approved and should be available very soon. It's the CableCARD 2.0 standard, which incompasses all the bidirectional communication stuff, which is not yet approved. The Series 3 will support Multi-Stream cards, but it will NOT support the bidirectional communication portion of the CableCARD 2.0 spec as that would require a hardware change.

Dan

Oops. I'm sorry and you are right. Multistream card (singlular) would allow a user to record two digital cable channels at the same time, right? (the back of the TiVo even specifies which slot gets this one, right?)

[Gene S]

I want to transfer the lifetime from an old S1 to a new S3 and toss the old S1.
What if I don't want the 12 month service on the S1 I just transfered?

[bap]

I want to transfer the lifetime from an old S1 to a new S3 and toss the old S1.
What if I don't want the 12 month service on the S1 I just transfered?
Give/sell the unit to somebody who wants an S1.

[eisenb11]

If you want "Native Pass Through" which is where the output is automatically adjusted to be the same (or as similar as possible) to the input, then I'd not sure if that's supposed to be in the S3 or not. Its one of the top requested features.

Correct, it's native passthrough that I'm after. The reason being that my dedicated scaler box is probably going to do a much better job scaling than whatever integrated solution is in the STB.

Knowing that it's one of the top requested features makes me feel a lot better.

You'd think that from Tivo's standpoint it would be an easy feature. Simply record from source and play from recording... no conversion steps necessary... I've no idea why manufacturers feel they need to make us pick a single resolution then lock us into that res.

[Stu_Bee]

I want to transfer the lifetime from an old S1 to a new S3 and toss the old S1.
What if I don't want the 12 month service on the S1 I just transfered?

heh..yeah. I was just thinking that
(a) people will soon be Ebaying series1/2's with "1 year pre-paid service" in the tag line.
(b) Can we get a further discount if we send a video to Tivo of us bashing in our old Series1/2's? They'd be off the streets thus forcing people into the newer S3 ad revenue generating stream. ;)

[Shawn95GT]

I want to transfer the lifetime from an old S1 to a new S3 and toss the old S1.
What if I don't want the 12 month service on the S1 I just transfered?
Now you know why the year of service is free vs a $50 or $100 option ;).

[Dan203]

Oops. I'm sorry and you are right. Multistream card (singlular) would allow a user to record two digital cable channels at the same time, right? (the back of the TiVo even specifies which slot gets this one, right?)

Correct. The unit can use either one multi-stream card or two single stream cards to access the dual tuner functionality. (and yes it says something like "use bottom slot first" on the back of the unit)

Dan

[eisenb11]

Hmm, I've been crunching more math and wonder... if you have an old Tivo with lifetime on it, is it worth it to transfer the subscription to the S3?

Option A: Transfer It

$800 + $250 = $1150... then you're done... forever... or until the unit breaks...

Option B: Keep It

The key here is that the lifetime unit will qualify you for the multi-unit discount
$800 + $7.00/month

I'd take off $150 for the rebate (for not transferring service), but it's questionable if the S3 applies. The current rebate only applies to the S2s.


So... breaking down the monthly.... $200 to xfer the lifetime breaks down to 29 months of payments at $7/mo.

If the rebate actually did work, it would take 50 months in order to hit the break even point.

If the rebate applied, it would not be worth doing the transfer because 50 months is a long time, you'd get another unit by then... but on the flip side the lifetime will increase the resale value of your used S3.

So assuming no rebate, we're looking at 29 months what would you do? Would you transfer the license for $200 or would you keep the old S1 and pay $7/mo?

Also what if the lifetime unit breaks out of warranty? Can Tivo do an out-of-warranty repair... and will they transfer the subscription?

[Dan203]

Option A: Transfer It

$800 + $250 = $1150... then you're done... forever... or until the unit breaks...

Uh that's some creative math there! $800 + $250 = $1,050 NOT $1,150. Also the transfer cost is $199 not $250. So basically a S3 with lifetime will cost $1,000. Add in the years worth of free service on your old unit and it's about $915. ($6.95 x 12 = $83.40)

Also you have to remember that a unit with lifetime will always have a higher resale value then one with out. So there is a good change that 2-3 years from now S3 units with lifetime will be selling on eBay for $300+ more then a unit without lifetime.

Dan

[eisenb11]

Oops, my bad... was preoccupied when I typed that message.

I had $200 in my head and typed $250 anyways... $200/$7 = 29 months (which was my calculated break-even point).

That is true, that I'll regain my initial investment when I sell the unit some day.

My main concern is what if the unit breaks?

Anything other than the hard drive out of warranty will not be possible to fix.

Does Tivo offer out-of-warranty repair options so I can keep the sub alive, or am I SOL at that point?

[Stu_Bee]

But maybe the lifetime of a S3 will fall short of what we have experienced with our S2's.
Will SDV come along and cripple the S3 in many markets within 2 years?

[Dan203]

Does Tivo offer out-of-warranty repair options so I can keep the sub alive, or am I SOL at that point?

They offer out of warrnty repair on S2 units, and it retains your lifetime sub.

Dan

[eisenb11]

Yeah, but that fear goes far wider than the fear of just losing $200 to the lifetime... $800 is bad enough by itself.

We'll have to wait and see what's going to happen in the SDV arena...

[eisenb11]

They offer out of warrnty repair on S2 units, and it retains your lifetime sub.

Dan

Thanks Dan, so it looks like there is no way to lose on getting a lifetime... unless our cable co goes SDV...

[Dan203]

But maybe the lifetime of a S3 will fall short of what we have experienced with our S2's.
Will SDV come along and cripple the S3 in many markets within 2 years?

That is a possibility. However I think 2 years is a little ambitious for most cable providers other then Time Warner. Heck Time Warner has been "testing" SDV for almost 3 years and is just now startng to deploy it wide. Plus, even with SDV, the S3 will have value to someone. There will always be people who don't care about the SDV channels or only have OTA anyway.

Dan

[eisenb11]

I wonder if Tivo will step in and sue TWC over the SDV issue.

SDV renders CableCard pretty worthless, which would seem to violate previous FCC requirements about CableCard support.

I've also read that perhaps SDV will not be a really big deal... but then again... you can't always believe what you read :)

[MickeS]

Ouch, if that's the case, I'm glad I was evil in my used S1 purchase... going to have to pay another $150 higher than anticipated because of the transfer!

Assuming there will be a rebate, which we don't know yet.

[Dan203]

I wonder if Tivo will step in and sue TWC over the SDV issue.

I believe there is a caluse in the CableCARD mandate which allows for "technological progress" beyond what the CableCARD is capable of. So I don't think TiVo would have a case.

Dan

[talmania]

I still don't have HD because of the lack of Cable Cards in current systems. I have a 4-tuner MCE machine that gets used for everything.. Movies, music, TV, etc.

Seeing that an S3 will be $800 and I can transfer my S1 LT for $200, I'd be out $1000 .

It will be interesting to see the pricing of the Comcast TiVo service.

With Comcast, I would get the TiVo service on a dual tuner box and have VOD plus if the box breaks, I call Comcast and get a new one for free. It would take about 3 years (assuming the TiVo adds $10 to the already $16 rental price of the Comcast PVR) of paying Comcast a monthly fee to come close to $1000. So what would be the advantage of the actual TiVo over the Comcast solution except for having it be a LT sub?

Disclaimer: I don't profess to be an expert on the S3--just learning about it myself.

One of the biggest advantages and the one that will drive me to get an S3 as opposed to a Motorola/SA Tivo is the capability to expand the storage capacity. As I understand it the S3 has a eSATA port and storage can be increased dramatically.

That's been the biggest issue (besides the non-Tivo interface of course) that I have with the 6412 that I have is the tiny, tiny storage space. HD gobbles it up in no time. I salivate at the prospect of adding several 750GB eSATA external drives to a S3 tivo. :D

[Dajad]

I don't know how it is in Canada, but I'm pretty sure the cable company, no matter the size, HAS to by law provide CableCARDS to those who ask for it.

Nope, its just the major Cablecos that do.

There are exceptions for smaller cable companies, they don't have to supply the CableCARDS. But we're talking about a small percentage of the cable market in the US.


I don't have a source to quote this (at the momement) but the last time I looked into this a couple years ago it was about 20-25% of the U.S. cable market that is not supplied by the major MSOs.

And, of course there is 100% of the Cdn market (the size of California) where the FCC rules don't apply.

sorry, I forgot your Canadian address. Yes that is a porblem but to my thinking falls under the market segment of such a size they will have to work with the currnent S2 to do SD recording in Canada. I assume you can use the S3 for OTA and analog recordings still. So the 12 months buys you some time but I suppose if I lived in Canada I would keep lifetime on the S2 if I had it and go MSD on the S3 if I thought it worth the money to do OTA and analog cable.

Yes, Canadians can use the S3 for OTA and analogue. That's my plan. However, there is no April 2009 cut-over to digital deadline in Canada so the digital transition is about 4 years behind the U.S. in Canada. Many Canadian networks are not yet up and running in a digital form. Also, the ones that are are on such low power you have to be VERY close to the tower for it to be useful. And, for those of us in multi-story dwellings, when our unit faces away from the local tower, reception is near non-existant - even in major markets like Toronto where I am. So, OTA will not be an option for most. Heck, I've been jumping through hoops in my testing to get something working for myself.

...Dale

...Dale

[megazone]

Nice offer. But you'll have to take a chance on a newly released Series 3.I think that's the point. Just look at the forums - a number of people who were balking at the price of the S3 and/or the risk are now saying they'll pounce on this offer.

TiVo is looking to drive S3 sales while the boxes are still expensive - make revenue on the hardware, improve sales, make retail partners happy...

[Dajad]

What are the chances that the S3 box will be able to handle 2-way cable-cards?
Is that a firmware upgrade thing or actual hardware changes?

I use the Comcast VOD service for all the HBO shows, movies and kids programming.

As I understand it, the S3 will be able to work unidirectionally with the 2-way cards when they come out. Meaning, you can plug them in and the 1 way functionality will work but the 2-way functionality won't.

Not sure why you need VOD for kids shows. My dozen or so nieces and nephews are generally fine watching the same things a 100 times - PVRs are great for that. Record a dozen or so kids movies and you are set for years! But, no, the S3 will never, as far as I know, support VOD or any other functionality that requires 2-way interaction.

For that, keep your S2 and your current set-top, order the VOD show, manually tune your TiVo into the VOD channel and record away.

...Dale

[megazone]

This Lifetime Service transfer for $200 illustrates perfectly how unreliable all the "informed" speculation on these Forums really is. But that stupid Forum Troll got ridiculed more than once for posting the bright idea that TiVo ought to price Lifetime Service @ $500! It essentially is, probably to test the market as well as reward existing customers! :pNot really the same thing. I admit I am very surprised to see this offer. I never expected TiVo to offer transfers to the S3. But for $199 they'll drive sales of the new boxes while the price is high.

I really don't think this is testing the waters for bringing lifetime back. I think this is a real, limited time deal - just like the S1 to S2 transfer offer when the S2 came out. Most likely early next year the pricing on the S3 will come down and the transfer offer expires, and it becomes a standard box offering.

But I am happy to see this. I'll probably transfer the lifetime off of my RS-TX20, and maybe I'll end up selling it. Or I may just let it lapse back to Basic. I really only use it as a DVD player in my room now.

Well it looks like there will be a Series 3 in my future and another Series 2 laying around and not being used (after a year), and it also looks like I'll end up taking a bath on that Lifetime Service Gift Card I bought.Sell the card on eBay NOW - I'm sure there will be suckers, er, buyers who don't hear about this offer before buying the card. ;-)

Or hold onto it until next year - there will be people who still want lifetime once this offer expires, and they'll start looking for cards again.

[megazone]

I've thought about going to the S3 just to keep up, but I don't have an HD TV nor do I have digital cable...... but if I do have 4 S1 machines with lifetime.If you have the money to front, you could buy multiple S3s, lifetime them all, and then resell them. There are going to be people who want and S3 and lifetime, but don't have a unit to transfer from. See what the best deal is on an S3 (I'm sure there will be online discounts from resellers), slap lifetime on it, and start bidding at $999. :-)

[phox_mulder]

I'm torn now.

I had just about convinced myself that $800 wasn't that bad.
Heck, I just shelled out $1,500 (that I really couldn't afford)last spring on my HDTV/HR10-250 and assorted cables and such, what's another $800.

I knew my lifetimed S2 wouldn't be doing much if I did get an S3, so was just going to hand it down to a family member, but keep it on my account so I could get the $6.95 on the S3.

Now, $1,000 is a lot of money to spend upfront, maybe too much.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.


phox

[megazone]

I have a lifetime on my S2. If I get a S3, with the multi-unit discount, the fee on the S3 is 6.95 a month.

Or I can transfer the lifetime to the S3 and pay $199, get a year "free" on the S2, and then with the multi-series discount, I pay 6.95 a month.

Tivo is hoping some people are bad at math, which they obviously are.$199 - (6.95x12) = $115.60.

So you're basically paying $115.60 over that one year span, more than just paying $6.95 on the new S3.

For that you get lifetime on the new S3 - which is newer hardware and, hopefully, has a longer life expectancy than an old box. So you prolong the value of the lifetime. It also means you can retire, resell, etc, that old box. Not everyone wants or needs to keep the old box in service - now the S3 can replace the old box completely. No need to call in at least once every six months to sustain MSD. This is especially good if it is a DVD box with TiVo Basic, those retain more value without a sub.

I don't think $115.60 is a bad deal at all to transfer lifetime to the new S3 and eliminate any dependence on the old box.

[megazone]

What are the chances that the S3 box will be able to handle 2-way cable-cards?
Is that a firmware upgrade thing or actual hardware changes?Approximately 0 in a million. And it is a hardware change - based on the current proposed spec.

You would need to keep a cable box as well as the S3 to use PPV, OnDemand, etc - which you would do independent of the TiVo.

[megazone]

Man, you're evil if you don't tell him the truth. ;)I think it would be more evil TO tell him. The deal is done, the seller is probably happy with it. If he learns he just walked away from hundreds of dollars, that'd be cruel.

A buyer shouldn't be obligated to get a seller to charge *more*. ;-)

[megazone]

Does anyone know if this is the case or if the S3 is going to play the same "pick an output resolution" game that all the other folks play?The S3 can output in 'native' - so whatever the source came in as. OR you can lock it to a resolution if your TV needs that. That was back at CES.

[megazone]

Ouch, if that's the case, I'm glad I was evil in my used S1 purchase... going to have to pay another $150 higher than anticipated because of the transfer!That's pure speculation. First of all, the current rebate expires in a week or so. There may not BE a rebate on the S3 at all!

Second, the restrictions on transfers and rebates is on a completely different type of transfer. This is a special deal, we don't know the details. But I doubt TiVo would offer a special deal to 'loyal customers', and then backhand them with losing a rebate at the same time!

[megazone]

I want to transfer the lifetime from an old S1 to a new S3 and toss the old S1.
What if I don't want the 12 month service on the S1 I just transfered?Then you don't use it. It is a free plus, you're free to throw it away.

[eisenb11]

The S3 can output in 'native' - so whatever the source came in as. OR you can lock it to a resolution if your TV needs that. That was back at CES.

Nice! I'm so early-adopting this thing :)

Oh, since you seem very knowledgable on the topic... do you know if the S3 will be able to be controlled via ethernet? I write automation software and would love to find a non-rsr232-to-IR way to integrate the S3 into my software.

Just got back home a few minutes ago from buying a S1 w lifetime.

No manual, no power cord, no remote, no cables... no idea if it even works... guy probably thought I was crazy buying it for $40!

[mattack]

That's been the biggest issue (besides the non-Tivo interface of course) that I have with the 6412 that I have is the tiny, tiny storage space. HD gobbles it up in no time. I salivate at the prospect of adding several 750GB eSATA external drives to a S3 tivo. :D

SEVERAL eSATA drives?? Isn't it limited to 1, based upon the current speculation?

That is, we don't know if you can actually remove one SATA drive and plug in another.. we know (based upon the CES talk) that if you remove an external drive, the recordings that straddle the drives will "disappear".. (We haven't heard whether they'll reappear upon reconnection.)

[eisenb11]

SEVERAL eSATA drives?? Isn't it limited to 1, based upon the current speculation?

That is, we don't know if you can actually remove one SATA drive and plug in another.. we know (based upon the CES talk) that if you remove an external drive, the recordings that straddle the drives will "disappear".. (We haven't heard whether they'll reappear upon reconnection.)

It may be possible to find an eSata RAID array of some sort to hook it up to...?

If the array has an onboard processor it'll just look like 1 massive hard drive as far as the S3 is concerned.

Something like this, for example:

http://www.firewire-1394.com/4-bay-hot-swap-esata-raid-kit-fusion-400.htm

or *drool*....

http://www.granitedigital.com/catalog/pg56_satahot-swapbackup8.htm

[megazone]

SEVERAL eSATA drives?? Isn't it limited to 1, based upon the current speculation?There are external enclosures which can appear to be a single, huge, drive to the host.

[greg_burns]

Or something more modest like this
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/04/17/thecus_brings_sata_to_external_storage/

[tgewin]

Anyone want to speculate on whether I'll be able to take advantage of this offer with an old Sony series 1 that has had a dead modem for a few years now? I was going to go through the trouble of either buying replacement parts and doing my best solder work ever or doing with an external modem option so I could take advantage of the multi-unit discount. This new option seems like a much better choice though. Instead of spending $50+ to get the S1 working and still have to pay $7/month on S3 service, I could just pay $199 and be done with it.

Any guesses or suggestions?

[eisenb11]

Or something more modest like this
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/04/17/thecus_brings_sata_to_external_storage/

Pfft! Modesty is for people who don't have S3s! ;)

[eisenb11]

Anyone want to speculate on whether I'll be able to take advantage of this offer with an old Sony series 1 that has had a dead modem for a few years now? I was going to go through the trouble of either buying replacement parts and doing my best solder work ever or doing with an external modem option so I could take advantage of the multi-unit discount. This new option seems like a much better choice though. Instead of spending $50+ to get the S1 working and still have to pay $7/month on S3 service, I could just pay $199 and be done with it.

Any guesses or suggestions?

My guess is yes and I'm going to bet my money on it. I just bought a Sony S1 w lifetime today.

[TiVo Troll]

So I have two S2's (a 160 & a 540) with lifetime service and upgraded HD's. I don't use either of them because I have Comcast and use the SA8000HD. The 160 is currently on Ebay, listed for Best Offer. I was going to list the 540 next.

Any suggestions? Should I finish the sale of of the first one, and hold onto the second one to get the lifetime on the new S3? :eek:

Now that you know how the Lifetime Service Offer will work, "Best Offer" would be fine, if you don't need to transfer Lifetime Service, as long as you've figured out what the 160 is worth to you.

[TiVo Troll]

Man, you're evil if you don't tell him the truth. ;)

No! It's the American Way.

Not righteously 100% moral ("what would Jesus do?") but "live" is just evil, backwards.

The question is, would I tell him? I certainly would if asked. Otherwise, why?

[eisenb11]

No! It's the American Way.

Not righteously 100% moral ("what would Jesus do?") but "live" is just evil, backwards.

The question is, would I tell him? I certainly would if asked. Otherwise, why?

Actually, he did ask so I vaguely mentioned that I was going to play around with it then try to transfer the license to another unit.

I did refrain from telling him what the license was worth and that it was going into a HD Tivo (he just bought a new plasma)... so that's not completely evil right... right? right? :eek:

[ah30k]

My guess is yes and I'm going to bet my money on it. I just bought a Sony S1 w lifetime today.
Since none of us has the details yet, we can only speculate. There is a change they may only allow 'working' lifetime units to transfer. This would mean they have to dial in periodically to be eligible. I'm not saying they will, but they might. They have this same heartbeat requirement for MSD.

[TiVo Troll]

This Lifetime Service transfer for $200 illustrates perfectly how unreliable all the "informed" speculation on these Forums really is. But that stupid Forum Troll got ridiculed more than once for posting the bright idea that TiVo ought to price Lifetime Service @ $500! It essentially is, probably to test the market as well as reward existing customers!

Not really the same thing. I admit I am very surprised to see this offer. I never expected TiVo to offer transfers to the S3. But for $199 they'll drive sales of the new boxes while the price is high.

I really don't think this is testing the waters for bringing lifetime back. I think this is a real, limited time deal - just like the S1 to S2 transfer offer when the S2 came out. Most likely early next year the pricing on the S3 will come down and the transfer offer expires, and it becomes a standard box offering.

I don't really disagree. And I'm sure that the Series 3 price will drop radically after this deal closes.

But while it's "not...the same thing" it's close enough for gummint work. TiVo will learn what the demand is for Liftime Service is at the equivalent of $500 plus the expensive box fee.

This is a completely different deal than the free Series 1 to 2 Lifetime Transfer and is the first time that a new Lifetime Offer has been made since Lifetime was discontinued. I believe that the primary reason for this offer is to control the availability of scarce Series 3 during the early months of its release by using market forces instead of quotas and at the same time to get a signicant quick jolt of cash ($800 + $200) from each taker.

But in the future all bets are off. TiVo adapts to whatever strategy they believe will work best for them. And why not?

Sell (your) card on eBay NOW - I'm sure there will be suckers, er, buyers who don't hear about this offer before buying the card. ;-)

I don't do business that way. I know I'm positively Un-American. (However, if I was a buyer I wouldn't inform a seemingly ignorant seller about their item unless s/he specifically asked me a question about it.)

Or hold onto it until next year - there will be people who still want lifetime once this offer expires, and they'll start looking for cards again.

Hey, I want an upgraded dual tuner Series 2 to apply Lifetime Service to!

But I am happy to see this.

Yep, this is a great offer!

[TiVo Troll]

Actually, he did ask so I vaguely mentioned that I was going to play around with it then try to transfer the license to another unit.

I did refrain from telling him what the license was worth and that it was going into a HD Tivo (he just bought a new plasma)... so that's not completely evil right... right? right? :eek:

So you fudged your way through it.

Wow, you're the American Ideal! Definitely Presidential material.

[TiVo Troll]

Since none of us has the details yet, we can only speculate. There is a change they may only allow 'working' lifetime units to transfer. This would mean they have to dial in periodically to be eligible. I'm not saying they will, but they might. They have this same heartbeat requirement for MSD.

I am involved in an eBay transaction with a seller who has a Series 1 eligible for the one-time Lifetime Service transfer. He wants to keep the unit but sell the Lifetime Service.

I emailed TiVoStephen asking to be directed to a definitive source regarding whether Lifetime Service transfer eligibility would continue indefinitely whether or not the Series 1 called in to TiVo. I haven't gotten a reply yet.

Is there anyone here who can post regarding a definitive source? Informed (or uninformed) opinions are welcome, but I won't conclude the deal without feeling confident that I have a right to transfer the service at any time in the future. Maybe I'll end up regretting the deal? :(

[MickeS]

I am involved in an eBay transaction with a seller who has a Series 1 eligible for the one-time Lifetime Service transfer. He wants to keep the unit but sell the Lifetime Service.

I emailed TiVoStephen asking to be directed to a definitive source regarding whether Lifetime Service transfer eligibility would continue indefinitely whether or not the Series 1 called in to TiVo. I haven't gotten a reply yet.

Is there anyone here who can post regarding a definitive source? Informed (or uninformed) opinions are welcome, but I won't conclude the deal without feeling confident that I have a right to transfer the service at any time in the future. Maybe I'll end up regretting the deal? :(

I don't understand your question. Do you mean that at the time of transfer they would ask you to force a call from your existing S1, or what do you mean?

The lifetime transfer eligibility won't continue indefinitely either way, only until 1/31/07 and only on S3's activated before 12/31/06.

[TiVo Troll]

I am involved in an eBay transaction with a seller who has a Series 1 eligible for the one-time Lifetime Service transfer. He wants to keep the unit but sell the Lifetime Service.

I don't understand your question. Do you mean that at the time of transfer they would ask you to force a call from your existing S1, or what do you mean?

The lifetime transfer eligibility won't continue indefinitely either way, only until 1/31/07 and only on S3's activated before 12/31/06.

The seller wants to use the Series 1 unsubbed, for manual recordings and trick play only.

The deal has to do with a Series 1 eligible for the grandfathered Lifetime one-time transfer exception and has nothing to do with the new Series 3 Lifetime transfer offer.

[jfh3]

No, I'm not confused. If the person has to sign up again for the monthly "1-year free" service, then that works fine. Right now, when I transfer a lifetime unit to you, I'm still the billing owner for that unit, not you.

That's irreleveant, because the lifetime unit will never get billed. And also wrong, because the TSN is associated with the new owner's billing info, not the original. The original owner can still SEE the billing history to that point, but that's it.

Besides, the issue is who gets billed for the original unit, which is presumably under your account, since ownership transfer of any non-lifetime isn't allowed.

Been there, done that. No billing issues for the original S1/S2.

[jsmeeker]

Just now got around to enabling backdoors on my TiVo and turing on the display of the Teleworld stuff in Now Playing.


Yet another great video from Shanan. She really did get to dress up. Looked GREAT, as always. Loved the out takes at the end, too. I'm getting excited. It's almost here.

[Deacon West]

Couldn't enable my backdoors, but thanks for the update. The best news I have heard from TiVo in a long time.

[eisenb11]

So you fudged your way through it.

Wow, you're the American Ideal! Definitely Presidential material.

It's the American Dream (TM)! The Presidential thing may be a good idea... with my views towards business aimed towards foreign policy we may be able to turn our trade deficit around. :D

Vote eisenb11 for President!

[Dan203]

I am gonna be the first...how'd you do that?

He's got a Series 1 TiVo. They still run version 3.0 of the software, which has a known backdoor code. After 3.0 they started encrypting the code, so the only way to get into a newer unit is to hack in and change the backdoor code manually to something you know.

Dan

[DCIFRTHS]

Nice offer. But you'll have to take a chance on a newly released Series 3.

I'll take that chance :)

[DCIFRTHS]

Heh...

What do you guys do? Check your TiVo the first thing in the morning for updates??

Ha! Do you mean, instead of checking TiVoShannan's webcam?

[DCIFRTHS]

she sounded annoyed that people knew the number already to me :p

Since you called an 800 number, she now has your number as well...

[SystemJinx]

Nice offer. But you'll have to take a chance on a newly released Series 3.


I'll take that chance :)

Ditto.

I plan on having an S3 in service long after my S2 is put out to pasture. Might as well transfer the lifetime service while I still can.

As for the S2, I can still use it with the 1 year free sub and then pay $6.95 until I'm tired of it.

[DCIFRTHS]

TiVo should realize that the cat's out of the bag and have a gracious voice answer a single phone at the 800# and patiently answer any questions that come in. Resulting busy signals will take care of an undue volume of calls, but having one gracious live person to field questions would be well worth paying the going wage for.

A recorded announcement asking us to call back when the S3 is available would be good too.

[DCIFRTHS]

Guess I'll throw a quick concern into the bunch:

I wonder how Tivo is going to be handling output?

I currently use a SA box and I hate what it does. It takes the source material and converts it to 1080i (or 720p) on the way out.

What would be awesome is to have a box that doesn't do this. I.E. 1080i in = 1080i out... 720p in = 720p out... 480i in = 480i out.

Since the S3 is supposed to not cater to "regular consumers" then it should allow native output to cater to the high-end crowd who have dedicated external scaler units.

Does anyone know if this is the case or if the S3 is going to play the same "pick an output resolution" game that all the other folks play?

Accoring to MegaZone, in another thread, the S3 does have a native mode. I'll look for the thread, and update my post with a link.

EDIT: I see MZ already answered this about a page ago :)

[megazone]

Just now got around to enabling backdoors on my TiVo and turing on the display of the Teleworld stuff in Now Playing.Can you transfer it to a PC? If so, get that baby up on YouTube!

[mikesay98]

I have a question that maybe you can help with. I currently have a Series 2 with lifetime. I also have purchased (this was in anticipation) two Series 1 units on eBay that are both eligible for the one-time grandfather transfer. I only needed one, but the opportunities presented themselves and I got each for $400. Now, at this point, I'm figuring I might as well buy the upgrade to the S3 from my S2 for the $199. I had originally thought of selling the extra S1 on eBay on an S3 for some profit. However, since this special transfer is only good for a specific amount of time, and the grandfather clause is "supposedly?" good for...well, a lifetime, I'm almost considering keeping the S1's and waiting in case a better S3 comes out or hell, even if a S4 comes out in a few years. By then, even gift cards would be useless. I don't plan on using the S1's, and they have no problems that I know of. So it all comes down to, what would your plan of action be here? I can manage to afford the costs of the S1 if they stay in a box, and I guess I would have to do a call every 6 months. I figure even if something goes wrong (HD failure, etc) I can still manage the one-time transfer so I'm not completely out. All your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[megazone]

Yeah, sounds like the S1s are 'money in the bank' - they'll be eligible for transfer to the S4, S5, etc, unless something big changes.

[jfh3]

Can you transfer it to a PC? If so, get that baby up on YouTube!

Nope. Just tried to move it to put on my wife's iPod. TTG can see the program, but gets an error "Can't find program" or something when trying to select the program for transfer, probably because it's recorded to the reserved area.

I wasn't thinking clearly and changed the status on the recording, rather than setting a new one that wouldn't normally be hidden, so I hope I didn't mess up future Showcases.

Got a copy on a Comcast DVR, but don't have an easy way to move it. Was going to transcribe it for those that can't wait, but it says what the OP claims ... :)

[joatnm]

Any word if the series 3 will be compatable with other brand series 2 players. I have a series 2 humax with dvd burner. I still want to burn movies recorded in HD.

I am not so sure that the Swaping the Lifetime subsription deal is a good deal. I mean It's the same service for both units right? Doesn't really matter which one has the lifetime right? You go and pay $200 extra for what? Either way you are going to have 2 tivo boxes one with a lifetime subscription and one with monthly or prepaid subscription.

Oh and if you are thinking of the free year subscription for your old machine... I mean really, I'd bet once they start selling these Series 3 players they will be offering year long subscriptions with your new purchace. Call me a cynic but I think this is just a way for getting back at those people who got a good deal off them.

Am I missing something here?? I mean someone PLEASE correct me if I am wrong. They do sell it well don't they though? Just wait and see.

[jfh3]

Oh and if you are thinking of the free year subscription for your old machine... I mean really, I'd bet once they start selling these Series 3 players they will be offering year long subscriptions with your new purchace. Call me a cynic but I think this is just a way for getting back at those people who got a good deal off them.

Cynic. ;)

This seems like a way to get as many of the lifetime Series 1's off the books as possible, which helps in a number of ways.

Why not throw a bone to the very early adopters? This is a win-win, as long as NEW lifetime subscriptions aren't sold.

[cwoody222]

I am not so sure that the Swaping the Lifetime subsription deal is a good deal. I mean It's the same service for both units right? Doesn't really matter which one has the lifetime right? You go and pay $200 extra for what? Either way you are going to have 2 tivo boxes one with a lifetime subscription and one with monthly or prepaid subscription.



I agree. To a point. You're right that you pay $200 just to have one subbed and one unsubbed at the end of the year. And that free year is really only worth around $80 @ $6.95/mo.

You could sell the S2 unsubbed but you wouldn't get much for it.

You could sell the S2 later if you wanted and re-coup much of your investment. But you'd also have to re-coup the 'extra' $200.

I don't see this as a great deal. If I were to do it I'd want to keep my S2 hooked up (even though I wouldn't need it) just to qualify for the Multi-service discount.

[cwoody222]

Anyone want to speculate on whether I'll be able to take advantage of this offer with an old Sony series 1 that has had a dead modem for a few years now? I was going to go through the trouble of either buying replacement parts and doing my best solder work ever or doing with an external modem option so I could take advantage of the multi-unit discount. This new option seems like a much better choice though. Instead of spending $50+ to get the S1 working and still have to pay $7/month on S3 service, I could just pay $199 and be done with it.

Any guesses or suggestions?

D'oh! Now I'm really pissed at my father for throwing away not one but TWO old S1's with lifetime that he had when the hardware failed. (I never could convince him to sell them on eBay or give them to me... to see on eBay)

(at least they weren't old ones that were grandfathered)

I wonder if he still has the serial number / service number we could do something... hmmm)

[bicker]

Well, if the hardware had failed, they would no longer be valid for the transfer, correct?

[Shawn95GT]

I have the Video captured via a crappy USB capture device which dorked the aspect ratio. I'll re-code it and post a link. In the mean time, the stills came out ok:

http://www.shawnz.com/TCF/S3Promo.gif

[Squeege96]

Has anyone noticed that www.tivo.com/vip is no longer a dead link?

I may have Bluemoon on the brain, but I really think that there will be somesort of announcement today... :up:

[cap]

I was able to copy the S1 video to my S2 and transfer to my pc then convert the two clips, but they are too big for my very small cox website (9.27mg info about the s3 and 4.5mg transfer clip).

Any ideas where else to put them?

I have been out to youtube, but don't know anything about putting videos out there.

What about the video encoding key the S2's use when transferring video's?
Could this be linked back to me and get my Tivo deactivated?

[wigleyd]

is this company really that strapped for cash? Why not make the transfer to one series 3 unit for free? You would sell a hell of a lot more boxes.

[greg_burns]

What about the video encoding key the S2's use when transferring video's?
Could this be linked back to me and get my Tivo deactivated?

I know I wouldn't be trying it.

[cap]

I know I wouldn't be trying it.
Exactly why I'm hesitant!

[cwoody222]

Cool, my did NOT throw away one of the broken S1s! I think all that was wrong was the sound went. I should (hopefully) be able to hook it up to a phone line and dialin to validate the service again. We'll see.

That way it's sort of like I'm just paying $199 for lifetime without losing lifetime on another box.

Still gotta justify that $800, though. Heck, that's what I paid for my first DVR way back in 1999! And that included lifetime service (it was a 20hr ReplayTV).

[Shawn95GT]

X-fered from the Tivo digitally I'd be concerned too. I recorded (via an old USB capture device) from the Discovery channel where the Teleworld broadcast was playing ;).

[cwoody222]

I have the Video captured via a crappy USB capture device which dorked the aspect ratio. I'll re-code it and post a link. In the mean time, the stills came out ok:



Well, I guess that verifies that the box shots on the web last week were legit. I gotta say, I don't like their new HD logos and slimmer font "TiVo" logo :(


And I know some of you hetero guys like Shannon but MY GOD, what the HELL is she wearing?!?! Is it a promo video or a burlesque show?! :p

[cap]

X-fered from the Tivo digitally I'd be concerned too. I recorded (via an old USB capture device) from the Discovery channel where the Teleworld broadcast was playing ;).

Yeah I think I'll just hold onto those videos then.

Sorry guys.
I'm sure you'll see them soon enough.

[ufo4sale]

How would you find out when a life time was purchase on a TiVo?

[greg_burns]

How would you find out when a life time was purchase on a TiVo?

Log into tivo.com and go to billing history.

[jlb]

Shanan looks hot in that promo!!!!

[Bierboy]

Shanan looks hot in that promo!!!!
WHOA -- I read your message quickly, and, for a second I thought you said "porno"! :eek: :eek: :eek:

[ZeoTiVo]

Still gotta justify that $800, though. Heck, that's what I paid for my first DVR way back in 1999! And that included lifetime service (it was a 20hr ReplayTV).


Yep, I was going to wait out till middle of next year and see where the price was then. Now I have to make more of a gamble on the whole thing.

I have lifetime on a 240 and I use it in the bedroom and like the box. 800$ was above my price point as well since I do not do HD and and just have extended basic cable. My plan was to watch what happens and start looking at HD TVs to buy.

Now I have to decide if buying a s3 in december and transfering my lifetime is a better deal than waiting. if I could get the S3 for 650$ I would be more inclined to do so. 800$ not so much.

6.95 * 48 months = 333.60 so that is my general feel for the value of lifetime on an S3 and my price point was 500$ so 850$ Total would work for me though it would be minus the feeling of loosing lifetime on the 240.

[MickeS]

And I know some of you hetero guys like Shannon but MY GOD, what the HELL is she wearing?!?! Is it a promo video or a burlesque show?! :p

Why can't it be BOTH, you narrowminded little man?

[Bierboy]

Has anyone noticed that www.tivo.com/vip is no longer a dead link?...Yes, at 2:30 yesterday afternoon. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=314879)(CDT)

[Jazhuis]

Something like this, for example:
(Can't post URL's)


Looks like it's still a 1-1 connection, though. The info seems to need 4 external eSATA ports on the PC/device. It's hard to tell with these things, but while lots of them use SATA drives internally, it's harder to find one that does all the RAID internally as well, and presents itself via a single eSATA port. :(

The other one is even harder to tell. :(

[Jazhuis]

Oh, and this frame is total money:

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4528/shanpromorc7.jpg

[Bierboy]

Oh, and this frame is total money:

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4528/shanpromorc7.jpg
YES :up: :up: :up:

[davezatz]

Should we have a caption contest? ;)

[Shawn95GT]

Hehe - here is a cleanier pic without the .GIF fuzz (not much of an improvement, but why not if anyone is photoshopping their captions in):

http://www.shawnz.com/TCF/S3_006.jpg

[jsmeeker]

I'm really suprised more people don't have the ability to see this on their TiVos.

Anyway, I would think that the yellow star promotion should be popping up any day now.

[Shawn95GT]

The video before the lifetime x-fer promo says 'buy it now' all over it, so they probably won't release the video until you can order it.

[jsmeeker]

The video before the lifetime x-fer promo says 'buy it now' all over it, so they probably won't release the video until you can order it.


of course not.. But they wouldn't broadcast the video *weeks* before it went on sale. Just days.