Sony Series 1 w/ Lifefime (bought in 2001)

[tetspa]

Hello everyone. Back in August of 2001 I bought a (then state-of-the-art) Sony Series 1 Tivo, and paid (back then it was $ 200 I think) for "lifetime" service. Since then there have been more series upgrades than Rocky movies it seems, but I have just happily in my ignorance enjoying my Series 1 with lifetime service on it.

I've read some posts and am concerned, so I would like to ask a series of questions here: As of today (Dec 2006):

1) As long as my Sony keeps working, is anything going to happen to my lifetime subscription (i.e. is Tivo going to force me to go month-to-month or something like that or "discontinue" the lifetime for Series 1?)

2) If my Sony Series 1 "dies", could I buy another Sony Series 1 off of Ebay and just transfer my lifetime service to it?

3) If my Sony Series 1 "dies" and I cannot get a Series 1 to replace it, can I buy a new Series-"whatever the latest number is", and transfer my lifetime from the dead Series 1 to it?

4) If I cant do option 2 or 3, is my only option left would be to auction the Series 1 lifetime subscription via Ebay, or would that not be any good to anybody either?

5) Finally, if I buy a new Tivo (either because my Sony dies or just because I want to replace it), is there anything I can do with the series-1 lifetime service to keep from having to pay month-to-month on the new unit?

Thanks to all.

[petew]

1) No
2) No
3) No
4-5) Until the end of the year you can transfer the lifetime to a new Series 3 for $200 transfer fee + Cost of the Series 3, consequently even non-functional lifetime tivos have a value today. I wouldn't like to guess how the price will change next year

Note: Lifetime is no longer available for purchase.

[gastrof]

I believe that second to the last sentence should have read "...even non-functional lifetime tivos have a value today."

[tetspa]

Follow-up:

It sounds like I have 2 weeks to either gamble that my Sony will keep working for a few more years, or "trade-up" by purchasing a Series 3 and paying $ 200 to transfer the lifetime subscription...hm...what to do...

How much is month-to-month now?

Also, if one purchases "direct TV" with a built-in TIVO (or the "free" TIVO that direct-TV says they will give you, does that include the dial-up service or do you have to pay a monthly fee (above and beyond what Direct TV charges) for the Direct TV TIVO unit to keep updating the schedule?

[hiker]

Follow-up:

It sounds like I have 2 weeks to either gamble that my Sony will keep working for a few more years, or "trade-up" by purchasing a Series 3 and paying $ 200 to transfer the lifetime subscription...hm...what to do...

How much is month-to-month now?

Also, if one purchases "direct TV" with a built-in TIVO (or the "free" TIVO that direct-TV says they will give you, does that include the dial-up service or do you have to pay a monthly fee (above and beyond what Direct TV charges) for the Direct TV TIVO unit to keep updating the schedule?
Service agreements have so many options that it's difficult to quote a month-to-month rate. Go here (http://www.tivo.com/5.11.asp) and read about the rates.

DirecTV no longer offers a receiver with TiVo so you will need to look on eBay, Weaknees.com, etc. The last DirecTiVos made were the R10 (standard definition) and HR10-250 (high definition). DirecTV charges $5.99/mo. total for the DVR service for one or multiple DVRs on the account.

I suggest you do what I did and get a S3 and transfer the lifertime service. Keep in mind the S3 does not work with DirecTV, just works with cable and OTA.