DirecTivo Series 1 and Series 2 on the same account

[rwmair]

A friend of mine was one of the first adopters of Tivo for his DirecTV reception. He's had a trusty Sony Series 1 box for many years.

At that time, the monthly "Tivo fee" was paid directly to Tivo. It was about $13 a month, but I think he paid the "lifetime" option of $250 in one go. He's never paid the $6 a month DVR fee to DirecTV.

He's now looking for a second Tivo unit, and a back-up for his Sony. I've suggested he look for R-10 units on eBay, as they are the most recent Tivo-powered DirecTV receivers.

Does anyone know how DirecTV will handle the DVR monthly fee for him? I presume DirecTV will just start charging the $6 fee, and will claim no knowledge of, or lack of interest in, his original lifetime Tivo fee. Can this be fought, or is it not worth the effort?

Has anyone been through this?

Thanks

[JimSpence]

There is only one DVR fee per account, no matter how many you have. I also believe that the lifetime is now associated with the account and therefore also covers all DVRs. When he activates the second unit, he needs to remind the CSR that he has lifetime status. The CSR may say that they no longer offer lifetime, but he's grandfathered in.

I have not gone through this, as I don't have lifetime.

[TonyTheTiger]

Was the series 1 Sony a TiVo box or a D* receiver with TiVo service?

If he was paying $13, I'm guessing it's the former, in which case it has nothing to do with D* and the $5.99 monthly DVR fee would apply. The early D* TiVo fee was just $4.99 and never as high as $13/Mo, but the SA TiVo fee was.

[sbourgeo]

The DVR service fee for DirectTiVo's went from $9.99 -> $4.99 -> $5.99, so it sounds like the Sony unit your friend has is a standalone if he was paying $13 per month.

If he does have a Sony DirecTiVo and paid for lifetime service when it was available, then he can add up to 7 more to his DirecTV account that will be covered by the lifetime DVR service on his account. He would still need to pay the $4.99 mirroring charge on it though...

[rwmair]

The DVR service fee for DirectTiVo's went from $9.99 -> $4.99 -> $5.99, so it sounds like the Sony unit your friend has is a standalone if he was paying $13 per month.

I'm pretty sure its a DirecTV receiver with Tivo, not a standalone Tivo. He doesn't use a separate DirecTV receiver - in fact, I seem to recall he offered me his old DirecTV receiver when he got the Tivo originally.


If he does have a Sony DirecTiVo and paid for lifetime service when it was available, then he can add up to 7 more to his DirecTV account that will be covered by the lifetime DVR service on his account. He would still need to pay the $4.99 mirroring charge on it though...

This would be excellent news! Thanks so much.

[classicsat]

IIRC, early on, you subscribed the DVR service through TiVo with the going rates for Standalones.

[rminsk]

IIRC, early on, you subscribed the DVR service through TiVo with the going rates for Standalones.From the first day it was $9.99 and never $13.