So what is Tivo up to?

[andydbrown50]

I've got three Tivo's a Tivo S3, Toshiba Tivo (with DVD Burner) Lifetime Basic and a Sony SVR-2000 S1 - which has lifetime.

I was thinking to myself - hmmm I bet Tivo (which I thought was an awesome company which I've done business with for years) is going to offer some sort of upgrade path. And indeed I see things all over the forums and even in the website. However - I can't actually seem to get either the TIvo website to work or a Tivo rep to know what I'm talking about! One day an offer is there and the next I can't find it on the website.

What happened to Tivo? Have they turned into just another company with poor service and less than honest attitude? I hope it's just me but I really don't trust Tivo right now. It seems like they throw teasers out and then don't follow up.

Is there one place we can go to find out about upgrade paths, services updates and other issues (like the infamous DVD burning issue on the Toshiba)? I'm just frustrated and confused.

[etsolow]

I'm just frustrated and confused.
I'm confused too. What are you trying to do?

[jjberger2134]

If you are talking about pricing, TiVo is notorious for constantly changing the pricing. It is fairly frustrating that their service pricing fluctuates a couple of times a year. Many promotions are for a limited time, making it easy to let the promo lapse before you have a chance to take advantage of the promo.

One word of advice, if you see a promotion that you like and think is fair, jump on it. Secondly, monitor these forums closely, all pricing changes are discussed at great length here.

If you are talking about service updates/software updates, TiVo releases service enhancements/bug fixes about 2x year. Again, monitor this site to determine when/if a software update is going to be released.

[pomerlp]

I was thinking to myself - hmmm I bet Tivo (which I thought was an awesome company which I've done business with for years) is going to offer some sort of upgrade path. And indeed I see things all over the forums and even in the website. However - I can't actually seem to get either the TIvo website to work or a Tivo rep to know what I'm talking about! One day an offer is there and the next I can't find it on the website.

There is all kinds of stuff going on. 9.4 just is being released, and there has been a "hint" that something will be happening with Amazon Unbox, besides the streamed downloading by one of the TiVo dudes. The digital converter is completed for SDV and also I've read they have a converter on it's way to work with True2Way when that is implimented.

What happened to Tivo? Have they turned into just another company with poor service and less than honest attitude? I hope it's just me but I really don't trust Tivo right now. It seems like they throw teasers out and then don't follow up.

What teasers are you talking about? Are you talking about offers and such? When I got my TiVo HD they were offering lifetime service with purchase and even extended the offer. I was lucky, because I would have missed out on that if they didn't extend the offer. That hardly seems like what you are talking about.

From the release of the S3 they have not only followed up on every promise, they have gone above and beyond. They have provided TiVo to Go, TTCB, eSATA, and so much stuff that some of it quite honestly I would never have time to even use.

Are they the same company they were 10 years ago? I wouldn't be able to tell you, I haven't been around them that long but they certainly are a decent company. I would trust TiVo before I would trust a cable company in regards to offers and promotions. I would never buy a TiVo directly from them however, but I have other reasons for that, it's not a trust issue.

[RonDawg]

I was thinking to myself - hmmm I bet Tivo (which I thought was an awesome company which I've done business with for years) is going to offer some sort of upgrade path.

And they have. From October of last year until earlier this year, for qualified buyers they offered a $199 Lifetime Transfer. This was shortly after the release of the TiVoHD, and I believe they also did this when the original Series 3 was released.

TiVo does offer specials like these, but don't expect them to offer them all of the time. They're called "specials" for a reason.

[rainwater]

And they have. From October of last year until earlier this year, for qualified buyers they offered a $199 Lifetime Transfer. This was shortly after the release of the TiVoHD, and I believe they also did this when the original Series 3 was released.

TiVo does offer specials like these, but don't expect them to offer them all of the time. They're called "specials" for a reason.

They still offer a reduced lifetime plan on a new activation if you already have a box that qualifies for MSD.