Tivo shipped - told us "quality control problem"?

[sbh2squared]

Hi, I'll try to make this short! Ordered a refurbished Tivo HD a couple of weeks ago and rec'd a DOA unit. (Well, not completely DOA... if you rap it HARD on the top, thre green light will go on.) Called to order a replacement the same day the cable cards were installed, this past Saturday - and since we'd found the Father's Day special on this forum (but not on Tivo's website? what's with that?), we ordered that and got the lifetime service. I noticed yesterday that the unit hadn't shipped so I called them and was told they were having quality control problems and would NOT be shipping units this week. Then, last night I got an e-mail saying it HAD shipped. Now I'm a bit nervous - I'm hoping I'm not getting another Tivo with problems. Does anyone know what their current 'quality control problem' is, and what I should look for? I'm hoping it's not something that shows up after a few months!

Thanks for any/all help!

[richsadams]

Welcome to the forum!

Any issues will likely show up immediately (such as you experienced with a loose connection). QC problems are more likely with one of TiVo's suppliers rather than their own units since they have full control over what they ship. They may have discovered that something they were using during reconditioning was faulty and decided to wait for replacements. (Good for them!) Frankly I'd take great comfort in knowing that they were concerned rather than just shoving product out the door to meet their orders.

Only a percentage of new units are tested off of the line whereas refurbs are all bench tested before shipping. That's not to say that a refurb won't have problems but they carry the same warranty as new so there's not much you can do to improve the odds.

That they happen to begin shipping after you called shouldn't be something to worry about. The communications between various levels within the company and the scripts that the CSR's that answer the phones have doesn't always match up.

When the unit arrives get it set up and put it through its paces. If it's going to fail it'll probably happen right away. If not, you should be good to go.

I've purchased a couple of refurbs over the years and gave one as a present. All are still working fine.

Enjoy!

[JohnBrowning]

My first TiVo Series 2 was DOA. Yes, I was bummed at the time, but, they replaced it an the replacement has been chugging along just fine for several years. No biggee.

[sbh2squared]

Rich, I'll be doing just what you said - putting the box through it's paces as soon as we get it hooked up and running. I'll be burning the midnight oil!

[ZeoTiVo]

Rich, I'll be doing just what you said - putting the box through it's paces as soon as we get it hooked up and running. I'll be burning the midnight oil!

note that when you first setup a TiVo it will be downloading the latest software as well as populating guided data for the first time. In short the Tivo will be sluggish and out of sorts for a couple of days as it gets all that processed. So for the first few days get it recording and schedule season passes and all but also give it some time to settle in. Then after those first few days fire it up and put it through some paces.

[sbh2squared]

Man, the stuff this little box can do..... I think I've put it through most of of it's functions now. I've transferred recordings back and forth (slower than I would've thought, but not all that necessary on a regular basis), played all the music on my 2 desktops (a VERY big Ipod? :-), streamed home movies from one of the desktops with Streambaby, streamed Netflix, watched Youtube.... but I bet I'm only scratching the surface here!

Thanks again, everyone.

[jkalnin]

What?

Just kidding. Looks like we can add you to the list of TiVo evangelists. Preach it in the streets - TiVo is the greatest!!!

Next you have to add PyTiVo to your PC, and then download and stream movies from your PC to your TiVO - legally of course ;)

For S&G when you have friends over, order a pizza from Dominos on it!

[modnar]

Glad the TiVo is working well for you!