Pricing question when moving models

[StuffOfInterest]

I'm currently using a TiVo Series 2 DT with lifetime subscription (transferred from my Sony Series 1 purchased back in 2000). After several years delay I'm finally in the process of upgrading everything to HD. I'm trying to figure out the best way to change from the Series 2 to a TiVo HD. Here is what I have in mind:

Purchase TiVo HD via Amazon
Buy lifetime subscripton for the HD using MSD based on my series 2 ownership
Sell the Series 2 DT with lifetime to a happy new TiVo user

My concern here is that after selling my Series 2 I will no longer qualify for the MSD. How does this affect a lifetime subscription purchased at the MSD discount price? Looking through the MSD terms the case of a renewable subscription is covered for a situation like this but the lifetime appears to be a grey area. Does anyone else have experience with doing an upgrade like this?

[darksurtur]

It's no problem. It only checks for MSD eligibility at the time of service plan purchase. Once you buy lifetime on a unit, you are done with TiVo billing; they don't retroactively charge you.

[ZeoTiVo]

It's no problem. It only checks for MSD eligibility at the time of service plan purchase. Once you buy lifetime on a unit, you are done with TiVo billing; they don't retroactively charge you.

just hold onto the series 2 DT model for 30 days after you do the lifetime on the new one.

[StuffOfInterest]

just hold onto the series 2 DT model for 30 days after you do the lifetime on the new one.

That's the kind of tip I'm looking for. I'd hate to see them retro apply the full price to me. Worse yet, I had a fear that they would prevent me from transferring the ownership on the S2DT's lifetime to a new owner if it is "encumbered" providing the MSD for another unit.

[scandia101]

My concern here is that after selling my Series 2 I will no longer qualify for the MSD.

Once you buy a lifetime subscription at the MSD price, you bought it's yours. You only have to qualify at the time of purchase. There is no requirement to maintain the qualification for the rest of your life or even until tomorrow.

The one thing that you do have to be aware of is that if you sell the DT and eventually get a second HD, you will not qualify for MSD on the second one because your existing HD is already an MSD unit. The second one would cost you full price.

[netringer]

And sell me the DT for cheap.

[StuffOfInterest]

And sell me the DT for cheap.

It was when I saw how much a DT with lifetime is selling for on eBay that I decided it may be worth doing the upgrade after all. I had been considering holding out for a tru2way box next year.

[newskilz]

Once you buy a lifetime subscription at the MSD price, you bought it's yours. You only have to qualify at the time of purchase. There is no requirement to maintain the qualification for the rest of your life or even until tomorrow.

The one thing that you do have to be aware of is that if you sell the DT and eventually get a second HD, you will not qualify for MSD on the second one because your existing HD is already an MSD unit. The second one would cost you full price.

Many others have been saying this too. If you buy a lifetime at MSD, then later sell the original qualifying box, and no longer have another monthly that can revert to full price, then the next box you buy will be full price be it monthly, yearly, or lifetime. Just so you do keep that in mind in case you want a second Tivo HD unit or something.

[StuffOfInterest]

Well, I'm still working on figuring out the best overall deal for upgrading from a Series 2 DT to a TiVo HD (or maybe HD XL). Now I'm exploring upgrade pricing options direct from TiVo. First, my account is a little odd. I originally bought a Sony Series 1 back in September 2000. Two years ago, I had an offer from TiVo to replace it with a Series 2 DT and transfer my lifetime subscription over to it, which I did. Now, when I look at my account, the order date for my TiVo shows as July 2007 but my activation date shows as September 2000.

Now, when I go to the upgrade offers section on the TiVo site it mentions different offers based on being a customer for 1-year or 3-years. Which of these do I qualify as? When I look at the current offers it is shows $100 off either a TiVo HD ($199 total) or TiVo HD XL ($499 total). This is better than anything else I've seen for the HD but I have occasionally seen better for the HD XL on Amazon.

Fortunately, when I drill in a ways on the upgrade offer it appears the lifetime would stay intact on my S2DT, so I still have the option of selling it to recoup some of my costs.

As a side note, I really wish TiVo would release a model between the HD and the HD XL, perhaps a HD+. I don't really need the fancy remote, the THX certification, or as much storage as the XL provides. Still, I need more storage than the HD gives. On top of that, I've heard too many stories of DVR expanders dieing. If they would bump the storage up to about 500GB and add $50 to the price of the HD I'd be all over it. I know it could be done with an aftermarket drive, but I don't like the idea of voiding the warranty.

[scandia101]

I originally bought a Sony Series 1 back in September 2000. Two years ago, I had an offer from TiVo to replace it with a Series 2 DT and transfer my lifetime subscription over to it, which I did. Now, when I look at my account, the order date for my TiVo shows as July 2007 but my activation date shows as September 2000.

Transferring the subscription doesn't affect the subscription start date, because it's still the same subscription.

Now, when I go to the upgrade offers section on the TiVo site it mentions different offers based on being a customer for 1-year or 3-years. Which of these do I qualify as? When I look at the current offers it is shows $100 off either a TiVo HD ($199 total) or TiVo HD XL ($499 total). This is better than anything else I've seen for the HD but I have occasionally seen better for the HD XL on Amazon.
2000 is more than 3 years ago.
If you only qualified for the >1 year discount, you'd only save $50.
This "deal" really isn't much of one because you can buy the same thing from Amazon for less than the $100 discounted unit from Tivo and you qualifiy for for MSD so you'd save $100 on a lifetime subscription anyway.

Fortunately, when I drill in a ways on the upgrade offer it appears the lifetime would stay intact on my S2DT, so I still have the option of selling it to recoup some of my costs.
I'm repeating myself here, but if you sell the DT and later decide to ad a second TiVo, you won't qualify for the MSD. You'll have to pay full price on a subscription because the lifetime you'd have on the Tivo HD is already an MSD.

[mattack]

As a side note, I really wish TiVo would release a model between the HD and the HD XL, perhaps a HD+. I don't really need the fancy remote, the THX certification, or as much storage as the XL provides. Still, I need more storage than the HD gives. On top of that, I've heard too many stories of DVR expanders dieing. If they would bump the storage up to about 500GB and add $50 to the price of the HD I'd be all over it. I know it could be done with an aftermarket drive, but I don't like the idea of voiding the warranty.

You could buy one, and upgrade to 1-1.5 TB for about $100 on your own.

This is not officially supported by Tivo, and would void your warranty, but the warranty is only 90 days anyway IIRC.. So buy it, use it for 90 days to make sure it's not a dud out of the box... then upgrade the internal drive yourself. You or some geek friend can do it. It's not very hard.