What is your Upgrade offer?

[innocentfreak]

It looks like the upgrade offers are live. Since all of my TiVo HDs are lifetime, they are offering $200 off the cost of lifetime. Of course it turns out this is a new lifetime membership so you actually pay $199 for lifetime.

I think TiVo messed up with this. If I upgrade and select monthly, my offer is 9.95 or the same it would be if I bought retail since I have 3 TiVos already. The yearly rate is $99 which is also the same if I bought monthly. It looks like lifetime is the only real offer at $100 off.

There is also a feedback link for Tivo with regards to the upgrade offers.
Upgrade Feedback (http://www3.tivo.com/buytivo/upgrade/upgrade_feedback.html)

[Johnwashere]

$200 of lifetime for old first old tivo and $239 for my Tivo HD. I was all ready to buy(for $239) but it wants me to start paying $10 a mo this my current tivo and then this new tivo! :( I want to keep my old $7 a mo plan!

[innocentfreak]

I assume you first Tivo has lifetime already then. For the Tivo HD it definitely sounds like it would be better to buy from BB or Amazon and just replace the TSN. Is $239 the cost they are offering lifetime or for the unit?

[Johnwashere]

I wouldnt mind having 3 tivos know. My very old one is lifetime. I just want the new one to also have 6.99 rate. But yea, I will probably just buy from amazon and replace the tsn. :(

[chrishicks]

My upgrade offer is the same: $200.00 off Lifetime.

Funny thing is if you do the "compare your current Tivo with the new..." section. They chose to leave out that the S3 is THX certified just like the Premiere XL and that it also came with the Glo remote.

http://i.iimmgg.com/images/th/bf52963d313e8c0f702d9236ab935d10.jpg (http://www.iimmgg.com/image/e002da5867811bd86fdc860298409bb7)

[tivohaydon]

Just checked... No upgrade offer for me.

I don't have lifetime but from what I read it sounded like I might have been eligible for a hardware discount. Guess not!

[mattyice11]

My lifetime box has the $200 off offer that everyone else has. My non-lifetime box has a $239 hardware offer on the premiere and $399 on the XL.

[willv28]

No upgrade offer for me, I go monthly with my TiVo HD.

[StuffOfInterest]

My lifetime S2DT (upgraded from a S1 lifetime just under three years ago) is offered $299 for the hardware and $200 off for lifetime.

[BigJimOutlaw]

My Series 3 has the 20% offer ($240 or $400). It's out of contract, month-to-month.

[Aero 1]

i also have the 199 life offer (and get to keep the existing life HD which is good). does anyone know if the offer is only valid for units bought through Tivo, or can i get one at amazon and still have the offer?

[oViTynoT]

I got: 25% off hardware, and FREE lifetime service! (WHA HOO!)





Just kidding.. Only 20% of hardware. I don't have Lifetime on my S3, so all I get is the pitch for MultiService Discount. But I'm not sure I want to keep my S3 live, so I don't see what the pricing is without that discount.

[TomJHansen]

I have four S2 Tivos and would love to be tempted to upgrade - but the upgrade deal isn't that great because of the monthly fee change (from %6.95 to 9.99). I wonder if it's time to finally bite the bullet and go product lifetime? Anyone got a feel if this new version means Tivo will be around past the 3 years to break even on the cost of product lifetime? Also, how long have they been offering service contracts? That seems like a no-brainer for Tivo (for a non-technical user). It makes it easier to compete with the HD cable box (of which I've exchanged three in two years). I will probably wait until you can get the new remote. Also noticed you can't pre-order the new wireless adapter yet.

[jaybird13]

I got the $200 offer for both my Lifetime'd Single Tuners, and the 20% on my Dual Tuner - whose 3-year contract expires in May. Nothing for my TiVo HD, whose contract expires in September.

Since I've been looking for something to replace the Dual Tuner when its contract is up, I used the $200 lifetime offer! Wonder if they'll charge me $500 before it ships????

[LoadStar]

All three of mine (Phillips 212 [S1], S2 Single Tuner, and HD -- all product lifetime) all have the identical offer: $300 for Premiere, $500 for Premiere XL, and $200 off product lifetime.

[i2k]

Series 3 and HD that I have both have lifetime.. so I have retail for the boxes (BS!) and "$200" off the new life time rate of $399!

[blacknoi]

How long are these upgrade offers valid until? I might want to take advantage in 2 or 3 months, based on the feedback of the new units.

[prisk]

My offer is $299 for the Premier (which is $0 off) and $200 off Lifetime (for my Series 2 with Lifetime). Blah! This is not a deal. They had a better offer on the TiVo HD and HD XL. Guess I will wait for them to offer that $100 Lifetime transfer like they did when the Series 3 came out. Or for the price to drop. Or for them to put the HD back up on their site for sale. Tried calling TiVo this morning but hung up after 10 minutes on hold.

Interestingly, if I take them up on the deal the old Series 2 with lifetime is worth about $150 on ebay.

Finally got a hold of TiVo. They said that they are no longer offering the HD and HD XL, but they do have some refurbished ones in stock.

[cherry ghost]

If you upgrade a unit on lifetime to a premier with lifetime, you lose the lifetime on the original?

[alarson83]

No upgrade offer for me. I just got my S3 in october.. an upgrade offer wouldve been nice..

[LoadStar]

If you upgrade a unit on lifetime to a premier with lifetime, you lose the lifetime on the original?

No. For the first time with one of these upgrade offers, they're saying the product lifetime on the original stays. They even go so far as to suggest you sell your existing box if you don't have a need for it.

[paladin732]

Has anyone else noticed that the $200 "OFF" lifetime for existing lifetime boxes is really only "$100 off". Think about it. You already get $100 off of lifetime by using the Multi Service Discount. You can verify this by acting like you are simply going to buy a box (without clicking the upgrade link) while logged into your account.

I feel like the "$200 off as a special upgrade offer" is kinda like false advertising, since it is really only $100 additional :(

[prisk]

If you upgrade a unit on lifetime to a premier with lifetime, you lose the lifetime on the original?

No. You still keep the old lifetime, which has value on ebay.

[theoryzero]

Thanks for starting this thread, I was about to ask this same question.

My friend has a Series 2 TiVo with Lifetime that he no longer uses. We are trying to figure out if I would still get the $200 off Lifetime discount if he transferred his Series 2 unit to me or if I should convince him to buy the Premiere under his name and then transfer the Premiere unit to me. For the folks that don't get an upgrade offer, can you please comment whether you are currently on a monthly plan or if your box has Lifetime and you didn't qualify for an upgrade offer? I'd hate to have him transfer his box and then lose out on a discount.

[alarson83]

I'm monthly and didnt get it.

[naclone]

i have an S3 and HD both on monthly plan (with multi-unit discount) and upgrading either box yields a 20% hardware discount offer.

[naclone]

just curious, do we expect bestbuy and amazon to offer discounts as well or is 20% off offered by TiVo likely the best deal we'll see for a while? anybody have an historical account of pricing for S3 and HD?

[prisk]

Thanks for starting this thread, I was about to ask this same question.

My friend has a Series 2 TiVo with Lifetime that he no longer uses. We are trying to figure out if I would still get the $200 off Lifetime discount if he transferred his Series 2 unit to me or if I should convince him to buy the Premiere under his name and then transfer the Premiere unit to me. For the folks that don't get an upgrade offer, can you please comment whether you are currently on a monthly plan or if your box has Lifetime and you didn't qualify for an upgrade offer? I'd hate to have him transfer his box and then lose out on a discount.
I have lifetime on my Series 2 and was offered $200 off the new lifetime subscription for the new Premier box, but the box was $299 (full list). After much wrangling on the phone he offered to take $25 off the box. The series 2 box with lifetime is worth about $150 on ebay, give or take a few bucks, so that is the fair market price for it.

It is probably easier for your friend to buy the new box and then transfer it over to you, rather than transfer the Series 2 to you first and then have you upgrade. Not sure exactly how the offers work, but I believe length of subscription has something to do with it. Keep it simple....

[schwinn]

Offer is $200 on the new-lifetime... nothing on the unit. The only unit they are showing me an upgrade for is the S1 I sold off... the other S1 is no longer eligible, since the current TivoHD I have was bought with that, I presume.

No deal, Tivo. Hell, with all the issues I'm having with this TivoHD, I'm thinking it may go back as well... so sad to see that the S3s are being left in the cold already.

[MichaelK]

i have some lifetime boxes and some month to month boxes on my account.

I can 'upgrade' a lifetime box and get the 200 off lifetime offer
OR
I can 'upgade' a month to month and get the 20% off offer.

nice to have options.
Still not sure I'm buying day one. But options are nice.

[theoryzero]

Thanks, another question...is one only able to upgrade by ordering directly through TiVo? For example, could I order the Premiere through Amazon and then have my friend activate it and still get the discount on the Lifetime service?

[jaybird13]

Thanks, another question...is one only able to upgrade by ordering directly through TiVo? For example, could I order the Premiere through Amazon and then have my friend activate it and still get the discount on the Lifetime service?

Probably a question you'll have to call TiVo to get the answer to.

I seriously doubt that will be an option, but that's just my opinion.

[cherry ghost]

No. For the first time with one of these upgrade offers, they're saying the product lifetime on the original stays. They even go so far as to suggest you sell your existing box if you don't have a need for it.

Thanks

[CrispyCritter]

This is a considerably better upgrade offer than TiVo gave when the S3 came out and I bought it. That offer was a lifetime transfer for $199; this is an additional lifetime for $199. You get to keep the old lifetime!

(To prisk : there was never a $100 transfer option when the S3 came out).

[nickels]

It looks like for me the total is about $500 to get the TiVo Premiere with Lifetime service, plus I still keep lifetime on my S2. This is a big improvement from the $700 I paid to get the TiVo HD with Lifetime a few years ago.


Get Premiere
Ships in early April -- order yours today!
$299.99
and get $200 off
Product Lifetime service

When I try to add it to my cart it says that Lifetime is $399 (not $200) - hmmmm
Take two - this time it came up as $199
Subtotal:
$498.99

[blacknoi]

Same for me: about 535 bux with tax for a lifetime'd Premier nonXL if I do the upgrade from my lifetime unit.

Or about 40 bux more if I upgrade from my MSD'ed unit (and my existing MSD'ed unit bumps up from 6.99 to 9.99 a month).

The choice is clear if I am going to upgrade.

[natkins]

I've been using an old series 2 for over 7 years now and it's still going strong. But now I think it's time to go ahead and get the Premiere and hook it up to my newly purchased HDTV.

Here's my question: when I log into my Tivo account my upgrade offer is $200 off lifetime service. Do I have to order the Premiere from Tivo (and wait till April to get it) to receive the discount? Or can I purchase it at Best Buy, (which says they will be available later this month), then go to Tivo.com and activate my service and STILL get the $200 lifetime discount?

Thanks.

[Kit_C]

I have an HD and an S3 with lifetime, each with upgraded internal drives (500GB on the HD and 1TB on the S3). I got the $200 off lifetime offer on each.

I checked ebay completed sales this morning, and unless the Premiere causes these prices to tank, I believe I can fully recoup my upgrade costs to repace both units.

My only concern is that it requires a truck roll from Time Warner, which is a box of chocolates.

On the upside, I'll save some money each month by having a single M-card in each Premiere, rather than needing 2 S-cards in the S3 and an M-card in the HD.

I'm in for two upgrades unless the GUI is broken.

We won't know this until the boxes ship, but what do you think the chances are that the non-XL model will utilize space beyond 1.2TB, like the Tivo HD XL can?


Kit

[Ruth]

Are these upgrade offers time-limited? Any idea how long they will be available?

[aindik]

I have the $199 for lifetime offer four times.

Anyone know if the Premiere still has eSata and, if so, if the MyDVR drives still work with them?

If TiVo is encouraging people to upgrade to the Premiere and sell their older boxes, it would be nice if there were a way to transfer all your shows from one to the other (without copying to a computer and then copying back). It would also be nice if my eSATA drive from my HD could be configured to work with the premiere with my shows intact.

[jmpage2]

I priced out a Premiere just for fun and I'm confused. I chose the primary TiVo I have which is on a 3 year pre-paid contract (I do $99 annually on my 2nd unit).

For service it is only offering me multi-room discounts, there doesn't appear to be an option to treat the new box as the "main" box for the system.

[MickeS]

It looks like for me the total is about $500 to get the TiVo Premiere with Lifetime service, plus I still keep lifetime on my S2.

Yeah, my original plan was to just get this and replace my S3 (monthly sub, ends in June)... but getting a LT Premiere for $500 (I have a LT Series 2 already) is really tempting...

[aindik]

I priced out a Premiere just for fun and I'm confused. I chose the primary TiVo I have which is on a 3 year pre-paid contract (I do $99 annually on my 2nd unit).

For service it is only offering me multi-room discounts, there doesn't appear to be an option to treat the new box as the "main" box for the system.

Why does it matter which one is the main box? Are you thinking about making the Premiere your only box (i.e., selling the other one)? If so, I don't think you get any discount on service when that eventually happens.

[klondikejim]

I called TIVO, and they said if I ordered from Best Buy, I would have to pay full price, plus pay full price for lifetime sub. Deal only saves cash if purchased through TIVO

[natkins]

I called TIVO, and they said if I ordered from Best Buy, I would have to pay full price, plus pay full price for lifetime sub. Deal only saves cash if purchased through TIVO
Thanks for that. Guess I'll be ordering directly from Tivo then.

[theoryzero]

I called TIVO, and they said if I ordered from Best Buy, I would have to pay full price, plus pay full price for lifetime sub. Deal only saves cash if purchased through TIVO

Thanks for the info!

[Corran Horn]

For me, upgrading my S3, $299/$499 Premiere/XL, $200 off lifetime.

For my S1, $239.99/$399 Premiere/XL. (S1 does not have lifetime)

So basically, $500 for the Premiere with PLS. For me, not nearly enough feature upgrades to justify that.

[unruly1]

For the Tivo HD it definitely sounds like it would be better to buy from BB or Amazon and just replace the TSN.

Not to take this thread off topic but can you explain what you mean by "replace TSN"?
I assume you aren't referring to a Lifetime Service TiVo because if you are then wouldn't that be basically a lifetime service transfer?
Thanks

[k2ue]

Anyone know if the Premiere still has eSata and, if so, if the MyDVR drives still work with them?


Yes, the TiVo.com Accessories page on the 1TB Extender explicitly says it works with the Premieres. I'm moving mine over.

[Riptide]

All three of my TiVos are lifetime and they are offering $200 off the cost of lifetime for each unit. I called and asked if they had a special offer for those long time customers for just the hardware. I was hoping for an additional incentive so that I could use a Lifetime Gift Card. I can apply the Lifetime Gift Card but there are no special hardware deals for us...

[Karnwine]

Do these special deals for current customers have an expiration date?
I'm interested in replacing my S2 but want to wait for some hands-on reviews.

[stiber]

I have lifetime on my Series 2 and was offered $200 off the new lifetime subscription for the new Premier box, but the box was $299 (full list). After much wrangling on the phone he offered to take $25 off the box...

prisk, you must have some serious mojo. I chatted up one of their operators, mentioned that I read a report of someone getting 10% off (OK, a slight exaggeration), said I'd get the XL if they could give me a break on the hardware cost, but no dice -- only got the same offer as I could get online. So, I told them no deal and she said goodbye and that was that.

Presumably, sales reps are authorized to make deals. Maybe the rep had sold enough units that she didn't feel the need to make the sale? Or I have anti-mojo...

[gweempose]

I checked eBay completed sales this morning, and unless the Premiere causes these prices to tank, I believe I can fully recoup my upgrade costs to replace both units.I suppose you could always put a "Buy it Now" price that is equal to or more than what it will cost you to upgrade to the Premiere. What have you got to lose? As far as I can tell, you are only risking the eBay listing fees. If you're going to do it, though, you better hurry. Like you said, once a flood of used Series 3s hit the market, their value could plummet rather quickly.

[t1voproof]

Not to take this thread off topic but can you explain what you mean by "replace TSN"?


On any product other than "Lifetime" you can change the tivo service number under my account at tivo.com if you ever replace the machine.

I get the same offers as everyone else. Interesting that I paid $500 back in 2004 for a Series 2 and Lifetime and the current upgrade offer is the same price.

[gweempose]

Interesting that I paid $500 back in 2004 for a Series 2 and Lifetime and the current upgrade offer is the same price.If you factor in inflation, the new machine is technically cheaper. :D

[orangeboy]

"Pricing and program availability is subject to change at anytime."

[Bsteenson]

Do we know for sure that these will be available at amazon.com, or anywhere else other than through TiVo or at Best Buy? They are not listed for presale on Amazon right now (although, interestingly, they still have HDs and HD XLs available). With Best Buy's marketing commitment it wouldn't surprise me if they got exclusivity for at least a while.

[Aero 1]

Do we know for sure that these will be available at amazon.com, or anywhere else other than through TiVo or at Best Buy? They are not listed for presale on Amazon right now (although, interestingly, they still have HDs and HD XLs available). With Best Buy's marketing commitment it wouldn't surprise me if they got exclusivity for at least a while.

its been on amazon preorder since the announcement

http://www.amazon.com/TiVo-TCD746320-Premiere-DVR-Black/dp/B0036OR910/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1267706518&sr=8-2

[Nethead28]

Has anyone else noticed that the $200 "OFF" lifetime for existing lifetime boxes is really only "$100 off". Think about it. You already get $100 off of lifetime by using the Multi Service Discount. You can verify this by acting like you are simply going to buy a box (without clicking the upgrade link) while logged into your account.

I feel like the "$200 off as a special upgrade offer" is kinda like false advertising, since it is really only $100 additional :(


I agree!

TiVo Premiere XL upgrade for me:

From S3 with lifetime > XL $499.99 + $199.99 = $699.99

From HD without lifetime > XL $399.99 + $299.99 = $698.99

OK so they deduct from one to make up difference they raise the other.

So it will cost me $1.00 "MORE" because I have lifetime on said TiVo.

Yeah TiVo! Great upgrade option for lifetimers!

If it were really $200.00 off of lifetime the price should be $599.99 total for a new TiVo Premiere XL, not $699.99

[Kit_C]

I agree!

TiVo Premiere XL upgrade for me:

From S3 with lifetime > XL $499.99 + $199.99 = $699.99

From HD without lifetime > XL $399.99 + $299.99 = $698.99

OK so they deduct from one to make up difference they raise the other.

So it will cost me $1.00 "MORE" because I have lifetime on said TiVo.

Yeah TiVo! Great upgrade option for lifetimers!

If it were really $200.00 off of lifetime the price should be $599.99 total for a new TiVo Premiere XL, not $699.99

It seems like Tivo is rewarding you for having multiple units AND for having lifetime on the S3. And you get to keep or sell the old lifetime unit with its service intact.

No upgrade plan is going to make everyone happy.

[jmpage2]

Why does it matter which one is the main box? Are you thinking about making the Premiere your only box (i.e., selling the other one)? If so, I don't think you get any discount on service when that eventually happens.

It turns out it was worse than I thought. $100 off the premiere and an offer to make my existing TiVo HD a lifetime box for $300. Then the premiere needs to go under a multi-room discount plan.

If I buy a lifetime plan on the Premiere it will be the regular $400 I expect.

[kettledrum]

I agree!

TiVo Premiere XL upgrade for me:

From S3 with lifetime > XL $499.99 + $199.99 = $699.99

From HD without lifetime > XL $399.99 + $299.99 = $698.99



Actually the two options are the same as $399.99 + 299.99 = $699.98 not $698.99 but who's quibbling over $0.99?


Personally I was hoping for the same upgrade offer as what TiVo was doing on the HD....$450 including lifetime. No such luck though.

[chg]

I called TIVO, and they said if I ordered from Best Buy, I would have to pay full price, plus pay full price for lifetime sub. Deal only saves cash if purchased through TIVO

I hope this changes, or, ends up not to be true. I would like to get one of these from BB then upgrade to lifetime for the 199 price. I have two Tivo HD with lifetime, now.

[bciocco]

No upgrade offer for me, I go monthly with my TiVo HD.
I would go lifetime with my HD with almost any incentive. My one year expires in April.
Are there any deals out there?

[wwu123]

I currently have a TivoHD on annual plan that renews on April 12, which is the same day that the Premiere starts shipping. I'd like to pre-order a new Premiere with lifetime with the MSD, so $239 + $299 = $538, but cancel the old TivoHD when its current plan expires.

Do you think the pre-order will lose the MSD if I cancel the TivoHD right on April 11 or a few days before?

Also, the problem with the upgrade offer is it wants to transfer my current annual plan to the new Premiere, but put the lifetime with MSD on the old box. Is there actually a way to get the $239 price on the Premiere and get the lifetime MSD for $299 on that box?

[OvrrDrive]

I have a monthly tivohd and got the 20% off but nothing at all on the bill.

[innocentfreak]

Also, the problem with the upgrade offer is it wants to transfer my current annual plan to the new Premiere, but put the lifetime with MSD on the old box. Is there actually a way to get the $239 price on the Premiere and get the lifetime MSD for $299 on that box?

I would just call and ask. They may be able to do that over the phone. Post back and let us know how it goes.

[jfh3]

I currently have a TivoHD on annual plan that renews on April 12, which is the same day that the Premiere starts shipping. I'd like to pre-order a new Premiere with lifetime with the MSD, so $239 + $299 = $538, but cancel the old TivoHD when its current plan expires.

Do you think the pre-order will lose the MSD if I cancel the TivoHD right on April 11 or a few days before?

Also, the problem with the upgrade offer is it wants to transfer my current annual plan to the new Premiere, but put the lifetime with MSD on the old box. Is there actually a way to get the $239 price on the Premiere and get the lifetime MSD for $299 on that box?

I think you mis-read the upgrade offer - the plan you order with the Premiere is for the Premiere. If the box you are "upgrading" isn't already on lifetime, you will be asked what you want to do with the old box as part of the Premiere upgrade order. If the existing box is lifetime, that step is skipped, as it indicates that the "old" lifetime remains on the "old" box.

[TVCricket]

I have an old S2 Tivo. My only offer is 50% off lifetime subscription.

[gamo62]

I tried checking the upgrade offer as I am in the last 9 months of my 3 yr agreement. When I add the Premiere, the only option given is to transfer the current warranty. I do not have the option to add Lifetime to the new box. I DO have the option to add it to the old THD. Looks like I might just have to buy one at regular price.

[TrueTurbo]

I tried checking the upgrade offer as I am in the last 9 months of my 3 yr agreement. When I add the Premiere, the only option given is to transfer the current warranty. I do not have the option to add Lifetime to the new box. I DO have the option to add it to the old THD. Looks like I might just have to buy one at regular price.

I'm in the same boat, but I'm not interested in a lifetime plan anyway. I bought the 3 yr plan when I got the TiVo HD and I'm replacing it before the 3 yrs are up. The remainder of the plan is being transferred to the Premier XL I ordered and I'll buy another 3 yr plan when I need to renew. :D

I reckon 3 yrs is about right between platform refreshes. I suspect there will be another TiVo hardware refresh in about 3 yrs from now. If not, I'll probably move on to whatever is the latest and greatest hardware available at that time.

However, you shouldn't have to pay the regular price! You should at least get the same upgrade offer I did, which was $100 off the price of the Premier XL.

[TroyB]

I am kind of nervous about jumping in and buying these to replace my S3's. When they came out I bought 2 of them at $799 each plus a lifetime card from eBay for one of them for another $600. Then what was it around a year later they came out with the TiVo HD saying they couldn't make the previous S3 only use 1 cable card and with a bigger hard drive plus they started selling lifetime again.
So I spent $2,200 plus I pay $6.95 a month for the other unit without lifetime.
I'm worried if I buy these, it will be like when the TiVo HD came out. We will get a different one come out in a year with more than 2 tuners and streaming capabilities with Tivo saying, "Sorry we can't update the current units to do this"

[aaronwt]

How could you update the current premiere to more tuners unless the hardware is already onboard?

[TroyB]

How could you update the current premiere to more tuners unless the hardware is already onboard?

That is what I am saying. TiVo would announce that they couldn't do it and say we could buy the new slightly changed version that would do it. Just like they did with the TiVo HD.

[Grakthis]

I have an existing S2 with lifetime (the thing has been running strong since 2002! ) and an S3 with the grandfathered in multi-service discount (6.99).

I'm interesting in buying a premiere... I have various discounts and rewards built up from Amazon, so Id ideally like to buy it from them. But I have an offer from TiVo on my S2 to get -200 on a lifetime for a new Premiere.

So here's the question... can I buy the box from Amazon and the still get my cheap lifetime sub "upgrade" pricing from TiVo? Or do I have to buy the box from them too?

Has anyone investigated this? If not, I may be placing a call / starting a chat with TiVo support to find out soon.

[Grakthis]

I am kind of nervous about jumping in and buying these to replace my S3's. When they came out I bought 2 of them at $799 each plus a lifetime card from eBay for one of them for another $600. Then what was it around a year later they came out with the TiVo HD saying they couldn't make the previous S3 only use 1 cable card and with a bigger hard drive plus they started selling lifetime again.
So I spent $2,200 plus I pay $6.95 a month for the other unit without lifetime.
I'm worried if I buy these, it will be like when the TiVo HD came out. We will get a different one come out in a year with more than 2 tuners and streaming capabilities with Tivo saying, "Sorry we can't update the current units to do this"

Hi, Troy! Welcome to life as a first adopter. It's a trade-off... you have to decide if you have the mindset to end up overpaying for an inferior product to be on the front lines of the latest and greatest. But if you decide it's worth it, you don't get to complain when the price drops on a better product 6 months later. You just can't have it both ways. Either you get to be first, or you get to wait for the optimum price/feature point.

There are some products that I always wait on the price drop for... and others that I must have right away. But rest assured, TiVo has been better than most companies (with the possible exception of Microsoft, who are abnormally generous in rewarding their early adopters) in keeping their early adopters happy. They offered a cheap lifetime for people who bought S3's early and took the 3 year pre-pay... they offer nice upgrade pricing discounts for people with S2's and S3's... they offer healthy MS discounts for people with multiple boxes.

I mean, I can guarantee you Apple has never offered a -200 discount on the latest iPhone if you have the previous generation (AT&T offered a discount for re-upping your contract though) and for a long time they charged for software updates on the iPod Touch!

Anyways, this doesn't feel like a new offering priced at a premium... I feel like tiVo is already hitting a good price point at $299. I expect to see a drop down to 249 by the holidays (it would be positively magical if they could hit 199, but that seems like a pipe dream unless they get something going with Google to subsidize the hardware in exchange for supplying massive user data and giving Google some interface control)... but $50 is a small price to pay to get in early compared to what I have paid in "early adopter tax" for some other products in my life. Let me tell you about being an early adopter of DVD or HDTVs.... the first HDTV in my family doesn't even have DVI.

[wwu123]

I think you mis-read the upgrade offer - the plan you order with the Premiere is for the Premiere. If the box you are "upgrading" isn't already on lifetime, you will be asked what you want to do with the old box as part of the Premiere upgrade order. If the existing box is lifetime, that step is skipped, as it indicates that the "old" lifetime remains on the "old" box.

No, there was nothing to mis-read. The upgrade process only gives you a few options - first, if you click the Upgrade offer button (with the 20% discount), it puts it in your cart and automatically says your current Tivo's plan will be transferred to the new Premiere. In my case that's an annual plan that happens to need renewing the same date.

Then the next page asks if you want to keep your old Tivo for a 2nd bedroom, etc. Here I can choose the standard MSD offers including lifetime for $299, but only for the old box.

I don't see a way to choose a lifetime plan for the Premiere when I go through the 20% discount offer.

[jfh3]

and automatically says your current Tivo's plan will be transferred to the new Premiere.

I'd call Tivo and ask - something doesn't seem right.

One of my boxes is on a monthly plan and I didn't have that text at all - it was very clear the plan you were picking was for the Premiere NOT that the old plan was being transferred.

[gweempose]

It is definitely somewhat confusing when you are upgrading a box with a monthly sub. After you choose the Premiere model you want to buy, the next screen says "Your current service plan will transfer to your new Premiere". Once you hit continue, you will then be asked if you would like to "Continue service on your current TiVo DVR?" At this point, you can either choose to de-activate your old TiVo, or select a new service plan for it at the MSD price.

[bobrt6676]

I have an existing S2 with lifetime (the thing has been running strong since 2002! ) and an S3 with the grandfathered in multi-service discount (6.99).

I'm interesting in buying a premiere... I have various discounts and rewards built up from Amazon, so Id ideally like to buy it from them. But I have an offer from TiVo on my S2 to get -200 on a lifetime for a new Premiere.

So here's the question... can I buy the box from Amazon and the still get my cheap lifetime sub "upgrade" pricing from TiVo? Or do I have to buy the box from them too?

Has anyone investigated this? If not, I may be placing a call / starting a chat with TiVo support to find out soon.

I just chatted with TIVO and the PLS 50% discount is ONLY available on units purchased from TIVO. Bummer I have BB rewards to spend.:D

[zeke009]

[QUOTE=jfh3;7821726]I'd call Tivo and ask - something doesn't seem right.

One of my boxes is on a monthly plan and I didn't have that text at all - it was very clear the plan you were picking was for the Premiere NOT that the old plan was being transferred.[/QUOTE
I noticed this as well, but it appears the service that rolls over to Premiere is the prepaid options.

I have a S2 unit which is prepaird until August of 2010, on the Tivo site that plan rolls over to the new unit. On my Tivo HD unit which is monthly, there is no mention of service rolling over to the new unit.

If I do this, I'll end up "upgrading" my S2 and getting a monthly plan on that S2 Tivo. My personal issue is do I want to spend another $300 on a lifetime plan for the Premiere from my tax refund.

[atmuscarella]

Well I have 3 tivos now and each has an upgrade offer

A Series 2 and a TiVo HD (they both have lifetime on them now) have the same offer
Box Price: Premiere $300 or Premiere XL $500
Service Price: $199 for lifetime, or $99 for 12 months, or 9.95/mo


Another Series 2 that I pay monthly (currently $6.95/mo) had a different offer


Box Price: Premiere $240 or Premiere XL $400
Service Price: $299 for lifetime, or $99 for 12 months, or 9.95/mo


I have actually decided not to upgrade at this time and just ordered a reconditioned Series 3 through the woot offer for $175 and will replace the Series 2 that I pay monthly on with that Series 3. Before the reconditioned Series 3 offer came along I was ready to order a new TiVo Premiere for $300 with the $199 lifetime service. It also would have replaced the Series 2 that is monthly.

My TiVos are all connected via DSL. The TiVo HD and soon to arrive Series 3 are/will be used for OTA only and the remaining Series 2 is used for Dishnetwork - my dishnetwork subscription is currently a low end subscription and SD only.

Thanks,

[comma, splice]

I called TIVO, and they said if I ordered from Best Buy, I would have to pay full price, plus pay full price for lifetime sub. Deal only saves cash if purchased through TIVO

FWIW, I was told the exact same thing.