Should I get Lifetime Service?

[Plamar]

I bought a "pre-owned" Premiere off Craigslist for $100, and it also came with the wireless G attachment (which i do not need). I went to activate it, and was unable to since the prior owner had to call to cancel. He did so, gave me a reference number, then he tells me that the balance of the 2 year warranty he bought for it is transferring with the unit, good until June 2012.

He forgot he had an extended warranty when he sold it, and I was psyched it still has some warranty.

If I can get the lifetime service for $299 (using the promo code) should I do it? I plan on staying with Tivo for more than a few years, and the numbers seem to favor lifetime.

[steve614]

My opinion, if you can afford it, do it.
If you ever want to sell the Tivo in the future, it will retain value.
Plus, no monthly bills.

[pdhenry]

Yes. Buy a UPS to avoid a common cause of TiVo failure.

I have had an S2 for going on 6 years now with no problems, I've more than gained my money back for buying Lifetime. I just put Lifetime on my new Premiere.

What's this about a promo code?
(EDIT: Just saw the PLSR code. Nice if you can get it; I'd still pay $399 if necessary).

[Plamar]

Yes. Buy a UPS to avoid a common cause of TiVo failure.

I have it on a APC UPS 500. Short money for the peace of mind it gives.

[Davelnlr_]

All my electronics is on a UPS, APC1500. My Sony S1 with lifetime is still going strong.

[gthassell]

Lifetime + eBay = very inexpensive upgrades to whatever the next version is. Can't recommend any non-lifetime subscription plan.

[hooper]

IMHO technology in this space right now is changing too fast to invest in a lifetime sub. Look at the smartphones today. They have more horsepower than the already outdated Premiere. We are moving away from a linear broadcast model to on demand and IPTV. Tivo has continually shown that they don't understand this or can't innovate fast enough.

In the end it is a cost benefit analysis. If you can add a tivo at 6.95/mo, lifetime is a complete waste of money. As the sub price goes up, so does the shift in value.

Remember the Lifetime is tied to the hardware. I don't have confidence that the hardware technology will still be relevant in the time it takes to break even. Not today. In the past it was a no brainer.

[trip1eX]

I'd get lifetime. The risk being it craps out after the warranty is up or your service provider changes tech.

Both aren't likely to happen for the next few years.

[Plamar]

I'd get lifetime. The risk being it craps out after the warranty is up or your service provider changes tech.

Both aren't likely to happen for the next few years.

I am 100% OTA so the second happening is impossible.

[Quake97]

I'm not an advocate of lifetime just because I don't keep stuff long enough to make it worth it. Yeah, sure, people say that we can sell it for more on ebay, but I really doubt you'll get any good money back. If you buy lifetime and then sell it after a year, I don't think you'll make back the money between the lifetime and the cost of service for that one year. I'm fine paying for the yearly for two years, which is way cheaper than the lifetime.

Joe

[orangeboy]

Way cheaper?
Lifetime cost: $399
12.95 x 24 months: $310.80
Difference: $88.20

You'd break even at ~2 years, 7 months.

[lessd]

I'm not an advocate of lifetime just because I don't keep stuff long enough to make it worth it. Yeah, sure, people say that we can sell it for more on ebay, but I really doubt you'll get any good money back. If you buy lifetime and then sell it after a year, I don't think you'll make back the money between the lifetime and the cost of service for that one year. I'm fine paying for the yearly for two years, which is way cheaper than the lifetime.

Joe

I have never lost much money (sometimes made money when PLS was not easily available to new TiVo customers) when switching to a newer TiVo with Lifetime and selling the old TiVo with lifetime on E-Bay. I have been with TiVo 10 years and I have spent less than $1200 net over that 10 year time period and now have 4 TPs with PLS and one old Humax/DVD with PLS all with upgraded hard drives. At my peak i had 7 Series 2 TiVos with PLS.

[wp746911]

299/12.95=24 months
399= 2 years, 7 month.

Either way I think you are in a win win situation. Granted things are changing fast, but unless you think that in 2-3 years tivo premiere will be entirely obsolete and worthless (basically cable tv ceases to exist as we know it now or tivo goes under), then you come out ahead. Of course there are no guarantees, but odds are it will work in your favor.

[PedjaR]

299/12.95=24 months
399= 2 years, 7 month.

Either way I think you are in a win win situation. Granted things are changing fast, but unless you think that in 2-3 years tivo premiere will be entirely obsolete and worthless (basically cable tv ceases to exist as we know it now or tivo goes under), then you come out ahead. Of course there are no guarantees, but odds are it will work in your favor.

There's also this: even if Tivo were to go under, somebody would buy it, for the value of a) patents, and b) non-lifetime subscriptions, and keep running the servers to update the guide data (with probably no more software updates, though). There is a precedent - ReplayTV. Those boxes were still getting guide data last time I checked, despite having considerably fewer customers than Tivo, and also likely smaller percentage of customers with month-to-month subscriptions (initially, ReplayTV had no subscriptions other than lifetime). Not to mention that the ReplayTV hardware is way behind times - SD only, one tuner. So, I would not worry too much about Tivo staying viable.

[Joe01880]

Way cheaper?
Lifetime cost: $399
12.95 x 24 months: $310.80
Difference: $88.20

You'd break even at ~2 years, 7 months.

Pre Paid for 1 year..
$129./12 =$10.75 per month

$129.x3= $387.

$399. - $387. =$12.

Only after 3 years will lifetime (@$399.) start to pay off. Not to say Lifetime isnt a good thing for long run adopters but for those who might want the next best thing OR if the TiVo with Lifetime craps the bed Lifetime will not pay off. Also to repair a TiVo with Lifetime that has died an early death those extra costs would extend the time it would take Lifetime to pay for itself. If one has hardware issue every few years Lifetime will never be worth it. It seems a personal preference thing, i for one chose to pay 1 year for $129. That way if something great and new comes out, like a 3 or 4 tuner TiVo im not so invested with a lifetime subscription that i cant switch to a new TiVo with a new plan at terms end.
Edit: The $299 price would be a little more inviting and if Im ever offered the $199 lifetime price and my TiVo HD is still running strong I might have to jump on that but I am sure that will not happend until after next November when my TiVo HD will be 3 years old. I was offered $299 this year and passed.

[hooper]

My main fear as a FIOS customer is that cablecard service could be severely limited. It looks like the new IMG rolling out now will bring new channels only for those using it. Since they are out of capacity for new channels, something will be done and likely at the expense of the cablecard users. My guess is that other systems will likely increase SDV usage and or migrate to a non-linear distribution method of some sort. These are real threats in the next few years. So while you might break even on lifetime, your pool of buyers will decrease along with a viable resale market outside of OTA users. With no real options for pro sports OTA and blackout restrictions, OTA will not see much traction unless things change. Seeing as the cable company owns 2 of my local teams, I doubt they have any incentive to help me cut the cord.

And again, on a $6.95/mo plan break even is past the useful life of the hardware period. Even with a cable card at $3/mo, it is a savings over the cable DVR of $60 or so a year. My other box is lifetime from 2006. Once again at that time it was a no brainer.

[lessd]

And again, on a $6.95/mo plan break even is past the useful life of the hardware period. Even with a cable card at $3/mo, it is a savings over the cable DVR of $60 or so a year. My other box is lifetime from 2006. Once again at that time it was a no brainer.

I had the Series 2 540; hardware cost about $0 because of the rebates ($150) sales on the unit and the TiVo reward system for activation, lifetime cost me $299, 3 years later i sold it on E-Bay for $320, 3 years at $6.95 *36 is $250, may cost about $10.

[lujan]

Pre Paid for 1 year..
$129./12 =$10.75 per month

$129.x3= $387.

$399. - $387. =$12.

Only after 3 years will lifetime (@$399.) start to pay off. Not to say Lifetime isnt a good thing for long run adopters but for those who might want the next best thing OR if the TiVo with Lifetime craps the bed Lifetime will not pay off. Also to repair a TiVo with Lifetime that has died an early death those extra costs would extend the time it would take Lifetime to pay for itself. If one has hardware issue every few years Lifetime will never be worth it. It seems a personal preference thing, i for one chose to pay 1 year for $129. That way if something great and new comes out, like a 3 or 4 tuner TiVo im not so invested with a lifetime subscription that i cant switch to a new TiVo with a new plan at terms end.
Edit: The $299 price would be a little more inviting and if Im ever offered the $199 lifetime price and my TiVo HD is still running strong I might have to jump on that but I am sure that will not happend until after next November when my TiVo HD will be 3 years old. I was offered $299 this year and passed.

I have to agree. I only pay the yearly price because I always want to be on the bleeding edge of technology and don't want to be stuck with any DVR if a newer and better one comes out.

[wireless200]

One of the best things about lifetime is never receiving a monthly bill. You just bite the bullet and months later you never even think about it.

[steve614]

I only pay the yearly price because I always want to be on the bleeding edge of technology and don't want to be stuck with any DVR if a newer and better one comes out.

You realize that if you stick with TiVo, lifetime will have paid for itself by the time TiVo releases something new...or have you not been around that long? :p

[lujan]

You realize that if you stick with TiVo, lifetime will have paid for itself by the time TiVo releases something new...or have you not been around that long? :p

No, I haven't been around that long. The Premiere is my first TiVo.

[Joe01880]

No, I haven't been around that long. The Premiere is my first TiVo.


I have been around a while, since my first DTV Tivo which was when DTV was a young company. I had a BUD so the little dish was very inviting and the TiVo interface was just the coolest thing, still is to me anyway. I feel the best one can hope to do is break even with lifetime and thats on resale if you have had no hardware issues during its run. Im sure there are exceptions with TiVo's that have lifetime service for 8+ years, still all OEM and running strong. I dont have that kind if luck with electronic anything and like another person said. If something new and exciting comes out, i want one!

[jayn_j]

I bought my Premiere with the first Woot deal back in September ($169). Signed up for monthly to decide if I wanted to keep it.

Last week I decided to go with lifetime. Went to the TIVO page and set it up with the coupon code. It came back and told me that I couldn't upgrade until I had completed a 1 year commitment in October.

Funny thing is that it now shows the commitment, but the webpage showed no commitment before I tried the upgrade. I called but two different CSRs have insisted that all TIVOs have a 1 year commitment no matter when or how they were purchased.

I really want to give them hundreds now. However, this is kind of torquing me off and I am likely to drop plans for lifetime and kill the box once the commitment is over.

Ideas?

[pdhenry]

There's a 30-day period during which you can cancel or change the contract, but otherwise all new service subscriptions have a one-year commitment. After the one-year period, any changes to the contract also incur a one-year commitment, I think.

[jayn_j]

OK, I guess so. At the end of the trial period, I was still trying to get TWC to connect a tuning adapter and get a cablecard authorized.

I cancelled the lifetime request and will go month to month until the TWC commitment is satisfied. Then look at DISH and other alternatives.

[wireless200]

Last week I decided to go with lifetime. Went to the TIVO page and set it up with the coupon code. It came back and told me that I couldn't upgrade until I had completed a 1 year commitment in October.
[...]
Ideas?

So under My Account it doesn't give you any option to upgrade the plan in the future payment plan column? Keep calling and asking and if you don't get anywhere try to speak to a manager. They have a lot of latitude in what they can give.

[jayn_j]

So under My Account it doesn't give you any option to upgrade the plan in the future payment plan column? Keep calling and asking and if you don't get anywhere try to speak to a manager. They have a lot of latitude in what they can give.

Not the point. I was looking to add a unit and consolidate everything with lifetime. Yes, it let me specify a future upgrade to lifetime, but would not let me do so until after 1 year at $12.95. It scheduled the upgrade for the future.

I'm just upset by the "no" attitude of their CSRs right now, and probably will decide to try something in a week or so. Have to admit that I am getting more and more nervous about a 3 year payback period on lifetime, especially considering the last quarter's numbers.

[orangeboy]

I'm just upset by the "no" attitude of their CSRs right now, and probably will decide to try something in a week or so. Have to admit that I am getting more and more nervous about a 3 year payback period on lifetime, especially considering the last quarter's numbers.

Although not directly answered in yesterday's earnings webcast, it was mentioned that the current promotion was "seasonal", and would last through the first quarter (which is reflected on the tivo.com website, mentioning "offer extended to 3/31/11). Does this mean a new offer starts on 4/1? Remains to be seen. However, the hardware revenue reflected the biggest loss due to the very same promotion. It sounds like the promotion was a test of longer term returns with the increased monthly rate.

[bradleys]

A combination of lifetime service and a desire to have that next new thing is why I have a TiVo on all my TV's. A TiVo with a lifetime sub doesn't get retired or replaced - it just moves to another TV.

There is no way I would pay the monthly subscription cost for 3 separate TiVos!

I have had the series 3 since Christmas 2007, the HD I purchased in 2009 and the Premier I picked up just last Christmas. I did have lifetime on the s2 but was able to do a transfer of that lifetime to the HD at a discount when I purchased. It made sense because without HD I knew I was going to want to eventually retire that box. But I used that box since what? 2006? Yeah, I think lifetime is a great deal!

That is the value of lifetime service - once it is paid for I can use it forever!

[LoneWolf15]

At this point, I'd go with the three-year deal, if it is an option.

I have Lifetime, but I got it from a grandfathered Series 1 bought on Craigslist for cheap. Otherwise, I probably would have gone three-year myself. TiVo will have a new, better unit by then, and you'll probably want it. With no way to transfer the old subscription, the most you can do is sell the unit.

[lessd]

At this point, I'd go with the three-year deal, if it is an option.

I have Lifetime, but I got it from a grandfathered Series 1 bought on Craigslist for cheap. Otherwise, I probably would have gone three-year myself. TiVo will have a new, better unit by then, and you'll probably want it. With no way to transfer the old subscription, the most you can do is sell the unit.

I respectfully disagree about your three year idea, a TiVo today without Lifetime has almost no value as TPs are selling new for $50 to $90, ones with Lifetime have value that in many cases is greater than the original cost of the lifetime, but even if you only get back 1/2 the lifetime cost it a better deal than $9.95/month X 36 months and you don't have to make an upgrade decision at the 3 year mark, but each to their own.

[slowbiscuit]

Agreed, you will likely get back all of the sub cost if you ever resell the unit (if not more), so it's essentially free. There's a stock Tivo HD w/lifetime that's already been bid up to $365 on fleabay right now, for example.

Not a good idea to get a 3-year plan, especially if you can get MSD.

[ThreeSoFar]

Well said, peeps.

Lifetime gives resale value....you'll get 80-110% of the extra lifetime cost back when/if you sell it in 3+ years.

[marksanctuary]

Lifetime! I have had my machines for way longer than the cost of the lifetime.

[cybah]

Absolutely get the lifetime if you can afford it.

I was an early Tivo adopter, and regretted not getting lifetime on my S2. After 2 years @ 12.95/mo, lifetime would have paid for itself. I gave that S2 to a friend who still uses it.. almost 10 years later! Lifetime would have been worth it.

Then of course, I made the same mistake again with my Humax. The Humax I know I'll keep until a blu-ray combo unit comes out (if it ever does). I wish I had gotten the lifetime, the Humax will continue to get use out of it as a bedroom Tivo (Its nice as a all-in-one in there w/ the DVD player and looks good on a HDTV Set too).

When I got my TivoHD, I decided to get the lifetime. Glad I did. When I was laid off, it was nice knowing that the HD was paid for (one less monthy charge to worry about!). I figured I'll get at least 3-4 years out of the Tivo HD before I am ready to upgrade. And I did. I purchased my TivoHD in July of 2008, and almost 3 years later, Lifetime has paid for itself. I know I'll get another 2-3 years outta my Tivo HD OR It'll be given to a family member for years of more use.

I just bought a Premier on a great deal (49.99!!!), and now I pretty much won't buy a Tivo without Lifetime now. So I just bought the lifetime again. Again, its a HD Model, so I know I'll get at least 2-3 years outta it. I'm not not in fear of the technology changing in the 2-3 year period, so I know I'll get my money's worth.

So the bottom line is, if you can afford Lifetime, get it. It may not always be there!!

[Worf]

Stupid question about Lifetime - if I buy lifetime on a unit using MSD, does it mean it's only valid as part of an MSD? Or is it just treated as a "good customer" discount on lifetime?

What happens if the "full service" TiVo (currently on Lifetime) is removed - does the MSD lifetime disappear or...?

[MikeSp]

After purchasing a new Premiere with lifetime and putting lifetime on my S3, Comcast keeps raising their rates to the point that I would like to switch to DishTV which means abandoning my Tivos with the costs of both Tivos and both lifetime service plans down the drain -- I now feel trapped by Tivo and Comcast plus Tivo (to my knowledge) does not even have a fully functional free Android app but Comcast and other providers do -- even PlayOn does.

IOW -- if I had it to do over, I would not have purchased lifetime thanks to Comcast and their price structure.

MikeSp

[ThreeSoFar]

After purchasing a new Premiere with lifetime and putting lifetime on my S3, Comcast keeps raising their rates to the point that I would like to switch to DishTV which means abandoning my Tivos with the costs of both Tivos and both lifetime service plans down the drain -- I now feel trapped by Tivo and Comcast plus Tivo (to my knowledge) does not even have a fully functional free Android app but Comcast and other providers do -- even PlayOn does.

IOW -- if I had it to do over, I would not have purchased lifetime thanks to Comcast and their price structure.

MikeSp

FWIW, Comcast was overcharging me for some time. My bill said "digital package, includeing cablecard" and then "four additional cablecards @ $9.25 each" or something like that. But we have only three cablecards. They fixed it back some months and credited the amount.

But the lifetime value is still there--if you hadn't lifetimed it, you'd be lucky to sell it for $50. With the lifetime, $300, probably more.

[slowbiscuit]

After purchasing a new Premiere with lifetime and putting lifetime on my S3, Comcast keeps raising their rates to the point that I would like to switch to DishTV which means abandoning my Tivos with the costs of both Tivos and both lifetime service plans down the drain
<shrug> You can easily sell these on fleabay, so your statement is 100% incorrect.

[billandre]

Hi,

I was thinking about upgrading to Premiere with Lifetime but I ran into what appears to be a disconnect in Tivo pricing. On the main Tivo webpage it says you can get a Tivo Premiere for $99 with a one year monthly committment of $19.99 but then when you go to the upgrade page, they want $269.99 for the box and $199 for the Lifetime subscription. If I were to buy a Premiere unit off of eBay what's the deal on the code someone mentioned to get a Lifetime subscription at a reduced rate?

[pdhenry]

Stupid question about Lifetime - if I buy lifetime on a unit using MSD, does it mean it's only valid as part of an MSD? Or is it just treated as a "good customer" discount on lifetime?

What happens if the "full service" TiVo (currently on Lifetime) is removed - does the MSD lifetime disappear or...?The MSD Lifetime will still be valid as a Lifetime unit regardless of whether the qualifying unit is taken out of service or the either Lifetime unit is sold, but an MSD lifetime unit can't be used as a qualifying unit for MSD on other units.

I have a S2 with Lifetime, a TiVoHD with $6.95 MSD and a Premiere with MSD Lifetime. If I retire or sell the S2 I'll lose the MSD on the TiVoHD but the Premiere will retain its Lifetime status.

[Worf]

Ah, thanks. My S3 TiVo has a fully-paid up lifetime, and was thinking of possibly converting my S2 quietly recording in the corner (I do MRV with it) to lifetime as well.

Wish TiVo explained it better on their website.

[replaytv]

I thought if U had lifetime or were paying a monthly fee U were eligible for lifetime for $199!

[aaronwt]

$100 off is the standard discount. Taking it from $399 to $299.

[atmuscarella]

Ah, thanks. My S3 TiVo has a fully-paid up lifetime, and was thinking of possibly converting my S2 quietly recording in the corner (I do MRV with it) to lifetime as well.

Wish TiVo explained it better on their website.Not sure I would pay $299 to get lifetime on a Series 2. You can pick up a single tuner Series 2 with lifetime off ebay for under $200. If you want lifetime on your Series 2 I would call and see if they would be willing to sell it to you for a reduced price.

Good Luck,

[cmeinck]

One of my premier units is moving to lifetime today. I ordered back in September for $299. I called today and the second unit was $399. I decided to pass on go with the yearly fee. Two years is a long time in technology.