Goodbye, Li'l Tivo

[Graymalkin]

This is an elegy to my first TiVo, a Philips 110 purchased in August 1999 for $799, plus $199 lifetime service.

Its original 15GB hard drive was augmented in 2001 with a 160GB hard drive, and it provided faithful service for nearly seven years.

Alas, it died over the weekend after suffering a monthlong bout of stuttering, culminating yesterday in the dreaded Green Screen of Death. Repeated attempts to revive him failed. A call to Philips support resulted in a request of $20 just to talk diagnose the problem.

I decided two years ago to sign a DNR order for him. Spending money to fix a non-networkable Series 1 seemed pointless, especially with Comcast DVRs available now and the Series 3 TiVo on the way. (I'd rather have an S3 TiVo than a Comcast, but it'll have to wait until Comcast starts implementing CableCard access in my neck of the wood).

So goodbye li'l TiVo, he of the plain black eye in a plain black box, yet still a dashing trailblazer of the video landscape, and changer of lives. Mainly mine.

May you rest in peace.

[cheerdude]

<sniff> Did it leave behind any other TiVos to carry on in his name?

[pokegol]

Wait, he might not be quite dead yet! It sounds like your original 15gb hard drive might have died. You can restore an image to the 160gb drive and you could be back in business with no cash outlay. Unless of course it is the 160gb drive that died and then you'd have to purchase a new drive. But drives are cheap.

Don't give up hope yet!!!!

[dirtypacman]

So sad !!!
Sounds like you got some good use out em though!!

[jlb]

Worst case scenario, you might be able to get a few dollars on e-bay....

[Dan203]

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

I'd rather have an S3 TiVo than a Comcast, but it'll have to wait until Comcast starts implementing CableCard access in my neck of the wood

ALL cable companies have been required by law to offer CableCARDs since July of 2004. There is no "neck of the wood" requirments. A few of the smaller cable companies got extensions right in the beginning, but they have all expired by now. If Comcast does not offer CableCARDs in your area then they are in violation of the FCC mandate and should be reported.

Dan

[ZeoTiVo]

Originally Posted by jlb

Worst case scenario, you might be able to get a few dollars on e-bay....

a series 1 with lifetime and large hard drive would get more than a few dollars on Ebay, even if not working. I also agree you could find an image for the thing and make the large hard drive work and then get even more bucks on Ebay. Should not have to spend anymore on it at all

[willardcpa]

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

.... A call to Philips support resulted in a request of $20 just to talk diagnose the problem.....

What a rip-off! Tell you what pay-pal me $10 and I'll talk it over with you.

[jsmeeker]

Originally Posted by ZeoTiVo

a series 1 with lifetime and large hard drive would get more than a few dollars on Ebay, even if not working. I also agree you could find an image for the thing and make the large hard drive work and then get even more bucks on Ebay. Should not have to spend anymore on it at all

Indeed. Even if he can't fix the box or doesn't want to, the lifetime service on it has some value. You can get some money out of the box on eBay and put it towards a new Series 2 and monthly service. That will hold him over until the Series 3 is available.

[Rocketslc]

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

This is an elegy to my first TiVo,
So goodbye li'l TiVo,

May you rest in peace.

I would like to offer our assistance in providing a dignified final resting place for the dearly departed.
We, of course, would be willing to pay a nominal shipping fee to have the remains sent here.

[Graymalkin]

I'm not technically adept enough to swap out and reconfigure the hard drives. I may have a friend help me with that, and see if we can get it up and running without a major cash outlay. If that's possible, then I'll eBay the li'l fellow. But that may be 2-3 months down the road.

In the meantime, I'm going to test-drive the Comcast DVR and digital cable service. It'll add $25 a month to my cable bill, which isn't onerous -- and I'll be getting dual tuners, which will come in handy in March.

It's good to know that I'll be able to use the S3 when it comes out.

[StanSimmons]

Gray,

Bring it with you to the March party and I'll help you fix it.

[HDTiVo]

Originally Posted by ZeoTiVo

a series 1 with lifetime and large hard drive would get more than a few dollars on Ebay, even if not working.

Sell NOW while prices are high on eBay. Put the money away, and you'll have most of the $$ you'll need for the S3.

Good idea to rent DVR until S3 comes out.

[Graymalkin]

Originally Posted by StanSimmons

Gray,

Bring it with you to the March party and I'll help you fix it.

Thanks for the offer, Stan, but I'm a bit reluctant to bring it on the plane and check it through.

I was thinking about getting help with it at the Philadelphia meet in April, since I'll be driving there.

[Graymalkin]

Looks like it might be fixed sooner than that, at a different get-together.

And I decided to get a refurb 40-hour unit with one year's service prepaid. That'll actually be two years service since this will be a secondary unit. It's cheaper than eight months of Comcast DVR service, and it'll last until 2008 -- when it'll be HDTV time.

[TiVoStephen]

Gray, sorry to hear about the dead unit.

Couple of points:

From what I understand, Philips will apply the $20 service charge towards the replacement charge if you want it repaired by their official source.

Congrats on picking up a factory renewed unit. Bear in mind that if your lifetime unit that qualifies you for the Multi-Sub Discount doesn't make a connection to the TiVo service in six months then your other unit will revert from $6.95 to $12.95. So hopefully you can get it repaired and calling in before six months go by.

Good luck!

Best regards,
Stephen

[Graymalkin]

Thanks, Stephen. I already have three Series 2 units with lifetime subs, so I don't have to worry about the Series 1 coming back home.

[mrmike]

Wasn't August 1999 before the change in the Lifetime wording? Aren't Lifetime subs from then transferrable to a new box? Or has that been done with?

[Graymalkin]

Originally Posted by mrmike

Wasn't August 1999 before the change in the Lifetime wording? Aren't Lifetime subs from then transferrable to a new box? Or has that been done with?

I believe that was a limited-time offer. I did, in fact, take TiVo up on that offer when I swapped out my second Series 1 for my first Series 2. But this Series 1 has an additional hard drive installed, and I wasn't ready at the time to give up 140 hours for a mere 40 hours.

Of course, if I'm wrong, I'd love to get the lifetime service swapped over. Oh, Stephen...

[TiVoStephen]

The grandfather date for Lifetime transfers is if you purchased your Lifetime service before January 21, 2000. You're allowed a one-time transfer to any other standalone unit. We still honor the terms of that grandfather exception; however, note that if you have already transferred service once, then you don't get to do so a second time.

Gray, I didn't look up your account, so I didn't see if you qualify or not. Send me an e-mail with the TiVo Service Number if you want me to look it up.

It may take me a while to respond since I'm out on paternity leave until February 15th.

[Graymalkin]

Stephen -- When you say you can transfer a lifetime subscription only once, are you talking about the same lifetime subscription? Or that you can transfer only one lifetime subscription, period?

I had two Series 1 units with lifetime subs that were purchased before Jan. 21, 2000. One sub was transferred when the offer was first made. This is the other unit.

I'll send you the service number via email.

Please note that I've already ordered a refurbished Series 2 with one year's prepaid monthly service. I already can see the fits that Billing is going to throw when it tries to figure out how to change that to lifetime subscription and a $150 rebate... Or will I be the one having the fit trying to get Billing to do that?

[Schmidt]

"Its original 15GB hard drive was augmented in 2001 with a 160GB hard drive, and it provided faithful service for nearly seven years."

You had a 160 GB hard drive that lasted for nearly 7 years? Holy cow are you a lucky guy. I'm on my third hard drive, having replaced two clicking, studdering, finally dead as a doornail hard drives, a new one needed EVERY TWO YEARS!

[jlb]

The original 40gb hard drive on my AT&T TiVO has been going strong since purchasing the unit in 2001.

[gthassell]

Gray,

Sounds like you might be able to hold on to the S1 and transfer the Lifetime to a new Series 3 when it comes out...

That would be quite the deal!

[Graymalkin]

Originally Posted by Schmidt

"Its original 15GB hard drive was augmented in 2001 with a 160GB hard drive, and it provided faithful service for nearly seven years."

You had a 160 GB hard drive that lasted for nearly 7 years? Holy cow are you a lucky guy. I'm on my third hard drive, having replaced two clicking, studdering, finally dead as a doornail hard drives, a new one needed EVERY TWO YEARS!

I guess I did get lucky. I have four TiVos. Not one has ever had a hardware problem until now.

Actually, I now think the second hard drive is an 80GB, because I don't think I ever had more than 104 hours available at Basic. And that drive is only five years old, not seven.

It's also quite possible that the 80GB drive is still alive, and that it's the seven-year-old 15GB drive that has died.

And it's possible that some electrical fluctuations that I've had in my living room recently might have caused the damage. I've got a good surge suppressor in there, but I may have to upgrade to a UPS.

[sushikitten]

Originally Posted by jsmeeker

Indeed. Even if he can't fix the box or doesn't want to, the lifetime service on it has some value. You can get some money out of the box on eBay and put it towards a new Series 2 and monthly service. That will hold him over until the Series 3 is available.

Okay, can you explain this to me? I'm not following how a lifetime service plan has any value to anyone else if the box doesn't work? Or would the buyer be counting on being able to fix the box? Or hoping that another "one time only" lifetime switch is offered from old S1s to the new S3 when they come out?

[murgatroyd]

Originally Posted by jenhudson

Okay, can you explain this to me? I'm not following how a lifetime service plan has any value to anyone else if the box doesn't work? Or would the buyer be counting on being able to fix the box? Or hoping that another "one time only" lifetime switch is offered from old S1s to the new S3 when they come out?

1) If you read Stephen's message, you can see that a TiVo with lifetime sub that can call in every so often qualifies all the other TiVos in the house for a multi-service discount. So even if it stutters like heck and won't record, if it simply works enough to call in, that earns you $6.00 discount on monthly service for every other TiVo in the house. A unit showing the GSOD has passed that point -- however

2) if the hard drive is the only thing not working, that can be fixed. We upgraded our Sony TiVo ourselves, but for those who don't want to do that, one can buy drop-in replacement drives or ship the TiVo off to a 3rd-party vendor like Weakness to have it done. The info at Weaknees for his machine is here: Philips HDR110 and HDR112 TiVo Upgrade Kits

I suppose people might also buy a machine thinking they could switch the lifetime over, but my preference when rescuing a broken S1 would be to fix it.

In any case, it's a pity that Graymalkin doesn't live in my area, since we could probably fix it for him. Or buy it from him, since I'm on the lookout for another S1 that I can hack.

P.S. to Stephen: paternity leave! congrats!

Jan

[sushikitten]

Originally Posted by murgatroyd

1) If you read Stephen's message, you can see that a TiVo with lifetime sub that can call in every so often qualifies all the other TiVos in the house for a multi-service discount. So even if it stutters like heck and won't record, if it simply works enough to call in, that earns you $6.00 discount on monthly service for every other TiVo in the house. A unit showing the GSOD has passed that point -- however

2) if the hard drive is the only thing not working, that can be fixed. We upgraded our Sony TiVo ourselves, but for those who don't want to do that, one can buy drop-in replacement drives or ship the TiVo off to a 3rd-party vendor like Weakness to have it done.

I suppose the lifetime switch is also possible.

In any case, it's a pity that Graymalkin doesn't live in my area, since we could probably fix it for him. Or buy it from him, since I'm on the lookout for another S1 that I can hack.

P.S. to Stephen: paternity leave! congrats!

Jan

Okay, that's where I was hung up - I thought it was TOTALLY dead, hence no use to even call in. Thanks!

[murgatroyd]

Originally Posted by jenhudson

Okay, that's where I was hung up - I thought it was TOTALLY dead, hence no use to even call in. Thanks!

Sure, but in this case, it was working before, so a new drive or set of drives ought to put him back in business.

And there are also fixes for machines with busted modems. Just FYI.

Jan

[Thom]

Originally Posted by Graymalkin

Stephen -- When you say you can transfer a lifetime subscription only once, are you talking about the same lifetime subscription? Or that you can transfer only one lifetime subscription, period?

I had two Series 1 units with lifetime subs that were purchased before Jan. 21, 2000. One sub was transferred when the offer was first made. This is the other unit.

I'll send you the service number via email.

Please note that I've already ordered a refurbished Series 2 with one year's prepaid monthly service. I already can see the fits that Billing is going to throw when it tries to figure out how to change that to lifetime subscription and a $150 rebate... Or will I be the one having the fit trying to get Billing to do that?

My understanding is that it's each lifetime subscription purchased before Jan. 21, 2000. Thus, you had two lifetimes that were eligible for transfer, but only transferred one of them.