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RCN-branded TiVo now available in DC

8K views 60 replies 31 participants last post by  gweempose 
#1 ·
The TiVo Premiere box made exclusively for RCN cable customers is now available to the Washington, DC market:

http://www.rcn.com/dc-metro/digital-cable-tv/tivo-in-dc

Not too bad at $19.95/month. No additional cablecard fee and RCN VOD is operable.

A monumental day for TiVo.
 
#27 ·
Look at the comparison chart linked in the OP.

http://www.rcn.com/dc-metro/digital-cable-tv/tivo-in-dc

Regular TiVo is cited as costing "$299.99 plus service" while both TiVo and the RCN DVR are cited as just "Monthly Rental Fee". That makes it pretty clear that the RCN TiVo is offered on the same terms as their own DVR - just a monthly rental.

I think the point of confusion is that since TiVo is servicing these DVRs you do still have to activate them with TiVo. RCN probably has to forward some information to TiVo for each provisioned DVR, which is where j2sheck is probably running into problems.
 
#28 ·
Look at the comparison chart linked in the OP.

http://www.rcn.com/dc-metro/digital-cable-tv/tivo-in-dc

Regular TiVo is cited as costing "$299.99 plus service" while both TiVo and the RCN DVR are cited as just "Monthly Rental Fee". That makes it pretty clear that the RCN TiVo is offered on the same terms as their own DVR - just a monthly rental.

I think the point of confusion is that since TiVo is servicing these DVRs you do still have to activate them with TiVo. RCN probably has to forward some information to TiVo for each provisioned DVR, which is where j2sheck is probably running into problems.
I would think that when you use the: https://www3.tivo.com/tivo-mma/activate/activate.do that the entry of the "product code" identifies the box as the TiVo provided by RCN. I believe the message on that page regarding Comcast/DirecTV are regarding "OTHER" boxes.

My point was/is the box needs activated before you can establish an "account"!!
 
#29 ·
Anyone having issues registering for their RCN Tivo online?
I would post your problem on this bulletinboard:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/rcn

RCN staff participates in that board and they will offer assistance if you post. You should register on that board first so that they can send you instant messages and you can respond with IMs. One of the guys working on the RCN TiVo implementation is on that board.
 
#31 ·
Well, RCN ended up making a bad decision and have deactivated Netflix streaming and Amazon VOD on their TiVo boxes.
Au contraire, a brilliant decision by RCN.

Just a few days ago, someone reported a Netflix induced crash of his Premiere. I of course posted a snarky reply saying "don't do that". Yet others posted that their TiVos never crashed using Netflix. But you can search the forums for many many many posts reporting crashes.

TiVo works great for recording off cable. None of my TiVo HDs have screwed up recording shows in years (excepting what I believe were MyDVR problems). The basic functionality works quite well. So why should RCN risk problems, especially when Netflix is (more or less) a competitor?

You want Netflix, buy a TiVo! Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.
 
#33 ·
Considering how Directv watered down the old Tivos... I'd say RCN has done a good job allowing the features that they did.

Au contraire, a brilliant decision by RCN.

Just a few days ago, someone reported a Netflix induced crash of his Premiere. I of course posted a snarky reply saying "don't do that". Yet others posted that their TiVos never crashed using Netflix. But you can search the forums for many many many posts reporting crashes.

TiVo works great for recording off cable. None of my TiVo HDs have screwed up recording shows in years (excepting what I believe were MyDVR problems). The basic functionality works quite well. So why should RCN risk problems, especially when Netflix is (more or less) a competitor?

You want Netflix, buy a TiVo! Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.
 
#36 ·
It is likely the info you are entering into the TiVo website doesn't match what RCN activated the box under. Find out exactly what info RCN activated your box under (full name, email, phone, zip). If one piece of info doesn't match, they should update their records.

If you already have a TiVo account, this info needs to match...if it doesn't, call TiVo to merge the accounts.

Anyone having issues registering for their RCN Tivo online? I've followed their instructions, going to tivo.com/manage, clicking "Have a TiVo from your cable company? click here to create an account." and entering my information.

<<snip>>

Anyone else having problems registering? It kind of sucks not being able to do any of the online Tivo stuff. And it's especially odd since there's a long section in the pamphlet RCN gave me that says "IMPORTANT: Register your RCN TiVo".
 
#38 ·
I had already activated (or rather the RCN man had activated) when I was having registration problems.

@nycityuser thanks for the link. It looks like someone has posted similar issues there, and RCN yesterday (5/3) had identified the problem, and it was indeed on their end, and not TiVo's or the user's. Seems like an RCN rep on the thread has found the issue and rectified.

I'll try this again when I get home, hopefully problem's solved! Thanks again for the help.
 
#39 ·
Au contraire, a brilliant decision by RCN.

Just a few days ago, someone reported a Netflix induced crash of his Premiere. I of course posted a snarky reply saying "don't do that". Yet others posted that their TiVos never crashed using Netflix. But you can search the forums for many many many posts reporting crashes.

TiVo works great for recording off cable. None of my TiVo HDs have screwed up recording shows in years (excepting what I believe were MyDVR problems). The basic functionality works quite well. So why should RCN risk problems, especially when Netflix is (more or less) a competitor?

You want Netflix, buy a TiVo! Ya pays your money, ya takes your chances.
I use the Netflix everyday and I have never had a crash, but I'm OTA
 
#40 ·
I had already activated (or rather the RCN man had activated) when I was having registration problems.

@nycityuser thanks for the link. It looks like someone has posted similar issues there, and RCN yesterday (5/3) had identified the problem, and it was indeed on their end, and not TiVo's or the user's.
You're welcome.

Yeah, I've used RCN for 13 years and TiVo for about 6 years. If I had to guess which one screwed up I would have put a lot of money on RCN. And their clueless offshore technical support "staff" makes matters even worse.
 
#41 ·
So if I understand this right, using TiVo via RCN is $20/month just for hardware rental (includes CableCard I would assume) + a separate service contract of your choice from TiVo?

If that's the case then it's a hefty price to pay just to get RCN VOD as an extra while losing Netflix streaming... Though I suppose you get hardware "insurance" - should hardware go bad you simply swap it out for another like any other cable box. Still, would not even consider it for a second on those terms.
 
#43 ·
PLUS.. you might get away with the $40+ ripoff truck roll charge for just getting a M-card for your new Premiere. Dunno if they require a truck roll for this or if you could just pick one up at the office, but here's hoping.
 
#44 ·
meh, after 2.5 years you are wasting your money. You can get a Premiere plus Lifetime for $600. After 2.5 years it's free forever.

Then again, if VOD is important to you, that's another story. It's not, to me. However I don't see why they couldn't update the Premiere to allow it if the RCN boxes can do it.
 
#45 ·
meh, after 2.5 years you are wasting your money. You can get a Premiere plus Lifetime for $600. After 2.5 years it's free forever.

Then again, if VOD is important to you, that's another story. It's not, to me. However I don't see why they couldn't update the Premiere to allow it if the RCN boxes can do it.
I would only consider it a waste of money if after 2 years there wasn't a new TiVo. At the rate hardware prices are dropping and in 2 years depending on the FCC changes, there may very well be a new box.

Look at hard drive prices alone. In the last 3 months 1.5TB drives have dropped to $90 or less and 2tb for $120.
 
#47 ·
In the "own vs rent" battle, I was glad to own my TiVo as a long-time RCN customer. When Verizon started offering FIOS in my building a few months ago I was able to switch content providers while maintaining my TiVo service. All of my recordings and season passes remained intact. The switch was fairly seamless.

Had I been using RCN's DVR I would have lost everything and had to start over.
 
#49 ·
No! For $20 per month you get everything from RCN - the equipment and DVR service. It's like any other DVR rental from a cable company.
If this is true, I think it's smart pricing. Finally, TiVo does something right.

There are many people who currently pay $20/mo to the cable company to rent an inferior DVR. Those people don't care that for that same amount of money they could own a TiVo free and clear after a few years.

This pricing isn't for me (I have 4 lifetimed TiVo HDs), and it's probably not for most of the members here. But it is for Joe Sixpack, the typical TV viewer.
 
#50 ·
It's good that ONE of these cable relations are finally working out

From a practical point of view I don't know why anyone would rent when you can buy a FULL FEATURED Premiere instead.
 
#51 ·
1) If the box has a problem, RCN owns it and will replace it. The down side to owning TiVo with lifetime is that you have to pay for the exchange once the short warranty ends. Plus I've read that they also charge to move lifetime to the replacement if the exchange happens 3 years after the activation. So, in addition to paying $700 for the box and service, you may have to pay a couple hundred more only a few years later if you need an exchange.

2) If you don't really care about Netflix and Amazon, or you can obtain them through other means, you now have VOD as an option.
 
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