Tivo's Elite E-mail: No Commitment?

My guess is the box makes enough of a profit that they don't need a subscription to subsidize. Also with limited retail locations they aren't slashing prices to sell to Amazon for example.

 

So does that mean I can buy the Elite and put my 12.95 plan on it?

 

Also available for 14.99/mo with MSD.

 

I doubt it. I know someone tried to transfer their $6.95 and they got shot down because it was the Elite.

 

Lame. I would consider buying one from Best Buy but I'm not willing (no should I have to IMO) pay more monthly for a new box. Especially unsubsidized.

 

I believe selling this box for $500 will not be profitable but the service will be. The quantity is too small and after distributions costs, retailer profits, warranty, and customer returns, it will be something approximating breakeven for the hardware if TiVo is lucky. Since very few people are going to purchase a $500 box without also paying for service, the service should make it a profitable product for TiVo. I doubt if any TiVo DVR has been profitable in years and overall, TiVo never or almost never makes a profit from operations during any period, installed customer base is too small. Unfortunately a profitable product at a very small scale like the Elite won't amount to much but it will be better than nothing and maybe more profitable products can follow.

 

My opinion, it's a quad tuner... people are going to like this TiVo and won't be cancelling their subscription any time soon.

I know I won't be.

 

I suspect that the $500 MSRP affords Tivo at least a small profit and there is not a hardware subsidy that has to be recovered, unlike the other Premieres.

 

Wasn't the S3 the only box that they sold at cost without subsidizing it? And that box cost $800 at the time.
I know they made their money off of me. You couldnot get Lifetime back then and I had three of the S3 boxes and signed up for a 3 year commitment at $6.95 for each box. And then when that ended they had Lifetime again and I signed up for that at $300 each. So they got alot out of me for those S3 boxes between the monthly fee and Lifetime service.

EDIT: I totally missed the no commitment when I was at the subscription page for the Elite. If I had realized it I may have signed up for monthly initially to push back the $400 payment for lifetime.

 

I don't see this as a good thing, especially if you can't get a lifetime for this box.

 

You can. I definitely got it on my Elite.

 

*raises hand* I'm one of them, CSR was very nice and very clear that while they weren't supposed to transfer $6.95 to a Premiere they would if you whined nicely, but that it was not going to happen on the Elite and the word had come from upon high "no exceptions"

 

You can get LT - see post #5.

 

Me too.

They would transfer my 6.95 plan to a regular Premier, but not Elite. I wonder if we wait a few months if they will change their tune.

 

Did you try this. "I KNOW TOM ROGERS I listen TO HIM IN CONFERENCE CALLS."