[rwitmer]

I have a series 2 that has a lifetime service agreement. I went for the Series 2 80 HR DT upgrade and am transferring the lifetime to the new box. My question is when the old box loses it's subscription, it will require a service agreement to keep it functioning. It's going to become a boat anchor really soon. There are some shows loaded on it I will watch, but I would really like to use it as a standalone recorder without any new service agreements. And that means no new listing service. That's ok, I'd use it as a standalone recorder and manually time and channel record if I could. When I bought my first unit I allowed the 30 day grace period to lapse. It wouldn't even allow me to manually record without the service agreement. What if I disconnect it from the internet and the phone line so it can never call home to momma. Will it continue to allow me do manual time and channel recording. Or will it timeout someday since it can't phone home.

I had a friend who had an original series 1. When Tivo went to the subscription model, he disconnected his Tivo from the phone line forever. He thought if he got any new updates his Tivo would stop working. The clock on his Tivo drifted so he had to always calculate in the drift time and the actual time to get his recordings to start at the correct time.

 

[bsnelson]

A Series 2 box is practically useless without service. You can watch the shows already recorded, but you can't record anything new, manual or otherwise.

Brad

 

[enthalpy]

Yup, agreed. I tried this myself. The box tries to make it sound like you must sign up for a subscription. But it lets you bypass all the "oh my this box does not have a subscription" warnings. All you get to watch is the shows already recorded.

 

[jlb]

My AT&T branded Series 2 works just fine as a manual recorder. It is not a doorstop.....close, but not just....

 

[classicsat]

They are not supposed to.

Most Series 1s are allowed to, Series 2s are supposed to be subbed to work.

Under the right circumstances, a Series 2 could sill manually record when service is terminated on it. We really can't say the circumstances on how to have a Series 2 TiVo "fall" into a condition where it will record without a cub though.

 

[pdhenry]

I... am transferring the lifetime to the new box.

OK, How?

 

[rwitmer]

Originally Posted by rwitmer
I... am transferring the lifetime to the new box.

OK, How?

How am I transferring the lifetime to the new box? It's part of the promotion they had recently if you purchase a Series 2 DT 80 Hr for $299. Basically you are buying the box for $99 and you pay the "$199 transfer to the new box" fee.

They also "allow" transfers to a Series 3 HD, (not the new HD lite $299 Tivo HD, but the 300 hr $600+ unit from last year). They are not promoting it anymore but if you ask, as of last Friday, they will still honor the offer. You might get a rep that doesn't know about it, but when they go ask and come back to the line they are happy to do the transfer. You purchase your own Series 3 from a 3rd party (not from Tivo) and for $199 they will transfer the lifetime from an old Series 2 to the new Series 3. They even throw in a year subscription on the old box that the lifetime was transferred from.

I asked to just buy their Series 3 web special with the transfer already in place but that was beyond what they were willing to do.

 

[pdhenry]

OK, I guess I missed that promo.

Someone PM me when it is offered for the new TiVo HD.

I'd probably keep my S2 signed up as a $6.95 MSD box.