Dying Series 1 and want S2DT

Any tivo you buy , new or used, will require the same service commitment as one purchased from tivo.com if you simply start a new subscription. What you can do is login to your tivo.com account (don't have one? set one up) and do a transfer service number. Your old Tivo will be de-avtivated and your new tivo will be activated in it's place. You'll get the same rate you've been paying w/o having to commit to 3 years of service. This is not an option if you buy new and expect a rebate. Units need new subs with service commitments to qualify for a rebate.

Since you'd be ineligible for any type of rebate if you transferred your $12 sub to a new unit, (as stated by mick66), you may want to consider your options carefully.

One possibility is buying a new hard drive and drive image. Figure a $65 investment.

Another is to buy a S2DT via eBay. I dunno how much this would cost. Maybe $50ish + $20 shipping. Probably more.

If you went retail, a new S2DT would be ~$250 from Best Buy or Circuit City. However a new TivoHD would be $299. So if might make more sense to buy the TivoHD model, depending on how you use the current model (I'm not familiar with the features of a series 1 so I have no comparison to a S2DT or TivoHD.)

wjasonh said:

My 6+ year old Series 1 is on its last leg. Occasionally it will lock up and the hard drive will get loud. I have to unplug the unit to get it working again. Recently it began happening more often. I do NOT have a life time subscription and have paid $12+ / month for service since I've had the unit. I have my eyes on the S2 DT so I called Tivo and they said $99 at $12.95/month with a 3 year agreement. I do not want to get locked into an agreement when I have been a paying customer for over 6 years. If I call and get another operator do you think I will eventually get a S2 DT at $99 with no committement or better yet for free? Or am I better off getting the unit via Ebay?

Thanks

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It is beyond me why anyone would buy an anolog unit with a 3 year commitment. All over the air broadcasts will be digital by 2/2009. Cable will likely be all digital during the same time frame, if not sooner. In plain english, the S2DT will be obsolete long before the 3 year commitment has expired.

A TivoHD ($299) will likely be your best investment. If you do not have the money for one, consider buying a used S2DT on e-bay. However, even with a S2DT you should will either have to replace (with an HD unit) or use with a digital tuner. The need for change will happen sooner rather than later.

drew00001 said:

It is beyond me why anyone would buy an anolog unit with a 3 year commitment. All over the air broadcasts will be digital by 2/2009. Cable will likely be all digital during the same time frame, if not sooner. In plain english, the S2DT will be obsolete long before the 3 year commitment has expired.

A TivoHD ($299) will likely be your best investment. If you do not have the money for one, consider buying a used S2DT on e-bay. However, even with a S2DT you should will either have to replace (with an HD unit) or use with a digital tuner. The need for change will happen sooner rather than later.

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Cable will not likely be all digital during the same time frame.
Where did you hear that ?
Was it just a guess ?

Cable "most likely" will be headed down an all digital road, but it depends on the cable company. Some might switch everyone over to digital if it is cost effective. Others might leave the system running in analog if there is no pressing need to switch (if they are not having bandwidth issues).

The overall picture is pretty turbulent right now and is anyone's guess. I'm hoping the Tivo deal with Comcast works well and other cable companies team up with Tivo to offer Tivo service directly from the cable provider.

(I've been with DirecTv for years, solely because I have two DirecTivo's and absolutely love them. But since my cable company had such a great rate for internet, phone, and cable, I decided to switch and purchase a standalone Tivo.)

The Series 2 DT will perfectly work for some time to come, if only as a single tuner with a digital box. And if something better does come along, you can switch the remainder of your commitment over to it.

So basically the consensus is do not expect any freebies and only get the good price with a 3 year committment. I was hoping Tivo would be similar to my cell phone company regarding possible cancellations. If I call them with the intention of cancelling they usually offer a great deal to keep you as a customer. I think I will look on ebay for now. I have already repaired my Series 1 once and now that it is on its way out again this will be a good opportunity to get a unit with built in network support instead of installing a Turbonet device. Thanks for the input.