tivo subcsription costs
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Yes.
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No and No 
Although if you buy a TiVo from eBay with a lifetime sub it will most likely currently cost you less than £200 (the value of the sub), so effectively you're getting a discounted lifetime sub and a free TiVo :up:
Although if you buy a TiVo from eBay with a lifetime sub it will most likely currently cost you less than £200 (the value of the sub), so effectively you're getting a discounted lifetime sub and a free TiVo :up:
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Well it's really "not just for the epg" is it though, really. It's the compiling of the the meta-data that makes all the features (SP, WL, Suggestions) work. I had a TVDrive for a while (the V+ Box when it was just Telewest) and there were only two things I liked about it over my Tivo; the 'record two things at once" and the direct bitstream recording. I still prefer my TivoJPHCCFC said:
If you keep an eye out on a well known auction website you might pick up a Tivo with a Lifetime Sub, larger hard drive (160Gb to 250Gb typically) and a network card of some kind (Cachecard or Turbonet card according to your luck) for just over £200.
This is a better bet than paying £200 for a Lifetime Sub and then another £70 upwards for the network card and memory. Also you save all the hassle of installing Tivoweb and upgrading to a larger hard drive if you buy from someone who has done it properly.
Its a shame Tivo haven't cut the monthly sub to £5 per month as if they had then I think an awful lot more Tivos would have remained subscribed as second PVRs.
This is a better bet than paying £200 for a Lifetime Sub and then another £70 upwards for the network card and memory. Also you save all the hassle of installing Tivoweb and upgrading to a larger hard drive if you buy from someone who has done it properly.
Its a shame Tivo haven't cut the monthly sub to £5 per month as if they had then I think an awful lot more Tivos would have remained subscribed as second PVRs.
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43 Posts
There is a little eBay buying issue to be aware of.
Some eBay sellers are selling 'lifetime subscription' which has not been transferred properly via TiVo CS to them, and hence it won't be transferred to you.
See "What happens if I give away or sell my DVR?" in the FAQ on TiVo's UK website.
If you have one of these boxes, EPG updates works OK apparently - but TiVo can't do any maintenance on your machine - say if you need a new s/w version or a fix.
I'm affected in this way, but crossing that line when my TiVo breaks will be, say, interesting, and will probably require the use of my other properly lifetime subscribed TiVo to hack in any updates.
Yeah, some eBay deals are cheap for a reason ...
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Adrian C
Some eBay sellers are selling 'lifetime subscription' which has not been transferred properly via TiVo CS to them, and hence it won't be transferred to you.
See "What happens if I give away or sell my DVR?" in the FAQ on TiVo's UK website.
If you have one of these boxes, EPG updates works OK apparently - but TiVo can't do any maintenance on your machine - say if you need a new s/w version or a fix.
I'm affected in this way, but crossing that line when my TiVo breaks will be, say, interesting, and will probably require the use of my other properly lifetime subscribed TiVo to hack in any updates.
Yeah, some eBay deals are cheap for a reason ...
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Adrian C
tenwiseman,tenwiseman said:There is a little eBay buying issue to be aware of.
Some eBay sellers are selling 'lifetime subscription' which has not been transferred properly via TiVo CS to them, and hence it won't be transferred to you.
See "What happens if I give away or sell my DVR?" in the FAQ on TiVo's UK website.
If you have one of these boxes, EPG updates works OK apparently - but TiVo can't do any maintenance on your machine - say if you need a new s/w version or a fix.
I'm affected in this way, but crossing that line when my TiVo breaks will be, say, interesting, and will probably require the use of my other properly lifetime subscribed TiVo to hack in any updates.
Yeah, some eBay deals are cheap for a reason ...
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Adrian C
You seem to know a great deal about Tivos and lifetime subs and issues of transferring them so I'm a little puzzled that in 2007 this should be your very first post here?
The Lifetime subbed machine I purchased in June is of the kind you describe. Namely it has a Cachecard and 512MB of RAM and a 250Gb upgraded drive and it says 5 Lifetime in System Information and this status is retained after a daily call that successfully updates the data. But the seller, a Geordie who claimed to have bought the machine for his now deceased dad a year earlier, then undermined his own described position as a non Tivo owner by displaying considerable technical knowledge on upgrading Tivos and Tivo use and Cachecard use.
He failed to disclose in his original advertisement that the Lifetime Sub had not been properly transferred to him. Then when I challenged him after purchase he maintained that it made no difference to using the Tivo that the Lifetime Sub was not registered in his own name or my name.
Coming back to your original point I think owning one of these machines is most dangerous if you do not know the Lifetime Sub has not been properly transferred and then ring Tivo to try and transfer it to yourself and give the Service Number. At that point you run the risk of the account being closed,
The final issue seems to be if one needs to upgrade to 2.5.5a and I am unclear whether if one does this by modifying the single file required if this then still flags an error on calling Tivo and blocks data downloading until such time as 2.5.5 software is required.
In summary these machines can be used satisfactorily if one avoids calling Tivo and avoids upgrading to a tv requiring 2.5.5a but can be a major problem in either of those circumstances. So as you say their market value is lower but the main issue comes when a seller does not disclose it since as the goods otherwise working as described it might be very difficult to successfully obtain a refund via PayPal if the seller resists an application to do so.
If you really need the teletext fix without getting 2.5.5a then you can just change the file instead (as documented here) - and that doesn't affect the reported version.
BTW my original lifetime subscription agreement reads:
BTW my original lifetime subscription agreement reads:
Tivo CS are being nice transferring ownership and subs accross different machines/people - they don't have to allow it. In fact the process of transferring names involves you first cancelling the lifetime, then them recreating it in the new name...tivo said:
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43 Posts
Hi Pete,
Just bought this 2nd TiVo for myself from eBay a few weeks ago. I'm willing to take this guy and the sale as legit as I know where he works and what he does and it would be soooo stupid for him if it were hooky.
Anyway before I became aware of the above, I didn't know what the situation of the 'lifetime service' was when I phoned TiVo CS to transfer it in my name as per TiVo FAQ instructions. I hadn't gone through the point of giving the seller feedback - I thought I'd make that phone call first and see if it transferred OK.
The kindly TiVo CS man asked for the serial number. I gave it. He tutted, the "account is still active - you have to get the owner to close it". Well, I emailed the eBay seller - he rang me back and said he bought it a year ago, never thought of transferring it, the original seller (also on eBay) details are long lost now... "you can send it back if you want, but honestly it worked OK for me - dunno what you are fussing about".
So (and I bet you are now wondering how stupid must I be?) I called back CS and told them I couldn't get the original owner details - what would happen with the lifetime subscription?
This is what the TiVo man said....
"There is no problem for you - the guide updates are OK. Only problem is that if you need us to do maintenance on this box, we won't be able to do it."
Initially I wasn't too happy with this. So I asked him if he could find the original owner and acertain that they had actually sold the box on (and not lost it, say, through theft). Long and short of it - they couldn't, therefore the box stays live for the new "owner". Only if the original owners had actually reported to TiVo that the item was missing, would the account (and lifetime status) be cancelled.
The fact that this box was still working, I figured this was worth a punt. The box was in good condition, so I closed on the eBay purchase and gave the seller his good feedback - and will live with the consequences in the same boat as some other 2nd hand TiVo buyers on this forum (been trawling archives).
Well, as I said above - the seller turned out to be in my eyes above doubt (I won't answer exactly what his job was) so maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.
This original 40GB box is now spinning two 250GB Samsungs and a TurboZNet card. In my mind it's unlikely I'm going to lose title to it and the lifetime EPG service.
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Adrian C
Just bought this 2nd TiVo for myself from eBay a few weeks ago. I'm willing to take this guy and the sale as legit as I know where he works and what he does and it would be soooo stupid for him if it were hooky.
Anyway before I became aware of the above, I didn't know what the situation of the 'lifetime service' was when I phoned TiVo CS to transfer it in my name as per TiVo FAQ instructions. I hadn't gone through the point of giving the seller feedback - I thought I'd make that phone call first and see if it transferred OK.
The kindly TiVo CS man asked for the serial number. I gave it. He tutted, the "account is still active - you have to get the owner to close it". Well, I emailed the eBay seller - he rang me back and said he bought it a year ago, never thought of transferring it, the original seller (also on eBay) details are long lost now... "you can send it back if you want, but honestly it worked OK for me - dunno what you are fussing about".
So (and I bet you are now wondering how stupid must I be?) I called back CS and told them I couldn't get the original owner details - what would happen with the lifetime subscription?
This is what the TiVo man said....
"There is no problem for you - the guide updates are OK. Only problem is that if you need us to do maintenance on this box, we won't be able to do it."
Initially I wasn't too happy with this. So I asked him if he could find the original owner and acertain that they had actually sold the box on (and not lost it, say, through theft). Long and short of it - they couldn't, therefore the box stays live for the new "owner". Only if the original owners had actually reported to TiVo that the item was missing, would the account (and lifetime status) be cancelled.
The fact that this box was still working, I figured this was worth a punt. The box was in good condition, so I closed on the eBay purchase and gave the seller his good feedback - and will live with the consequences in the same boat as some other 2nd hand TiVo buyers on this forum (been trawling archives).
Well, as I said above - the seller turned out to be in my eyes above doubt (I won't answer exactly what his job was) so maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill.
This original 40GB box is now spinning two 250GB Samsungs and a TurboZNet card. In my mind it's unlikely I'm going to lose title to it and the lifetime EPG service.
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Adrian C
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No. As tewiseman says, TiVo CS don't care in whose name the account is unless you need them to 'do something' with the machine - eg. the 2.5.5a bugfix or transferring the sub to another machine.Pete77 said:
The only time it becomes a real issue is if the sub wasn't a proper lifetime sub, but one of the early demo subs that looked like alifetime but was only valid for the original owner. In that scenario, if you call TiVo CS about anything and tell them that the TiVo has been sold on by the original owner, they will cancel the sub and you'll have to buy an new one.
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