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For the cord cutters here: lifetime Tivo OTA for $300
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05-03-2015, 03:59 AM
The problem with TiVo is their business model.
That and they had the best-in-class product and didn't run fast enough to keep the evil cable companies at bay.
05-03-2015, 04:14 AM
sekker wrote: TiVo can't keep companies at bay because their patents are dubious (even if too often successful in court) and they can only ring out so many settlements as they see their subscribers dwindle to nothingness. Frankly, TiVo can crash and burn for all care, but I don't mind the actual products they sell, just the idea that any single company deserves to own a single market because Patents. Patents are about specific implementation, should not cover software (aka math) and should not cover broad ideas. TiVo should have worried about competing in the actual market, but they've been banking on settlements for years. When you make Motorola, Microsoft, Cisco, Verizon, and EchoStar look sympathetic, you've done something wrong. P.s. In case I wasn't being clear, TiVo is pretty "evil" themselves.
05-03-2015, 08:23 AM
Tivo makes some great machines. I've been using them for more than 10 years, going back to DirecTV Tivo models which can be hacked to provide more functionality (download shows over ethernet) while maintaining your DirecTV subscription.
Hard drives are the most likely failure point on Tivos, and they can be replaced while keeping your lifetime service with that particular machine. Note $300 lifetime service special is only for the OTA Roamio model. It's still $500 for lifetime service on the other Roamio models. The other option is just to pay $15 per month for service on the OTA Roamio, with a 1 year commitment on the new machine. Not impressed with $99 lifetime service on the old dual Tuner series 2 machine. These models went obsolete many years ago when ago when Analog TV stopped being broadcast in the US. Also the series 2 are NOT HD.
05-03-2015, 01:59 PM
The point of the Mini is to lease only one CableCard (on the main Tivo), since the latest generation Tivos (the Roamio models) offer 4 to 6 tuners.
I'm seeing used Tivo Minis (all now include lifetime service) as low as $60 on ebay. Here a Time Warner HD DVR is almost $25/month (after tax), forever. So in my market (using a ebay discount code) I could buy the top-end Tivo (Roamio Pro) plus 3 Minis (@$150 each) for roughly the same price it would cost to rent two HD-DVRs for two years. Robert M wrote:
05-04-2015, 01:25 PM
Bill,
That assumes the hardware lasts at least two years. In my experience, this won't necessarily happen and is one of the reasons I won't buy one. In this case, it's also that much more expensive to get a model that supports a cable card. Robert
05-05-2015, 08:34 PM
Yes, but as we've discussed your experience is atypical.
The newest Tivo models can automatically format any drive up to 3TB, and the power supply is external ((for the base Roamio & Roamio OTA) Those are the two most common points of failure. The power supply is $5.99 from Tivo (for the Roamio & Roamio OTA). The last 3TB WD-AV drive I bought was $100. Again, even if you need to replace the above after a few years total cost of ownership is far less than renting, especially if you'd otherwise need several cable boxes. Robert M wrote:
05-08-2015, 11:30 AM
Bill,
So you say. It's going to take more than that to convince me since my experiences with TIVO hardware has been underwhelming at best. One box with failures. Two TIVO HD boxes with shoddy quality control and significant expenses to get the system to somewhat replicate what i have with FIOS. Years of waiting to get a return on the investment. Not worth it. Robert |
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