They could theoretically build in the lifetime cost ($250) to the price. This is what Replay-TV did initially and it is also probably what hurt them head to head with TIVO - it looked like TIVO was cheaper when it really wasn't. However, I think it is better to give the consumer the option if they don't have $500 to spend at once.

What would be nice is if they had an higher monthly rate and make it like 'rent to own' - like pay $20/month (instead of $12 or whatever the monthly is) for service and have that go toward a lifetime subscription - so you pay it off in about a year.

Well said

Like the saying goes...

"Once you go Tivo, you never go back."

"ReplayTV/Tivo: It's better than washing your hair on a Friday night!"

If I cancel my internet service my computer doesn't turn into a brick.
Closer with the cell analogy but I have seen may offers of free phones. Show me a free tivo.

Free phone service? I'd like to see it.

Some (not all clearly, but some) folks pay $$$ monthly for their digital cable box, no?

Free phones, possibly. Free phone service? Never. If there was such a thing, don't you think EVERYONE would have use it? I'd live to be able to use the phone without having to pay for it.

TiVo is a service. You pay for the service. Period. It really isn't that difficult of a concept to grasp.

Maybe someday Tivo will have a deal where you sign a commitment and get free hardware, similar to cell phone and satellite deals. It's a pretty similar industry--specialized hardware that is useless without the service, so it seems like that might come when the hardware gets cheaper.

tasha

Well, I finally caved in. Just ordered a DirecTivo receiver and service (I already had direcTv) Should be here Monday.

Prepare to be blown away. There's no way to express how life-changing the thing is until you sit down with it and use it.

So would I. I wrote free phones.

I get a free program directory in the Sunday paper or I can get it free on the internet. I see no reason to pay for it. If you don't pay for for your tivo service the tivo box turns into a brick. In your words - It really isn't that difficult of a concept to grasp. There are other HD timeshifting/DVD burning options now. And the big bonus is - you don't have to pay a ransom every month!

The voice of reason. I think you are exactly right.

The hardware (which I own) is pretty cheap, if you are thinking of a new install compared to cable (where I don't own the equipment). You just have to know where to look. New users who go to Best Buy, pay $249.99 for the tivo and $50 for each additional receiver are not doing it right. (search for the 'where to buy Tivo' threads here, or visit www.tivocommunity.com)



So let me ask...

Do you only want 'basic' cable service, or do you actually want some premium services, and possibly digital (not HD) channels? The alternative if you don't just want OTA locals is cable, right?

Last time I checked, Time Warner Cable wanted the following:

Cable Installation Fees
New Installation $45.86
Additional Outlet
With Installation $19.89
Interior Wall Drop $31.81

Since I just installed directv with 3 outlets, one in an interior wall (living room), that setup would cost me:
$45.86 + 19.89 + 19.89 + 31.81 = $117.45

This is close to what I paid for delivery/install of my setup, including the Triple LNB dish, of one directivo and two receivers. And that is MY equipment, which I don't have to return the way I would cable boxes, and might have some residual value at fleabay.


For ongoing costs, Time Warner wants:

Monthly Cable Service Prices
Converter Box (each) $6.95
Digital Navigator a la carte $5.00
Digital Navigator and Digital Tier Combo
$5.35
Digital Additional Outlet (each) $1.27
Analog Program Guide per 8600X Converter Box $0.95
Digital Video Recorder Service (each)
(requires Digital converter)
$9.95


So, for my setup, in addition to the programming costs, it would be $9.95 monthly for the DVR service, plus anywhere from $5.35 to $6.95 for each digital-capable cable box 'rental' (which is useless without the service, oh but wait, they'd make me return them).

Even if I paid extra for my directivo service monthly (which I don't with Premier package) it's less than that for me for digital service in all rooms (one with directivo).

So, it's a "ransom" just for the cableboxes through Time Warner, even if I have another method of "timeshifting" (and still don't have the other season pass/suggestion functionality that is another of the bigger charms of Tivo. I am not sure how well other methods handle schedule conflicts, but I *know* that Tivo does it WELL.).

And I don't have to devote a PC to the system, or buy a DVD player/recorder and blank DVD-Rs, which also cost a ransom.

Or is there something I am missing which would lead me to seeing the benefits of staying away from tivo to save money the money you are purporting it would?

I pay $5 bucks a month for my Tivo. I'd hardly call that "ransom."


It actually went down from the original $10. When was the last time something like this went DOWN?

I would spend more than that on blank DVDs if I was timeshifting that way.

That's for DirecTIVO, right? I believe stand-alone TIVO service costs $12/month now.

yup I got the same decrease with the total choice plus package on directivo it dropped from 10 to 5

it you get TC platinum there is no charge for Tivo

Easy, the reason DIVX failed was because it was a horrible value. DVD's were being so heavily discounted at the time that for a few dollars more than "renting" a DIVX disc, you could buy a DVD. And a lot of people, myself included, saw DIVX as a threat to DVD. At the time, DVD was a nascent format and its success was far from guaranteed. If DIVX had been successful in the marketplace, do you think a studio like Paramount would ever have supported DVD?

Anyway, another point that I don't often see being made is that Tivo actually changed the type of shows I could watch. I've never been able to schedule my life around TV watching so I couldn't reliably catch any given episode. Shows that had long multi-episode story arcs were impossible for me to follow. And I only like to watch documentaries when I'm in the mood for them, which was almost never when they were actually on.

So for the most part, before Tivo, most of my TV watching consisted of news and sitcoms. I guess I could have learned to time shift via VCR, but frankly that requires a level of diligence and organization I'm just not willing to devote to TV. With Tivo (I'm sure Replay would have been just as good), those problems went away. I don't know that I watch any more TV than I used to, but definitely the quality of what I'm watching has gone up tremendously.

Very true. Before I got my Replays (or had the use of my former roommate's TIVOs), I would never see a Sunday or Monday night show during football season. I hated using a VCR to record stuff. Fortunately, a show like Sopranos either a) ran outside of football season or b) I could catch a showing elsewhere during the week. Same went for mid-week basketball games in the ACC - I remember missing a few West Wing and Law & Order episodes 3-4 years ago. I really didn't see SVU until the 3rd season because of being out many Friday nights. Same went for Homicide prior to that.

Oh, man ... there's always one.

das

das-

Could you "explain" TiVo (Replay) to me a little more? What I mean is, for now, I have digital cable. I am very interested in one of the two options, but from all I have read, you can't watch a different show while recording one. So, my question is, how does TiVo help you at all? Could you (or anyone) explain the service to me a little better?

TIA

Not sure what you are reading...

The DirecTivo that I just got is a 'Series 2'. It has two tuners in it. That means that it can handle two input signals at once. That means (without regard to any DVD player, etc. you might also have hooked up which you can also watch) that you can WATCH or RECORD two items coming in from the satellite at once.

Now, if you are saving (up to 2) programs to watch later, you can also view something previously saved on the hard drive. That means, I can be recording two shows that are on at the same time and watching a third (fast forwarding through commercials/whatever as I please) item from the hard drive. Or I can watch one of the items being recorded without it being done being recorded yet, fast forwarding through that one as I like (until I catch up to "live TV") while the other on the other tuner happily records on the hard drive.

I believe cable company PVRs and many stand-alone tivos only have one tuner. So you can WATCH one thing, or RECORD one thing while watching something previously recorded.

I have digital cable and 2 Replay-TVs. I split the signal out of the wall:

Cable 1 >>> Digital Cable box >>> Replay #1 (for recording) >>> Video 1 input in my TV. Now there is something called an IR blaster (included) that you hook btwn your Replay and Cable Box. It automatically changes the channel on the box when necessary.

Cable 2 >>> Replay #2 >>> TV via RF connector.

Also, my Replay #2 also has a TV/Video button which allows me to change the channel on the TV while it is recording something - just like a VCR.

This setup allows me to record 2 channels while watching a 3rd live. The only thing I can't do is watch a Digital Cable channel while another Digital Cable channel is being recorded.

Recently I decided to remodel my kitchen and while I was in the planning stages, I told my Tivo to start recording shows about Kitchen Repair & Design. Every night, Tivo had all sorts of shows for me to watch and I learned a ton and got a lot of great ideas.

I'd like to see a VCR do that.