cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

so.. have had a replaytv for many years now.. was one that i got as a price mistake (150 for the unit & lifetime subscription).. but its not HD and has finally bit the bullet..
I've revived it a couple times in the past by changing out capacitors, fuses, etc... but have decided that without HD, its probably not worth the headache of figuring out the latest breakdown.

I download most of my shows and play them back through my xbox (and eventually plan to through the apple tv, once i get that working)..

but i just changed cable providers and that forced me to review the charges and realize Ill be paying 10 bucks a month to 'rent' the hd box/dvr...

so it got me thinking.. maybe i should just pickup a tivo with lifetime off ebay and save the rental fees (well, would be 1.90 for a cable card)..

anyone have experience with buying a tivo with lifetime off off ebay? if you have bought one or watched them on ebay, what kindof price does a hd unit with lifetime typically close at?
i assume no issue with transferring the subscription, its tied to the unit?
any specific models i should be looking for (again: cheapskate).. any models with known issues that would be risky to buy a used one?

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

HD Tivo means you're down to either the TiVo HD or the Series 3. Either would be fine.

You'll be hard pressed to find one with lifetime for less than $500-$600, however.

Which begs the question: do you expect the TiVo to remaining in full working condition for more than 5 years to even out on that monthly $10 DVR fee?

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

well, since the cable company will only let you use one of their dvrs... i wouldnt mind dropping the $8 a month and picking up a cheap unit... seen some BIN at 449$, so I figured some of the auctions would actually close cheaper than that.

any of the units support netflix, playing files from my htpc, etc..?

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

also.. when they say they can record 2 channels at once..
i assume that means with 2 tunes (cable cards?)
because i get the feeling that my provider is going to charge $10 per card for service and $1.90 per cable card.. even if they are both in the same device.. so that would actually jack up the price to have 2 cards in there

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

Most providers only have M-Cards in stock which are 2 stream so you only need one. In fact if you get a Tivo Premiere it only has one CC slot so you have to have an M-Card.

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

I can't help with buying used, but I can toss out some info. I have the Series 3 HD box. It takes 2 cable cards (run $2 a month each, no additional $10 charge here). Since it seems like you like to tinker you should know it was the last model that supports custom external drives. I have a 1TB hooked to mine. The newer models only work with overpriced proprietary WD drives. Something to consider if you were looking to upgrade.

All the units do Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, etc. Very handy, I just wish they'd add Hulu. The newer units run Tivo Premier which hasn't been received all to well. It's sluggish and just doesn't run as smooth as the older non-Premier(Series 3) models.

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

You know I always read that so when I got a new Premier last month I was expecting it to be slow. Well it ran great, that is until last night when it froze and these thing don't reboot fast at all. Turned off the HD interface and went back to the old SD interface and it's so much faster just so plain.

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

I would highly recommend staying away from the WD external drives. They have a high failure rate and don't seem to last much more than a year. (one very unscientific poll, nearly 50% failure rate http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=431689)

You're guaranteed to lose everything you've stored as well: it saves a small portion on the internal and most on the external.

When mine failed, it somehow messed up my internal hard drive too. The existing drive never booted on it's own and I couldn't even get a brand new hard drive (flashed with TiVo) to boot up either.

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

Are there not apps which provide tivo like functionality on computers? A tv tuner card will be needed.

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

well sure.. ive tried a handful of software titles over the years to accomplish it
but unless you keep a dedicated htpc connected to your tvs, it really doesnt ever work out as well as an appliance made for this reason.. even my old crappy replaytv was always better than the solutions i used through my pc or laptop

Re: cheapskate questions on getting a used tivo
 

Did you try:
http://www.mythtv.org/