# lifetime membership



## tyrone (May 5, 2005)

i would like to know if tivo would bring back the lifetime membership or at least let transfer the lifetime membership to a new tivo. i would love to purchase the tivo hd, but with not being able to transfer my lifetime subscription is wrong. so i wonder if enough people asked they will do it. 

i know they offered it for when the hd came out but i didnt have the money then but i am ready now.


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## Darkon (Sep 17, 2007)

tyrone said:


> i would like to know if tivo would bring back the lifetime membership or at least let transfer the lifetime membership to a new tivo. i would love to purchase the tivo hd, but with not being able to transfer my lifetime subscription is wrong. so i wonder if enough people asked they will do it.
> 
> i know they offered it for when the hd came out but i didnt have the money then but i am ready now.


Count me in as another lifetime subscription owner that would love to be able to transfer my lifetime to an HD unit.

I know there was a short period where TiVo offered me the chance to trasnfer the lifetime to a Series 2 dual tuner model for $400 (basically, the cost of the Series 2 unit @ $99 + a $300 lifetime transfer fee), but this is worthless to me.

I have a second TiVo that I'm paying for monthly, but if I can't transfer my lifetime subscription to an HD unit in the near I'll probably be cancelling my second unit and put the lifetime unit in storage or just waiting until it dies.


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

People are reporting that customer service has still been doing lifetime transfers to the original Series3. And currently those are selling for less than $400 after rebate. Still ~$100 more than the HD, but a good deal.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

It is not "your" lifetime subscription, it belongs to the box *. There is nothing wrong with their policy. It is very legitimate and legal.

And it is not a Membership, it is a subscription, not a club, but a service.
You don't have a cell phone or cable TV membership, do you?

*Unless you activated that box with Lifetime before Jan20, 2000, in which case you own the Lifetime, and can move it to a new box.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

I too would like something for nothing.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

Having bought lifetime service for my S2 in April 2006, I won't have gotten 3 full years of use out of it before the ATSC switch-over makes the unit useless to me, at least unless I retire my trusty YAGI in favor of satellite or cable service. I bought my Tivo as an _alternative_ to cable and satellite, and if I wanted a 3 year subscription, I wouldn't have paid for lifetime.

It seems to me that Tivo aught to allow one time transfers of lifetime service for folks who, like me, can't get full use of the service they purchased without switching to a DVR with an ATSC tuner. After all, when I bought lifetime service, the CSR didn't tell me that I'd need a cable or satellite hookup to make it cost effective.


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## TinyT (May 23, 2006)

tyrone said:


> i would like to know if tivo would bring back the lifetime membership or at least let transfer the lifetime membership to a new tivo. i would love to purchase the tivo hd, but with not being able to transfer my lifetime subscription is wrong. so i wonder if enough people asked they will do it.
> 
> i know they offered it for when the hd came out but i didnt have the money then but i am ready now.


I vote for that! I think the month to month is fine for some people but the option to buy lifetime shuld never have been taken away. Any way monthly or Lifetime TiVo ROCKS!!! Using TiVo since 2000 in Canada. (Yes it always worked here.) Just needed a rediler and good tech. :up:


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

gregpg said:


> Having bought lifetime service for my S2 in April 2006, I won't have gotten 3 full years of use out of it before the ATSC switch-over makes the unit useless to me, at least unless I retire my trusty YAGI in favor of satellite or cable service. I bought my Tivo as an _alternative_ to cable and satellite, and if I wanted a 3 year subscription, I wouldn't have paid for lifetime.
> 
> It seems to me that Tivo aught to allow one time transfers of lifetime service for folks who, like me, can't get full use of the service they purchased without switching to a DVR with an ATSC tuner. After all, when I bought lifetime service, the CSR didn't tell me that I'd need a cable or satellite hookup to make it cost effective.


You can still put your trusty YAGI to use with an ATSC tuner box after the NTSC broadcasts are pulled. They're hard to come by now but wait until the Feb 2009 date approaches. For example, the Samsung DTB-H260F HDTV tuner is expensive because they're the only player. I'd bet when 2009 rolls around, tuners will be ~$80. Subtract $40 with the FCC coupon and it's an OK deal. Admittedly, a nice HD-DVR is better looking than a set-top tuner box but people aren't going to be throwing out their NTSC TVs or going to cable or satellite en mass come 2009.

For less than what most people pay in one month for cable or satellite, you can bring your S2 into the future.


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## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

gregpg said:


> Having bought lifetime service for my S2 in April 2006, I won't have gotten 3 full years of use out of it before the ATSC switch-over makes the unit useless to me, at least unless I retire my trusty YAGI in favor of satellite or cable service. I bought my Tivo as an _alternative_ to cable and satellite, and if I wanted a 3 year subscription, I wouldn't have paid for lifetime.
> 
> It seems to me that Tivo aught to allow one time transfers of lifetime service for folks who, like me, can't get full use of the service they purchased without switching to a DVR with an ATSC tuner. After all, when I bought lifetime service, the CSR didn't tell me that I'd need a cable or satellite hookup to make it cost effective.


They did, when they first launched the Series 3. You chose not to entertain that offer. Plus you can resell that box, as it does have noteable value.

Usung a Series 2 with an ATSC tuner dwell, depends on them supporting digital OTA STBs in the software and IR database.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

TinyT said:


> I vote for that! I think the month to month is fine for some people but the option to buy lifetime shuld never have been taken away. Any way monthly or Lifetime TiVo ROCKS!!! Using TiVo since 2000 in Canada. (Yes it always worked here.) Just needed a rediler and good tech. :up:


Tivo wouldn't be able to survive if they kept the Lifetime option. With the ability to purchase new hard drives and power sources, a Tivo can last much longer than the 3 years it would take to break even with what you've paid and the service you received. That's why they got rid of it. BTW I have a Lifetime sub, 3 years this December. I'd love to be able to get another or transfer this sub to an HD box but understand why I can't.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

classicsat said:


> gregpg said:
> 
> 
> > It seems to me that Tivo aught to allow one time transfers of lifetime service for folks who, like me, can't get full use of the service they purchased without switching to a DVR with an ATSC tuner.
> ...


Given that when TiVo offered lifetime transfers to S3 units, I'd only had my S2 for 4 to 6 months, the $200 lifetime transfer fee seemed unreasonable. After all, I'd just paid $300 for lifetime service so my total cost for a lifetimed S3 felt like $200+$300+$800=$1300.


classicsat said:


> Plus you can resell that box, as it does have noteable value.


True enough. Or, give it to my sister for the cost difference between a monthly 3 year service contract with MSD and a prepaid 3 year service contract, for a TiVo HD, projected over 9 years ( my estimate of the functional lifetime of the unit).


classicsat said:


> Usung a Series 2 with an ATSC tuner dwell, depends on them supporting digital OTA STBs in the software and IR database.


Has TiVo said anything about providing this kind of functionally?


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

gregpg said:


> Has TiVo said anything about providing this kind of functionally?


I haven't specifically seen support for an ATSC STB but given that Series 1 and Series 2 boxes will still exist in 2009 and a fraction of those will be OTA, I'd be surprised if Tivo didn't support most common ATSC STBs available at that time.

If your goal is to avoid monthly cable or satellite fees and contracts and you just watch OTA now, wait it out. DVRs aside, lots of people are OTA-only now and will have NTSC-only TVs in their homes come 2009. Light TV users would rather pay a one time expense for a box versus monthly bills or purchase a brand new TV.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

chip_r said:


> If your goal is to avoid monthly cable or satellite fees and contracts and you just watch OTA now, wait it out. DVRs aside, lots of people are OTA-only now and will have NTSC-only TVs in their homes come 2009. Light TV users would rather pay a one time expense for a box versus monthly bills or purchase a brand new TV.


I just don't see the point of paying for TV when I can get pretty much everything I want to watch OTA and everything else on discount DVD. Also, I don't need to deal with the poor customer service and hokey recording limitations so common in the cable and satellite industries today.

I'd _like_ to get a TiVo HD for my HD TV but I feel _guilty_ about not having gotten what I deem to be reasonable use out of my lifetimed Series 2 first. If TiVo would allow lifetime service transfers for folks like me with nearly new Series 2s, it would eliminate that guilt.


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

Lifetime service model isn't a very good one for a business to offer. Maybe way back when it was just starting up and had to build a customer base. Imagine if everyone had a lifetime sub, after the break even point the service would be free.

New subs are not keeping TiVo afloat, its the 1,2,3 year commitments that do it.

Revenue stream....cash is king.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

tyrone said:


> i would like to know if tivo would bring back the lifetime membership or at least let transfer the lifetime membership to a new tivo. i would love to purchase the tivo hd, but with not being able to transfer my lifetime subscription is wrong. so i wonder if enough people asked they will do it.
> 
> i know they offered it for when the hd came out but i didnt have the money then but i am ready now.


Looks like TiVo is offering Product Lifetime service Transfers to TiVo HD units but only if your old unit had lifetime activated before October 1, 2003. 

See this thread for further discussion.


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## mick66 (Oct 15, 2004)

gregpg said:


> Having bought lifetime service for my S2 in April 2006, I won't have gotten 3 full years of use out of it before the ATSC switch-over makes the unit useless to me, at least unless I retire my trusty YAGI in favor of satellite or cable service. I bought my Tivo as an _alternative_ to cable and satellite, and if I wanted a 3 year subscription, I wouldn't have paid for lifetime.
> 
> It seems to me that Tivo aught to allow one time transfers of lifetime service for folks who, like me, can't get full use of the service they purchased without switching to a DVR with an ATSC tuner. After all, when I bought lifetime service, the CSR didn't tell me that I'd need a cable or satellite hookup to make it cost effective.


Most people would consider spending $299 for 34 months of service ($8.79/mo) cost effective. If I knew that I had only 26 months to use a single S2, I'd pay the 299 for 3 years because it's cheaper than the two year prepay plan with two more months at $14.95 ea. 279 + 14.95 + 14.95 = 308.90. But you're getting 34 months before the big change and you'll get more time after that because you have lifetime. You got the best deal available that will only get better with each passing month and you're complaining about it. That make no sense at all.

Btw - The whole switch over from analog to digital TV thing did not just come about recently. It's been in the works for many years and has even been pushed back a couple of times. Your unawareness if the issue is not the problem or fault of any Tivo csr.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

mick66 said:


> Most people would consider spending $299 for 34 months of service ($8.79/mo) cost effective. If I knew that I had only 26 months to use a single S2, I'd pay the 299 for 3 years because it's cheaper than the two year prepay plan with two more months at $14.95 ea. 279 + 14.95 + 14.95 = 308.90. But you're getting 34 months before the big change and you'll get more time after that because you have lifetime. You got the best deal available that will only get better with each passing month and you're complaining about it. That make no sense at all.


Everyone wants the best deal they can get. I'm just saying that folks who've had a lifetime TiVo since 2005 got a better deal than I got. And folks who bought a lifetime TiVo before October 2003 got the best deal because they can now transfer their lifetime service to a TiVo HD unit for only $199 before November 8th.



mick66 said:


> Btw - The whole switch over from analog to digital TV thing did not just come about recently. It's been in the works for many years and has even been pushed back a couple of times. Your unawareness if the issue is not the problem or fault of any Tivo csr.


April 2006 wasn't the perfect time for TiVo to do away with lifetime service contracts, at least for antenna-only users. February 2006 would have been fairer, considering where the analog cutoff wound up being pushed back to. Not really the fault of any CSR but whose fault was it? And why weren't the previous analog cutoff dates common knowledge unless the FCC knew in advance that they were unreasonable for the broadcast industry?


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

gregpg said:


> April 2006 wasn't the perfect time for TiVo to do away with lifetime service contracts, at least for antenna-only users. February 2006 would have been fairer, considering where the analog cutoff wound up being pushed back to. Not really the fault of any CSR but whose fault was it? And why weren't the previous analog cutoff dates common knowledge unless the FCC knew in advance that they were unreasonable for the broadcast industry?


Actually previous cutoff dates were common knowledge but not widely publicized because the broadcast industry was pushing back really hard and fighting the change over every step of the way. Your local affiliates didn't want to upgrade their transmitter equipment during the process but as soon as they did, they publicized the heck out of their new capabilities.

The group most affected by it are the 10% or so who don't have cable or satellite (by either choice, economics, or geography). Unfortunately for some percentage of those folks, it will be a hardship to scrape up enough money for a ATSC converter box. That's a real problem.

Tivo stopped lifetime memberships for it's own financial reasons. It's a long term drain on their income. The analog cutoff date was likely of little or no consideration. Anyway, until 2012 cable companies must provide some sort of analog cable support for their customers according to the FCC. When that date comes along, cable companies may start pushing analog out of the way and will phase over to complete 100% QAM. It depends on their customer base (today about 75% of cable customers are analog-only regardless of how hard CCs hawk digital cable). Tivo was likely more concerned with analog cable customers versus it's OTA NTSC customers.

If you felt that you were deceived by Tivo because of their 2006 lifetime offers, I'm sorry to hear that. If the economics of Tivo's offer to upgrade to an S3 wasn't attractive back in 2006 then hopefully an ATSC STB will be in 2009. That's the way it is.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

chip_r said:


> Actually previous cutoff dates were common knowledge but not widely publicized


A contradiction.



chip_r said:


> the broadcast industry was pushing back really hard and fighting the change over every step of the way. Your local affiliates didn't want to upgrade their transmitter equipment during the process but as soon as they did, they publicized the heck out of their new capabilities.


OK. Docs on the FCC website suggest as much and most of the stations we receive have been crowing throughout 2007 about all the HD programming on their digital channels.



chip_r said:


> The group most affected by it are the 10% or so who don't have cable or satellite (by either choice, economics, or geography). Unfortunately for some percentage of those folks, it will be a hardship to scrape up enough money for a ATSC converter box. That's a real problem.


According to information from the Television Bureau of Advertising, the figure is about 11.4% which amounts to perhaps 12.7 million households solely dependent on terrestrial antenna. Although I have no information about the size of these specific households, according to American Factfinder, the average size of US households is 2.61 persons; thus these 12.7 million OTA TV households may contain 33 million people. This is greater than the combined populations of New York City, Metropolitan Chicago, Los Angeles County, and Miami Dade County. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is going to offer households $40 dollar coupons to purchase converter boxes. Assuming a converter box will cost about $60, only $20 need be paid out of pocket, but that _could_ nonetheless be a burden for some seniors and other folks on fixed incomes. Maybe we should petition our state or local representatives to arrange for $20 converter box vouchers for their low income constituents.



chip_r said:


> Tivo stopped lifetime memberships for it's own financial reasons. It's a long term drain on their income. The analog cutoff date was likely of little or no consideration...Tivo was likely more concerned with analog cable customers versus it's OTA NTSC customers.


Given that cable's market penetration was 62.8%, I can understand that. However, since that market share has been declining steadily, and cable has been rolling out technologies such as SDV which break cablecard, maybe TiVo should have been equally concerned with converting satellite and OTA NTSC customers to HD TiVos.



chip_r said:


> If you felt that you were deceived by Tivo because of their 2006 lifetime offers, I'm sorry to hear that. If the economics of Tivo's offer to upgrade to an S3 wasn't attractive back in 2006 then hopefully an ATSC STB will be in 2009. That's the way it is.


If I can't get a lifetime service transfer directly from TiVo, I'll probably eventually find a lifetime gift card for the right price and then upgrade to the TiVo HD. Or, maybe I'll just bite the bullet and buy a new unit with a three year monthly service contract and take advantage of MSD.

This sub-thread is getting away from the OPs topic. Any further discussion should probably be given it's own thread.


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## chip_r (Apr 27, 2006)

gregpg said:


> This sub-thread is getting away from the OPs topic. Any further discussion should probably be given it's own thread.


I agree. Let's give this sub-topic a break.


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## tyrone (May 5, 2005)

i agree the post has gone off the mark, i just wanted to vent about not having the money at the time to buy a hd tivo and then transfer my lifetime subscription.. now that i have the money they dont offer lieftime anymore.. so i guess i will have to just buy a new hd and do an upgrade to my current system.


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## ThreeSoFar (May 24, 2002)

Of the many lifetimes I've had over time (sold/gave away several), I still have five lifetimes, all spinning. Three are Series 3's (two of those with two CableCARDs each), and two S2's.

You have to plan ahead, folks. And if you couldn't afford it when it was available, well than that's tough.

Me, I'd love to take a trip into space but I can't afford it. I hope that when the day comes that I _can_ afford it that I will be alive, healthy enough and still able to do so.

I'd love to retire now and travel the rest of my life. Can't afford that either, though I'm only 40 or so so no surprise there.

It takes planning, is all. And frankly, not a lot. A little responsibility, good timing, good planning and a good income, and you'd have had what you wanted. Whichever of those was lacking, it's now too late. Life's like that. Plan for what's next rather than whining (is that too negative? is complaining better?) about what's past.

I realize this is a bit soap boxy, and well, that's deliberate. I'm to the point where I'm old enough that I feel I can impart some of the wisdom I've gained thus far, is all (at least to those young/smart enough to take it in that vein). Just trying to help, and not at all to offend, so please don't take it that way.

Cheers!


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

I just bought a TiVo HD through a offer from TiVo which will transfer my lifetime to the new box just last week. They said it would take 60 days for the transfer to happen, until then I got a 1 yr sub on the HD box and lifetime on the S1.


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## gregpg (Apr 19, 2006)

Folks with Tivo's newer than October 1, 2003 can still find lifetime gift cards on Ebay for one to two hundred dollars less than they were selling for last year. I decided to go that route two weeks ago when Amazon was selling the Tivo HD for $249 with free supersaver shipping. Got $30 more deducted for getting the Amazon.com credit card. If I sell my lifetimed S2 at the Ebay going rate, final cost for my lifetimed Tivo HD may be less than the cost of the box alone on TiVo.com. 

So, it's not "now too late" to get a deal on lifetime service.


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