# Reselling a TiVo with PLS



## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

I know that it's pretty commonly done, but I wonder about the details. Is there a mechanism for transferring the service to the new owner or do you have to keep it attached to your account?

I'm thinking about dumping my Series3 and upgrading to a Premiere. I have a close friend--shared an office for a few years--who's an engineer at TiVo who can get me a "friends and family" package with PLS for a nice discount. He feels very good about the current software release, so I'm ready to make the switch.


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## maryyugo (Oct 20, 2007)

Be careful. I recently bought a Premiere XL with lifetime and warranty only to have it freeze every few days for no apparent reason (using no DVR extender, no wifi, and no HD menus). Cable signal levels are checked and OK. My TiVo HD works fine in the same location and has never frozen. And the warranty is void after the first repair which will usually get you a refurbished device instead of another new one. None of this is acceptable. I am not aware of significant important advantages of the Premiere over the HD. To me, it does not seem faster in any way. Maybe you can get one or two internet services that the HD won't do but I'd rather use a computer connected to the TV for those anyway. I wish I had not bought the Premiere.

It's not hard to transfer lifetime to a new owner. They have to contact TiVo and you have to OK it but I think if they give your phone number and name to TiVo's rep, they'll handle it. It was a long time ago but I did it once and I don't remember anything difficult about it.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

When I gave my TivoHD to my sister and BIL a couple weeks ago, I called Tivo to authorize an ownership transfer. I didn't have his account info but I gave them his name. They made a note on my account and gave me a reference number.

My BIL then called them with the reference number to make the switch official and they switched it to his account. It was painless.


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## lillevig (Dec 7, 2010)

I've transferred Tivos to my account with and without action on the part of the seller. One thing I have found as a seller, though, is that you can tell Tivo you have sold a box but it stays on your account if the buyer never calls to transfer it. Tivo refuses to delete it.


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

lillevig said:


> I've transferred Tivos to my account with and without action on the part of the seller. One thing I have found as a seller, though, is that you can tell Tivo you have sold a box but it stays on your account if the buyer never calls to transfer it. Tivo refuses to delete it.


If you really want it off your account then you can always spam the new owner with shows that they couldn't possibly want to watch.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

Is there any consequence to having a TiVo that you no longer own remain attached to your account? It seems to me that it just keeps the buyer from receiving multi-unit discounts should he or she choose to buy another TiVo.


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

mikeyts said:


> Is there any consequence to having a TiVo that you no longer own remain attached to your account? It seems to me that it just keeps the buyer from receiving multi-unit discounts should he or she choose to buy another TiVo.


I really can't think of any but maybe someone else knows.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

They can't copy between boxes. They won't be able to access any of the online scheduling tools, etc.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> They can't copy between boxes. They won't be able to access any of the online scheduling tools, etc.


So any refusal to transfer the box to their personal account only hurts the new owner. As long as you initiate the process and give them the information that they need to complete the transfer it won't really affect you if they don't.

Of course, you'd be able to check out their Now Playing, To Do and Season Pass lists .

I sent my friend a check for the 500GB Premiere w/PLS "friends-and-family" package; he'll order it for me on Thursday.


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## emma157 (Apr 17, 2012)

i think it will always be attached to the main a/c


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## farmermac (Jan 31, 2012)

mikeyts said:


> So any refusal to transfer the box to their personal account only hurts the new owner. As long as you initiate the process and give them the information that they need to complete the transfer it won't really affect you if they don't.
> 
> Of course, you'd be able to check out their Now Playing, To Do and Season Pass lists .
> 
> I sent my friend a check for the 500GB Premiere w/PLS "friends-and-family" package; he'll order it for me on Thursday.


Do what's the discount for Friends and family of TiVo employees?


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> So any refusal to transfer the box to their personal account only hurts the new owner. As long as you initiate the process and give them the information that they need to complete the transfer it won't really affect you if they don't.
> 
> Of course, you'd be able to check out their Now Playing, To Do and Season Pass lists .


And schedule recordings and change their SP list. Of course, they'd know what _*your*_ MAK is, but knowing the MAK alone probably won't get them much.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

farmermac said:


> Do what's the discount for Friends and family of TiVo employees?


I'm not telling. Google "tivo premiere friends & family discount" .


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## farmermac (Jan 31, 2012)

Ok, I did. $500 for a premiere and $600 for a premiere xl. Very good deal on the xl. Wonder what the elite would be. $250 off is extremely generous IMO.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

farmermac said:


> Ok, I did. $500 for a premiere and $600 for a premiere xl. Very good deal on the xl. Wonder what the elite would be. $250 off is extremely generous IMO.


Hmmm. Not quite the information from the first hit that I see (2nd hit after this thread now). Of course, I can neither confirm or deny the correctness thereof .


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I don't know which link you were referring to, but the 2nd hit on my search revealed no pricing. Looking through some of the other hits I came across this:



Spoiler



1.TiVo Premiere box with Product Lifetime service for $399.00 (normally $599.98)
2.TiVo Premiere XL box with Product Lifetime service for $499.00 (normally $799.98)

Plus, you get a bluetooth remote with slide out keyboard (normally $89.99) included for FREE.
http://nclrclub.org/forum/showthread.php?1359-TiVo-Friends-Family-Offer


I know that's old info, but is it close?
What do "Friends & Family" Tivos show in their account status?

Edit: NM, I see what you did there.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

steve614 said:


> I don't know which link you were referring to, but the 2nd hit on my search revealed no pricing. Looking through some of the other hits I came across this:


Strange--the order of hits is different for me now. I wonder why that happens? Maybe it's by order of recent popularity. Whatever--that's the one I was talking about. Again, I can neither confirm or deny the accuracy of that information .

I'd love the XL4 for its 4 tuners but I don't need the capacity at all (the 500 GB base model Premiere is overkill); I can't justify the price difference.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

The XL4 is of no use for me (OTA only) and capacity is not an issue (thanks to comer ). 

But if true, that is a pretty good deal, that's for sure. Too bad I don't really need a new Tivo right now.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

steve614 said:


> The XL4 is of no use for me (OTA only) and capacity is not an issue (thanks to comer ).
> 
> But if true, that is a pretty good deal, that's for sure. Too bad I don't really need a new Tivo right now.


Not a huge savings if you qualify for MSD.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

If those numbers are correct, the savings over MSD are enough to buy another base model Premiere. I'm happy for you that your financial situation is such that saving 23% isn't "huge" . Since I own a single TiVo which I plan to sell, I don't qualify for MSD. Without an MSD discount it's 38%.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> If those numbers are correct, the savings over MSD are enough to buy another base model Premiere. I'm happy for you that your financial situation is such that saving 23% isn't "huge" . Since I own a single TiVo which I plan to sell, I don't qualify for MSD. Without an MSD discount it's 38%.


Actually, my financial situation is in the other direction. I don't have the $399 for PLS. Otherwise, I would have done that with the $49 refurb Premiere I bought two weeks ago.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

lpwcomp said:


> Actually, my financial situation is in the other direction. I don't have the $399 for PLS. Otherwise, I would have done that with the $49 refurb Premiere I bought two weeks ago.


I was considering that deal and asked my friend how he currently felt about the state of the Premiere's firmware, him having been unenthusiastic about it when I'd thought about upgrading when the Premiere launched. He responded that he was quite happy with the state of the Premiere's firmware now and that they could order a certain number of these packages a year if I was interested in one. The discount refurb + PLS was $550, so this was a quite significantly better deal than that.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> I was considering that deal and asked my friend how he currently felt about the state of the Premiere's firmware, him having been unenthusiastic about it when I'd thought about upgrading when the Premiere launched. He responded that he was quite happy with the state of the Premiere's firmware now and that they could order a certain number of these packages a year if I was interested in one. The discount refurb + PLS was $550, so this was a quite significantly better deal than that.


To be fair, I was comparing it to the MSD price for an original 320GB Premiere. $550 is for the new 500GB Premiere. I don't consider $50 to $100 for 180GB additional storage to be a good value under any circumstances, although I note that Amazon now has the TCD746500 for $117. Still not worth it, IMHO, especially once the price for hard drives gets back down to a reasonable level.

On a side note, every time I see TiVo s/w referred to as "firmware", I look around to see if Robert Shaw's ghost is scraping his nails across the blackboard. And I don't even have a blackboard.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

I thought that the $50 refurb was for the 500 GB model. If not, I'm especially happy that I didn't go for it .

Forgive me any confusion over the terms "software" and "firmware". I'm old, and have been developing software and firmware for over 30 years. I suppose that any code stored in easily upgraded permanent/persistent store should be considered "software", so everything running on TiVo should be called software (and I note that my friend properly referred to it as such).


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

mikeyts said:


> I thought that the $50 refurb was for the 500 GB model. If not, I'm especially happy that I didn't go for it .
> 
> Forgive me any confusion over the terms "software" and "firmware". I'm old, and have been developing software and firmware for over 30 years. I suppose that any code stored in easily upgraded permanent/persistent store should be considered "software", so everything running on TiVo should be called software (and I note that my friend properly referred to it as such).


I'm old too and did s/w development for 33 years, including m/f(Control Data) OS level(Kronos, NOS, NOS/BE, and NOS/VE). I didn't really mean to open up a can of worms. It's just one my hot button issues. Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

As for the 320GB Premiere vs. the 500GB - I'd rather put the price difference toward a 1 or 2TB drive.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

mikeyts said:


> I thought that the $50 refurb was for the 500 GB model. If not, I'm especially happy that I didn't go for it .
> 
> Forgive me any confusion over the terms "software" and "firmware". I'm old, and have been developing software and firmware for over 30 years. I suppose that any code stored in easily upgraded permanent/persistent store should be considered "software", so everything running on TiVo should be called software (and I note that my friend properly referred to it as such).


If you take the hard drive out, what's left is firmware.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

They must be trying to get rid of their Elite badged models right now. They are offering them at TiVo.com for $50 off through Thursday($350). And $50 off factory renewed XL boxes($150). No mention of the Elite boxes being factory renewed.


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## farmermac (Jan 31, 2012)

aaronwt said:


> They must be trying to get rid of their Elite badged models right now. They are offering them at TiVo.com for $50 off through Thursday($350). And $50 off factory renewed XL boxes($150). No mention of the Elite boxes being factory renewed.


When I got to that page it had advertising that mentioned a fathers day sale.

IMO the factory renewed premiere is a good deal at $150. A 1tb hd is about $90!! That's how I bought my s3 XL a few years ago


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## ChrisFix (Jul 31, 2007)

maryyugo said:


> And the warranty is void after the first repair which will usually get you a refurbished device instead of another new one. None of this is acceptable.


Not sure if you meant this they way it sounds, but the warranty on a repaired/refurb is the balance of the original warranty...you don't lose any time because it was repaired.

From Tivo's website:
All products, including replacement products, are covered only for the original warranty period. When the warranty on the original product expires, the warranty on the replacement product also expires. After one year from the date of purchase, you pay for the replacement of all parts, and for all labor and shipping charges.


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## Merle Corey (Aug 25, 2001)

ChrisFix said:


> Not sure if you meant this they way it sounds, but the warranty on a repaired/refurb is the balance of the original warranty...you don't lose any time because it was repaired.


If you buy the extended warranty and are in the extended warranty period, making a claim on it results in the termination of the extended warranty (but you get your dead TiVo replaced with a "new" refurb). I have no idea whether you can buy a new extended warranty for the replacement, but the old one is definitely consumed. From Section 3 Limit of Liability:



> This Contract provides for only the one-time replacement of the Product with another Product of like grade and quality. This Contract will expire at the time of this replacement or reimbursement for replacement or term expiration...


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

unitron said:


> If you take the hard drive out, what's left is firmware.


I suppose that's true of TiVo, but how much is that? A low-level bootstrap? As I recall, to upgrade the main HDD on TiVo you have to copy a portion of what's on the original drive onto it, which I imagine to be the majority of the OS and the primary application.

And what about smartphones and tablets (not to mention ultrabooks, though those generally have discrete embedded SSDs, I think). I haven't heard of any Android or iOS device with an HDD--certainly you have to call the code on them "software". I think that whether you call something "software" or "firmware" depends entirely on how easy it is to update whatever storage its installed on.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

TiVo's normal warranty and the extended warranty are 2 different animals and work differently.  The normal warranty is time limited but *not* a use once warranty. The extend warranty is also time limited and is a use once warranty.


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## ChrisFix (Jul 31, 2007)

Merle Corey said:


> If you buy the extended warranty and are in the extended warranty period, making a claim on it results in the termination of the extended warranty (but you get your dead TiVo replaced with a "new" refurb). I have no idea whether you can buy a new extended warranty for the replacement, but the old one is definitely consumed. From Section 3 Limit of Liability:


Good clarification...wasn't clear from OP that it was the extended warranty being discussed.


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## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

Anyone see what the Elite sells for for F&F? Just curious


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

My order for this got delayed for a couple of weeks. My friend started trying to order it at the beginning of the month and ran into a bug in their order system, affecting a very small subset of employees, wherein it sends the company address in Alviso to his bank as his billing address, which the bank rejects. He spent quite a while trying to get around this by banging on technical support for that system to no avail. He finally consulted their internal discussion forums and discovered that the trick was to use _my_ account to order, while on TiVo's internal network; if you're ordering from a computer attached to Tivo's LAN, the system figures that you must be an employee or a contractor, so you get offered the employee deals. He called me Saturday to get my account password with which to do this--the order is finally in and should be here in 4-6 business days after they ship. (If they ship from somewhere in California ordinary ground will get it here in a couple of business days--ground ship from a warehouse facility in an LA suburb is almost always overnight delivery to San Diego. Of course, if you pay for 2 or 3 day delivery, it might arrive overnight but they'll hold it for a day or 2 to deliver it at the speed you specified ).

Once I get it installed I can sell the old S3 (hopefully I'll only have to re-pair one of my current CableCARDs and send the other back, keeping the Tuning Adapter. Of course, the likelihood that it will be that simple is low .

Has anyone tried selling one of these for a fixed price on Amazon? I notice some similar S3's with PLS offered (I should probably track one and see how quickly it disappears). I love selling through Amazon--it's a super-smooth and well designed process.


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## farmermac (Jan 31, 2012)

whenener i've bought anything from TiVo it seems to ship from Texas. I've bought a TiVo used with PLS from Amazon and it was a smooth process from the buyer's perspective. Its not flooded either.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

farmermac said:


> whenener i've bought anything from TiVo it seems to ship from Texas.


It shipped today from Fort Worth; UPS says by end of day Thursday.


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## mikeyts (Jul 10, 2004)

Crap--my Premiere was on a train which derailed on route to Abilene at 6 AM yesterday and didn't get to LA until 11:30 AM today. Now it won't be here until tomorrow. Oh well, what's another day ? It could have been worse--it dould have been destroyed in a catastrophic derailment .


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