# Back to TiVo Again



## exegesis48 (Jan 14, 2007)

So I recently saw the promotion offering a free TiVo Bolt with a $20 a month service subscription, and considering that Fios wanted to charge me $25 for the same privilege, I figured I’d give TiVo another go.

I dug out my old premiere w/ lifetime and tried booting it up only to find its lights blinking. Thanks to ggieseke I was able to get a clean image to restore the drive and now it’s working flawlessly.

My mother is also mailing me an unsubscribed Premiere that she had lying around. So now I have a Bolt w/ $20 a month sub, a Premiere w/ Lifetime, and an unsubscribed Premiere. Thinking of returning the Bolt and just keeping the two Premieres and maybe subscribing the unsubscribed one. What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter?

Should I maybe try to buy a lifetime TiVo premiere/roamio off eBay instead?


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

How many tuners does your Lifetime Premiere have? If 4, I'd look at a Mini as an alternative to adding another DVR.

https://support.tivo.com/articles/Installation_Setup_Configuration/TiVo-Mini-Mini-VOX-Setup


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Couple of thoughts, to begin with.

TiVo has had some promotions over the past few years for older Lifetimed boxes, including for Premiere boxes: buy a Bolt box direct from TiVo and pay $99 to transfer the Lifetime from your older box to the new (and then the old box gets "retired," although still can be used on a standalone basis for playback). The only hitch: your old box must be in current use, meaning that it must have connected to TiVo HQ in the year immediately prior to the offer. It had this offer a year ago, late last July, and some other times as well--something to look out for? (As part of that, make sure that your Lifetimed Premiere connects to TiVo HQ periodically.)

Second, dare I say it: the Black Friday season is only 4 months away (!!), and TiVo has had some really nice deals in November, the past few years, both directly and with retailers (e.g. last Black Friday, Best Buy was selling the TiVo Mini VOX for $130, down $50 from the full retail). Again, something to wait for?

Paying for a sub at $20/month really does add up. I'd be tempted to return the Bolt, use the Premiere for now, and see what comes up in the next months, keeping an eye out here and making sure that you are on TiVo's email list (although it sometimes has been less than reliable--more reliable, keeping an eye out here). 

Oh, and I almost forgot: have you called TiVo up by phone and asked what it can do for you? It has offered some nice deals to long-term TiVo customers, including on Premiere units. A phone call is cheap--I'd give it a try (and emphasizing that you have multiple Premieres and have been with TiVo long-term).


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