# Is there lifetime purchase option for the Bolt?



## atomarchio

I am on Tivo's site and trying to get lifetime purchase. I see it includes one-year but can't find lifetime price.

Please help. Thanks


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## FLEABttn

Yes, you have to call. It's $599.


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## atomarchio

Okay. Thanks.

I have 3 Premiere's now and would look to replace one of them with the Bolt. 

Would I still be able to access the 2 other Premiere's shows like I am doing now? Is there any feature I may not get by mixing one Bolt with 2 Premieres?


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## Dan203

Lifetime is no longer a good value. The price of the box includes a year of service and additional years are just $150. So it takes 5 years to break even on lifetime now.


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## wmcbrine

They're calling it "All In" now instead of "Lifetime". And yeah, it's a bad deal.


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## jcthorne

The annual subscription also includes the extended warranty coverage where the 'all in' fee does not.

All In is a bad deal.


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## gigaguy

I just called Tivo, CSR said no lifetime available on any Tivos. someone on the big Bolt thread said this devalues the older Tivos with Lifetiime, but I would think it is the opposite..
confused..


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## tarheelblue32

I hate to say it, but I agree with everyone else that the new "all-in" lifetime service is a bad deal. I would just take the first year of free service and then at the end of the first year decide what to do based on the current service prices at that time.


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## BigJimOutlaw

gigaguy said:


> I just called Tivo, CSR said no lifetime available on any Tivos. someone on the big Bolt thread said this devalues the older Tivos with Lifetiime, but I would think it is the opposite..
> confused..


Lifetime is available to those who purchase a box at Retail. At the time of activation, they have an "All In" option for $600.


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## jcthorne

This is very similar to when the TivoHD came out. The did not offer lifetime service then either. Monthly or annual or I think 3 yrs. Long time ago. They eventually relented to continous berating by users and brought back lifetime and gave credit for the years already purchased.


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## LightningBOLT

gigaguy said:


> I just called Tivo, CSR said no lifetime available on any Tivos. someone on the big Bolt thread said this devalues the older Tivos with Lifetiime, but I would think it is the opposite..
> confused..


That's weird because there's a ton of info out there that says $600. And I was just offered $100 lifetime on Roamio.


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## tarheelblue32

LightningBOLT said:


> That's weird because there's a ton of info out there that says $600. And I was just offered $100 lifetime on Roamio.


There is often CRS confusion or obfuscation when a new product is launched.


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## jonw747

tarheelblue32 said:


> I hate to say it, but I agree with everyone else that the new "all-in" lifetime service is a bad deal. I would just take the first year of free service and then at the end of the first year decide what to do based on the current service prices at that time.


Well, if you're hoping TiVo will make you a better deal to prevent you from outright cancelling, you've got a point, but my brain isn't wired that way. I'll just wait until the Bolt makes sense, and for me, at the moment - it doesn't even come close.


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## zalusky

If true what they have done by pricing the All In so high is effectively hurt the resale value of the Bolt.

The resale value of existing Tivos even the early ones with lifetime had significantly better value. As a result I really will start to think twice about loyalty and would think more about competitor models since I have to pay monthly.

One thing that could make me change my mind is if Tivo could make a Tivo Mini app for Apple TV and possibly some of the other vendors. This would be an interesting way for Apple to be able to add traditional TV to their box without having to negotiate the license fees.


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## aaronwt

zalusky said:


> If true what they have done by pricing the All In so high is effectively hurt the resale value of the Bolt.
> 
> The resale value of existing Tivos even the early ones with lifetime had significantly better value. As a result I really will start to think twice about loyalty and would think more about competitor models since I have to pay monthly.
> 
> One thing that could make me change my mind is if Tivo could make a Tivo Mini app for Apple TV and possibly some of the other vendors. This would be an interesting way for Apple to be able to add traditional TV to their box without having to negotiate the license fees.


I thought someone mentioned an app coming to the FireTV?


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## krkaufman

aaronwt said:


> I thought someone mentioned an app coming to the FireTV?


Me, too. I can't seem to recall who zat someone was.


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## tarheelblue32

krkaufman said:


> Me, too. I can't seem to recall who zat someone was.


Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember a TiVo person talking about the Amazon Fire TV app at a Haxe conference a good while ago.


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## Bigg

Dan203 said:


> Lifetime is no longer a good value. The price of the box includes a year of service and additional years are just $150. So it takes 5 years to break even on lifetime now.


Yeah, this is getting ridiculous. What amounts to a base model Bolt is now $900, the 1TB is $1000.


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## mattack

Bigg said:


> Yeah, this is getting ridiculous. What amounts to a base model Bolt is now $900, the 1TB is $1000.


The OLED S3 was $800 including lifetime many years ago.. and that was after the price had gone down a bit, IIRC.. (I had one that died at almost the lifetime break even point.. I'm still a huge lifetime fan..)

$150/year is still $12.50/month. Seems like a lot to me, even though I can definitely afford it. Now, if it were $12.50/month AND it included the hardware, great..

but admittedly, yes, the extended warranty part does make it better (but presumably that won't include any "recover your shows on the one that dies")..


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## JBDragon

mattack said:


> The OLED S3 was $800 including lifetime many years ago.. and that was after the price had gone down a bit, IIRC.. (I had one that died at almost the lifetime break even point.. I'm still a huge lifetime fan..)
> 
> $150/year is still $12.50/month. Seems like a lot to me, even though I can definitely afford it. Now, if it were $12.50/month AND it included the hardware, great..
> 
> but admittedly, yes, the extended warranty part does make it better (but presumably that won't include any "recover your shows on the one that dies")..


Yes Boxes like Tablo and Simple.TV have plans that are $4.95 a month, $49.99 a year, or $149.99 for Lifetime!!! Yet here's TIVO still stuck on their crazy high prices. The Roamio deal of $50 for the hardware and $250 for lifetime for a total of $300 was a reasonable deal. $200-$300 for lifetime wpi;d be a lot better then $600 for what really amounts to is a program guide. Something Microsoft gave away for FREE for years.


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## krkaufman

atomarchio said:


> I have 3 Premiere's now and would look to replace one of them with the Bolt.
> 
> Would I still be able to access the 2 other Premiere's shows like I am doing now? Is there any feature I may not get by mixing one Bolt with 2 Premieres?


Depending on how long you've had those Premieres, you might want to familiarize yourself with the subject of this thread.


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## Jrr6415sun

jcthorne said:


> This is very similar to when the TivoHD came out. The did not offer lifetime service then either. Monthly or annual or I think 3 yrs. Long time ago. They eventually relented to continous berating by users and brought back lifetime and gave credit for the years already purchased.


well that is why the put the price so high. They wanted to get rid of lifetime but got so many complaints last time they got rid of it they decided to keep it but put it at such a ridiculously high price that they basically got rid of it. Now people can't complain that they took it away.


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## cwerdna

Dan203 said:


> Lifetime is no longer a good value. The price of the box includes a year of service and additional years are just $150. So it takes 5 years to break even on lifetime now.


Although $600 for lifetime is really steep, previous break evens times were also several years... although I unfortunately don't remember the old lifetime vs. monthly fees, including after they killed it and then resurrected it.

All my TiVo standalones had lifetime (sold all my old Series 1s and 2s) and I have lifetime on my TiVo HD which I activated on 9/14/09, so I'm past 6 years now.

Hmmm... from what I've heard of the features of this box, I'm really tempted. But I do wish the lifetime price was lower.

In January, a TiVo rep at CES told me call CSR and ask about some decade+ deal, since I've been a customer for so long (since end of Feb 2001). I never did as I was never in the market. I'm tempted to get a Bolt and ask if I can get any deal, once I've gotten some reasonably positive reports about the hardware and software in the hands of actual owners.


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## Dan203

mattack said:


> The OLED S3 was $800 including lifetime many years ago.


It was $800 without lifetime because they stopped offering lifetime when they released it. They had a 3 year plan that cost $400 IIRC. I got lifetime on mine using some lifetime giftcards I bought at BestBuy beforehand. I sold a few others on eBay for like $600-700/ea. (People were going nuts over them)


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## Dan203

cwerdna said:


> Although $600 for lifetime is really steep, previous break evens times were also several years... although I unfortunately don't remember the old lifetime vs. monthly fees, including after they killed it and then resurrected it.
> 
> All my TiVo standalones had lifetime (sold all my old Series 1s and 2s) and I have lifetime on my TiVo HD which I activated on 9/14/09, so I'm past 6 years now.
> 
> Hmmm... from what I've heard of the features of this box, I'm really tempted. But I do wish the lifetime price was lower.
> 
> In January, a TiVo rep at CES told me call CSR and ask about some decade+ deal, since I've been a customer for so long (since end of Feb 2001). I never did as I was never in the market. I'm tempted to get a Bolt and ask if I can get any deal, once I've gotten some reasonably positive reports about the hardware and software in the hands of actual owners.


It was previous $500 and monthly/anual was the same. But there was a coupon that lowered it by $100 that worked for eveyone that knew about it, plus there was MSD that could also lower it by $100. (you couldn't do both) So basically $400. They've eliminated MSD and the coupon and raised it $100, so they've essentially raised it by $200 for most of us. That's basically adding 16 months to break even.

But the worst part is that it's likely the new 5 year break even is beyond the practical life of the unit. By the time you break even the unit will likely be dead or so far behind technologically that it's not really useful any more. Especially since CableCARDs are likely on the way out. At least with the monthly/anual plans you have the continual warranty to keep it alive and if a new unit comes out in 2 years you wont have to recoup a large chunk selling your existing unit to break even.


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## tarheelblue32

Dan203 said:


> It was previous $500 and monthly/anual was the same. But there was a coupon that lowered it by $100 that worked for eveyone that knew about it, plus there was MSD that could also lower it by $100. (you couldn't do both) So basically $400. They've eliminated MSD and the coupon and raised it $100, so they've essentially raised it by $200 for most of us. That's basically adding 16 months to break even.
> 
> But the worst part is that it's likely the new 5 year break even is beyond the practical life of the unit. By the time you break even the unit will likely be dead or so far behind technologically that it's not really useful any more. Especially since CableCARDs are likely on the way out. At least with the monthly/anual plans you have the continual warranty to keep it alive and if a new unit comes out in 2 years you wont have to recoup a large chunk selling your existing unit to break even.


It is a shame we lost the $400 lifetime option. It was a good deal for us, but I guess not so much for TiVo. I think what really hurts TiVo the most about lifetime is that there are just so many used TiVos with lifetime out in the secondary market that it has to be impacting their current sales, and jacking up the price of lifetime service is a way of putting a stop to it. I guess TiVo has decided they were underpricing lifetime and that they had to stop it, which is ironic considering they were offering lifetime for $250 on Roamios and $99 on pre-Roamio DVRs just a few days ago and are still handing out $99 lifetime on Roamios like candy to any 5-year old customers.

Even though I understand why TiVo wants to cut down on people choosing the lifetime option, I really think that if they had kept the "all in" lifetime option price at $499 while killing the MSD/PLSR and throwing in the first year of service, it would have been enough to dissuade most from going for the lifetime option. Raising the the lifetime price another $100 on top of all that feels gratuitous and almost like a slap in the face.


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## aaronwt

mattack said:


> The OLED S3 was $800 including lifetime many years ago.. and that was after the price had gone down a bit, IIRC.. (I had one that died at almost the lifetime break even point.. I'm still a huge lifetime fan..)
> 
> $150/year is still $12.50/month. Seems like a lot to me, even though I can definitely afford it. Now, if it were $12.50/month AND it included the hardware, great..
> 
> but admittedly, yes, the extended warranty part does make it better (but presumably that won't include any "recover your shows on the one that dies")..


TiVo Eliminated the Lifetime Option when the S3 came out in 2006. That was when I bought three of them(December 2006). There was no option for me to get Lifetime from TiVo. So I needed to pay for three years to get the lowest price per month.

People did still have lifetime cards they were selling on ebay. But those prices were very high back then.

At some point later in the life of the S3, the lifetime option returned. I know by the time my three years was up, I was able to get lifetime service on my S3 boxes. Two of which my GF still own. They have been running for almost nine years straight now with no issues


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## trip1eX

I only bought a Roamio Plus because I got it for $600 with lifetime through one of those Ebay code deals. 

I can't imagine paying an extra $600 just to add lifetime service.

But I got a Roamio Plus 15 months ago. Nearly a year after it came out I think. 

IN my experience, Tivo has some pretty crazy prices at launch and they drop pretty quickly that first year. And there will be deals to be had on the Bolt soon enough.

But that still means a 6 tuner bolt, if it comes out in 6 months, probably wouldn't be cheaper than $1000 with lifetime. Assuming the 4 tuner model with lifetime fell $200 in price.


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## Jonathan_S

gigaguy said:


> I just called Tivo, CSR said no lifetime available on any Tivos. someone on the big Bolt thread said this devalues the older Tivos with Lifetiime, but I would think it is the opposite..
> confused..


It likely _will_ help the resale value of Premieres and Roamios with Lifetime, maybe even TiVo HDs.

The TiVos that are going to be devalued are the ancient series 2 (standard-definition) units. And that's because of a different part of this new pricing structure; where they eliminated the multi-service discount (MSD).

The base monthly rate was $14.99/month but if you had a 'qualifying unit' MSD would drop that to $12.99/month. So if it was cheap enough people would buy an obsolete Series 2 for it's Lifetime service just to get the monthly savings.


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## lessd

Jonathan_S said:


> It likely _will_ help the resale value of Premieres and Roamios with Lifetime, maybe even TiVo HDs.
> 
> The TiVos that are going to be devalued are the ancient series 2 (standard-definition) units. And that's because of a different part of this new pricing structure; where they eliminated the multi-service discount (MSD).


You can't even activate a non activated Series 2 anymore, at least on the TiVo web sight.


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## tarheelblue32

lessd said:


> You can't even activate a non activated Series 2 anymore, at least on the TiVo web sight.


...or Series 3 (or Series 1 for that matter). TiVo looks like they are finally trying to make a break with the past.


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## krkaufman

Jonathan_S said:


> The TiVos that are going to be devalued are the ancient series 2 (standard-definition) units. And that's because of a different part of this new pricing structure; where they eliminated the multi-service discount (MSD).
> 
> The base monthly rate was $14.99/month but if you had a 'qualifying unit' MSD would drop that to $12.99/month. So if it was cheap enough people would buy an obsolete Series 2 for it's Lifetime service just to get the monthly savings.


If the numbers you report are accurate, there wouldn't be a need for Multi-Service Discount (MSD), now, since the $150/year service plan averages out to $12.50/month, less than what you quote for the MSD unit rate.

So, yeah, I guess that would devalue Series 2 models purchased solely to activate the MSD rate.


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## Jonathan_S

lessd said:


> You can't even activate a non activated Series 2 anymore, at least on the TiVo web sight.


Interesting. But those lifetimed series 2 are already activated; you're simply moving the unit onto your account.

But I guess TiVo might block that as well, though that seems less justifiable.


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## lessd

Jonathan_S said:


> Interesting. But those lifetimed series 2 are already activated; you're simply moving the unit onto your account.
> 
> But I guess TiVo might block that as well, though that seems less justifiable.


Without the MSD the Series 2 will have no value for that purpose.


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## Bigg

mattack said:


> The OLED S3 was $800 including lifetime many years ago.. and that was after the price had gone down a bit, IIRC.. (I had one that died at almost the lifetime break even point.. I'm still a huge lifetime fan..)


And technology is supposed to get cheaper, right? Apparently not with TiVos. They get more expensive.



tarheelblue32 said:


> Even though I understand why TiVo wants to cut down on people choosing the lifetime option, I really think that if they had kept the "all in" lifetime option price at $499 while killing the MSD/PLSR and throwing in the first year of service, it would have been enough to dissuade most from going for the lifetime option. Raising the the lifetime price another $100 on top of all that feels gratuitous and almost like a slap in the face.


Even the $400 Lifetime was ridiculous. The problem is twofold, however.

1. Their comparison is cable and satellite DVRs. The cable DVRs are typically $20/mo plus $10/mo for each room, so some upfront hardware cost plus $150 per room one time starts to look pretty reasonable when the cable cos are cashing in on these things big time. And don't even bother with DirecTV. Their fee structure is insane, plus you lose the bundling discounts on getting TV and internet from the cable company.

2. TiVo is a niche product with a following, and no competition in the BYODVR field. MCE is gone and it sucked anyway, there aren't any other computer-based DVRs out yet, Moxi and ReplayTV are both long gone. It's TiVo or some crap from your cable company. The people who want TiVo are going to pay a premium price for it, and the new customers are less likely to be deterred by a monthly/yearly fee.

3. I'm betting they come out with a $400 Bolt OTA like the Roamio OTA. The cord cutter market is far more sensitive to monthly or yearly fees.

If there was true competition in the BYODVR market, I would bet that the prices would be far, far lower than they are today. I'm hoping that the new PC DVR solution(s) in development are competitive, but that remains to be seen.


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## krkaufman

Bigg said:


> And technology is supposed to get cheaper, right? Apparently not with TiVos. They get more expensive.


The price supposedly should drop for a given technology over time, but if one is simultaneously upgrading the underlying technology the price may stay flat or even increase.


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## LightningBOLT

Bigg said:


> And technology is supposed to get cheaper, right? Apparently not with TiVos. They get more expensive.
> 
> Even the $400 Lifetime was ridiculous. The problem is twofold, however.
> 
> 1. Their comparison is cable and satellite DVRs. The cable DVRs are typically $20/mo plus $10/mo for each room, so some upfront hardware cost plus $150 per room one time starts to look pretty reasonable when the cable cos are cashing in on these things big time. And don't even bother with DirecTV. Their fee structure is insane, plus you lose the bundling discounts on getting TV and internet from the cable company.
> 
> 2. TiVo is a niche product with a following, and no competition in the BYODVR field. MCE is gone and it sucked anyway, there aren't any other computer-based DVRs out yet, Moxi and ReplayTV are both long gone. It's TiVo or some crap from your cable company. The people who want TiVo are going to pay a premium price for it, and the new customers are less likely to be deterred by a monthly/yearly fee.
> 
> 3. I'm betting they come out with a $400 Bolt OTA like the Roamio OTA. The cord cutter market is far more sensitive to monthly or yearly fees.
> 
> *If there was true competition in the BYODVR market, I would bet that the prices would be far, far lower than they are today. *I'm hoping that the new PC DVR solution(s) in development are competitive, but that remains to be seen.


Maybe. Or maybe they will both go out of business because the customer base ins't there to sustain a smaller client base on top of lower revenue. I'm happy to have Tivo around and $500 or $1000 is a small price to pay to have a company R&D, manufacture and support this product.

They put in tremendous effort to offer these products and the profits from my sale only brings in a few hundred bucks. It's not like soap that I could make at home, which I don't, but can, unlike a Tivo.


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## LightningBOLT

krkaufman said:


> The price supposedly should drop for a given technology over time, but if one is simultaneously upgrading the underlying technology the price may stay flat or even increase.


Exactly. The price to manufacture an iphone increases year over year for Apple.


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## jonw747

krkaufman said:


> The price supposedly should drop for a given technology over time, but if one is simultaneously upgrading the underlying technology the price may stay flat or even increase.


One issue is volume. You can really beat the costs & price down when you're selling 100's of thousands of units, and the overhead of running the business becomes a much smaller fraction as well.

Another factor is they're not strictly selling to retail customers. They're also selling to various small cable providers as well, and often there are back door deals made to prevent competition and/or artificially keep the price high.


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## Bigg

krkaufman said:


> The price supposedly should drop for a given technology over time, but if one is simultaneously upgrading the underlying technology the price may stay flat or even increase.


The technology has gotten better, but not that much better. The fundamental functionality is still the same as it has been since Series 3.



LightningBOLT said:


> Maybe. Or maybe they will both go out of business because the customer base ins't there to sustain a smaller client base on top of lower revenue. I'm happy to have Tivo around and $500 or $1000 is a small price to pay to have a company R&D, manufacture and support this product.
> 
> They put in tremendous effort to offer these products and the profits from my sale only brings in a few hundred bucks. It's not like soap that I could make at home, which I don't, but can, unlike a Tivo.


It's true that they would need a larger customer base, especially if one were to survive with only retail customers. TiVo would be gone if they were only selling retail. Those MSO subs are how they are keeping afloat.

That being said, we need some good PC DVR software out there. The costs are a lot lower, as everything except the tuners is just standard PC hardware. The concept is great, but the implementation of MCE was horrible. The HDHomeRun DVR looks like it could be promising, although they need 6-tuner CableCard tuners, right now they are only 3 per CableCard. I'm wondering what Ceton is going to do, since they don't seem to have a replacement for MCE.


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## mattack

Dan203 said:


> It was $800 without lifetime because they stopped offering lifetime when they released it. They had a 3 year plan that cost $400 IIRC. I got lifetime on mine using some lifetime giftcards I bought at BestBuy beforehand. I sold a few others on eBay for like $600-700/ea. (People were going nuts over them)


No, I mean after lifetime came back. I know I put lifetime on an OLED S3, and I did NOT buy one of the gift cards off eBay.


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## atmuscarella

mattack said:


> No, I mean after lifetime came back. I know I put lifetime on an OLED S3, and I did NOT buy one of the gift cards off eBay.


Yes lifetime came back in the spring of 2008 and was $299/$399. I ended up getting a TiVo HD for $500 with lifetime within a few weeks of lifetime coming back.


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## aaronwt

atmuscarella said:


> Yes lifetime came back in the spring of 2008 and was $299/$399. I ended up getting a TiVo HD for $500 with lifetime within a few weeks of lifetime coming back.


They really screwed me with those OLED S3 boxes I got in 2006. Since I paid for three years(since Lifetime was not available)and then got Lifetime. But I think I got a discount on lifetime of something like $200 on one or two of them. But either way I really got my moneys worth the end.

My GF still has two of them(I sold another after the Premiere line came out)and they are still running without issue. I put the first, 1TB drive(5 platter Hitachi) available in them back in 2007. And they have basically been running 24/7/365 since then with zero issues(even with that super hot 5 platter drive). But they are also why I have an extra Roamio, Mini, and Premiere around. I need to be able to quickly give my GF something to replace the S3 boxes if they decide to crap out.

If that does happen then I would be even more likely to pick up a Bolt.


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## bguzik

It is pretty simple.

I am only interested in a reasonable lifetime subscription + new CPE. I have been a TiVo subscriber since 1999. 

I have been willing to pay since then for a reasonable price. New box, new lifetime sub. Not interested in monthly or annual fee.

Nothing has changed. I suppose we can look at cord-cutting and depreciating TiVo. That is a shame. Not going to buy a box with in-question perpetual subscription...it is that simple. Also not going to pay >$500 upfront for the service. 

I can live with my life time Roamio (and older Premieres), and work on cord cutting...with superior tech. This is bull ****. I'm pissed.


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## MrSinatra

i'm trying to figure out if i buy a bolt, and take the year of free service, can i then opt for the lifetime sub by the end of that free year?

like everything with tivo pricing, it seems vague, and/or it seems like what they're saying now may not be true later, (in either direction).

i am also trying to find out if they truly have killed the 10 year owner discounts? that would suck royally since the tivos i have listed in my acct are just now becoming 10 year ones, (although i could add the one i gave my parents which is older if necessary)

anyway, any light or even stabs in the dark anyone can shed are appreciated, thx.


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## trip1eX

MrSinatra said:


> i'm trying to figure out if i buy a bolt, and take the year of free service, can i then opt for the lifetime sub by the end of that free year?
> 
> like everything with tivo pricing, it seems vague, and/or it seems like what they're saying now may not be true later, (in either direction).
> 
> i am also trying to find out if they truly have killed the 10 year owner discounts? that would suck royally since the tivos i have listed in my acct are just now becoming 10 year ones, (although i could add the one i gave my parents which is older if necessary)
> 
> anyway, any light or even stabs in the dark anyone can shed are appreciated, thx.


Yeah you can get lifetime on the Bolt. And you have to it before end of year 1 or get billed another year. Not sure why you would given it takes 5 years now just to break even compared with yearly.

And 10 yr discounts still available from what I read. You will have to call to make sure.


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## MrSinatra

trip1eX said:


> Yeah you can get lifetime on the Bolt. Not sure why you would given it takes 5 years now just to break even with monthly.


ok, but just to be clear, can you get the lifetime AFTER the first year free is nearly over? thats what i can't find any info on.

as to why, well, i have tivo's i still use way older than 5 years, so that answers that.



trip1eX said:


> And 10 yr discounts still available from what I read. You will have to call to make sure.


yeah, sounds good. i have read conflicting things but i hope what you say is true. i also read they killed the MSD, which would also be a shame.


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## trip1eX

MrSinatra said:


> ok, but just to be clear, can you get the lifetime AFTER the first year free is nearly over? thats what i can't find any info on.
> 
> as to why, well, i have tivo's i still use way older than 5 years, so that answers that.
> 
> yeah, sounds good. i have read conflicting things but i hope what you say is true. i also read they killed the MSD, which would also be a shame.


I'm sure you can get lifetime anytime. But makes the most sense to do it before they bill you for year 2.

MSD is dead. 10 yr discounts seem to be still going on. Always a YMMV situation. And can change at any time.


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## DiGNAN17

mattack said:


> ...but admittedly, yes, the extended warranty part does make it better (but presumably that won't include any "recover your shows on the one that dies")..


I keep seeing people talk about the extended warranty as part of the Tivo Bolt yearly service. I'm trying to find some information on this, but all I can find on Tivo's site is information that doesn't sound like I get much. It sounds like they'll replace a defective unit in the first 90 days for $49 (shouldn't that be free if their unit is defective in such a short period?), between 90 days and a year they'll charge you for labor and shipping costs (that's vague, I wonder how much that'll be), and after one year they'll charge you for the replacement product and labor and shipping costs (why would you need labor on a replacement product?).

Nothing about that sounds like I'm getting anything out of this "extended warranty." It seems like especially after a year I'd be better off just buying a new Bolt.

If I'm simply not seeing the right information, then Tivo needs to do some serious work on their website...


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## atomarchio

So what is Tivo's deal price for long time members who wish to purchase a Roamio 4-tuner with lifetime?

I might be interested in that and not the bolt.


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## tarheelblue32

atomarchio said:


> So what is Tivo's deal price for long time members who wish to purchase a Roamio 4-tuner with lifetime?
> 
> I might be interested in that and not the bolt.


$400

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532395


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## tarheelblue32

DiGNAN17 said:


> I keep seeing people talk about the extended warranty as part of the Tivo Bolt yearly service. I'm trying to find some information on this, but all I can find on Tivo's site is information that doesn't sound like I get much. It sounds like they'll replace a defective unit in the first 90 days for $49 (shouldn't that be free if their unit is defective in such a short period?), between 90 days and a year they'll charge you for labor and shipping costs (that's vague, I wonder how much that'll be), and after one year they'll charge you for the replacement product and labor and shipping costs (why would you need labor on a replacement product?).
> 
> Nothing about that sounds like I'm getting anything out of this "extended warranty." It seems like especially after a year I'd be better off just buying a new Bolt.
> 
> If I'm simply not seeing the right information, then Tivo needs to do some serious work on their website...


"Every TiVo BOLT on a monthly or annual service plan comes with a Continual Care warranty included, which will replace a non-working TiVo BOLT for just $49.99 (plus shipping and any applicable taxes) as long as you maintain continuous, active TiVo service."

See under FAQs about "Continual Care warranty":

https://www.tivo.com/shop/bolt#/bolt


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## atomarchio

tarheelblue32 said:


> $400
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532395


Okay. So how do I get that price?

They don't just offer that up right away do they? Is there specific language I need to use in order to get that price when speaking with customer service?


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## tarheelblue32

atomarchio said:


> Okay. So how do I get that price?
> 
> They don't just offer that up right away do they? Is there specific language I need to use in order to get that price when speaking with customer service?


I would just call and tell the CSR that you are interested in the loyalty deal on the Roamio with lifetime service for $400. If the CSR doesn't offer it to you, hang up and try again. If I were you I probably wouldn't wait too long. There are rumors that the special pricing ends at the end of this month.


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## tom42

aaronwt said:


> I thought someone mentioned an app coming to the FireTV?


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0160MG4WY


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## DiGNAN17

tarheelblue32 said:


> "Every TiVo BOLT on a monthly or annual service plan comes with a Continual Care warranty included, which will replace a non-working TiVo BOLT for just $49.99 (plus shipping and any applicable taxes) as long as you maintain continuous, active TiVo service."
> 
> See under FAQs about "Continual Care warranty":
> 
> https://www.tivo.com/shop/bolt#/bolt


Ah, thanks. I didn't see that. It's kind of buried, TBH.


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## atomarchio

atomarchio said:


> Okay. So how do I get that price?
> 
> They don't just offer that up right away do they? Is there specific language I need to use in order to get that price when speaking with customer service?


I did get the $400 for roamio with lifetime. It's valid until end of December.


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## Leon WIlkinson

Bigg said:


> Yeah, this is getting ridiculous. What amounts to a base model Bolt is now $900, the 1TB is $1000.


Yeah, TiVo's introduction Infomercial, suckered me into buying a 30hr TiVo for $1199... Which brought me to this forum for help.


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## Leon WIlkinson

With the naming going to All In. I wonder if they might be going to a pricing system with a primary TiVo which has an All In, then add secondary units for free(minis already) or at a cost of $36-$60 a yr for real TiVos


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## zerdian1

Tablo and Simple.TV are OTA boxes and, as far as I know, they will not work if a cablecard is required.

In the near future, when the CableCard function gets replaced by an App (and security) these may become more workable with Cable.



JBDragon said:


> Yes Boxes like Tablo and Simple.TV have plans that are $4.95 a month, $49.99 a year, or $149.99 for Lifetime!!! Yet here's TIVO still stuck on their crazy high prices. The Roamio deal of $50 for the hardware and $250 for lifetime for a total of $300 was a reasonable deal. $200-$300 for lifetime wpi;d be a lot better then $600 for what really amounts to is a program guide. Something Microsoft gave away for FREE for years.


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## atomarchio

$400 for a Roamio with lifetime seems like a much better deal than $900 for the bolt with lifetime.

No way I am spending $500 more just to skip a commercial....I don't see any other features worth paying for. At least for my household.


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## atmuscarella

atomarchio said:


> $400 for a Roamio with lifetime seems like a much better deal than $900 for the bolt with lifetime.
> 
> No way I am spending $500 more just to skip a commercial....I don't see any other features worth paying for. At least for my household.


For those who can get the current Roamio Deals - they are excellent and I agree make the Bolt's pricing a little hard to take. Right now lifetime on the Bolt is not really something I would do, however it's $300 price with one year of service is actually cheaper than what the Roamio with monthly or annual service was when it was released. Remember the differences are much more than SkipMode. The Bolt is the next generation platform, with built in MOCA & Stream. The Roamio's price reflects that it is no longer the current platform and is in clearance mode.


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## atomarchio

You make some good points.

However, I already own a separate Stream box and don't need MOCA.

With the 4-tuner Premiere they are selling for $400, does that mean I can records 3 shows and then watch a live show on the 4th tuner all at the same time? Is that correct?


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## atmuscarella

atomarchio said:


> You make some good points.
> 
> However, I already own a separate Stream box and don't need MOCA.
> 
> With the 4-tuner Premiere they are selling for $400, does that mean I can records 3 shows and then watch a live show on the 4th tuner all at the same time? Is that correct?


I assume you mean 4 tuner Roamio, but yes it has 4 tuners and it can record 3 channels while being used to watch a 4th live.

Just a note, if you are cable and plan to stay with cable (versus OTA) I would look at the loyalty deals on the Roamio Plus or Pro also. They are both 6 tuner cable only units that really are better in every way over the base Roamio other than that they can not be used for OTA.


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## atomarchio

atmuscarella said:


> I assume you mean 4 tuner Roamio, but yes it has 4 tuners and it can record 3 channels while being used to watch a 4th live.
> 
> Just a note, if you are cable and plan to stay with cable (versus OTA) I would look at the loyalty deals on the Roamio Plus or Pro also. They are both 6 tuner cable only units that really are better in every way over the base Roamio other than that they can not be used for OTA.


Can you clarify how they are better other than the 6 tuners? I'd like to understand before I make the purchase.


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## atmuscarella

atomarchio said:


> Can you clarify how they are better other than the 6 tuners? I'd like to understand before I make the purchase.


The Plus & Pro have more tuners, larger hard drives, & built in Stream & MOCA.

They are also in a larger more traditional steal case versus a smaller plastic case for the base Roamio, if that is a plus or minus is personal (I am neutral on the case). The other difference is the Base Roamios have external wall warts and the Plus & Pro do not, again if that is a plus or minus is personal (I consider it a plus for the base Roamio as an external power supply is easier to replace than a built in one if it goes bad).


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## atomarchio

That's good information to have. Thanks.

However, I am still going with the base 4-tuner roamio.


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## atmuscarella

atomarchio said:


> That's good information to have. Thanks.
> 
> However, I am still going with the base 4-tuner roamio.


It is a very good to excellent DVR - I love mine and think it was worth the $590 I paid for it with lifetime 2+ years ago, so I think the $400 price is a great deal.


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## atomarchio

If I buy the Roamio with lifetime for $400, I could probably sell my Premiere with lifetime for $200 and upgrade for only $200 which is a deal!

Do you think I could get $200 for it? Or is that too high?


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## HarperVision

atomarchio said:


> That's good information to have. Thanks. However, I am still going with the base 4-tuner roamio.


There are reports I've read that you can get a Roamio Plus w/ Lifetime for $450, so for only an extra $50 you get a LOT more, FWIW.



atomarchio said:


> If I buy the Roamio with lifetime for $400, I could probably sell my Premiere with lifetime for $200 and upgrade for only $200 which is a deal! Do you think I could get $200 for it? Or is that too high?


I would think you could sell it for $200, yes. Check eBay prices.


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## lessd

atomarchio said:


> If I buy the Roamio with lifetime for $400, I could probably sell my Premiere with lifetime for $200 and upgrade for only $200 which is a deal!
> 
> Do you think I could get $200 for it? Or is that too high?


Just sold 2 Lifetime Premiers for $369 on E-Bay item # 231726204048 for one of them.


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## atomarchio

The Premiere boxes I own are 2 tuner.

$369 is not bad though. certainly compared to a new Roamio for $400


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## atomarchio

HarperVision said:


> There are reports I've read that you can get a Roamio Plus w/ Lifetime for $450, so for only an extra $50 you get a LOT more, FWIW.
> 
> I would think you could sell it for $200, yes. Check eBay prices.


I am looking closed into Roamio vs. Plus.

I am noticing that Plus has "On-board Ethernet (10/100/1000)" while Pro only has "On-board Ethernet (10/100)"

I am using wired ethernet. Would I notice a difference in normal operation?

Also, I also use Streambaby/pytivo so would that be faster with the Plus?

Please let me know. Thanks.


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## krkaufman

atomarchio said:


> I am looking closed into Roamio vs. Plus.
> 
> I am noticing that Plus has "On-board Ethernet (10/100/1000)" while *Pro *only has "On-board Ethernet (10/100)"
> 
> I am using wired ethernet. Would I notice a difference in normal operation?
> 
> Also, I also use Streambaby/pytivo so would that be faster with the Plus


The Pro has the same specs as the Plus, other than hard drive capacity.

Assuming you meant "base Roamio" in the above comparison, where you typed "Pro," no, you wouldn't notice much of any difference in "normal operation," if by normal operation you mean video streaming to one or two other TiVo devices (whether Mini or other DVR).

If you're talking about transfers, however, rather than streaming, as would be the case with pyTiVo & KMTTG and similar tools, yes, you would see a noticeable increase in transfer speeds between a basic Roamio and a Roamio Plus/Pro or a BOLT, all 3 of which have Gigabit Ethernet ports. That is, assuming the connection between the DVR and your PC/laptop is fully Gigabit, as well, and there isn't some Fast Ethernet switch somewhere in between.


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## atomarchio

tarheelblue32 said:


> $400
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=532395


I called Tivo customer service and tried to get the Roamio Plus instead for $450. I really like the 10/100/1000 ethernet for improved transfer speed.

However, the plus is no longer available. The Pro was available for $600.

So I am now really having a tough time on what I should do.

$600 for the pro or $900 for the Bolt with lifetime.

If I purchase the Bolt for $299 with 1-year service. Any chance that lifetime price go down at the end of the first year? If so, any idea how much less?


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## HarperVision

atomarchio said:


> I called Tivo customer service and tried to get the Roamio Plus instead for $450. I really like the 10/100/1000 ethernet for improved transfer speed.
> 
> However, the plus is no longer available. The Pro was available for $600.
> 
> So I am now really having a tough time on what I should do.
> 
> $600 for the pro or $900 for the Bolt with lifetime.
> 
> If I purchase the Bolt for $299 with 1-year service. Any chance that lifetime price go down at the end of the first year? If so, any idea how much less?


Try www.tivo.com/military if you're a veteran (or know one to sponsor you) or active duty. $99 and $19.99/month or switch it to annual for $149 ($129 with MSD)


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## zerdian1

atomarchio said:


> I called Tivo customer service and tried to get the Roamio Plus instead for $450. I really like the 10/100/1000 ethernet for improved transfer speed.
> 
> However, the plus is no longer available. The Pro was available for $600.
> 
> So I am now really having a tough time on what I should do.
> 
> $600 for the pro or $900 for the Bolt with lifetime.
> 
> If I purchase the Bolt for $299 with 1-year service. Any chance that lifetime price go down at the end of the first year? If so, any idea how much less?


I do not recommend the Bolt with LifeTime.
I no longer think it is a viable option.

You get one year service.
If you pay $150 per year than it will take you 5 years from purchase to break even.
The older boxes were built heavier and stronger.

My older TiVos lasted about 5 years.

The Bolt with its $600 Lifetime after the first year, if no longer a good financial risk.
The TiVo will be 6 years old, before you get to take advantage of the lifetime over the month to month.

OTHER SERVICE OPTIONS:
Assuming they are still available.

TiVo may let you get year service for $99. they are offering this to some.
In that case it will take 6 years after your first year of included service.
The TiVo will be 7 years old.

In my case TiVo just gave me Roamio Basic service for $10/month.

If it were a Bolt, it would take me 5 years after the first year of included service.
So the TiVo will be 6 years old, before I would start to take advantage of the lifetime contract.

I do not think the Bolts average service life will be greater than 5 years.
The Series 1 and the Series 2 SD boxes only had about 5 years of useful life, in my experience. 
Both of those lifetimes were cost effective at around $300, 
but the Tivo Boxes did not last more than 5 years. 
TiVo now says their LifeTime has expired.


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## krkaufman

zerdian1 said:


> You get one year service.
> If you pay $150 per year than it will take you 5 years from purchase to break even.


As was painfully hashed-out shortly after the BOLT was released, since you pay for the annual service plan in advance, the out-of-pocket break-even is approximately* at 4 years and 1 day -- that is, as soon as you pay, in advance, for the 5th year of service. The annual subscription becomes the more expensive choice* when you pay for the 6th year of service, at the end of the 5th year.

* I say "approximately" since the actual break-even would depend on other factors, including: purchase of an extended warranty to cover for the loss of the subscription-only "Continual Care" warranty; relative resale value of a Lifetime/All-In BOLT vs a subscription-only model (perhaps with some portion of a year's service remaining); whether any subscription or All In discounts become available in the intervening years; etc.


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