# $99 lifetime offer



## Shanezam203

I have an extra Tivo HD box I no longer use in a spare bedroom and the multi service discount of $6.95 ran out so I called in to cancel it and they offered me $99 lifetime. 

At a point I should stop paying the $7 and cancel it or buy the lifetime, I just don't use it. I don't have any conflicts I care to go in the 2nd room and program and I just don't use the 2nd HD box anymore. 

Any plans to communicate with a 2nd box better in the near future or no?


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## daveak

Take the $99 and try it out. If you do not like it you can sell it an easily recoup your money. Or gift it.


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## Arcady

I have a $6.95 TiVo HD I'd love to convert to lifetime for $99. I'll have to give this a try.


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## Series3Sub

Exactly. Get the $99 lifetime. It will be worth more than that on eBay.


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## Chris Gerhard

I have an already unsubscribed TiVoHD I would love to convert to lifetime for $99, if there is a way to proceed with pursuing this offer, I would like to know it. I guess I could put the internet connection back on it and then call and threaten to continue to leave it unsubscribed and connecting. Somehow that doesn't sound too scary. I spent a lot on lifetime for the other two but that probably doesn't carry anywhere near as much weight as someone who has been paying monthly on a couple of TiVos for a while.


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## Chris Gerhard

I didn't offer my advice but definitely accept that great offer and either use it or sell it. I would just use it.


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## HeatherA

I have a $6.95 HD I'd do this with too if I could...


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## aaronwt

At $99 for lifetime it is more than worth it. Worst case you can sell the box since Lifetime is worth $500 without a multi-service discount.
But for only $99, even with the grandfathered $6.95 plan, the break even point is only 14 months. I have one box on the $6.95 plan. If I got offered lifetime service for $99, I would jump on it.


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## jlb

I've been on $6.95 for years on my TiVoHD. I might have to give this a whirl too. Withi a backup taken and an expanded drive....my TiVo's lifetime should easily be more than 14 months.....


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## JPA2825

Anyone actually get this to work? I have 2 TiVo HDs that I would switch from $6.95 MSD to $99 in a heartbeat.


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## Beryl

JPA2825 said:


> Anyone actually get this to work? I have 2 TiVo HDs that I would switch from $6.95 MSD to $99 in a heartbeat.


I wish I could get the 6.95 monthly but wouldn't hesitate to get the $99 lifetime. The best offer I have on my HDXL is $9.95/ month or $99/yr.


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## Chris Gerhard

JPA2825 said:


> Anyone actually get this to work? I have 2 TiVo HDs that I would switch from $6.95 MSD to $99 in a heartbeat.


Just the OP is all I have seen. Everybody with a TiVoHD on monthly or unsubscribed reading this offer wants the same thing but I don't have a clue how to proceed.


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## atlynch

Chris Gerhard said:


> Just the OP is all I have seen. Everybody with a TiVoHD on monthly or unsubscribed reading this offer wants the same thing but I don't have a clue how to proceed.


Just got my three Tivo HD's lifetime-ed for $99 each, and I was only calling to cancel the one I replaced with a Premiere....

-D


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## Chris Gerhard

I called and spoke with a CSR, Patrick, my unsubscribed box doesn't qualify for $99 lifetime, it hasn't been subscribed in some time but I didn't really understand how it might have qualified. Nothing lost other than waiting on the phone.


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## uw69

Just got off the phone, got the $99 lifetime on my Tivo HD.


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## ebf

Hum, this is interesting... Wouldn't it be better to hang on to your $6.95/mo plan and swap in a new model down the road. Thus getting new tech at the old (monthly) price? Or have all the service changes of recent years eliminated that as an option? I too have an HD at $6.95/mo (I swapped out a Series2 for the HD two years ago). If the $6.95 can't be moved anymore, I guess $99 Lifetime would be a deal. But if I can buy a Series5 (or whatever) in the future and swap it in at $6.95, I'd rather hang on to the $6.95 plan.


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## Dan203

I have a S2 I'm also paying $7/mo for and haven't used in over a year. It's not even plugged in right now. I really need to cancel it or give it to a family member or something. Right now it's just a big waste of money.

Dan


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## dwit

ebf said:


> Hum, this is interesting... Wouldn't it be better to hang on to your $6.95/mo plan and swap in a new model down the road. Thus getting new tech at the old (monthly) price? Or have all the service changes of recent years eliminated that as an option? I too have an HD at $6.95/mo (I swapped out a Series2 for the HD two years ago). If the $6.95 can't be moved anymore, I guess $99 Lifetime would be a deal. *But if I can buy a Series5 (or whatever) in the future and swap it in at $6.95, I'd rather hang on to the $6.95 plan.*


You would hardly be able to do a swap. You cannot even swap a Premiere onto a $6.95 plan. Premiere's have their own, higher rates. Future platforms are likely to have rates that are at least equal to the Premiere.By the way, the Premiere msd rate is over double your rate: $14.95 or so.


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## unitron

Shanezam203 said:


> I have an extra Tivo HD box I no longer use in a spare bedroom and the multi service discount of $6.95 ran out so I called in to cancel it and they offered me $99 lifetime.
> 
> At a point I should stop paying the $7 and cancel it or buy the lifetime, I just don't use it. I don't have any conflicts I care to go in the 2nd room and program and I just don't use the 2nd HD box anymore.
> 
> Any plans to communicate with a 2nd box better in the near future or no?


How does a Multi-Set Discount "run out"? Either you have a full price box (lifetimed at full price or monthly at full price) that qualifies you for MSD on additional boxes or you don't.


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## Chris Gerhard

ebf said:


> Hum, this is interesting... Wouldn't it be better to hang on to your $6.95/mo plan and swap in a new model down the road. Thus getting new tech at the old (monthly) price? Or have all the service changes of recent years eliminated that as an option? I too have an HD at $6.95/mo (I swapped out a Series2 for the HD two years ago). If the $6.95 can't be moved anymore, I guess $99 Lifetime would be a deal. But if I can buy a Series5 (or whatever) in the future and swap it in at $6.95, I'd rather hang on to the $6.95 plan.


Possibly, but only if TiVo will allow you to do the swap. My opinion, anybody with a properly working, healthy TiVoHD that can get this deal should do it. Sell it when the time comes to get a new box. A TiVoHD without lifetiime is worth next to nothing.


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## aaronwt

dwit said:


> You would hardly be able to do a swap. You cannot even swap a Premiere onto a $6.95 plan. Premiere's have their own, higher rates. Future platforms are likely to have rates that are at least equal to the Premiere.By the way, the Premiere msd rate is over double your rate: $14.95 or so.


You used to be able to when the Premiere was first released. I have one launch Premiere on the $6.95 that switched over from one of my TiVoHD boxes. I had a couple of other TiVoHD boxes with the $6.95 plan but I got lifetime for those Premieres that replaced them.

I think it's better to get the Lifetime for $99 now. Then when/if somethign new comes along, you can just sell the Premiere with Lifetime and use that to cover most of the cost of the new box. There is no way to know what deal TiVo will offer in the future. But there is typically a nice market for used TiVos with Lifetime service. I sold my old S3/TiVoHD boxes with Lifetime to finace most of the cost of my new premieres. And my plan is also to sell at least two of my Lifetime Premieres to finance my purchase of the Quad tuner TiVo.


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## Chris Gerhard

aaronwt said:


> You used to be able to when the Premiere was first released. I have one launch Premiere on the $6.95 that switched over from one of my TiVoHD boxes. I had a couple of other TiVoHD boxes with the $6.95 plan but I got lifetime for those Premieres that replaced them.
> 
> I think it's better to get the Lifetime for $99 now. Then when/if somethign new comes along, you can just sell the Premiere with Lifetime and use that to cover most of the cost of the new box. There is no way to know what deal TiVo will offer in the future. But there is typically a nice market for used TiVos with Lifetime service. I sold my old S3/TiVoHD boxes with Lifetime to finace most of the cost of my new premieres. And my plan is also to sell at least two of my Lifetime Premieres to finance my purchase of the Quad tuner TiVo.


Has anybody been able to get lifetime for $99 on a Premiere? I don't think it is all $6.95 monthly users that are able to get $99 lifetime, I think it only works with older boxes. If it is possible with the Premiere, great, that is an even better deal, the box is newer and will likely last longer.


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## blacknoi

Interesting. I have a TivoHD on the $6.95 month plan MSD (S3 as a primary unit, already lifetimed).

Seems like it'd be worth it just for the resale value.


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## mammoth6

I am curious exactly what you guys had to say in order to get this deal. Tivo CSR told me that I could pay $12.95 per month (what I currently pay), $499 for lifetime, or I could call them back when i was ready to cancel. He said that was the best they could do. I've been paying $12.95 per month since 10/07 so maybe they feel like they've gotten everything they wanted out of me....


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## larrs

Dan203 said:


> I have a S2 I'm also paying $7/mo for and haven't used in over a year. It's not even plugged in right now. I really need to cancel it or give it to a family member or something. Right now it's just a big waste of money.
> 
> Dan


Dan-

You can still sub an S3 or THD for that unit and keep the $6.95/mo. Then, you could take advantage of the $99 Lifetime and sell it for about $350 on the 'bay.

I have a THD on $6.95 and a Premiere. I am going to call and see what they can do for me.


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## HiDefGator

are you sure this $99 lifetime special deal follows the box to the next user? that just seems like too good of a deal to be true.


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## jfh3

This offer is for:

- those that were on three year prepaid plans with a THD and reactivating the box.

OR

- Those on the $6.95 plan that are cancelling that plan AND adding a new Premiere. (e.g. move a THD from a $6.95 plan to lifetime for $99 AND buy a new Premiere with a new, current plan).

Tivo is apparently getting a lot of calls because of this thread (I presume), but if you don't fit into one of those two categories, the $99 offer doesn't apply.

(And yes, it stays with the box, not the account, just like any other lifetime box)


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## Dan203

larrs said:


> Dan-
> 
> You can still sub an S3 or THD for that unit and keep the $6.95/mo. Then, you could take advantage of the $99 Lifetime and sell it for about $350 on the 'bay.


Is there a good deal on a standalone HD/Premiere out there anywhere? One that doesn't require a contract and that I can just transfer my $6.95/mo sub to?

Dan


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## jfh3

Dan203 said:


> Is there a good deal on a standalone HD/Premiere out there anywhere? One that doesn't require a contract and that I can just transfer my $6.95/mo sub to?


It would have to be an original Series 3 or a THD. The $6.95 plan cannot be transferred to a Premiere.


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## Chris Gerhard

mammoth6 said:


> I am curious exactly what you guys had to say in order to get this deal. Tivo CSR told me that I could pay $12.95 per month (what I currently pay), $499 for lifetime, or I could call them back when i was ready to cancel. He said that was the best they could do. I've been paying $12.95 per month since 10/07 so maybe they feel like they've gotten everything they wanted out of me....


Good question and I don't have any idea why you wouldn't qualify. I don't recall if lifetime was an option when you subscribed in Oct. 2007 but if it wasn't, you should be exactly the customer that qualifies for this offer in my opinion. I didn't think I qualified and when it was denied for me, I just accepted I didn't meet the necessary criteria.


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## uw69

atlynch said:


> OR
> 
> had
> a TiVo HD at $129/year and
> a TiVo HD at $99/year and
> a TiVo HD at $9.99/month and
> a TiVo Premiere on lifetime
> 
> I called to cancel one of the TiVo HD's and got the deal on all three of them.
> 
> -D


Is there really a criteria for obtaining the $99 lifetime deal on Tivo HD's or is it something Tivo is doing to keep long time customers?


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## mattack

unitron said:


> How does a Multi-Set Discount "run out"? Either you have a full price box (lifetimed at full price or monthly at full price) that qualifies you for MSD on additional boxes or you don't.


I presume they are referring to the apparent fact that even lifetime Tivos have to "call in" to Tivo's servers to keep MSD active.. I believe the info is once every 6 months.


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## larrs

Dan203 said:


> Is there a good deal on a standalone HD/Premiere out there anywhere? One that doesn't require a contract and that I can just transfer my $6.95/mo sub to?
> 
> Dan


I've got two in the closet that I subbed Premieres for when they first came out. PM me if you want one cheap.


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## ctcraig

ANy thoughts on going to lifetime on an exiting HD and doing an xfer when the Premiere comes out?


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## Chris Gerhard

ctcraig said:


> ANy thoughts on going to lifetime on an exiting HD and doing an xfer when the Premiere comes out?


My thought is there is zero chance you will be able to transfer the lifetime from a TiVoHD to a Premiere or the next model subsequent to the Premiere.


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## unitron

ctcraig said:


> ANy thoughts on going to lifetime on an exiting HD and doing an xfer when the Premiere comes out?


My thought is that the Premiere has been out for a year or 2 now, and that if you have a Series 3 platform HD that you can get this $99 Lifetime deal on, you should grab it to increase the resale value of your HD, which is worth about $50 without lifetime.


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## jfh3

uw69 said:


> Is there really a criteria for obtaining the $99 lifetime deal on Tivo HD's or is it something Tivo is doing to keep long time customers?


I posted the criteria a couple posts back and confirmed them with a CSR supervisor.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Hearing about this offer kind of pisses me off. My TiVo HD just died, and I tried to no avail. I bought a Premiere and had to pay $399 to TRANSFER a lifetime to it.


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## Chris Gerhard

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Hearing about this offer kind of pisses me off. My TiVo HD just died, and I tried to no avail. I bought a Premiere and had to pay $399 to TRANSFER a lifetime to it.


I don't know why it would kind of piss you off. I just think it is a great deal for the people that can get it, I didn't qualify and it sounds like you don't either. I never get mad because other people can get a deal I can't get. If things that don't affect me did make me mad, I would be upset all of the time.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Chris Gerhard said:


> I don't know why it would kind of piss you off. I just think it is a great deal for the people that can get it, I didn't qualify and it sounds like you don't either. I never get mad because other people can get a deal I can't get. If things that don't affect me did make me mad, I would be upset all of the time.


Isn't it pretty obvious? I try to upgrade for $99 and I can't, I have to spend $400 to replace a broken TiVo, yet someone else with the same unit I had can upgrade for less.


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## uw69

jfh3 said:


> I posted the criteria a couple posts back and confirmed them with a CSR supervisor.


I was a little confused because I got the $99 lifetime on a Tivo HD (was at the the $6.95 per month plan) but I did not add a premiere.


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## blacknoi

uw69 said:


> I was a little confused because I got the $99 lifetime on a Tivo HD (was at the the $6.95 per month plan) but I did not add a premiere.


How did the phone call go? Did you just straight up ask for your $6.95/month HD unit to be converted to the $99 lifetime?

And they said OK?


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## uw69

blacknoi said:


> How did the phone call go? Did you just straight up ask for your $6.95/month HD unit to be converted to the $99 lifetime?
> 
> And they said OK?


I called and said I wanted to cancel the tivo service on the HD, he said he had a deal for me but needed to talk withe "high up's", after several minutes on hold, he came back with with the $99 lifetime offer.

I have 6 other Tivo's with lifetime and have been a subscriber since 1999. Don't know if that played into the $99 offer or not.


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## unitron

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Hearing about this offer kind of pisses me off. My TiVo HD just died, and I tried to no avail. I bought a Premiere and had to pay $399 to TRANSFER a lifetime to it.


If yoiu had lifetime on that HD that qualifies you for a separate Multi-Set Discount Lifetime on the Premiere at $399.99 instead of $499.99, so perhaps you didn't actually transfer lifetime at all and can put an ad on Craigslist or eBay saying "broken TiVo HD with lifetime subscription for sale".

How broken is it, by the way?


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## Worf

Darn. I want to put an old Series 2 on lifetime... stupid cable company doesn't support CableCARD and insists you buy their boxes (no, we're not covered by the FCC). They're getting rid of their analog cable channels (and all the digital channels are encrypted).

Consdiering I'll be using that S2 a lot more...


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## unitron

Worf said:


> Darn. I want to put an old Series 2 on lifetime... stupid cable company doesn't support CableCARD and insists you buy their boxes (no, we're not covered by the FCC). They're getting rid of their analog cable channels (and all the digital channels are encrypted).
> 
> Consdiering I'll be using that S2 a lot more...


What model S2 do you have (TCD??????) and who's your cable provider?


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## megazone

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Isn't it pretty obvious? I try to upgrade for $99 and I can't, I have to spend $400 to replace a broken TiVo, yet someone else with the same unit I had can upgrade for less.


No, that's not what happened at all. You picked up a new Premiere and purchased lifetime for it for $400, which is the full MSD rate for lifetime.

The $99 rate is NOT available on upgrades. It is being offered to users who have an existing unit and call to cancel service. And the $99 lifetime service is for the *existing* box, not a new box. One of the criteria given above is that it is being offered for users who have upgraded to a Premiere - but that mean they *paid* for the Premiere and service.

So you buy a new Premiere and service, then you call TiVo and say "I want to cancel service on my TiVo HD because I've upgraded to a Premiere and no longer need it so I don't want to keep paying." And TiVo says "Instead of cancelling, how about you buy product lifetime service for it for just $99 and then you can keep using it in another room, etc."

It is not "Oh, you just got a Premiere? How about $99 lifetime for it?"

You could've just repaired your TiVo HD. TiVo does do out-of-warranty repairs, for a fee. And 3rd parties like WeaKnees.com and DRVupgrade.com do repair work. And you probably could've just fixes it yourself since most failures are the drive, which is easy to replace.


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## I WANT MORE

Done deal Ladies and Gentleman. $99.00 on HDXL. Have a Premier and Premier XL lifetimed also. Have only been a Tivotee since '09. God I love deals.


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## Chris Gerhard

I WANT MORE said:


> Done deal Ladies and Gentleman. $99.00 on HDXL. Have a Premier and Premier XL lifetimed also. Have only been a Tivotee since '09. God I love deals.


Did you meet the requirements as stated above or just get a favorable CSR?


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## I WANT MORE

Pretty much my story. Wasn't going to cancel though.


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## rjspring

Just poking around on the site, I found they are now offering a Tivo premier for $100 and a lifetime service plan for $399 on said purchase. This was new info to me, but the $99 would also be well worth it.

Sticking with my TivoHD units for now, but nice to see they are also supporting lifetime upgrades on the premier boxes.


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## tomm1079

so did you guys just call and ask about cancelling service?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

unitron said:


> If yoiu had lifetime on that HD that qualifies you for a separate Multi-Set Discount Lifetime on the Premiere at $399.99 instead of $499.99, so perhaps you didn't actually transfer lifetime at all and can put an ad on Craigslist or eBay saying "broken TiVo HD with lifetime subscription for sale".
> 
> How broken is it, by the way?


Continuous rebooting.


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## uw69

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Continuous rebooting.


Did you try replacing the hard drive? If not you might consider giving it a try.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

uw69 said:


> Did you try replacing the hard drive? If not you might consider giving it a try.


Yes, replaced the hard drive, still has continuous reboot. Might be the power supply (not sure).


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## I WANT MORE

tomm1079 said:


> so did you guys just call and ask about cancelling service?


Yes. I have a Premier and a PremierXL that I recently put lifetimes on. The HDXL was my first TIVO that I purchased in '09. After discovering the $99.00offer here I figured what do I have to lose. 
I called in and said cancel at the prompt. Gentleman came on and asked why I wanted to cancel. I told him I have 2 Premiers (which he new) and that due to cost I wanted to cancel the HDXL. 
He said let me see if there are any offers that he could give me. Bingo. $99.00 lifetime.


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## Worf

unitron said:


> What model S2 do you have (TCD??????) and who's your cable provider?


It'll be the Series 2 DT model (649) - I'll have to get the actual number later.

Cable provider's Shaw. But all Canadian cable providers are the same - if you don't buy their equipment, they won't activate it. And when Motorola went to produce CableCARD boxes, PACE picked up all the non-CableCARD boxes and continued to make them.


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## ducker

i'm about to lifetime sub a new premiere box.. I wish I could get a lifetime sub for $99! hell $199 would be awesome too!


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## Beryl

Called to see what they can do on my HDXL which comes up for renewal 2/2012. Since I purchased a Premier, they could give me the $99/lifetime. Can't do it right now since renewal is so far out but they gave me a reference number to use if I call back in January. He suggested that there might be a better offer then but I can at least get this one. 

I'm happy. 

I still have an inactive HD that I really don't need. I'll hang on to it because my Premiere, though 'cool' is a bit flakey.


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## shaown

I got this on my Tivo HD - my last 6.95 Box.
But I had recently got a stack of premieres with LT - so I fit the criteria.
Finally - all my boxes are now LT. 
I really should throw away my unsubbed S1 and sell my LT S3 - but I have such sentimental attachment to them!
-Shaown


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## ort

This sort of thing is ridiculous. TiVo's plans should not be this confusing.

Why do we have to consult message boards just to understand how their pricing structure works? It's not very consumer friendly.


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## steve614

ort said:


> This sort of thing is ridiculous. TiVo's plans should not be this confusing.
> 
> Why do we have to consult message boards just to understand how their pricing structure works? It's not very consumer friendly.


I suspect it's because TiVo doesn't want to publicly announce certain deals.
The general pricing structure is standard:
Premiere: $19.95/mo ($14.95/mo MSD) - Lifetime $499 ($399 MSD)
Other Tivos: $12.95/mo ($9.95/mo MSD). Lifetime same as above.

You have to do your homework to get better deals.
Whether it involves visiting message boards or actually calling TiVo and negotiating a deal, you have to get involved.

Did you buy your TV without doing any research? If so, you probably paid too much.


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## Tivogre

Just cashed in on this deal!!!

Background on my situation:

5 Tivo HD boxes active on the account, all since ~August 2009.

Have always (since activation) had $12.95 monthly service on one box, $9.95 monthly on the other 4 (MSD).


I recently (last week) purchased a Premier and added it to my account.

I called Tivo, and told them I wanted to cancel service on one of my Tivo HD boxes - since I replaced it with the Premier.

I was "transferred to the department that could help me with my cancellation".

The young man I spoke to was very friendly and knowledgeable. He asked me a few questions about how long I had been with Tivo (I'm sure he knew that from his screens), and what I planned to do with the box I was deactivating.

I told him that I had been a Tivo subscriber directly for two years, but since about December 2000 if you count my DirecTV boxes.

I gave him the service number of the box I wanted to turn off.

Then I got "Hmm... that's interesting... my system is telling me that you are eligible for a $99 lifetime subscription on this box if you want to keep it active for another television set."

I played dumb, happy customer and said "Really... Is that a common offer for people deactivating boxes?"

He said "No... not really. I've only ever seen it pop up on like three accounts."

I asked "Can I take that offer and then just turn off another box?"

He chuckled and said "That would sort of defeat the purpose for us."

Needless to say, I took the offer. I may call back in a couple of days and deactivate one of my other Tivo HD boxes... Who knows, maybe I'll get the same offer again!


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## steve614

Make sure to get hold of a different CSR...


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## Tivogre

steve614 said:


> Make sure to get hold of a different CSR...


Even if I don't... no big deal. It's not like the other boxes are locked in to a commitment.

Worst case, I end up with a deactivated box (what I want to do anyway, as I don't currently have / need a 6th TV).

Best case, I have ANOTHER lifetime Tivo HD, and call back again in a couple days.

If I keep calling back, I'll eventually either get one box deactivated... or I'll end up with 5 Lifetime Tivo HD boxes.

At this point, either outcome (or one in between) is a win for me.


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## Chris Gerhard

Of course I wish I could get this deal but I don't consider it ridiculous that TiVo offers special deals like this to keep customers. I can't get this deal because my TiVoHD has sevice discontinued already and I don't have a Premiere, although I don't really understand why the Premiere is important. I wish TiVo would expand the offer to include my unsubscribed TiVo. In a week or so, I might call again and see if anything has changed regarding my eligibility.


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## ort

I'm in the market for a new TiVo, but it's going to get complicated...

I currently have an old TiVo series 2 for $12.95 a month and a TiVo HD for $6.95 a month.

I want to get rid of the Series 2 and replace it with a Premiere, but won't that screw up my $6.95 pricing? I wonder if I can get this $99 dollar thing.


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## jdmass

Woo hoo! Just got the $99 lifetime for my wife's HD Tivo. Thanks for the info!


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## Beryl

Chris Gerhard said:


> Of course I wish I could get this deal but I don't consider it ridiculous that TiVo offers special deals like this to keep customers. I can't get this deal because my TiVoHD has sevice discontinued already and I don't have a Premiere, although I don't really understand why the Premiere is important.


I don't understand why purchasing a Premiere is so important but I'm glad they are offering customer retention specials. It is a smart business move, IMO.


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## Tivogre

Jackpot!!!

I called back today and told the CSR that I had decided to go ahead and cancel service on one of my remaining monthly Tivo HD boxes.

He pointed out that I had been with Tivo for a long time.

He asked me "What would you do if I offered you lifetime on ALL of those remaining Tivo HD boxes?"

I told him that I would definitely take him up on it.

He put me on hold; when he cam back, he asked "What do you plan to do with the other 4 boxes if I DON'T upgrade them to Lifetime - if I just did it for the box you called to cancel?"

I told him "Honestly, I will ultimately cancel service on one of them, because I don't NEED 6 active boxes, and don't want the continuing monthly fee"

He put me on hold again for about 2 minutes; when he came back, he upgraded the remaing 4 of my Tivo HD boxes to Lifetime @ $99 each!!!

He even pointed out the "investment" aspect - in case I decided to sell the boxes in the future!!!

YMMV - but I'm a happy Tivo customer today.


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## jmpage2

I just called in, have had two HDs for four+ years. One of them was converted to lifetime about two or so years ago after initially having a $299 three year service on it.

The agent told me that there are no programs to offer a $99 lifetime conversion on secondary units for customers "like me". I guess I either haven't had TiVo long enough (even though it's going on five years now) or they just don't like me.

Oh well.


----------



## daveak

If you are planning on canceling, then they may offer you the discount as a way to keep you as a subscriber. They may. There also seems to be some qualifiers - as stated above. 

I have one unit (original S3) and called to cancel, they offered me $9.95 a month (as an OTA user, this is available anyway on a new unit) and said I could transfer that rate to a new unit if I bought one. For now I will still use the S3.


----------



## unitron

jmpage2 said:


> I just called in, have had two HDs for four+ years. One of them was converted to lifetime about two or so years ago after initially having a $299 three year service on it.
> 
> The agent told me that there are no programs to offer a $99 lifetime conversion on secondary units for customers "like me". I guess I either haven't had TiVo long enough (even though it's going on five years now) or they just don't like me.
> 
> Oh well.


I think the catch is you have to buy a Premiere first.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

jmpage2 said:


> I just called in, have had two HDs for four+ years. One of them was converted to lifetime about two or so years ago after initially having a $299 three year service on it.
> 
> The agent told me that there are no programs to offer a $99 lifetime conversion on secondary units for customers "like me". I guess I either haven't had TiVo long enough (even though it's going on five years now) or they just don't like me.
> 
> Oh well.


I have had TiVo for 11 years and didn't qualify so that has nothing to do with getting this deal. I don't have a Premiere and apparently for whatever reason that is helpful if you want to get the $99 TiVoHD lifetime.


----------



## Charles R

I think the (general) premise is if you happen to have an _old unit_ floating around that's getting replaced by something (newer) instead of having the old unit taken out of service they (might) offer you a sweet deal to keep it in service... something is better than nothing. If you are more or less trying to something for nothing your odds aren't nearly as good.


----------



## ort

ort said:


> I currently have an old TiVo series 2 for $12.95 a month and a TiVo HD for $6.95 a month.
> 
> I want to get rid of the Series 2 and replace it with a Premiere, but won't that screw up my $6.95 pricing? I wonder if I can get this $99 dollar thing.


I'm quoting myself here...

But what if I...

1. Buy a Premiere
2. Call in and say I want to disable my $6.95 TiVo HD to get lifetime for $99
3. Activate the Premiere for $14.95
4. Wait a month and cancel my $12.95 series 2... leaving me with a Premiere for $19.95 and lifetime on my HD.

Any reason this wouldn't work?


----------



## srauly

I'm confused by all this.

Here's my situation...

I'm a long-time TiVo user (don't remember, but I'd say a good 6 years on the TiVo HD's, and prior to that I had standard-def TiVo's). One of my TiVo HD's recently got fried because of a bizarre situation where a surge of electricity came in on the neutral line of my house. I've had too much going on so I hadn't called in to cancel/transfer the service the last month or two, so they've continuted to bill me on the service. I happen to have another "new in box" TiVo HD that was never activated.

Any suggestions for what I might do to maximize the value proposition?

Thanks?


----------



## unitron

And furthermore, has anyone (with a Premiere) been able to get this, only on an original S3 instead of the HD? Or an S2 DT? (I can dream can't I?)


----------



## jfh3

unitron said:


> And furthermore, has anyone (with a Premiere) been able to get this, only on an original S3 instead of the HD? Or an S2 DT? (I can dream can't I?)


Never hurts to call and ask.


----------



## Worf

unitron said:


> And furthermore, has anyone (with a Premiere) been able to get this, only on an original S3 instead of the HD? Or an S2 DT? (I can dream can't I?)


Tell us if you get your S2DT. I'd love to put my S2DT on lifetime. Don't think I can justify paying $400 lifetime for it...

(And when did lifetime prices go up? It used to be $300...).


----------



## THE_NASTY_ONE

aaronwt said:


> At $99 for lifetime it is more than worth it. Worst case you can sell the box since Lifetime is worth $500 without a multi-service discount.
> But for only $99, even with the grandfathered $6.95 plan, the break even point is only 14 months. I have one box on the $6.95 plan. If I got offered lifetime service for $99, I would jump on it.


I HAVE 2 LIFETIME SUBS. TRUST ME TAKE THAT DEAL!


----------



## JacksTiVo

*Hi All,
I haven't posted in a couple of years. My S3 annual service was about to expire this week ($99 + tax) and per my TiVo account information I was offerred either monthly service (no commitment) at $9.95 + tax or $399 PLT service since I am entitled to MSD.

I decided to use the Online Chat for customer service and asked the representative what was available to me. He gave me the standard non-MSD prices and mentioned that annual service was no longer an option. As I was typing a reply to him, I received another message that his supervisor authorized $99 Product Lifetime Service to me because I have been a TiVo subscriber for such a long time (10 years in Nov.). I called Customer Service and signed up for the PLT service.

Here is the interesting part. I bought the S3 in Sept. 2007 and had a three year commitment at $6.95 per month. At that time if I recall correctly PLT service was quoted at $350. So I have spent ($6.95 x 36) + $99 = $349.20 for the first four years and now will layout another $99. So it appears I am paying the same as if I took the $350 out of the bank in 2007 and lost the interest on it for the 4 years by paying the $99 today. (That is probably what the TiVo financial people looked at when making this deal available to longtime users.) Going forward I will be ahead.

On another note my 500GB eSata HD (WD My Book) just exhibited signs of failure and I ordered from an eBay seller a 1TB internal drive for the S3 for $98.88. I had paid $200 for the 500GB HD in 2007.*


----------



## Resist

JacksTivo,

So if I understood this correctly, you have an older Series 3 and don't have a Premiere Tivo yet still was offered the $99 lifetime for the Series 3?

I have a 2007 Series 3 Tivo which I pay $6.95 MSD tied to a really old single tuner Series 2 (with Lifetime). I'd like to retire the Series 2 and get an affordable Lifetime for my Series 3. Also have a Tivo HD with Lifetime.


----------



## unitron

JacksTiVo said:


> *Hi All,
> I haven't posted in a couple of years. My S3 annual service was about to expire this week ($99 + tax) and per my TiVo account information I was offerred either monthly service (no commitment) at $9.95 + tax or $399 PLT service since I am entitled to MSD.
> 
> I decided to use the Online Chat for customer service and asked the representative what was available to me. He gave me the standard non-MSD prices and mentioned that annual service was no longer an option. As I was typing a reply to him, I received another message that his supervisor authorized $99 Product Lifetime Service to me because I have been a TiVo subscriber for such a long time (10 years in Nov.). I called Customer Service and signed up for the PLT service.
> 
> Here is the interesting part. I bought the S3 in Sept. 2007 and had a three year commitment at $6.95 per month. At that time if I recall correctly PLT service was quoted at $350. So I have spent ($6.95 x 36) + $99 = $349.20 for the first four years and now will layout another $99. So it appears I am paying the same as if I took the $350 out of the bank in 2007 and lost the interest on it for the 4 years by paying the $99 today. (That is probably what the TiVo financial people looked at when making this deal available to longtime users.) Going forward I will be ahead.
> 
> On another note my 500GB eSata HD (WD My Book) just exhibited signs of failure and I ordered from an eBay seller a 1TB internal drive for the S3 for $98.88. I had paid $200 for the 500GB HD in 2007.*


A while back there was a deal on lifetime for S3 and/or S3 HD owners who had three year pre-pays running out who got that when lifetime wasn't availible. That may be the deal you got.


----------



## JacksTiVo

Resist said:


> JacksTivo,
> 
> So if I understood this correctly, you have an older Series 3 and don't have a Premiere Tivo yet still was offered the $99 lifetime for the Series 3?
> 
> I have a 2007 Series 3 Tivo which I pay $6.95 MSD tied to a really old single tuner Series 2 (with Lifetime). I'd like to retire the Series 2 and get an affordable Lifetime for my Series 3. Also have a Tivo HD with Lifetime.


*Yes, no Premier. I also have two older lifetime units. A Series 1 that I connect once every 6 months to keep it active and a single tuner Series 2. Call customer service and ask the representative about any special offers to convert to Lifetime on your Series 3. I didn't ask, it was just offered to me, but remember I have been a subscriber for almost 10 years.

I also believe that since S/W updates to Series 3 or older models are no longer provided, that support costs are low and that subscriber retention (especially older models) for TiVo's advertising and rating services is important to them.

Give it a try, the worst they can say is no and you still have $6.95MSD which is cheaper than renting an inferior cable company DVR.*


----------



## jlb

I have one and only one TiVo...an HD with an upgraded HD. I have had this box for several years and an S2 for several before that. At one point, I had two S2s. But I am now on one box only that is at $6.95. I should have tried this a long time ago, but I haven't. Part of me wants to keep at this low monthly in case their practices change and I could swap in a new device at the $6.95. But now having realized how easy it was to upgrade the HD myself, I am thinking differently. And the break even is only 14 months.

The only thing holding me off right now is that I don't intend to cancel. So part of me says it is not right to try and get the deal.....what to do.......


----------



## lafos

It's very unusual to have a single box at $6.95. I have two at that price, but they are tied to my MSD, where my LT TiVos provide the anchor. If the LT box fails to connect in 6 months, the MSD price goes away.


----------



## rbendorf

Just Called Tivo re. my HD yearly service has gone up to $129.00/yr and they did indeed give me the $99.00 lifetime...good deal.


----------



## jfh3

jlb said:


> The only thing holding me off right now is that I don't intend to cancel. So part of me says it is not right to try and get the deal.....what to do.......


If you only have one box at $6.95, you are on a grandfathered retention rate. Not sure I'd push my luck ...


----------



## mumpower

I hadn't planned to do this but a very good rep named Gabe hooked me up. I have a season 3 from 2007 that is long past contract, so I qualify under the previously speculated parameters. This was my $12.95 box, so lifetime is a slam dunk decision for me.


----------



## pcbrew

I have an S3 and HD, both lifetime, and also just bought a Premier with LT and was going to swap things around and move the S3 to the media room for watching footbal this fall, etc. 

I just bought another Premier the $50 woot special with the intent of replacing my S2DT on the kid's TV that is on the grandfathered $6.95/mo plan.

However, after reading through the thread, seems I will not be able to activate the Premier on this plan. Is that correct? 

I don't really want to sink another $400 for LT, so seems like my best option to try to sell the woot Premier and pick up a TivoHD for roughly a wash and then activate the HD on the $6.95 and then try to swing $99 LT.
I wonder if they will look at how long the HD unit has been active and call my bluff on the cancellation ploy. Even if they call my bluff I would at least have upgrade to a TivoHD for same monthly cost.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

pcbrew said:


> I just bought another Premier the $50 woot special with the intent of replacing my S2DT on the kid's TV that is on the grandfathered $6.95/mo plan.
> 
> However, after reading through the thread, seems I will not be able to activate the Premier on this plan. Is that correct?


TiVo probably lost a couple hundred dollars on the sale and providing service at $6.95/mo won't recover the loss during the lifetime of the TiVo so that shouldn't come as a big surprise. I read the Woot terms and the plan you want was not an option so what was already obvious was also in writing.


----------



## JPA2825

Worked for me. I have 3 TiVo HDs -- 1 LT & 2 at $6.95/mo. Explained I was not happy about the CCI flag being used by my cable co and was thinking about cancelling. (All true.) Rep explained that he could offer me $99 LT on the other 2 to avoid the monthly charges. Told him to do it.


----------



## Resist

JacksTiVo said:


> *Call customer service and ask the representative about any special offers to convert to Lifetime on your Series 3.*


Well I did call and they told me there were no $99 lifetime deals and nothing they could do for me unless I wanted to pay $299 for the lifetime.


----------



## jlb

lafos said:


> It's very unusual to have a single box at $6.95. I have two at that price, but they are tied to my MSD, where my LT TiVos provide the anchor. If the LT box fails to connect in 6 months, the MSD price goes away.





jfh3 said:


> If you only have one box at $6.95, you are on a grandfathered retention rate. Not sure I'd push my luck ...


That's exactly it. The retention rate came into being when I had 2 S2s and wanted to cancel both to cut costs. They offered the retention rate Iand I kept it. Granted, I have paid waaaaay more the full lifetime costs on this one box, but $6.95 just does not seem like much.

Perhaps I could call and say I wanted to consider a second box, and see what deals they might give me to bring a new box online. Probably not much chance....


----------



## Amnesia

I would definitely buy a new Premiere if I could get some kind of deal on transferring lifetime from my old S3...


----------



## Chris Gerhard

I keep on thinking I should call again and see if I can present my case in another way and get this special offer. As my signature shows, I have two TiVoHDs with lifetime and one previously monthly TiVoHD without subscription. I don't really understand why one needs to threaten to unsubscribe rather than already have one unsubscribed nor why one needs to have a Premiere with lifetime rather than TiVoHD with lifetime to get this deal.

If I don't qualify, I don't qualify and there is no reason to waste TiVo CSR time but if what I am saying makes sense, maybe I should call again?


----------



## unitron

Chris Gerhard said:


> I keep on thinking I should call again and see if I can present my case in another way and get this special offer. As my signature shows, I have two TiVoHDs with lifetime and one previously monthly TiVoHD without subscription. I don't really understand why one needs to threaten to unsubscribe rather than already have one unsubscribed nor why one needs to have a Premiere with lifetime rather than TiVoHD with lifetime to get this deal.
> 
> If I don't qualify, I don't qualify and there is no reason to waste TiVo CSR time but if what I am saying makes sense, maybe I should call again?


Keep calling until you get a CSR that gives you what you want.

If they're going to make us play CSR roulette, and offer deals to some people without a straightforward explanation of exactly who does and doesn't qualify and why, then they've got no one to blame but themselves if that roulette wheel is being spun constantly.


----------



## jfh3

unitron said:


> Keep calling until you get a CSR that gives you what you want.
> 
> If they're going to make us play CSR roulette, and offer deals to some people without a straightforward explanation of exactly who does and doesn't qualify and why, then they've got no one to blame but themselves if that roulette wheel is being spun constantly.


Tivo isn't making anyone play CSR roulette - the original deal was targeted, and specific - it was not an offer for everyone to get $99 lifetime, despite the attempts of many to try. Tivo does have offers for everyone from time to time (see the Premiere + lifetime deal expiring today) and sometimes for existing subs only (see the Dec/Jan deals) and they are always pretty well advertised. If you want a deal, wait until something applies to you - DON'T CSR shop and try and put reps in a bad position.

Playing CSR roulette can backfire on you anyway - calls are logged and noted on your account - Tivo isn't likely to offer any specials to someone who calls in and bugs them all the time - every call costs Tivo something.


----------



## unitron

jfh3 said:


> Tivo isn't making anyone play CSR roulette - the original deal was targeted, and specific - it was not an offer for everyone to get $99 lifetime, despite the attempts of many to try. Tivo does have offers for everyone from time to time (see the Premiere + lifetime deal expiring today) and sometimes for existing subs only (see the Dec/Jan deals) and they are always pretty well advertised. If you want a deal, wait until something applies to you - DON'T CSR shop and try and put reps in a bad position.
> 
> Playing CSR roulette can backfire on you anyway - calls are logged and noted on your account - Tivo isn't likely to offer any specials to someone who calls in and bugs them all the time - every call costs Tivo something.


Targeted and specific? Did anyone who qualified get notified of it unless they called to terminate their HD account?

You say

"This offer is for:

- those that were on three year prepaid plans with a THD and reactivating the box.

OR

- Those on the $6.95 plan that are cancelling that plan AND adding a new Premiere. (e.g. move a THD from a $6.95 plan to lifetime for $99 AND buy a new Premiere with a new, current plan).

Tivo is apparently getting a lot of calls because of this thread (I presume), but if you don't fit into one of those two categories, the $99 offer doesn't apply."

But the OP doesn't appear to fit either of those categories, i.e., he wasn't coming off of a 3 year pre-pay, and he made no mention of buying a Premiere.

If TiVo made everything so crystal clear, why is this thread 4 pages of confused owners?


----------



## Chris Gerhard

jfh3 said:


> Tivo isn't making anyone play CSR roulette - the original deal was targeted, and specific - it was not an offer for everyone to get $99 lifetime, despite the attempts of many to try. Tivo does have offers for everyone from time to time (see the Premiere + lifetime deal expiring today) and sometimes for existing subs only (see the Dec/Jan deals) and they are always pretty well advertised. If you want a deal, wait until something applies to you - DON'T CSR shop and try and put reps in a bad position.
> 
> Playing CSR roulette can backfire on you anyway - calls are logged and noted on your account - Tivo isn't likely to offer any specials to someone who calls in and bugs them all the time - every call costs Tivo something.


I agree completely with this but listening to the explanation about why I didn't qualify the one time I did call and reading about why I don't qualify in this thread, I can't get it to make any sense. If it is as simple as those that wore pink tennis shoes last Tuesday get the deal and those that didn't don't get the deal, that is fine despite the fact it makes no sense. So far everything I have read makes as much sense as wearing pink tennis shoes last Tuesday. If there was a logical reason for offering $99 lifetime to get something from TiVoHDs that would otherwise go unsubscribed, being better than nothing, then maybe the reasons given are nothing more than a misunderstanding and my situation which appears to me to be materially the same as others that got the deal, might actually qualify.


----------



## sbiller

unitron said:


> - Those on the $6.95 plan that are cancelling that plan AND adding a new Premiere. (e.g. move a THD from a $6.95 plan to lifetime for $99 AND buy a new Premiere with a new, current plan).


My situation exactly. I just bought a new Premiere with LT for $449 and they upgraded by THD to LT for $99. I was paying $6.95/mo since 2007.


----------



## unitron

sbiller said:


> My situation exactly. I just bought a new Premiere with LT for $449 and they upgraded by THD to LT for $99. I was paying $6.95/mo since 2007.


But apparently not the OP's situation.


----------



## I WANT MORE

jfh3 said:


> Tivo isn't making anyone play CSR roulette - the original deal was targeted, and specific - it was not an offer for everyone to get $99 lifetime, despite the attempts of many to try. Tivo does have offers for everyone from time to time (see the Premiere + lifetime deal expiring today) and sometimes for existing subs only (see the Dec/Jan deals) and they are always pretty well advertised. If you want a deal, wait until something applies to you - DON'T CSR shop and try and put reps in a bad position.
> 
> Playing CSR roulette can backfire on you anyway - calls are logged and noted on your account - Tivo isn't likely to offer any specials to someone who calls in and bugs them all the time - every call costs Tivo something.


And you walk in to a car dealership and pay sticker price?


----------



## nooneuknow

jfh3 said:


> Tivo isn't making anyone play CSR roulette - the original deal was targeted, and specific - it was not an offer for everyone to get $99 lifetime, despite the attempts of many to try. Tivo does have offers for everyone from time to time (see the Premiere + lifetime deal expiring today) and sometimes for existing subs only (see the Dec/Jan deals) and they are always pretty well advertised. If you want a deal, wait until something applies to you - DON'T CSR shop and try and put reps in a bad position.
> 
> Playing CSR roulette can backfire on you anyway - calls are logged and noted on your account - Tivo isn't likely to offer any specials to someone who calls in and bugs them all the time - every call costs Tivo something.


They certainly do take notes. It takes them longer each time I call, for them to review those notes.

Going "bigger picture", TiVo, isn't the one that *SOMETIMES forces* people into CSR Roulette, it's the outsourced call center and some reps on staff there who are either slow-on-the-uptake or just need a pink slip.

Somebody there was recently telling people that TiVo Premieres were defective, because the TiVo didn't have enough memory to support the internal FLASH DRIVE, and in order to avoid it they had to keep the drive below 50% capacity, and should use the non-HDUI interface.

I'm fairly certain that person was either sent to re-education camp or pink-slipped. But, think how much a CSR Rep saying something like that *costs TiVo*, if the people that get him don't know there is no FLASH DRIVE in a TiVo, don't call back looking for a better/correct answer (CSR Roulette), and their TiVo is still within warranty.

In my case, I have 4 Premieres, and 4 HD units. I've had two of them since they came out (HD). I went through the drill about selection the option number for cancelling service, said I wanted to retire the only $9.99/mo. TiVo HD to save money, having so many Premieres to pick up the slack. No "hold while I talk to my supervisor", just straight to the offer, which I only already knew about from this thread.

So, THANK YOU to the person/people that put it on here and spelled out the deal. Like some others here, all I said was truth. I just would have taken longer to call in to cancel that $9.99 unit. For once, procrastinating paid-off!

...and in case anybody is questioning the fact that TiVo's call center is outsourced, it's confusing, because if you ask a CSR Rep "Are you a TiVo employee?" They will say "Yes". I can't say if that is deceptive/wrong or otherwise. I'll say with a fair amount of certainty that the word "TiVo" likely doesn't appear anywhere on their paycheck (although, more companies also are tending to outsource who prints packchecks, (or the summary statement).


----------



## nooneuknow

Can anybody believe that somebody just posted a complaint on the FaceBook TiVo fan page, because they WERE offered this deal, and the CSR asked what they planned to do with their TiVos (since this person just wants to cancel)?

Cut-N-Pasted from FB:



> Tivo, way to annoy an 8 yr customer! I called to deactivate our original box that we got almost exactly 8 yrs to the day and haven't used in 4 months because we got the HDTivo! 1st, the rep thanks me for being a customer for a year - then proceeds to try to upgrade me to lifetime on a box I am not using. (which I have accidentally paid nearly $50 for service I am not using) Then asks me what I am going to do with it and questions me about how many TVs I have. I ♥ my Tivo and work at a company that sells something that be considered a competitor to it and tell people what a dedicated Tivo lover I am, but this was ridiculous. I am still paying you $20 a month, not cancelling outright. The whole things was pretty offensive to a current customer.


----------



## Beryl

The guy didn't realize that he could upgrade it and then sell it for $200-250, unless I'm misunderstanding the TiVo rules.


----------



## Resist

Yesterday I ended up taking the plunge and purchased the Lifetime Premiere deal for $450. And after bringing up the $99 deal to convert my OLED Series 3 to a Lifetime they gave it to me. Now I can finally retire my old single tuner Series 2.


----------



## nooneuknow

Beryl said:


> The guy didn't realize that he could upgrade it and then sell it for $200-250, unless I'm misunderstanding the TiVo rules.


For the sake of accuracy, it was a woman. She didn't care, when it was pointed out about the used market value difference.

Then it was pointed out that her own words say "which I have accidentally paid nearly $50 for service I am not using" and something to the effect of perhaps that was the real reason for the complaint.

The original post and discussion were then promptly deleted by her.


----------



## sdzc

I have a couple of S2 units that I would love to upgrade to Premiere's, but I cannot justify $500 each to do it. After 7-8 years with Tivo, would love to see a decent upgrade offer for these. 

Tivo, are you listening? Do you care?


----------



## steve614

sdzc said:


> I have a couple of S2 units that I would love to upgrade to Premiere's, but I cannot justify $500 each to do it. After 7-8 years with Tivo, would love to see a decent upgrade offer for these.
> 
> Tivo, are you listening? Do you care?


Have you called TiVo yet? Are your S2's on monthly subscription?

If one of your S2 Tivos in on monthly subscription, call TiVo and tell them you want to cancel it, but also ask if they might have any special offers if you were to upgrade.
The worst they could say is no.


----------



## jfh3

sdzc said:


> I have a couple of S2 units that I would love to upgrade to Premiere's, but I cannot justify $500 each to do it. After 7-8 years with Tivo, would love to see a decent upgrade offer for these.
> 
> Tivo, are you listening? Do you care?


Tivo has had multiple upgrade offers for existing subs and also just had one for new users that existing users could also use (a Premiere with Lifetime for $449)

They also had an upgrade offer in December / January for existing subs (of which you were obviously one) to upgrade to Premieres for a significant discount (and those offers also showed up as Gold Star offers on the Series 2 boxes).

(And, in the last 7-8 years, there have been a number of pretty good "sub only" upgrade offers - how did you manage to miss them all?)


----------



## mattack

sdzc said:


> I have a couple of S2 units that I would love to upgrade to Premiere's, but I cannot justify $500 each to do it. After 7-8 years with Tivo, would love to see a decent upgrade offer for these.
> 
> Tivo, are you listening? Do you care?


You apparently have not seen the big disclaimers that THIS SITE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TIVO.

You hopefully have lifetime on those Tivos? If so, you were spending FAR more than you had to.


----------



## Worf

Perhaps I should call. I have a series 3 on lifetime, and a s2 on monthly (only about 4 years old now). If nothing else, I might save $10/month for a TiVo that's getting little use.


----------



## Scyber

I have 2 TivoHDs lifetime and 1 TivoHD monthly. I called when this thread first appeared to see if I could get the $99 offer. I don't have a premiere, so I realized I didn't meet the qualifications that were stated earlier, but I figured I'd try. And I have honestly been thinking of dropping the monthly TivoHD anyway, since we don't really need the 6 tuners anymore. The CSR would not give me the offer, but they did offer 3 months of free service on the monthly Tivo. I took it. After the free service is over I will probably cancel that Tivo.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

Scyber said:


> I have 2 TivoHDs lifetime and 1 TivoHD monthly. I called when this thread first appeared to see if I could get the $99 offer. I don't have a premiere, so I realized I didn't meet the qualifications that were stated earlier, but I figured I'd try. And I have honestly been thinking of dropping the monthly TivoHD anyway, since we don't really need the 6 tuners anymore. The CSR would not give me the offer, but they did offer 3 months of free service on the monthly Tivo. I took it. After the free service is over I will probably cancel that Tivo.


Similar to my situation except I already have an unsubscribed former monthly TiVoHD, only difference, and I didn't get the 3 months free offer. Ha, I might call and ask for the deal you got and threaten to leave my unsubscribed TiVo unsubscribed.


----------



## atmuscarella

Well I finally got around to calling TiVo to cancel the $6.95 monthly service I was paying on my Series 3 HD. I found I do not need the extra 2 tuners (still have 4 for OTA only) and now that both my TiVo HD and Premiere have 2TB drives I can live without the extra space the Series 3 was providing. So my intent was to cancel the service. 

Without any prompting they offered me lifetime for $99. I took the offer as I believe it added more than $99 of value to my Series 3 HD. My plan is to wait until the unit shows it has lifetime then pull the plug until i decide what to do with the shows on it that I haven't watched. 

They told me I got the offer because I had purchase a Premiere not that long ago (11/2010) and because I had been a long term customer. 

I am guessing the real reason is they want to stem the loss of subs for their next quarterly report.

Thanks,


----------



## larrs

larrs said:


> Dan-
> 
> You can still sub an S3 or THD for that unit and keep the $6.95/mo. Then, you could take advantage of the $99 Lifetime and sell it for about $350 on the 'bay.
> 
> I have a THD on $6.95 and a Premiere. I am going to call and see what they can do for me.


Sorry I did not follow up earlier, but I got the $99 deal as well on my $6.95 THD.

It is certainly sounding like this is a pretty standard deal if the CSR will check with a Supervisor.


----------



## Amnesia

I just called up and said that I want to buy a Premiere XL to replace my S3 but was balking at the $400 price for a new lifetime. The sales guy said "Too bad" (well, not in those words)


----------



## nooneuknow

larrs said:


> It is certainly sounding like this is a pretty standard deal if the CSR will check with a Supervisor.


I got it without the CSR talking to a supervisor. I didn't even get put on hold.


----------



## uw69

Scyber said:


> I have 2 TivoHDs lifetime and 1 TivoHD monthly. I called when this thread first appeared to see if I could get the $99 offer. I don't have a premiere, so I realized I didn't meet the qualifications that were stated earlier, but I figured I'd try. And I have honestly been thinking of dropping the monthly TivoHD anyway, since we don't really need the 6 tuners anymore. The CSR would not give me the offer, but they did offer 3 months of free service on the monthly Tivo. I took it. After the free service is over I will probably cancel that Tivo.


I received the $99 lifetime offer on $6.95 per month THD, with no mention of a Premiere. (I don't have any premiere's). As discussed earlier in this thread, not sure what the criteria really is for the $99 lifetime offer. Is it just for THD that are on the $6.95 per month plan?


----------



## unitron

uw69 said:


> I received the $99 lifetime offer on $6.95 per month THD, with no mention of a Premiere. (I don't have any premiere's). As discussed earlier in this thread, not sure what the criteria really is for the $99 lifetime offer. Is it just for THD that are on the $6.95 per month plan?


At this point I don't think even TiVo themselves know for sure what the criteria are for it.


----------



## madneon

larrs said:


> Sorry I did not follow up earlier, but I got the $99 deal as well on my $6.95 THD.
> 
> It is certainly sounding like this is a pretty standard deal if the CSR will check with a Supervisor.


 Just got off the phone same deal here....


----------



## Chris Gerhard

If they are waiving the Premiere requirement, maybe they will waive the $6.95 monthly plan requirement, and then waive the currently subscribed threaten to leave requirement which should qualify me. None of those requirements seem relevant to subscribing a TiVoHD to my way of thinking nor are any of those requirements logical reasons to offer such a great deal. It seems to me, either TiVo should want to keep TiVoHDs subscribed at a bargain lifetime price or should be willing to let them go. I still haven't called a second time to ask but I am following this thread and hoping.


----------



## uw69

Chris Gerhard said:


> If they are waiving the Premiere requirement, maybe they will waive the $6.95 monthly plan requirement, and then waive the currently subscribed threaten to leave requirement which should qualify me. None of those requirements seem relevant to subscribing a TiVoHD to my way of thinking nor are any of those requirements logical reasons to offer such a great deal. It seems to me, either TiVo should want to keep TiVoHDs subscribed at a bargain lifetime price or should be willing to let them go. I still haven't called a second time to ask but I am following this thread and hoping.


Never hurts to give it another try!


----------



## jaredmwright

Called yesterday about cancelling my TiVo HD on $6.95 plan which has been in place since 2008 and they offered me multiple options:

-Give the HD to someone, they can then keep the $6.95 rate and have the ability to transfer this subscription to a Premiere for a cost of $199, thereby getting a reduced rate on the full price of the Premiere and transferring the low monthly rate. This option also allows the HD unit to lose the $6.95, but be subbed at the $12.95 monthly rate if desired. Not a horrible option and one I may consider.
-Update to Lifetime for $399 (hardly a good deal, hard to believe they even offer it)
-Cancel the service 
-Place unit on hold for 30 days (which I did, basically they cover the cost for the next month, then it resumes if I don't cancel)

I was a little surprised based on the comments of members here since I have two Lifetime units, one Premiere and one original Series3 and wasn't offered anything like the $99 offer. I may call back next week and play roulette and see how it goes... I just purchased a second Premiere on the Woot deal and installed a 2TB drive and will be calling to add Lifetime, maybe they will be more generous at that point since I am adding even more to my account. I really don't care to keep the HD around, since I know it is a dead platform and won't be developed any longer. At least the Premiere has a small chance of receiving updates, although the past year is not a good indication.


----------



## briggsbw

Just got shot down by a CSR. Said he read the "PLS" and the $99 offer only applies to Series 2 or Premiere.

BTW, I have 3 HDs. 2 lifetime, one that was annual and the subscription just expired.


----------



## varelse

I just called to ask about the $99 lifetime option and the CSR said the S2 with the monthly doesn't qualify so I asked to just cancel it since it isn't being used much anyways. I was transferred to the retention group and even he didn't have anything to offer. Said that the lifetime pricing is set by corporate and he can't change it.

I was hoping to get some better deal on upgrading my three S2 tivos to Premiers than the normal price on their website. I asked about transferring the current lifetimes to new Premier boxes and he couldn't do that either. Kept going on about the $99 box/$399 lifetime offer. He was very surprised to see that I have been a customer since 2000 but even as a long time member, that doesn't get you much.

I just asked to cancel the monthly service and instead he put it on a billing hold until December stating that often they will have seasonal promotions that I might qualify for. The monthly S2 is dying and it would cost $150 to repair so a lifetime on that isn't even a good option.


----------



## nooneuknow

I'm getting the impression that people are calling in and hitting zero, instead of listening to the options, or perhaps not listening to enough of them. There is a number to press that is for "If you wish to cancel your TiVo service, press...".

That button got me straight to retention: I dialed the phone number, pressed the right number button, held for about 10 minutes, got the retention rep, said I didn't need my monthly TiVo HD anymore; he took about 2 minutes to review my customer notes, without putting me on hold, and I was offered the $99 deal. I accepted and paid, with no further hold time; no supervisor, or other reps needed. I did go to TiVo's website *first*, and assign a different Credit Card, which had enough room for the charge, with that TiVo HD.

Otherwise, all I can *guess* is maybe I dialed a different number than some others are, or that I was just very lucky to get it all taken care of so speedily, without even having to ask about any deals.

I've had two TiVo HDs since they showed up at Fry's, added two more when Blockbuster had them on clearance special, bought four Premieres a year ago, then retired the two older HD units (not LT'd). At the time of the call I had lifetime on every active TiVo, except a single TiVo HD, which had been MSD @ $9.95/mo w/no commitment period (but originally had a 1yr commitment period).

I think this may be my last post in this thread. I'm repeating myself too much. I wouldn't be surprised if the "deal" discussed here, thus far, ended at the end of the month and/or now they could possibly have a new retention "deal" in place with different criteria, targeting different customers. If such a change took place, it may take a few reps a while to know *who* to offer *what* to.

Good Luck, to all.


----------



## Beryl

nooneuknow said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if the "deal" discussed here, thus far, ended at the end of the month and/or now they could possibly have a new retention "deal" in place with different criteria, targeting different customers.


My CSR implied this. Since I my prepaid service is a few months away, he couldn't give me the $99LT yet. So, he put on my account that I can get it or "any better deal" when I call back in January.


----------



## briggsbw

nooneuknow said:


> I'm getting the impression that people are calling in and hitting zero, instead of listening to the options, or perhaps not listening to enough of them. There is a number to press that is for "If you wish to cancel your TiVo service, press...".


Yes, I went through the options to cancel and got retentions. Later I tried chat, and then regular customer service. I was pretty persistent in the conversations, with no success.

My theory is that customer service is outsourced, and anything regarding this offer is automated. If it doesn't appear on their screen, they can't offer it. If you read the entire thread it appears people who have a Series 2 or Premiere on their account are generally successful. People with HD only are not.


----------



## nooneuknow

briggsbw said:


> My theory is that customer service is outsourced, and anything regarding this offer is automated. If it doesn't appear on their screen, they can't offer it. If you read the entire thread it appears people who have a Series 2 or Premiere on their account are generally successful. People with HD only are not.


YES, TiVo's call center is outsourced. It's a (well known) fact. The only people that make it confusing are those at the outsourced call center, who will tell you, if asked, that they are "employees of TiVo". TiVo doesn't try to hide the outsourcing. I have no idea why the CS Reps are so directly, blatantly, misleading about it. (I believe I posted all this, about the outsourcing, in this thread already).

YES, you are partially correct that CSRs (depending on their tier/level) are absolutely unable to do anything but try to find a generic question on their computer, that seems close to what you are asking, and feed you generic answers, that the computer provides.

This is why you will hear of the term "escalating", regarding support. They have multiple tiers/levels. The higher you go, the better chance you are talking with somebody who actually knows things, and wouldn't be rendered entirely unable to do anything, if the computer(s) went down.

If you have a serious enough problem you may find yourself escalated (in steps) to a person in "TiVo Executive Relations". That's as high as you can go. I wouldn't expect anybody seeking out a deal, to get any higher than the supervisor of a retention group CSR. There's a few 1st tier CSRs that actually know enough to be in higher tiers, but their numbers seem to be in sharp, continuing, decline.

I HAVE read the entire thread, followed it, and have been posting regularly, even though I have no need to. I think it's kind of ironic that you *seem to be* implying I haven't (since you chose to quote me). I'll go with making an assumption that the implication part is aimed at all, as opposed to just me.


----------



## Playloud

I bought my Tivo HD about 3.5 years ago, and paid 3 years in advance for the service. At the end of the three years, they offered me an upgrade to Lifetime for $99. I took it. Shortly after, the HDMI port on the box went bad. Fortunately, I can use the component connection, but even that is giving me a couple glitches now and then.


----------



## Resist

Playloud said:


> I bought my Tivo HD about 3.5 years ago, and paid 3 years in advance for the service. At the end of the three years, they offered me an upgrade to Lifetime for $99. I took it. Shortly after, the HDMI port on the box went bad. Fortunately, I can use the component connection, but even that is giving me a couple glitches now and then.


Okay......and?


----------



## ebf

nooneuknow said:


> ...I wouldn't be surprised if the "deal" discussed here, thus far, ended at the end of the month and/or now they could possibly have a new retention "deal" in place with different criteria, targeting different customers. If such a change took place, it may take a few reps a while to know *who* to offer *what* to.
> 
> Good Luck, to all.


I bet toward the end of a month they try harder to keep subs on the books. Wishing I had tried this a couple weeks ago!


----------



## PatMcNJ

My Tivos: I have a (broken) Series 3 with lifetime (needs replacement hard drive I think), a new Premier with lifetime, and (3) Series 2 Tivos (I pay $99 a year on these). (Why so many? The adult kids each have their own Tivo). 

I just got the offer for $99 lifetime today on one of my Series 2s. Thanks to THIS thread, I called and hinted that I might be looking to get rid of one of those Series 2s, but first, were there any special offers? I did not ask for any sort of supervisor. I did hit the choice to discontinue service though. Right away, the guy said that the Premiere purchase qualified me to renew one of the Series 2s at $99 Lifetime. 

He said the offer was only good for one of them. If he let me, I would have taken the $99 lifetime on all 3 of the Series 2s,though, I could always sell them or something.

This thread helped me get $99 for lifetime vs, $99 a year, so thanks!!


----------



## TerpBE

I called on the 30th to see if I could get the offer (in case it was only available until the end of the month). I had a lifetime S3, lifetime Premier, and a $6.95/month HD. However, my S3 is on its last leg, and it's the one that the MSD is based on. So I decided it would be best to upgrade the HD to lifetime if possible, in case the S3 is no longer able to connect. 

I told the first CSR that I wanted to cancel, and he transferred me to another department. I told the guy that I wasn't using it and was thinking of canceling. He gave me a couple of options (transfer lifetime to a new premier for a fee, etc.) and I said "No, I can't do that right now...are there any other options?" After a couple of minutes he said there might be one thing they could do, and offered me the $99 lifetime. I happily took it.

Now one thing I was wondering - will there ever be any issues if I leave one of my Tivos unplugged for a long time (~1 year+). I know that you can lose the MSD if your lifetime box doesn't connect after a few (6?) months, but if all three are now lifetime, will I run into any problems if one of them doesn't connect for a year or two?


----------



## Chris Gerhard

Good to see so many are able to get $99 lifetime. I don't recall ever seeing an offer for $99 lifetime in the past, what a killer deal.


----------



## Aero 1

Chris Gerhard said:


> Good to see so many are able to get $99 lifetime. I don't recall ever seeing an offer for $99 lifetime in the past, what a killer deal.


they did last year.


----------



## meowth

I currently have 3 premiere's with lifetime, 2 tivohd's 1 lifetime 1 $6.95 grandfathered rate, and a s2 at the grandfathered rate. Called this morning. Worked great. I chose the option to cancel service and was transferred to retention. Told the person on the phone I've been thinking about canceling my old s2 as it rarely gets used and can't really justify paying monthly anymore on it and lifetime is too much and doesn't make sense for it. She looked at my account and told me I could get lifetime for both of my remaining $6.95 monthly boxes for $99.00 each. I played dumb and said really?... That's a good deal. Lets do it. So she added lifetime to both the remaining monthly boxes. No more monthly fees.


----------



## unitron

meowth said:


> I currently have 3 premiere's with lifetime, 2 tivohd's 1 lifetime 1 $6.95 grandfathered rate, and a s2 at the grandfathered rate. Called this morning. Worked great. I chose the option to cancel service and was transferred to retention. Told the person on the phone I've been thinking about canceling my old s2 as it rarely gets used and can't really justify paying monthly anymore on it and lifetime is too much and doesn't make sense for it. She looked at my account and told me I could get lifetime for both of my remaining $6.95 monthly boxes for $99.00 each. I played dumb and said really?... That's a good deal. Lets do it. So she added lifetime to both the remaining monthly boxes. No more monthly fees.


So they chose to get some more money out of you rather than no more money.

That's probably the real qualifying criterion.


----------



## shwru980r

PatMcNJ said:


> I just got the offer for $99 lifetime today on one of my Series 2s. Thanks to THIS thread, I called and hinted that I might be looking to get rid of one of those Series 2s, but first, were there any special offers? I did not ask for any sort of supervisor. I did hit the choice to discontinue service though. Right away, the guy said that the Premiere purchase qualified me to renew one of the Series 2s at $99 Lifetime.
> 
> He said the offer was only good for one of them. If he let me, I would have taken the $99 lifetime on all 3 of the Series 2s,though, I could always sell them or something.
> 
> This thread helped me get $99 for lifetime vs, $99 a year, so thanks!!


$99 for lifetime service isn't that good for an S2. You can find used S2s with lifetime service for close to that price. If you bought a used S2 with lifetime service, then you would also have your existing S2 as a backup for parts.


----------



## digitalfirefly

Right now I have a Premiere $9.95 and a TivoHD for $6.95. 

I'm planning on getting the Elite once it comes out. Are they offering the $99 for Premieres as well?


----------



## susani8

Thanks for the heads-up... I called retention and they gave me a one-time only lifetime upgrade for $99! I had 3 Tivos on month to month multi-room discount, and they would let me upgrade one only. Still, I'm great with that. Thanks for the help!


----------



## PatMcNJ

shwru980r said:


> $99 for lifetime service isn't that good for an S2. You can find used S2s with lifetime service for close to that price. If you bought a used S2 with lifetime service, then you would also have your existing S2 as a backup for parts.


Well, I have 3 S2s, so I put it on the newest one, so it will certainly be worth it, because I was paying $99/year for service already. It is less than 2 years old. I will have lots of S2 parts available in the future, as my adult kids move out (!!) and get high definition TVs and High def Tivos for themselves. I might not really want lifetime on ALL 3 of the S2s, but if it was offered, I would be tempted.

My situation now is that I FIXED my Series 3 (hooray! I love it SO much more than the Premier that was driving us nuts with the remote freezing up issues, had to reboot it several times a day, insanity!!) So I want to return my Premier tomorrow, and cancel that service. I assume that will not cause problems with my $99 deal on the S2.


----------



## unitron

PatMcNJ said:


> ...My situation now is that I FIXED my Series 3 ...


What was wrong with it and how did you fix it?


----------



## jfh3

TerpBE said:


> Now one thing I was wondering - will there ever be any issues if I leave one of my Tivos unplugged for a long time (~1 year+). I know that you can lose the MSD if your lifetime box doesn't connect after a few (6?) months, but if all three are now lifetime, will I run into any problems if one of them doesn't connect for a year or two?


No, other than the MSD issue you mentioned. When you do connect back after a long hiatus, force a couple of connections so you get the latest software update.


----------



## unitron

jfh3 said:


> No, other than the MSD issue you mentioned. When you do connect back after a long hiatus, force a couple of connections so you get the latest software update.


You may experience the same problems you would with any other piece of consumer electronics left unrun for that same time period.

But that won't have anything with the TiVo subscription.


----------



## Soapm

jfh3 said:


> This offer is for:
> 
> - those that were on three year prepaid plans with a THD and reactivating the box.
> 
> OR
> 
> - Those on the $6.95 plan that are cancelling that plan AND adding a new Premiere. (e.g. move a THD from a $6.95 plan to lifetime for $99 AND buy a new Premiere with a new, current plan).
> 
> Tivo is apparently getting a lot of calls because of this thread (I presume), but if you don't fit into one of those two categories, the $99 offer doesn't apply.
> 
> (And yes, it stays with the box, not the account, just like any other lifetime box)


It all makes sense now, instead of losing all revenue because you cancel the HD and replace it with a premier they get an extra $100 and you get to use two Tivo's. It's actually smart marketing...


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> It all makes sense now, instead of losing all revenue because you cancel the HD and replace it with a premier they get an extra $100 and you get to use two Tivo's. It's actually smart marketing...


Except that if you read through this thread you'll see that people who met neither of those criteria were getting this offer. Well, some of them, depending, apparently, on which CSR they happened to get. Some are now even getting the deal on S2s.

Apparently the only constant is calling up and saying you want to cancel the subscription on one of your TiVos.


----------



## overFEDEXed

I have five Tivo's on my account. Three Hd's, one Premiere and one S2.

The S2 is my "Main" unit, account wise and it WAS at $12.95 a month. (I'll explain below)

Two of my Hd's have lifetime at $150 each. (Strange amount, I know) I got this offer when I EMAILED retention to cancel these two boxes last year. Executive relations, I believe, actually called me back and made the offer.

My Premiere is at the old Grandfathered amount of $6.95. (Transferred from an Hd before they stopped doing that.)

My last Hd is at $9.95 a month and I JUST added it in hopes of getting the $99 retention Lifetime deal later.

Now for the S2 story;

I called a few months ago to cancel the S2 and the rep offered me the $99 Lifetime on it. I said no thanks because I'm going to swap it out for an Hd in a couple of months. He offered to drop the monthly price to $6.95 a month and I took it for now. He even told me that I could swap the S2 with an Hd and still keep the $6.95 rate.

He told me that he could offer the $99 Lifetime on any S2's but not Hd's or Premiere's.

Sorry for the confusion but I figured that I would post my experience for other people to see. I'm going to call in a couple of weeks and try to get the $99 Lifetime on my $9.95 Hd WITHOUT adding another Premiere.

.................................UPDATE.......................................

I called to cancel the HD. I asked the rep if he could give me the $99 lifetime and he said that I would have to add a Premiere. (bought from Tivo of course) 

I told him that I already had two new Premiere's sitting in their boxes. He said that he could add the $99 lifetime to the HD if I added the Premiere at $14.95 a month with a one year contract. I asked if he could do it for $6.95 and he said ok.

After holding for a few minutes he came back on and said that he could not do it for $6.95 but $9.95 instead. It was late so I just told him ok, even though I didn't want to add the Premiere right now.

I checked my Tivo's and the HD had lifetime which was great. The strange part was that he didn't even add the Premiere at all.

Should I call back to get the Premiere at $9.95 or just let it go?


----------



## meowth

unitron said:


> So they chose to get some more money out of you rather than no more money.
> 
> That's probably the real qualifying criterion.


Yep. At the end of the call after she thanked me and asked if there was anything else I needed, I laughed and told her no. She did good. Got money out of me too. She laughed.

Even though you can get lifetime s2 boxes for around that price its still a good deal in the long run for me as I don't have to mess with transferring my mom's shows and season passes to it and all that hassle. She doesn't have a hdtv so the s2 works just fine for her. Plus now with lifetime on the box she can take the box with her back to Texas (they spend half the year there, half here)


----------



## HenryFarpolo

I purchased an Elite on Sunday. I called on Thursday to cancel my HD service when the annual prepaid expires in December. After a lengthy conversation I was offered and accepted the $99 lifetime offer.

Good deal for me and a good deal for TIVO!!


----------



## ebf

I called, pressed the option to cancel and told the agent I was thinking of moving the nicer Premier (with Lifetime) from the spare room to the main TV and moving the HD-XL that is there now to the spare room. But then I figured it was silly to spend $7 a month on a box that no one uses. She suggested adding Lifetime for $99 and was nice enough to comp my next month while I thought about it. I have to call back by the middle of November to take the $99 deal. I'll probably call back later this week!


----------



## tazmandman

I was offered this deal, my situation is: 

1) Bought new Premiere with antenna only promotion

2) Called to cancel Old Tivo HD service, CSR offered me a $99 lifetime for it

I took the offer, going to give the THD to my brother.


----------



## dimitri2000

Same thing here. I have 2 premiers on lifetime and called to cancel my monthly HD, was offered the $99 lifetime deal and took it since it was a no brainer. Now I have to figure out what to do with it since I dont really need it. Couldnt pass up a good deal!


----------



## oregonman

jfh3 said:


> This offer is for:
> 
> - those that were on three year prepaid plans with a THD and reactivating the box.
> 
> OR
> 
> - Those on the $6.95 plan that are cancelling that plan AND adding a new Premiere. (e.g. move a THD from a $6.95 plan to lifetime for $99 AND buy a new Premiere with a new, current plan).


I got the offer on a THD that was on a $9.95 MSD plan when I called to cancel after upgrading to Premiere. I didn't ask for it. When asked why I was canceling, I just said that it was because I had gotten a Premiere to replace it when they offered the Premiere w/Lifetime for $449 in September.


----------



## jfalkingham

I'm guessing they just want to keep their subscriber base as normal as possible and avoid the rapid churn that they have been experiencing.

I put a premiere on the account, and called yesterday to cancel the HD XL, was offered the $99 deal. I took it, and will use that as an extender to watch programming from the premiere without putting a cable card in it and OTA. Comcast has recently changed the CCI flags for the better in my neck of the woods, very few channels have the no-copy flags now.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

For everybody that doesn't qualify for this deal, the good news is that the price for a used TiVoHD with lifetime should drift downward as not everybody wants to keep their TiVoHD after having the Premiere. Everybody that has a TiVoHD that qualifies should accept the offer and then worry about what to do with it in my opinion.


----------



## slyone

I've got a couple hd on LT I paid dearly for(399) plus a couple S2 DT on yrly. what might I do to get 99.00 LT on the s2?


----------



## steve614

slyone said:


> what might I do to get 99.00 LT on the s2?


Call TiVo, say you want to cancel the subscription, and see if they offer you the $99 LT for it. If they don't offer the $99 LT deal up front, tell them you've heard of other people getting the deal and see what they say.
You don't actually have to follow through with cancelling the S2 subscription if they don't offer the $99 LT deal.


----------



## tec311

I got to try this.


----------



## atmuscarella

Adlig Jager said:


> in this cost ($99 lifetime offer) what offer you guys are offering and that offer is relevant to which. And how can i get this one....kinda share the words with me...


So for some reason are you unable to read the posts in this thread?


----------



## srauly

I just called to cancel my service (which I was legitimately looking to do). I have two HD units. One of my boxes got fried due to a freak electrical surge two months ago. The other box was working fine, but because of the need to replace the other box, the fact that I had recently bought a powerful desktop PC, and the timing of the SiliconDust HDHomeRun Prime coming out, I decided to give WMC a shot. So I've been running WMC for the last month and after some initial bugs, I think things have settled down and my wife has become accepting of the possibility of shutting down the TiVo (which I had on month-to-month).

So I called in to cancel, the very nice customer service rep asked me for my reasons, and I told her all of the details. She seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about the cablecard options for WMC and asked me several questions, indicating that she's been meaning to try WMC out herself, and even told me that she wished that TiVo had more online streaming options (e.g., Crackle). I never asked for a special deal to keep the one working box alive and I must admit that I was quite surprised that she never offered it. So the call ended with my service being cancelled.

I must admit I have mixed emotions about it. I was kind of hoping to be offered the deal, but I also felt like I might be better off not spending another dime on it and learning to love the WMC setup. If I took the deal, I'd be tempted to keep the box alive in the bedroom, which would make my wife a bit happier, but then she'd also never truly learn to accept WMC. If I took the deal looking to sell it at a profit, I'd probably never get around to doing that (I've got a pile of old electronics I need to ebay, most of which I needed to ebay years ago, so now most of them are worth next to nothing).

Anyway, that's my story.


----------



## gamerguy-n-TX

I'm glad I still check the forum occasionally as it made me aware of this offer.

I checked the e-mail account that was tied to my old S2 unit and they have offered me $99 Lifetime service. 

I think I'll take it and the offer will stand until 12/31/11.

I canceled the service at the end of April after paying 12.95/mo. since 9/09. That included the 1-year commitment and month-to-month after that -- for which they threw in 3 FREE months when I attempted to cancel around 9/10.

I'm currently with Comcast and qualify for another no-cost DTA that can be attached to the S2. I know it won't be dual-tuner but I enjoyed the internet and home networking features while I had it subbed.


----------



## Soapm

gamerguy-n-TX said:


> I'm glad I still check the forum occasionally as it made me aware of this offer.
> 
> I checked the e-mail account that was tied to my old S2 unit and they have offered me $99 Lifetime service. .


So you have to actually cancel the service then they send you an invite via email for the $99? I was hoping to get the offer without actually canceling my service.


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## bobdole369

I just got the email for my TivoHD. I cancelled back in Januaryish as the cost was like $11.95/month if I recall. Wife and I disconnected cable when we realized that 85% of the shows we watch are in better quality over the air. The stuff that we do watch on cable can always be had in some other medium, be it buying seasons on DVD, hulu, channel site, even nefarious ways when they don't provide it but that is a fairly uncommon occurrence these past few months. 

I had spare hardware and put together a 2 HD tuner HTPC with Mythbuntu (MythTV based DVR). It does about 80% of what I want, the biggest problem being the remote I use is washed out by the TV when it comes on, plus the tuners aren't incredible when the signal fades a bit and it gets all digital. Never had that even when using TiVO for OTA. Automated podcast downloads are happening but verrrry hard to make work and get metadata for. A couple other little issues still plague the Myth box, especially getting shows OFF the Myth box. It involves a share, finding the show in the database, and converting manually, but I reallllly missed TiVO. I think I'm going to bite on this $99 offer - Once I hit a year then its completely worth it.


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## uw69

Very cool, welcome back to TiVo. This $99 lifetime deal is great for both the user and Tivo. Hard to imagine that the folks at TiVo came up with this by themselves.


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## smark

I called and got it on one of my Tivo HDs (the one I've had for 3 years) but not on my other that has been active for 1.5 years. they said the cutoff was 3 years.


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## unitron

smark said:


> I called and got it on one of my Tivo HDs (the one I've had for 3 years) but not on my other that has been active for 1.5 years. they said the cutoff was 3 years.


Does that mean the TiVo to be lifetimed has to have been in service for at least 3 years prior?


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## smark

unitron said:


> Does that mean the TiVo to be lifetimed has to have been in service for at least 3 years prior?


From what I gathered when calling the retention folks.


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## gamerguy-n-TX

My *craigslist* $20 S2-DT unit which I bought in 6/09 must have been active a few years before I took it over, I'm sure. 

There was about a month of programming info and service before I got the screen prompt about re-subbing it.


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## unitron

gamerguy-n-TX said:


> My *craigslist* $20 S2-DT unit which I bought in 6/09 must have been active a few years before I took it over, I'm sure.
> 
> There was about a month of programming info and service before I got the screen prompt about re-subbing it.


I suspect the catch is that it has to be on your account for 3 years to convince them that they've probably gotten all of the money out of you they're going to be able to unless they grab one last Benjamin with the lifetime deal.


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## tomm1079

Success!

I just bought an Elite and called to cancel my Tivo HD. He said he can offer me lifetime. I said then you need to do that on 2 different boxes cause ill just cancel the other one then.

So he did! both my ivo hd boxes got lifetime added for 99 bucks each!


thank you! didn't even have to ask. He offered when he saw all the boxes on my account.

Time to go sell my series 2 (only have it cause it was my only qualify sub) and see if i can make most of the money back


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## unitron

tomm1079 said:


> Success!
> 
> I just bought an Elite and called to cancel my Tivo HD. He said he can offer me lifetime. I said then you need to do that on 2 different boxes cause ill just cancel the other one then.
> 
> So he did! both my ivo hd boxes got lifetime added for 99 bucks each!
> 
> thank you! didn't even have to ask. He offered when he saw all the boxes on my account.
> 
> Time to go sell my series 2 (only have it cause it was my only qualify sub) and see if i can make most of the money back


Do you already have Lifetime on that S2? Which model?


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## tomm1079

unitron said:


> Do you already have Lifetime on that S2? Which model?


yeah i do..its the humax one

I believe i have an upgraded hard drive in it but would need to double check


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## dslunceford

Thanks for the thread. I had a very upfront CSR who told me that I needed to purchase a Premiere in order to take advantage of $99 deal for keeping my two HDs. He also mentioned that he's heard that Best Buy has a 30 day return policy on Premieres (nudge nudge, wink wink).

So while a hassle, I bought a Premiere from BB and activated it (using SN from box, never opened box). Called in to cancel my 2 HDs and was given the offer of $99 lifetime. Put that in place and lifetime will take effect when current annual runs out in ~1 month. See it listed next to each box in "My Account".

Returned unopened Premiere to BB and called TiVo today to cancel, told them I no longer had the unit (so there was no sales pitch to get me to keep). I also had them drop my S2 and replace with an expanded drive S2 w/Lifetime I picked up from CraigsList for $60.

So I now have three lifetime boxes in the house, plus 2 S1 lifetime units that are at my in-laws. 

It should be noted that the boxes have been in place since 11/2007 at annual of $99, so I've already paid $400/box now $500 total/box to get lifetime, so it's certainly within TiVo's business model to squeeze extra out of me. I was seriously looking at moving to FiOS boxes, but this keeps me in place for a while.

Also, in the series of three calls I made to the CSRs over the past three days, all were surprised to see that I'm an 11 year customer of TiVo...


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## unitron

dslunceford said:


> Thanks for the thread. I had a very upfront CSR who told me that I needed to purchase a Premiere in order to take advantage of $99 deal for keeping my two HDs. He also mentioned that he's heard that Best Buy has a 30 day return policy on Premieres (nudge nudge, wink wink).
> 
> So while a hassle, I bought a Premiere from BB and activated it (using SN from box, never opened box). Called in to cancel my 2 HDs and was given the offer of $99 lifetime. Put that in place and lifetime will take effect when current annual runs out in ~1 month. See it listed next to each box in "My Account".
> 
> Returned unopened Premiere to BB and called TiVo today to cancel, told them I no longer had the unit (so there was no sales pitch to get me to keep). I also had them drop my S2 and replace with an expanded drive S2 w/Lifetime I picked up from CraigsList for $60.
> 
> So I now have three lifetime boxes in the house, plus 2 S1 lifetime units that are at my in-laws.
> 
> It should be noted that the boxes have been in place since 11/2007 at annual of $99, so I've already paid $400/box now $500 total/box to get lifetime, so it's certainly within TiVo's business model to squeeze extra out of me. I was seriously looking at moving to FiOS boxes, but this keeps me in place for a while.
> 
> Also, in the series of three calls I made to the CSRs over the past three days, all were surprised to see that I'm an 11 year customer of TiVo...


Did you try cancelling either HD first, before the conversation about the Premiere?

'Cause it seems some are getting the $99 offer on S2s and S3s, but the catch seems to be having had them suscribed for at least 3 years whether paid 3 years at once, annually, or monthly.

Which still leaves me out.


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## dslunceford

unitron said:


> Did you try cancelling either HD first, before the conversation about the Premiere?
> 
> 'Cause it seems some are getting the $99 offer on S2s and S3s, but the catch seems to be having had them suscribed for at least 3 years whether paid 3 years at once, annually, or monthly.
> 
> Which still leaves me out.


I did try cancelling them first, truthfully telling him that I was looking at switching to FiOS boxes. And I mentioned that I understood there are promotional offers from time to time. That's when he jumped in with the Premiere offer and the off-the-record workaround. I decided not to escalate to try and get the offer sans adding a Premiere, as the extra effort was only roughly another hour (getting/returning Premiere from BB, adding it online and removing it via phone).

I never discussed the S2, as I wasn't going to keep that box given it looks like it may have a drive issue. Finding one on CL w/Lifetime for $60 made it worth it (a basic FiOS DVR is $10+/month).


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## uw69

dslunceford said:


> I did try cancelling them first, truthfully telling him that I was looking at switching to FiOS boxes. And I mentioned that I understood there are promotional offers from time to time. That's when he jumped in with the Premiere offer and the off-the-record workaround. I decided not to escalate to try and get the offer sans adding a Premiere, as the extra effort was only roughly another hour (getting/returning Premiere from BB, adding it online and removing it via phone).
> 
> I never discussed the S2, as I wasn't going to keep that box given it looks like it may have a drive issue. Finding one on CL w/Lifetime for $60 made it worth it (a basic FiOS DVR is $10+/month).


What plan did you sign up the Premiere on?


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## Soapm

dslunceford said:


> I never discussed the S2, as I wasn't going to keep that box given it looks like it may have a drive issue. Finding one on CL w/Lifetime for $60 made it worth it (a basic FiOS DVR is $10+/month).


So you had the Craig list Tivo for less than 3 years but still got the deal.

Good job!!!

I plan to call tomorrow and cancel my S2 hoping I get offered the deal. With my luck I'll get the company man who offerers me lifetime but at full price...


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## MissTene

Special thanks to the original poster of the thread. I called today and got my $99 Lifetime on my two TiVos (HD TiVo and a Series 2). :up:


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## unitron

MissTene said:


> Special thanks to the original poster of the thread. I called today and got my $99 Lifetime on my two TiVos (HD TiVo and a Series 2). :up:


Did you buy a Premiere first, or threaten to cancel the other units, or both?


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> So you had the Craig list Tivo for less than 3 years but still got the deal.
> 
> Good job!!!
> 
> I plan to call tomorrow and cancel my S2 hoping I get offered the deal. With my luck I'll get the company man who offerers me lifetime but at full price...


I don't think the S2 off of Craigslist had anything to do with it, I think it was that he'd had the 2 HDs in service since 2007.


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## MissTene

unitron said:


> Did you buy a Premiere first, or threaten to cancel the other units, or both?


Both! I called them and said that since I had bought a premiere and got Lifetime on it, I wanted to cancel the service on my other two TiVos because I simply didn't want to deal with a monthly payment anymore.

The gentleman I spoke with was awesome, he said because of my long tenure with TiVo and my account being in good standing, he could make me this offer. He just flat out offered it to me, he didn't put me on hold or call anyone. He just did it.


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## shwru980r

Tivo should let long time lifetime customers have an additional $99 lifetime subscription on a used S2 tivo, if they buy a premiere. Tivo isn't likely to get many people subscribing an S2 anyway, since you can buy a used S2 with lifetime service in the $120 range.


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## uw69

Seems to be two ways to get this $99 lifetime deal:

1. Buy a Premiere, activate it, and call Tivo to cancel another subscribed unit or

2. Have a long time subscribed Tivo (at least 3 years?) and call to cancel.


I used number 1 yesterday and got my 3 month old Tivo HD on the $99 lifetime plan. Only problem is I really don't care much for the Premiere. I suspect my $99 lifetime on the Tivo HD is out the window if I return the Premiere.


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## unitron

uw69 said:


> Seems to be two ways to get this $99 lifetime deal:
> 
> 1. Buy a Premiere, activate it, and call Tivo to cancel another subscribed unit or
> 
> 2. Have a long time subscribed Tivo (at least 3 years?) and call to cancel.
> 
> I used number 1 yesterday and got my 3 month old Tivo HD on the $99 lifetime plan. Only problem is I really don't care much for the Premiere. I suspect my $99 lifetime on the Tivo HD is out the window if I return the Premiere.


You've only had that HD in your name for 3 months and you got the lifetime for $99 deal?

If so, I don't think they can revoke lifetime once they've sold it*

*except in the United Kingdom, where they came up with the work around of discontinuing the *service* to everyone and introduced something just like it exclusively for people who got new S4 platform TiVos from cable company Virgin Media, which, of course, only work if you're getting cable and internet from Virgin Media


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## uw69

Yes I bought it 3 months ago off e-bay (box had been subscribed since Jan 2011 on a 1 year annual plan, that expires 1/31/2012, then my $99 lifetime plan shows it will start.


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## unitron

uw69 said:


> Yes I bought it 3 months ago off e-bay (box had been subscribed since Jan 2011 on a 1 year annual plan, that expires 1/31/2012, then my $99 lifetime plan shows it will start.


If you've already actually paid the $99, if they've already accepted your money, I'd say you have a lifetime sub and they have no recourse if you return that Premiere.

Just because getting the Premiere got them to make you the offer on the HD doesn't mean that keeping it is a condition of keeping the lifetime on the HD unless they specifically told you that before you gave them the $99.


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## Soapm

uw69 said:


> Seems to be two ways to get this $99 lifetime deal:
> 
> 1. Buy a Premiere, activate it, and call Tivo to cancel another subscribed unit or
> 
> 2. Have a long time subscribed Tivo (at least 3 years?) and call to cancel.
> 
> I used number 1 yesterday and got my 3 month old Tivo HD on the $99 lifetime plan. Only problem is I really don't care much for the Premiere. I suspect my $99 lifetime on the Tivo HD is out the window if I return the Premiere.


Someone posted above that they bought a unit from BB just for this purpose and took it back.


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## dslunceford

uw69 said:


> What plan did you sign up the Premiere on?


Think the $14.95/month? Didn't really pay attention, just activated online and called later to de-activate



Soapm said:


> So you had the Craig list Tivo for less than 3 years but still got the deal.
> 
> Good job!!!





unitron said:


> I don't think the S2 off of Craigslist had anything to do with it, I think it was that he'd had the 2 HDs in service since 2007.


Unitron is correct. The CraigsList S2 already had Lifetime when I bought it


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## unitron

dslunceford said:


> Think the $14.95/month? Didn't really pay attention, just activated online and called later to de-activate
> 
> Unitron is correct. The CraigsList S2 already had Lifetime when I bought it


I'm pretty sure the S2 had nothing to do with it and wouldn't have had anything to do with it even if it wasn't lifetimed.

It was having had those HDs over 3 years. And having gotten a Premiere. And calling to cancel a unit.


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## slyone

Thanks OP/guys! finally got a LT for 99.00 on my DT upstairs which I had been paying 99.00 yearly on for the past 3 or so years! I had paid dearly for my 2 HD LT subs-399.00 ea.-ouch!


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## Worf

unitron said:


> If you've already actually paid the $99, if they've already accepted your money, I'd say you have a lifetime sub and they have no recourse if you return that Premiere.


TiVo doesn't charge the $99 immediately - it charges it when the current plan expires. So if it's on a monthly plan, it'll be charged when the month is up. If you're on the annual plan, it'll be charged when the plan expires.


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## uw69

Worf said:


> TiVo doesn't charge the $99 immediately - it charges it when the current plan expires. So if it's on a monthly plan, it'll be charged when the month is up. If you're on the annual plan, it'll be charged when the plan expires.


That is true. On my Tivo account it shows the Lifetime does not take effect until thee current annual subscription expires in Jan 2012.

I guess I will find out, very unhappy with the Premiere, it has to go back.


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## KrustyVT

I was offered the deal as well - $99 lifetime on my TiVoHD. I have two other S2 (lifetimed) boxes on the account, as well as a retired S1. TiVo customer for close to 10 years, have had the HD active (monthly, $9.95 MSD) for 3 years as of last month.

Just said I was thinking about canceling, and asked if there were any deals to be had. 3 minutes on hold, and he came back with the $99 offer.


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## unitron

uw69 said:


> That is true. On my Tivo account it shows the Lifetime does not take effect until thee current annual subscription expires in Jan 2012.
> 
> I guess I will find out, very unhappy with the Premiere, it has to go back.


An offer to do something in the future in exchange for an offer to pay for it in the future is still a contract, and unless TiVo specifically stated that keeping that Premiere was part of the deal, they're on the hook to honor it.


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## uw69

I hope so!


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## Worf

unitron said:


> An offer to do something in the future in exchange for an offer to pay for it in the future is still a contract, and unless TiVo specifically stated that keeping that Premiere was part of the deal, they're on the hook to honor it.


Said contract has not been executed yet - either party is free to cancel at any point in time as consideration has not been exchanged. (Offer, acceptance, consideration)

It's why placing an order for something online doesn't create a contract (and why it's perfectly legal for stores to not sell you something due to pricing error) - the money has not changed hands. Once it has, the store is obligated. Before that, either party may cancel. If you preorder something and place a deposit, that creates a valid contract (the deposit in exchange for the option to purchase a product in the future - if you decide against it, the option is forfeit and you lose your deposit. If the seller can't sell, the deposit is refunded unless you managed to specify damages).

Back to the original topic though, I wouldn't worry about it. Check the status of your TiVo and under Future Plan it should say "Product Lifetime". Now, the most likely result is that it doesn't matter about the Premier (heck, you could've just taken a picture of the serial number on the box and left it at Best Buy). TiVo's a large company, and it's extremely unlikely that anyone would even bother or notice. Most likely, on TiVo's site, they just scheduled in PLS on the TiVo and their system can't handle stuff like "PLS only if Premier is still on account in new year" because well, it just complicates matters for a situation very few customers would actually get involved in.

I should call TiVo. I have a Series 3 on PLS, and a series 2 on monthly that's only a couple of months younger than the S3. Perhaps I'm "old enough" to get the $99 deal straight up.


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## Soapm

Soapm said:


> I plan to call tomorrow and cancel my S2 hoping I get offered the deal. With my luck I'll get the company man who offerers me lifetime but at full price...


I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!!! Man it sucks to have my luck...

I delayed all I could and called today on pins and needles since I never seem to luck out and get that one rep who gives you the nod and the wink kind of hint to go to best buy and get a premier etc...

But I did get a very nice and helpful guy so I can't complain about the rep, he instead transferred my S2 service on to my premier which is giving me the premier at the reduced monthly rate of $12.95/mo. The problem is that made my S2 ineligible for the $99 deal because the service was transferred and not canceled. I did however get the $99 deal when I went to cancel my TivoHD which has only been activated for about a month. So I may have broke even anyway.

I would have gladly paid the full $20/mo for the premier and gotten the $99 deal on the S2 since I was banking on the S2 lifetime service to increase it's resale value AND I wasn't planning on keeping the premier anyway. I really didn't care what the monthly charge was since I plan to only have it activated a few days...

Now I have a prom mod'd S2 with a 1TB drive which will probably go for $20 to $40 bucks if I can get a taker instead of a prom mod'd S2 with lifetime which may have only went for $120 to $140 but it would have been sure to get sold...

I always feel like the only guy in the crowd getting the rain... And if I move, the rain will turn to snow...


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!!! Man it sucks to have my luck...
> 
> I delayed all I could and called today on pins and needles since I never seem to luck out and get that one rep who gives you the nod and the wink kind of hint to go to best buy and get a premier etc...
> 
> But I did get a very nice and helpful guy so I can't complain about the rep, he instead transferred my S2 service on to my premier which is giving me the premier at the reduced monthly rate of $12.95/mo. The problem is that made my S2 ineligible for the $99 deal because the service was transferred and not canceled. I did however get the $99 deal when I went to cancel my TivoHD which has only been activated for about a month. So I may have broke even anyway.
> 
> I would have gladly paid the full $20/mo for the premier and gotten the $99 deal on the S2 since I was banking on the S2 lifetime service to increase it's resale value AND I wasn't planning on keeping the premier anyway. I really didn't care what the monthly charge was since I plan to only have it activated a few days...
> 
> Now I have a prom mod'd S2 with a 1TB drive which will probably go for $20 to $40 bucks if I can get a taker instead of a prom mod'd S2 with lifetime which may have only went for $120 to $140 but it would have been sure to get sold...
> 
> I always feel like the only guy in the crowd getting the rain... And if I move, the rain will turn to snow...


Now that you have lifetime on the HD, you could sell it, or, if the thirty days aren't up on the Premiere yet, and you decide you don't like it, cancel it and the lifetime on the HD should give you the $9.95 MSD on the S2 when you re-subscribe it.

I assume you had $12.95 on the S2 and that was getting you a $9.95 MSD on the HD?

What model is that prom-ed S2, by the way?


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## Soapm

unitron said:


> Now that you have lifetime on the HD, you could sell it, or, if the thirty days aren't up on the Premiere yet, and you decide you don't like it, cancel it and the lifetime on the HD should give you the $9.95 MSD on the S2 when you re-subscribe it.
> 
> I assume you had $12.95 on the S2 and that was getting you a $9.95 MSD on the HD?
> 
> What model is that prom-ed S2, by the way?


649... S2DT


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> 649... S2DT


I wonder if you'd asked them to swap things around so that the HD was $12.95 per month and the S2 was MSD'ed at $9.95 if they'd have let you transfer the HD's $12.95 to the Premiere and given you $99 lifetime on the S2.


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## Soapm

unitron said:


> I wonder if you'd asked them to swap things around so that the HD was $12.95 per month and the S2 was MSD'ed at $9.95 if they'd have let you transfer the HD's $12.95 to the Premiere and given you $99 lifetime on the S2.


If you're saying I was only going to get the deal on one box then I guess the outcome was in my favor since I plan to continue with the TivoHD until it dies. Even if I someday get another unit.

I was hoping to get the $99 deal on the HD and the S2 since I was canceling both.


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> If you're saying I was only going to get the deal on one box then I guess the outcome was in my favor since I plan to continue with the TivoHD until it dies. Even if I someday get another unit.
> 
> I was hoping to get the $99 deal on the HD and the S2 since I was canceling both.


You were cancelling the HD you plan to continue with until it dies?


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## Soapm

unitron said:


> You were cancelling the HD you plan to continue with until it dies?


Yep, my understanding reading this thread is that's how you get them to offer the $99 deal. They weren't going to give me the deal if I didn't mention canceling it. Besides, this was the least of my worries since I could have reactivated it through the website and ended up where I started.


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> Yep, my understanding reading this thread is that's how you get them to offer the $99 deal. They weren't going to give me the deal if I didn't mention canceling it. Besides, this was the least of my worries since I could have reactivated it through the website and ended up where I started.


Okay, sorry, I thought you meant actually cancelling and sticking it in the attic or selling it or something.

You were just talking about the "Tell TiVo you want to cancel" gambit.


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## geekserver

Hey yall

First here is what i have

Series 4 (premire) activate 01/21/2011 (annual ...thank you woot)
Series 3 (the silver front) life time since 2006
Dual Tuner (two hard drives ...1 80 gig 1 500 gig) since 2007 ...Monthly
Dual Tuner (just a 80 gig hard drive) since 2008 ...Monthly

Both DT's (dual tuners) are used with old dish recivers ...so I called to cancel both
because if you buy a vip 211k dis reciver (they work with the DT's) you can buy an external hard drive and call dish and pay a one time fee of about 50 bucks and you now have a DVR ... so I was thinking this way I spend $50 on a refurb HD from new egg and $20 on an external enclosure and pay then a one time fee of $50 for about 120 I wont see a bill any more and it will be paid off as compared to my tivo in 1 year (10 bucks a month) for each tivo ...so with that I called Tivo to cancel both of them ...

So Here is what just happened to me

The guy is like since you have been a member for such a long time I can extend an offer to you of a one time payment of 99 (no tax) for each of your dual tuners and give you life time on them

Ofcouse I took the deal 

just thought I would let yall know


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## unitron

geekserver said:


> Hey yall
> 
> First here is what i have
> 
> Series 4 (premire) activate 01/21/2011 (annual ...thank you woot)
> Series 3 (the silver front) life time since 2006
> Dual Tuner (two hard drives ...1 80 gig 1 500 gig) since 2007 ...Monthly
> Dual Tuner (just a 80 gig hard drive) since 2008 ...Monthly
> 
> Both DT's (dual tuners) are used with old dish recivers ...so I called to cancel both
> because if you buy a vip 211k dis reciver (they work with the DT's) you can buy an external hard drive and call dish and pay a one time fee of about 50 bucks and you now have a DVR ... so I was thinking this way I spend $50 on a refurb HD from new egg and $20 on an external enclosure and pay then a one time fee of $50 for about 120 I wont see a bill any more and it will be paid off as compared to my tivo in 1 year (10 bucks a month) for each tivo ...so with that I called Tivo to cancel both of them ...
> 
> So Here is what just happened to me
> 
> The guy is like since you have been a member for such a long time I can extend an offer to you of a one time payment of 99 (no tax) for each of your dual tuners and give you life time on them
> 
> Ofcouse I took the deal
> 
> just thought I would let yall know


So that's more evidence that you have to have had the unit at least 3 years before cancellation threat to get the $99 lifetime, and apparently having picked up a Premiere helps also.

I wonder if any of the 3 or 4 people left paying monthly on an S1 could get the lifetime deal on it?


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## Joe01880

I made the call today to cancel my TiVo HD and was immedatelty offered $99 Lifetime Service, of course i jumped on that.
I was told by the rep that the qualifier was having a Premiere. He did not say one had to have the TiVo HD for 3 years, i could "_amost_" swear he said at least a year, however i have had my TiVo HD 3 years. Feb would be its 4th anniversary. The rep said the Lifetime service would take effect at the end of my current annual subscription. As soon as the rep got me to agree to the Lifetime plan he wanted to rush off the phone. I got no request to stay on the phone for a brief survey like i have in the past when calling TiVo tech support.

Edit: just got a support survey request via email.


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## unitron

Joe01880 said:


> I made the call today to cancel my TiVo HD and was immedatelty offered $99 Lifetime Service, of course i jumped on that.
> I was told by the rep that the qualifier was having a Premiere. He did not say one had to have the TiVo HD for 3 years, i could "_amost_" swear he said at least a year, however i have had my TiVo HD 3 years. Feb would be its 4th anniversary. The rep said the Lifetime service would take effect at the end of my current annual subscription. As soon as the rep got me to agree to the Lifetime plan he wanted rush off the phone. I got no request to stay on the phone for a breif survey like i have in the past when calling TiVo tech support.
> 
> Edit: just got a support survey request via email.


I think maybe the TiVo computer knows what the qualifications are and the CSRs are guessing based on what they've seen it approve previously, which is why different CSRs tell different stories.


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## Joe01880

unitron said:


> I think maybe the TiVo computer knows what the qualifications are and the CSRs are guessing based on what they've seen it approve previously, which is why different CSRs tell different stories.


My dealings with TiVo customer service much like my TiVo's themselves I have found them to have moods.
From reading here and chatting with some other friends TiVo seems to be in the mood of offering Lifetime service on Tivo HD's. Giving that i always paid a 1 year annual sub. at $129.00 $99 Lifetime is a much better deal saving me $30 next term and never needing to pay TiVo again for service on that unit..providing of course (keeping my figeres crossed) the motherboard on the damn thing doesnt crap the bed. Now at least it will have a little resale value.


----------



## unitron

Joe01880 said:


> My dealings with TiVo customer service much like my TiVo's themselves I have found them to have moods.
> From reading here and chatting with some other friends TiVo seems to be in the mood of offering Lifetime service on Tivo HD's. Giving that i always paid a 1 year annual sub. at $129.00 $99 Lifetime is a much better deal saving me $30 next term and never needing to pay TiVo again for service on that unit..providing of course (keeping my figeres crossed) the motherboard on the damn thing doesnt crap the bed. Now at least it will have a little resale value.


Don't worry about it, I'm sure the power supply and the drive will go bad before the motherboard.


----------



## Joe01880

unitron said:


> Don't worry about it, I'm sure the power supply and the drive will go bad before the motherboard.


Maybe the Lifetime offer on the TiVo HD's is TiVo's was of saying "my bad" for the unfinnished Prmeiere?


----------



## unitron

Joe01880 said:


> Maybe the Lifetime offer on the TiVo HD's is TiVo's was of saying "my bad" for the unfinnished Prmeiere?


I think it's more their way of saying "We'd like to snag another hundred bucks off of you on that aging machine you want to quit paying anything on".


----------



## Soapm

Joe01880 said:


> I made the call today to cancel my TiVo HD and was immedatelty offered $99 Lifetime Service, of course i jumped on that.
> I was told by the rep that the qualifier was having a Premiere. He did not say one had to have the TiVo HD for 3 years, i could "_amost_" swear he said at least a year, however i have had my TiVo HD 3 years. Feb would be its 4th anniversary. The rep said the Lifetime service would take effect at the end of my current annual subscription. As soon as the rep got me to agree to the Lifetime plan he wanted to rush off the phone. I got no request to stay on the phone for a brief survey like i have in the past when calling TiVo tech support.
> 
> Edit: just got a support survey request via email.


I've had my TivoHD less than a month and I got the deal...


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> I've had my TivoHD less than a month and I got the deal...


What other TiVos do you have and when did you get them? I've got an HD I acquired about a week ago I'd like to get cheap lifetime on if I can figure out the magic combination.


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## Soapm

unitron said:


> What other TiVos do you have and when did you get them? I've got an HD I acquired about a week ago I'd like to get cheap lifetime on if I can figure out the magic combination.


I had a S2DT since 2007. They switched my premier to that account giving me the $12.95/mo service instead of the normal premier price.


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## unitron

Soapm said:


> I had a S2DT since 2007. They switched my premier to that account giving me the $12.95/mo service instead of the normal premier price.


So it sounds like you've got to try to discontinue a set you've had for at least 3 years or you've got to get a Premiere and then try to discontinue an older TiVo.

So I'll have to get a Premiere 'cause the only TiVo I've had 3 years is an already lifetimed S1.


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## Joe01880

The rep said the qualifier was having a Premiere..and i think he said for at least a year. My Premiere is up for renewal..1 year. You can aways make the call to cancel the HD, if they dont bite change your mind..


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## lkinley

I have a TiVo Premiere, S3 and lifetime S1. I called to see what deal they could give me and was told "You have the best deal you can have right now."

I pay $6.95 for the S3 and due to the tragic mistake of not having my S1 lifetime check in regularly, $12.95 for the premiere. I did have 6.95 on the premiere, but lost the multi-service discount at the beginning of the year after the S1 went over 180 days without checking in. D'oh!

I asked nicely, but no dice for me.

I have had the premiere for over a year now. S3 since Jan 2006. S1 since March 2002.


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## tomm1079

lkinley said:


> I have a TiVo Premiere, S3 and lifetime S1. I called to see what deal they could give me and was told "You have the best deal you can have right now."
> 
> I pay $6.95 for the S3 and due to the tragic mistake of not having my S1 lifetime check in regularly, $12.95 for the premiere. I did have 6.95 on the premiere, but lost the multi-service discount at the beginning of the year after the S1 went over 180 days without checking in. D'oh!
> 
> I asked nicely, but no dice for me.
> 
> I have had the premiere for over a year now. S3 since Jan 2006. S1 since March 2002.


I was told the same thing my first time. Then after i bought an Elite and called back to cancel they gave me the deal.


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## KrustyVT

While many people here have been offered the $99 deal with a premiere or elite on their account, remember that it is definitely not a hard requirement - I was offered the deal on my [3 year old] TiVoHD with only an S1 and (2) S2's on my account.


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## unitron

KrustyVT said:


> While many people here have been offered the $99 deal with a premiere or elite on their account, remember that it is definitely not a hard requirement - I was offered the deal on my [3 year old] TiVoHD with only an S1 and (2) S2's on my account.


...with only an S1 and (2) S2's , _and 3 years worth of HD_ on your account...

There, fixed that for you.

First there was a deal for HD's coming off of 3 year pre-pays taken out when lifetime wasn't an option. Apparently that's morphed into "if the subscriber has had the HD on their account for 3 years and/or they also have a Premiere and they call up to cancel said HD", except in some cases it seems an original S3 or even an S2 can get the $99 lifetime deal, but it has to be 3 years on the account or a Premiere added to the account or both.

So what did the trick for you, I'm almost completely certain, was the 3 years you had that HD on your account.


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## nycityuser

Well, I just got an email saying that my one year contract will renew at $99. But the device is an old Series 2 and that seems ripe for $99 lifetime instead.

That Series 2 was originally on a 3-year $299 plan but TiVo swapped the Premiere I purchased in January into that 3-year contract as it is my "qualifying" unit for MSD. And the $129 I paid for a year on the Premiere became the Series 2.

Meantime, I also have two TiVo HDs at $6.95/month.

If I call to cancel the Series 2 I SHOULD be offered the $99 lifetime but don't know that I will. So what is the best protocol for me?

The renewal is in January. Should I call now and ask to cancel in January and hope for the lifetime offer? Should I wait until January? If they don't offer lifetime at what point do I "change my mind" - during the same call or a subsequent call?

As an aside, I just tried re-activating an old Series 2 to see what pricing was offered online. It was $9.95/month or $399 for lifetime which is ridiculous. I did this to see what would happen if I canceled the above Series 2 and then tried to re-establish it later.


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## uw69

I would call now. The approach could be you want to cancel all Tivo's and see what is offered. I assume the $6.95 per month HD Tivo's are some you have had for awhile. They could just give you $99 lifetime on all three units. No harm in trying.


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## nycityuser

uw69 said:


> I would call now. The approach could be you want to cancel all Tivo's and see what is offered. I assume the $6.95 per month HD Tivo's are some you have had for awhile. They could just give you $99 lifetime on all three units. No harm in trying.


I'm not bold enough to try to cancel all. I'd also like the keep the $6.95 for possible use on future purchases. Another thread posits that if I purchase a non-subsidized Premiere unit I can swap the TSN into one of my $6.95 plans.


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## uw69

Worst TiVo can do is say no, then you can tell them you need to think about awhile. You don't have to go through with the cancellation if they don't offer the $99 lifetime. Good luck.


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## glendon

I have a premiere with lifetime and an HD on the yearly rate that is expiring next week. Today I called to cancel the HD and the very friendly TiVo rep offered me two different options to keep the HD active. I said that we didn't use it that much and would rather cancel the HD. She put me on hold for 2 minutes and came back offering lifetime for $99. I jumped on it and am very happy I called to cancel.


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## Soapm

glendon said:


> I have a premiere with lifetime and an HD on the yearly rate that is expiring next week. Today I called to cancel the HD and the very friendly TiVo rep offered me two different options to keep the HD active. I said that we didn't use it that much and would rather cancel the HD. She put me on hold for 2 minutes and came back offering lifetime for $99. I jumped on it and am very happy I called to cancel.


Good you didn't bite at the first offer. I think they're making the $99 deal a last ditch effort and not something that is immediately offered...


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## shwru980r

glendon said:


> I have a premiere with lifetime and an HD on the yearly rate that is expiring next week. Today I called to cancel the HD and the very friendly TiVo rep offered me two different options to keep the HD active. I said that we didn't use it that much and would rather cancel the HD. She put me on hold for 2 minutes and came back offering lifetime for $99. I jumped on it and am very happy I called to cancel.


Tivo just gave you a $150 gift. You can easily sell the HD for $300 now, where you would have probably sold it for $50 before.


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## Joe01880

Soapm said:


> Good you didn't bite at the first offer. I think they're making the $99 deal a last ditch effort and not something that is immediately offered...


When i called to cancel i was put on hold then immediately offered lifetime for 99 on my THD. No other offers were made. Afterwords the CRS rushed right off the phone. The entire call did not take 5 mintues including hold time.


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## Soapm

Joe01880 said:


> When i called to cancel i was put on hold then immediately offered lifetime for 99 on my THD. No other offers were made. Afterwords the CRS rushed right off the phone. The entire call did not take 5 mintues including hold time.


Probably their break time. And if they were a smoker???


----------



## Series3Sub

I'll add my story to the batch. I had 2 S3 648's (one Lifetime, the other monthly) and 1 HDXL at Lifetime.

First Called 3 weeks ago to say I am going to cancel one 648, but before doing so, asked if there was anything they could do for me. I was offered the $6.xx rate for the 648 I was going to deactivate. I pushed and tried to get more or even the $99 Liftetime, but was politely told that $6.xx was all they could do for me.

One week later, I go to BB and buy the $99.00 package of Premiere and OTA antenna. I activate Premiere on-line and enter Antenna code. Got the $9.99 monthly. GREAT!

Then 2 days later I call TiVo and say I am going to deactivate one 648 because I just got a Premiere a few days ago. The CSR says, "Well, let me check to see if I can do something for you." He then tells me he can offer me the $99 Lifetime on the 648 I was going to deactivate. I TAKE IT!!!

In my case, it was clearly activating a Premiere that made all the difference. That also seems to be the case in most of the stories posted here.

I wanted to get Lifetime for that 648, but I wasn't going to pay the reduced fee of $399.00 (regularly $499) in one big lump. I feel I got a good deal at the bottom line of paying $200 dollars for BOTH Lifetime and a new Premiere. All TiVo's are being used by people, but I can deactivate the Premiere after the year if I wish, but that other person can assume the $9.99 after that. OK, bottom line is closer to $300, but at an affordable rate of $10 a month for a year to get Lifetime and use of the Premiere. It still works out better than just handing over a big bag coins worth $400 JUST for Lifetime.

I gotta add that my Premiere, even with the latest software, is so sluggish compared to any of the S3's I have.

Good luck to all getting the $99 Lifetime.


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## Joe01880

Now that i have lifetime on my THD, my Premiere will re-up next month at $99 yearly. Im wondering if next year i will be able to get the $6.95 plan on my Premiere if i decide to cancel it.


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## TiVo_Fanatic

I def plan on getting an Elite within the next month or two (if the money shows up) and I also currently have a S3 OLED off contract at $6.95. Does this mean I stand a good chance on getting LT for $99 on the S3 ?

Edit: I might actually be in luck here because the original activation date for my S3 is 8/4/2007 under the $6.95 plan.


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## StrynBean

I just called to cancel my S2 DT because now that Comcast in my area is now all digital, the DT does not work.

The Tivo guy offered me lifetime for $99 without me even asking.

Note: I have 2 HDs and the S2 was the primary for the multi-service discount.

I pay $6.95 on one and $9.95 on the other.

They offered to keep the $12.95 a month and purchase a Premiere, but I would have to pay full retail for the Tivo.

Wondering if I made the right move..... :/

Apparently I have been a Tivo owner for over 7 years!


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## shwru980r

StrynBean said:


> I just called to cancel my S2 DT because now that Comcast in my area is all digital the DT does not work.
> 
> The guy offered me lifetime for $99 without me even asking.


You should be able to use it with a cable box or DTA, but you will only be able to use 1 tuner.


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## StrynBean

shwru980r said:


> You should be able to use it with a cable box or DTA, but you will only be able to use 1 tuner.


If I can get it to work. I had a HELL of a time trying to get it to program correctly. It just kept hanging on updating.

I will have to try again when I am not half asleep and can call Tivo for help.


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## shwru980r

StrynBean said:


> If I can get it to work. I had a HELL of a time trying to get it to program correctly. It just kept hanging on updating.
> 
> I will have to try again when I am not half asleep and can call Tivo for help.


Did you rerun guided setup?


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## unitron

StrynBean said:


> I just called to cancel my S2 DT because now that Comcast in my area is now all digital, the DT does not work.
> 
> The Tivo guy offered me lifetime for $99 without me even asking.
> 
> Note: I have 2 HDs and the S2 was the primary for the multi-service discount.
> 
> I pay $6.95 on one and $9.95 on the other.
> 
> They offered to keep the $12.95 a month and purchase a Premiere, but I would have to pay full retail for the Tivo.
> 
> Wondering if I made the right move..... :/
> 
> Apparently I have been a Tivo owner for over 7 years!


I'm a trifle confused. Are (or were) you paying $12.95 per month on the S2 DT?

Are you paying $6.95 on one HD and $9.95 on the other HD?

If you get lifetime on the S2 DT, wouldn't it continue to be the primary qualifying you to get MSD on the HDs?


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## StrynBean

unitron said:


> I'm a trifle confused. Are (or were) you paying $12.95 per month on the S2 DT?
> 
> Are you paying $6.95 on one HD and $9.95 on the other HD?
> 
> If you get lifetime on the S2 DT, wouldn't it continue to be the primary qualifying you to get MSD on the HDs?


Yes. The pricing for the 2 HSs would only change if I cancel the S2

They gave me two discount options:

1. Get lifetime on the S2 for $99
2. Upgrade the S2 and pay retail price for the Tivo and stay at $12.95 a month


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## StrynBean

shwru980r said:


> Did you rerun guided setup?


Yes, but it won't finish. It just hangs at updating with that damn circle/type thing going around and around.


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## cannonz

StrynBean said:


> Yes, but it won't finish. It just hangs at updating with that damn circle/type thing going around and around.


If it doesn't say failed was still updating.


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## buscuitboy

Comcast in my area went all digital about 6 months ago and essentially wiped out my S2 DT Tivo dual tuner functionality as well. I was able to incorporate it with a standard cable box though. Kind of still have SOME dual tuner functionality, but only on lower analog channels. Anything above channel 30 requires the box to tune it in. I set it up & it works the way its suppose to. 

Anyway, I was thinking of getting a Premier as well since they are currently being offered for basically $80. Even though I'm currently paying a $6.95/month rate for my S2 DT TiVo (I also have a S3 lifetime), I would still take a $99 lifetime deal for it. Would then take about 15 months to break even.

If anything, it could then always be used as a simple media player in another room or basement area since I currently use it with PyTivo that is networked to a PC in my basement. They work together wonderfully. Could then also maybe use it as an extra storage device & record material on the main network channels (below ch30). Then MRV it to my other TiVos.

Also, the S2 is the last TiVo DVR that can be used with satellite. If I ever switch from Comcast, could then maybe integrate it with a simple satellite receiver.


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## SnakeEyes

Joe01880 said:


> When i called to cancel i was put on hold then immediately offered lifetime for 99 on my THD. No other offers were made. Afterwords the CRS rushed right off the phone. The entire call did not take 5 mintues including hold time.





Soapm said:


> Probably their break time. And if they were a smoker???


Metrics. One of the ways a call center employee is evaluated is average talk/hold time.


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## SMWinnie

I really, really *hate* CSR roulette.

We are MSD-eligible and have a TiVo HD on month-to-month. I would be happy to replace it with a Premiere, stick it in the spare bedroom for light use and lifetime both boxes for $500. Nope!

So far, a chat agent and a phone agent have each told me that there's nothing available for my TiVo HD other than $10/month MSD or $400 for lifetime.

Here's the weird thing...about me. I should be willing to just shrug my shoulders, unsub the TiVo HD and swap in the Premiere. But knowing that TiVo is offering to lifetime TiVo HDs for everybody else for $100 has me pretty ticked off.

So, instead of sending $500 to TiVo, now I have a sealed, unsubbed Premiere staying in its box and a wife checking out the sightline to the DirecTV birds.

My family loves TiVo and would hate to leave, but nobody likes being played for a chump. So instead of a quick $500, TiVo gets $10 a month for a month or two while we decide whether the HR34 is as cool as it sounds.


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## tazmandman

SMWinnie said:


> I really, really *hate* CSR roulette.
> 
> We are MSD-eligible and have a TiVo HD on month-to-month. I would be happy to replace it with a Premiere, stick it in the spare bedroom for light use and lifetime both boxes for $500. Nope!
> 
> So far, a chat agent and a phone agent have each told me that there's nothing available for my TiVo HD other than $10/month MSD or $400 for lifetime.
> 
> Here's the weird thing...about me. I should be willing to just shrug my shoulders, unsub the TiVo HD and swap in the Premiere. But knowing that TiVo is offering to lifetime TiVo HDs for everybody else for $100 has me pretty ticked off.
> 
> So, instead of sending $500 to TiVo, now I have a sealed, unsubbed Premiere staying in its box and a wife checking out the sightline to the DirecTV birds.
> 
> My family loves TiVo and would hate to leave, but nobody likes being played for a chump. So instead of a quick $500, TiVo gets $10 a month for a month or two while we decide whether the HR34 is as cool as it sounds.


The offer is only available for accounts that have a new Premiere already added to it, then you call them, they see that you activated a new Premiere, and you should then be eligible for the HD lifetime @$99 when you call to "cancel" your HD.


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## shwru980r

SMWinnie said:


> I really, really *hate* nobody likes being played for a chump.


What assurance does Tivo have that you won't play them for a chump by cancelling the premiere and getting a full refund?


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## MeInDallas

SMWinnie said:


> HR34 is as cool as it sounds.


I've got the same thing on my mind lately as well. I've been with TiVo for a long long time but the more that time goes on I realize I'm paying extra money every month for the TiVo interface and it's getting to the point its just not worth it anymore. My month to month will be up in July and if they dont offer me lifetime at that point then I'm done with them.


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## Joe01880

MeInDallas said:


> I've got the same thing on my mind lately as well. I've been with TiVo for a long long time but the more that time goes on I realize I'm paying extra money every month for the TiVo interface and it's getting to the point its just not worth it anymore. My month to month will be up in July and if they dont offer me lifetime at that point then I'm done with them.


pay yearly and save yourself a few bucks. If you dont have a Premiere you most likely wont be offered the $99 deal from what Im reading


----------



## MeInDallas

Joe01880 said:


> pay yearly and save yourself a few bucks. If you dont have a Premiere you most likely wont be offered the $99 deal from what Im reading


Yeah I dont have a Premiere. I'm running 2 HD's. I was offered the lifetime deal on them if I purchased 2 Premiere's, but I just cant see upgrading for basically the same thing I already have just to get the lifetime deal on the old ones. I'm gonna try to wait it out on the Elite and see if the prices come down on it later on before I purchase. Then see if they offer me the lifetime on the old ones and then I can sell them on Ebay maybe to help pay for some Elite's.


----------



## SMWinnie

tazmandman said:


> The offer is only available for accounts that have a new Premiere already added to it, then you call them, they see that you activated a new Premiere, and you should then be eligible for the HD lifetime @$99 when you call to "cancel" your HD.


Well, after adding a second Premiere and calling to cancel I was offered the opportunity to lifetime the TiVo HD for $100. Took a while, though.


----------



## SnakeEyes

tazmandman said:


> The offer is only available for accounts that have a new Premiere already added to it, then you call them, they see that you activated a new Premiere, and you should then be eligible for the HD lifetime @$99 when you call to "cancel" your HD.


or 3+ years


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## eric_n_dfw

Not sure why, but I have a Tivo HD that has been out of service for 18 months or so. I got the $99 lifetime service email back in October and, unlike many of the posts here say, I don't have a Premier.

I'm still under contract with DirecTV for another 6 months with a pair of their HR24's but I'm, considering getting the $99 deal on the HD just in case I decide to drop them. I figure that even if I don't, I could eBay the HD and recoup all of the $99 plus some unless the market completely drops out on them.

I have to do the deal today though as it expires tonight.

UPDATE: Went ahead and bought the $99 deal. Now to decide if I want to hang onto it or put it up on eBay.


----------



## atmuscarella

eric_n_dfw said:


> UPDATE: Went ahead and bought the $99 deal. Now to decide if I want to hang onto it or put it up on eBay.


If you have an Antenna hook it up. You will be amazed at how much better quality the OTA HD channels are compared to the same ones on Satellite.


----------



## eric_n_dfw

atmuscarella said:


> If you have an Antenna hook it up. You will be amazed at how much better quality the OTA HD channels are compared to the same ones on Satellite.


Yeah, that used to be the case - but back when I was using this box with Time Warner I did a few dual recordings of shows from OTA and from TWC's feed of the same channel and there were no appreciable differences. DirecTV's MPEG 4 HD feeds on the big channels (locals and sports) are just as good now too.

This wasn't always the case - I used to see a clear difference where OTA was obviously better. My theory on it is that when the digital cutover happened and the channels all moved down from the UHF frequencies they started compressing them more. I see just as much macro-blocking and what-not on the OTA channels now-a-days.

I am watching this on a fairly new, 58" 1080p plasma that has excellent black levels. I'm in the middle of the DFW metroplex with excellent antenna signal levels and I'm pretty picky so compression artifacts are VERY noticeable to me.


----------



## nycityuser

I am a prime candidate for the $99 offer. I have 1 Premier, 2 HDs and 1 Series 2. The Series 2 "contract" is up in January.

My question is: When I call to cancel the Series 2 renewal do I: 1) just ask to cancel, 2) ask if there is a better offer than the $99/year they are proposing, or 3) do I specifically ask for the $99 lifetime?

Recommendations?


----------



## StrynBean

nycityuser said:


> I am a prime candidate for the $99 offer. I have 1 Premier, 2 HDs and 1 Series 2. The Series 2 "contract" is up in January.
> 
> My question is: When I call to cancel the Series 2 renewal do I: 1) just ask to cancel, 2) ask if there is a better offer than the $99/year they are proposing, or 3) do I specifically ask for the $99 lifetime?
> 
> Recommendations?


I just called and said I wanted to cancel my Series 2.

The Tivo rep offered it up right away.


----------



## HazelW

nycityuser said:


> I am a prime candidate for the $99 offer. I have 1 Premier, 2 HDs and 1 Series 2. The Series 2 "contract" is up in January.
> 
> My question is: When I call to cancel the Series 2 renewal do I: 1) just ask to cancel, 2) ask if there is a better offer than the $99/year they are proposing, or 3) do I specifically ask for the $99 lifetime?
> 
> Recommendations?


I called and said I wanted to cancel. While she was checking I asked if I was eligible for the $99 and in a few seconds she said I was.


----------



## Stinkweed8

Called to inquire about a premier to replace a lifetimed S2 ...After giving the $14.99 monthly or $399 LT deal based off of my MSF from S2, I told her I would be willing to buy it if they would lifetime my HD for $99 (which was at a $6.95 monthly plan). The CSR went away for a couple minutes and came back and said that his "golden tongue" did the trick and he was able to get the deal...I got the Premier for $80 with lifetime for $399, plus the $99 lifetime on the HD...

I spent a lot of money...Im sure Tivo is happy.


----------



## aolszowka

Just registered to post that I just canceled by Tivo Premiere, it was a great little box but after cutting off my Digital Cable it was hard to justify $20/Month just for my OTA channels.

The CSR, while helpful would not offer me any real incentive to stay with them, I probably would have done it if they had offered me $99 for the lifetime of that box. I even told the CSR I'd be willing to do it at $150 for lifetime on that box. Instead he kept pushing to offer 14.95/Month which I was not interested in at all.

I guess Tivo wasn't interested in getting any cash out of me. I will put that money towards a HDHomeRun and Windows Media Center Setup :| (I just need the tuners, I've got Windows 7 Ultimate on this box and my Xbox out front as a media center extender).


----------



## steve614

aolszowka said:


> Just registered to post that I just canceled by Tivo Premiere, it was a great little box but after cutting off my Digital Cable it was hard to justify $20/Month just for my OTA channels.
> 
> The CSR, while helpful would not offer me any real incentive to stay with them, I probably would have done it if they had offered me $99 for the lifetime of that box. I even told the CSR I'd be willing to do it at $150 for lifetime on that box. Instead he kept pushing to offer 14.95/Month which I was not interested in at all.
> 
> I guess Tivo wasn't interested in getting any cash out of me. I will put that money towards a HDHomeRun and Windows Media Center Setup :| (I just need the tuners, I've got Windows 7 Ultimate on this box and my Xbox out front as a media center extender).


<chuckles>

You got TiVo to offer you an MSD rate for a Premiere when you aren't even eligible to get that discount?
And you didn't JUMP on it??!? 



In all seriousness, I'm surprised TiVo gave you that offer.
You should call them back and see if they will give you a lifetime subscription at the MSD rate ($399).


----------



## jaredmwright

I called today and got the $99 Lifetime added to my TiVo HD that was on the $6.95 plan. I tried back in November with no success and they put my account on hold with credit for the December. I called back today to cancel and they offered me the $99 promotion so I jumped on it. I now have 2 Premieres and 1 HD. Happy to have some value on this box now in case I want to upgrade it to a newer box in the future instead of it being worthless.


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## stiege

I've read through this thread, but I'm feeling a little dense... my tivo premiere 3 year comes up in Feb. I don't own any other boxes. I'm thinking of canceling for Fios lifetime dvr. Am I a likely candidate for this $99 lifetime upgrade?

Thanks,

Jason


----------



## unitron

stiege said:


> I've read through this thread, but I'm feeling a little dense... my tivo premiere 3 year comes up in Feb. I don't own any other boxes. I'm thinking of canceling for Fios lifetime dvr. Am I a likely candidate for this $99 lifetime upgrade?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Jason


So you got a Premiere a year before the rest of the entire universe?

(Spring 2010 plus 3 equals Spring 2013).


----------



## stiege

I bought the Premiere to replace a buggy HD a year into my 3 year contract.


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## unitron

stiege said:


> I bought the Premiere to replace a buggy HD a year into my 3 year contract.


I see, said the blind man.

Having used both, which do you consider better, and how much so?

In answer to your original question, having an HD with an expiring 3 year contract taken out when lifetime wasn't available seems to have been the start of the $99 offer, and then it seems to have expanded to people getting Premieres and calling to cancel their HDs and S3s (and in at least one case an S2), so I don't know if the combination of having an expiring 3 year and having gotten a Premiere will be additive or cancel each other out, as TiVo hasn't put in writing exactly the conditions necessary for the $99 offer and it also seems to depend on which CS rep answers the phone.

You could log onto your account at TiVo.com and see what it might have to say about upgrade eligibilities.


----------



## stiege

I upgraded to the Premiere because I needed the extra hard drive space. I was running an external hard drive that constantly crashed the hd. I had bought it at Costco, so I returned it with no problem and bought the Premiere directly from tivo. Frankly, I don't remember the differences enough to comment on them. I'm just happy I have enough room to record and the thing doesn't crash. I WILL say that I remember that the hd was worlds better than the WD dvr that came with cablevision.

re the $99 deal. Reading through the post indicates that many have had more than one unit and have cancelled one of the older ones to get the deal. Has anyone had just the Premiere and gotten the deal? I'm really on the fence even though I already own the equipment.

Jason


----------



## unitron

stiege said:


> I upgraded to the Premiere because I needed the extra hard drive space. I was running an external hard drive that constantly crashed the hd. I had bought it at Costco, so I returned it with no problem and bought the Premiere directly from tivo. Frankly, I don't remember the differences enough to comment on them. I'm just happy I have enough room to record and the thing doesn't crash. I WILL say that I remember that the hd was worlds better than the WD dvr that came with cablevision.
> 
> re the $99 deal. Reading through the post indicates that many have had more than one unit and have cancelled one of the older ones to get the deal. Has anyone had just the Premiere and gotten the deal? I'm really on the fence even though I already own the equipment.
> 
> Jason


I suspect they're trying not to do cheap lifetime on Premieres since they're now selling them so cheap, although in your case it sounds like you might have paid a lot more than they're going for now, and maybe you got it long enough ago to qualify for the old monthly rate.

Suggest you start by logging onto your account at tivo.com and see what upgrade offers they say your unit is eligible for, and then maybe actually calling them up (talk to whoever you'd talk to if you were cancelling the sub when it runs out, put a little fear of losing you into the equation).


----------



## nycityuser

Well, I just got "rejected" for the $99 offer and was given an explanation.

I currently have 1 Premiere, 2 HDs and 1 Series 2. The Series 2 "contract" expires next week and I called to cancel. They offered to upgrade me to a Premiere at the current contract price of $99 per year but would not give me $99 lifetime on the Series 2.

When I purchased my Premiere last March I paid $199 for the unit and $129/year for service. They now consider that $129/year a discounted price as it is now $19.95/month. So because I can keep the $129/year price on my Premiere I am ineligible for $99 lifetime on my Series 2.

My Series 2 is now hooked up to a cable box as a single tuner DVR. If I swapped it for a Premiere I'd have to rent another cablecard from FIOS in order to use it. So it would end up costing me more.

They sure don't make it easy. FIOS now accepts eSATA drives on their DVRs and they have multi-room viewing. It's almost sounding like a better alternative. I stress the "almost" part.


----------



## unitron

nycityuser said:


> Well, I just got "rejected" for the $99 offer and was given an explanation.
> 
> I currently have 1 Premiere, 2 HDs and 1 Series 2. The Series 2 "contract" expires next week and I called to cancel. They offered to upgrade me to a Premiere at the current contract price of $99 per year but would not give me $99 lifetime on the Series 2.
> 
> When I purchased my Premiere last March I paid $199 for the unit and $129/year for service. They now consider that $129/year a discounted price as it is now $19.95/month. So because I can keep the $129/year price on my Premiere I am ineligible for $99 lifetime on my Series 2.
> 
> My Series 2 is now hooked up to a cable box as a single tuner DVR. If I swapped it for a Premiere I'd have to rent another cablecard from FIOS in order to use it. So it would end up costing me more.
> 
> They sure don't make it easy. FIOS now accepts eSATA drives on their DVRs and they have multi-room viewing. It's almost sounding like a better alternative. I stress the "almost" part.


Considering that they've been selling the Premiere for $100 lately, I don't consider your original purchase price of $200 a discounted price.

And as for "The deal we agreed to at the time is a discount because we raised the price later", they must have two people taking turns setting policy, one of whom hates subscribers.

What are you paying on those HDs?


----------



## nycityuser

unitron said:


> Considering that they've been selling the Premiere for $100 lately, I don't consider your original purchase price of $200 a discounted price.
> 
> And as for "The deal we agreed to at the time is a discount because we raised the price later", they must have two people taking turns setting policy, one of whom hates subscribers.
> 
> What are you paying on those HDs?


Oh yeah, what I'm paying on those HDs is probably part of it too - $6.95/month on each. But still. I have 4 TiVos and have been a customer for 7 years. Give me a break.

He acknowledged that the $199 wasn't a discount price but the $129/year is. But you're right - they call it a discount price because they raised their prices after I purchased it. With friends like that...


----------



## lafos

You might try again and see if you can get a more intelligent CSR. A published price paid is not a discount if the price is raised after the fact. You paid more for the Premiere than the current price, too.


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## atmuscarella

All I can say is I paid very little ($95 for the unit and $199 for lifetime) for my Premiere with lifetime and when I called last fall to cancel my Series 3 that I was paying $6.95/mo on they offered me the $99 lifetime deal without any prompting on my part. 

Of course they may have changed the parameters they are using to offer the deal since then - we really have no way of knowing.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

This is not a guaranteed deal and the terms are not in writing from TiVo anywhere I have seen so to my way of thinking if you get it, good for you it is a great deal and if not, it isn't anything to complain about. I love my TiVoHDs and called and asked twice over the last year, two minute phone calls, but I didn't qualify and got two different explanations so whatever source the CSR has to check for specific terms may have changed last year and could have changed again this year.

The fact so many here have gotten this great deal as a result of the discussion is really cool.


----------



## Joe01880

nycityuser said:


> Well, I just got "rejected" for the $99 offer and was given an explanation.
> 
> When I purchased my Premiere last March I paid $199 for the unit and $129/year for service. They now consider that $129/year a discounted price as it is now $19.95/month. So because I can keep the $129/year price on my Premiere I am ineligible for $99 lifetime on my Series 2.
> 
> .


I got my Premiere last october, paid $87 and some change for it off Amazon. I also pay yearly with a MSD of $99. I got offered the $99 Lifetime deal on my 3 year old TiVo HD when i called to cancel it also my Premiere renewed at $99 a year with the MSD and my TiVo HD with LT being recognized as my primary TiVo, you might want to call back and try another rep.


----------



## shwru980r

nycityuser said:


> They offered to upgrade me to a Premiere at the current contract price of $99 per year but would not give me $99 lifetime on the Series 2.


It's not that hard to find a used series 2 with lifetime service online for $99. Then you have your other Series 2 as a backup for spare parts. I think Tivo should have let you have the lifetime service for $99 on a Series 2.


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## donnoh

I found a sweet deal on a brand new Tivo HD on ebay.

I already have two Premieres on lifetime, I'm going to try the buy a new Premiere, activate it and cancel the HD trick to see if I can get them to give me the $99 deal.

One way or another I'll keep the HD.


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## Shanezam203

donnoh said:


> I found a sweet deal on a brand new Tivo HD on ebay.
> 
> I already have two Premieres on lifetime, I'm going to try the buy a new Premiere, activate it and cancel the HD trick to see if I can get them to give me the $99 deal.
> 
> One way or another I'll keep the HD.


let me know how it works, I have 2 Series 3 HD's I want to upgrade to Premiere.
1 has lifetime, the other is at $6.95.


----------



## nycityuser

So I posted two days ago that I had been rejected for lifetime on my Series 2 (I also have 2 HDs and 1 Premiere).

I called back today and talked to a different person. I played dumb. I said that I had canceled a couple of days ago but that someone told me that I might be able to get $99 lifetime. He immediately said yes.

So he undid the pending cancellation for 1/17/12 and put me in for $99 lifetime on that date.

It's odd that the first guy evaluated my various TiVo's to determine that I was not eligible for $99 lifetime but the second guy immediately approved it.

How is it a good business model to keep customers guessing on the policies and treat everyone differently? I guess I should not complain...


----------



## steve614

nycityuser said:


> So I posted two days ago that I had been rejected for lifetime on my Series 2 (I also have 2 HDs and 1 Premiere).
> 
> I called back today and talked to a different person. I played dumb. I said that I had canceled a couple of days ago but that someone told me that I might be able to get $99 lifetime. He immediately said yes.
> 
> So he undid the pending cancellation for 1/17/12 and put me in for $99 lifetime on that date.
> 
> It's odd that the first guy evaluated my various TiVo's to determine that I was not eligible for $99 lifetime but the second guy immediately approved it.
> 
> How is it a good business model to keep customers guessing on the policies and treat everyone differently? I guess I should not complain...


I guess the ambiguity is a filter so it doesn't seem that TiVo is giving out the offer nilly willy to just anyone that calls them. Some people might give up after the 1st phone call.
You were persistant and it paid off.


----------



## unitron

donnoh said:


> I found a sweet deal on a brand new Tivo HD on ebay.
> 
> I already have two Premieres on lifetime, I'm going to try the buy a new Premiere, activate it and cancel the HD trick to see if I can get them to give me the $99 deal.
> 
> One way or another I'll keep the HD.


If you've already got 2 Premieres, that should do it, the catch is that you haven't had the HD and had it subbed for any length of time.

You could try subbing it month by month and call back after the first 30 days and feed 'em a line about "Well, with 2 Premieres I don't really need this HD..." and see if the threat to put it in the attic gets them to make the offer, but I suspect the previous owner would have had a much better shot at getting the deal than someone who just bought it.


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## lillevig

This has probably been covered somewhere in this thread but I'm lazy so I'll ask it anyway. If someone gets the $99 lifetime can they turn right around and sell/transfer the lifetime to someone else? I'm asking because there is a guy on eBay claiming to be able to add lifetime for $99 to the monthly sub box he is selling. It could be a good deal or a good deal of trouble.


----------



## unitron

lillevig said:


> This has probably been covered somewhere in this thread but I'm lazy so I'll ask it anyway. If someone gets the $99 lifetime can they turn right around and sell/transfer the lifetime to someone else? I'm asking because there is a guy on eBay claiming to be able to add lifetime for $99 to the monthly sub box he is selling. It could be a good deal or a good deal of trouble.


Once it's lifetimed, it's lifetimed, and since it's his property, he can sell it or give it or landfill it.

But make sure he does the lifetime buying before you pay him. Once it changes hands, I doubt the offer goes with it. The idea is get a little more out of an old subscriber threatening to quit using the machine, not give a new subscriber a break instead of getting $12.95 per month out of him.


----------



## donnoh

unitron said:


> If you've already got 2 Premieres, that should do it, the catch is that you haven't had the HD and had it subbed for any length of time.
> 
> You could try subbing it month by month and call back after the first 30 days and feed 'em a line about "Well, with 2 Premieres I don't really need this HD..." and see if the threat to put it in the attic gets them to make the offer, but I suspect the previous owner would have had a much better shot at getting the deal than someone who just bought it.


I don't know if that would work or not. I've had both Premieres for over a year and a half and got them when Tivo offered a deal to upgrade my lifetimed HD's which I sold to offset 80% of the cost of the Premieres.

I plan on subbing the HD month to month and cancelling it after month or two. If Tivo doesn't bite on the $99 offer, I'll buy a Premiere from Best Buy and try that route.


----------



## aolszowka

steve614 said:


> <chuckles>
> all seriousness, I'm surprised TiVo gave you that offer.
> You should call them back and see if they will give you a lifetime subscription at the MSD rate ($399).


To be honest I thought it was a bit of an insult considering I was looking to get away from monthly charges. Didn't realize that was a 'discounted' price. 300 bucks would probably be the absolute limit of what I'd be willing to sink back into TiVO.

Its a little disappointing that none of the DVR functionality works with out a subscription. While I understand not having guide information or scheduled recording (that requires data from TiVO which justifies the cost) I don't understand why I can't get the 30 minute buffers or have to deal with the SD menu as opposed to the HD one? Another thing that interests me is that TiVO doesn't use the OTA Program information that is transmitted with the DTV signal and display it, I suspect its to try and encourage you to buy a subscription.

I lurked these forums long before I bought my original Premier so I can't complain too much (I knew what I was getting into) but I can see why some complain about not having the ability to set times manually for recording.

All that being said to another way to look at this is TiVO did subsidize the hardware heavily to try and get the boxes out to consumers. TiVO's new business model is really dependent on getting those subscriber dollars. However they've got a great product, but it is a premium product. One which I've decided no longer fits my budget.

I'll keep my eye out on eBay for a good deal on a TiVO HD with lifetime or get my WMC setup rolling.


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## steve614

Yeah, I think it is a low blow on TiVo's part in taking away the live tv buffer on non-subscribed Premiere boxes.
IMO, that is something they should leave in to entice potential subscribers. Recording functionality has long been disabled, but the live TV buffer is what gives people a 'taste' of Tivo funtionality.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

aolszowka said:


> To be honest I thought it was a bit of an insult considering I was looking to get away from monthly charges. Didn't realize that was a 'discounted' price. 300 bucks would probably be the absolute limit of what I'd be willing to sink back into TiVO.
> 
> Its a little disappointing that none of the DVR functionality works with out a subscription. While I understand not having guide information or scheduled recording (that requires data from TiVO which justifies the cost) I don't understand why I can't get the 30 minute buffers or have to deal with the SD menu as opposed to the HD one? Another thing that interests me is that TiVO doesn't use the OTA Program information that is transmitted with the DTV signal and display it, I suspect its to try and encourage you to buy a subscription.
> 
> I lurked these forums long before I bought my original Premier so I can't complain too much (I knew what I was getting into) but I can see why some complain about not having the ability to set times manually for recording.
> 
> All that being said to another way to look at this is TiVO did subsidize the hardware heavily to try and get the boxes out to consumers. TiVO's new business model is really dependent on getting those subscriber dollars. However they've got a great product, but it is a premium product. One which I've decided no longer fits my budget.
> 
> I'll keep my eye out on eBay for a good deal on a TiVO HD with lifetime or get my WMC setup rolling.


Of course the Premiere is sold at a loss and providing service of some sort at no cost would just mean more would be sold to be used without a subscription so I don't believe that would be in TiVo's best interest. As far as having TiVo use the PSIP information for non subscribers, I don't see how that would help TiVo operate a business profitably either. I do know from using a recorder that relied on PSIP that it was never reliable in Little Rock, AR or Springfield, MO and if paid subscribers had to depend on it, I think most would be very unhappy. Of course the TiVo users without a subscription would be delighted, it would be a lot better than nothing.

I wasn't aware that the Premiere did not have the 30 minute buffer without service, is this a recent change?


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## aolszowka

Chris Gerhard said:


> Of course the Premiere is sold at a loss and providing service of some sort at no cost would just mean more would be sold to be used without a subscription so I don't believe that would be in TiVo's best interest.


Isn't that exactly what I said in the second half of my post? The real question in my mind is 'How much?' It looks like iSuppli has a tear down with an estimated BOM (I'd post the direct link, but my limited number of posts prevent me from doing so Google For iSuppli Tivo TCD748000), but only avaliable for subscribers (must not have been popular enough to give the simplified BOM). They're usually pretty close on their estimates, but they are just that, estimates.

That being said, I'd be surprised if the box itself was more than ~$340. That number coming from the $99 Offer + 1yr @ $19.99, I would highly doubt that TiVO would dare take a loss on boxes they don't have under contract, this wouldn't make good business sense.



Chris Gerhard said:


> I do know from using a recorder that relied on PSIP


What recorder? The PSIP up here is usually spot on, quite frankly I don't care about place shifting, I'm more looking for 30 minute buffer trick play stuff so I'm willing to live with bad guide data from time to time anyway. Sports are about the only thing I watch live these days.



Chris Gerhard said:


> I wasn't aware that the Premiere did not have the 30 minute buffer without service, is this a recent change?


Not sure, but I can confirm for you that there is no 30 minute buffer. Also I don't know if this was there before or not, but anytime you press any TiVO related buttons you get a big ugly screen telling you that 'You don't have TiVO Service...' and goes on to say call TiVO to enable any TiVO related features or activate online. Same thing happens when you switch channels.

One thing I haven't tried yet is access to HME apps (are those even accessible via an unsubbed TiVO?) StreamBaby was the only one of interest to me personally, their NetFlix app is just about useless without TiVO's Search, which requires TiVO's guide data which you have to pay for (not a problem as I've stated before, that is their business to offer the guide data). Hulu+ is also a joke (pay to watch commercials? No thank you)

It will be interesting to see what The Boxee Box does for us OTA'ers with their TV Tuner, but word that there is no DVR or trick play functionality I'm not holding my breath.


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## steve614

Chris Gerhard said:


> I wasn't aware that the Premiere did not have the 30 minute buffer without service, is this a recent change?


Yes. I believe the buffer was taken out with the 14.9 software update.


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## boferguson

So hard to keep up with all the changing offers, packages etc.... Makes me reluctant to buy a new box...


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## Chris Gerhard

aolszowka said:


> What recorder? The PSIP up here is usually spot on, quite frankly I don't care about place shifting, I'm more looking for 30 minute buffer trick play stuff so I'm willing to live with bad guide data from time to time anyway. Sports are about the only thing I watch live these days..


The recorder was a D-VHS VCR/Samsung SIR-T165 and PSIP was always screwed up with about half of the channels. I do understand it doesn't have to be that way but it was.


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## unitron

Chris Gerhard said:


> The recorder was a D-VHS VCR/Samsung SIR-T165 and PSIP was always screwed up with about half of the channels. I do understand it doesn't have to be that way but it was.


In other words, you understand it doesn't have to be that way but the people actually providing it didn't?


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## L David Matheny

aolszowka said:


> What recorder? The PSIP up here is usually spot on, quite frankly I don't care about place shifting, I'm more looking for 30 minute buffer trick play stuff so I'm willing to live with bad guide data from time to time anyway. Sports are about the only thing I watch live these days.


You might want to take a look at these threads over at AVS Forum:
Channel Master TV CM 7400 HD DVR
Channel Master CM-7000PAL HD DVR - AKA Dish DTVPal
The Official AVS Dish DTVPal DVR Topic


----------



## SnakeEyes

I have a 3+ year old HD and tried to see if I could get a lifetime offer on it or the S2 but no dice. Weird tho, I got offered 9.95 for my primary box while retaining 6.95 for my MSD'd box.


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## SnakeEyes

Called back in and played the Mediacom going all digital which neuteres my DT, considering cancelling, asked straight up for the $99 lifetime on either it or my HD. Was told its usually for those moving the DT to satellite or HD users purchasing a premiere but that shed look into it since I'm an 11 year customer. Put me on hold for a consultation. Came back and offered a 1 time courtesy $99 lifetime for the S2 for being a long time customer. Also said if I upgrade to a premiere I could call back and get the HD on lifetime too. 

Amusing note, I was asked how I found out about the $99 Lifetiime. I told her I've been a member of a TiVo board since I became a customer. She asked "is that tivocommunity?" :up:


----------



## aolszowka

L David Matheny said:


> You might want to take a look at these threads over at AVS Forum


Thanks for the links, I'll have to do a bit of research, at first glance though it looks like to buy that box retail it'd be ~ $399 where as to buy a TiVO Lifetime subscription for my Premier would be ~$499. It looks like the going rate for a TiVO HD on eBay with lifetime these days is ~350-400 shipped. Hard to go with a 'maybe' product/experience when its price point is so close to a 'known' experience. At 200-275 the risk might have a better upside?

Definitely another item to keep my eye out for, Thanks.


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## SnakeEyes

One other thing... I was also offered a "standalone" box which, in other words, she described as an unsubsidized box. For $199 I could get a Premiere with no commitment and either $12.95/mo or 14.95/mo, if I wanted to be eligible for the $99 lifetime on HD. Is this something new?


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## unitron

SnakeEyes said:


> One other thing... I was also offered a "standalone" box which, in other words, she described as an unsubsidized box. For $199 I could get a Premiere with no commitment and either $12.95/mo or 14.95/mo, if I wanted to be eligible for the $99 lifetime on HD. Is this something new?


Are you sure about those numbers? It sounds, sort of, like something old, the way it was at first before they raised the Premiere subs to $19.95 per month, $14.95 MSD, back when they were charging more for the hardware.

Standalone used to mean "not a combination TiVo and satellite receiver, but just a TiVo".


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## SnakeEyes

Positive on the numbers. I wrote them down and read them back to her. She said I could have a premiere without commitment for $199 and I could have 12.95/mo but that if I wanted the $99 Lifetime on the HD I'd have to have the premiere at 14.95 or higher. 

And yes I know the old standalone term. I had an S1 active until a couple months ago.


----------



## unitron

SnakeEyes said:


> Positive on the numbers. I wrote them down and read them back to her. She said I could have a premiere without commitment for $199 and I could have 12.95/mo but that if I wanted the $99 Lifetime on the HD I'd have to have the premiere at 14.95 or higher.
> 
> And yes I know the old standalone term. I had an S1 active until a couple months ago.


Well, that's interesting and confusing. Would the Premiere be 200 bucks either way?


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## SnakeEyes

Regardless of my per month price choice, yes it would be $199 without a commitment.


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## wineguru

what I want to know is can I dis-continue use of my TivoHD, purchase the premiere and transfer my lifetime to it?

Tony


----------



## Chris Gerhard

wineguru said:


> what I want to know is can I dis-continue use of my TivoHD, purchase the premiere and transfer my lifetime to it?
> 
> Tony


No but you can sell your TiVoHD and transfer the lifetime service to the purchaser and use the proceeds to help purchase a Premiere with lifetime. Lifetime of the TiVoHD is associated with that specific TiVo and is good for its lifetime, not transferable to a Premiere.


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## alyssa

I've been half thinking on an upgrade path for a while, I want an Elite.
How does this sound? I have two S3's & one premiere. One of the S3's & the premiere has lifetime, the last S3 is at $6.95/m. all are upgraded. 

I sell one of my unit's w/LT for $350-$500 ish, buy an elite for $460 ish then transfer the $6.95 to the new Elite. 

That will leave me with an unsub'ed S3. Which I don't really need & will put it in a closet unless;
Does the community think Tivo will offer me the $99 LT on that unsubed S3?

I think tivo will consider my s3 with LT my qualifying unit.


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## nycityuser

alyssa said:


> I've been half thinking on an upgrade path for a while, I want an Elite.
> How does this sound? I have two S3's & one premiere. One of the S3's & the premiere has lifetime, the last S3 is at $6.95/m. all are upgraded.
> 
> I sell one of my unit's w/LT for $350-$500 ish, buy an elite for $460 ish then transfer the $6.95 to the new Elite.


I think the wrinkle here is that you might have trouble transferring the $6.95 to the Elite. Transferring payment plans to Premieres or higher is not automatic like it was before the Premieres.


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## alyssa

yikes, I did not know that. if that's the case then I'd have go into service as a multi service discount at (!) 15/m or $400 for LT?
wow that's deal breaker at this point

eta; i just got off the phone w/ tivo & that is indeed the case. he said he tried but it's a no go. I even threw in the fact that i'd be willing to buy the tivo from them- Well, thank you NYCITYUSER for the feedback, I'm on hold till black Friday 2012 when hopefully they're will be some sales on the elite.


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## Shanezam203

I keep getting the $99 lifetime offer for my HD but nothing special to upgrade to Premiere other than $200 box keeping my $6.95 msd. anyone getting anything nice to upgrade to premiere?


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## nycityuser

alyssa said:


> eta; i just got off the phone w/ tivo & that is indeed the case. he said he tried but it's a no go. I even threw in the fact that i'd be willing to buy the tivo from them- Well, thank you NYCITYUSER for the feedback, I'm on hold till black Friday 2012 when hopefully they're will be some sales on the elite.


And yet, look at the poster right after your post. He was offered a $199 Premiere with the option to keep his $6.95. TiVo is very inconsistent in what they offer. You might even try calling back.

When I called them last week to try to get $99 lifetime on a Series 2 they offered to allow me to replace it with a Premiere and keep the $99/year plan it was under. But they wouldn't give me the $99 lifetime. So I canceled, called back two days later, spoke to someone else and got $99 lifetime.

So you never know.


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## Speed Daemon

Is it just me, or is the growing practice of rewarding new subscribers while giving loyal customers the cold shoulder bass-ackwards?

Maybe it's time to organize consumer trade unions, and use collective bargaining instead of the two year contract and not-really-lifetime offers to get better prices.


----------



## atmuscarella

Speed Daemon said:


> Is it just me, or is the growing practice of rewarding new subscribers while giving loyal customers the cold shoulder bass-ackwards?
> 
> Maybe it's time to organize consumer trade unions, and use collective bargaining instead of the two year contract and not-really-lifetime offers to get better prices.


What rewards are you talking about? There have been some deals that require you to purchase a new TiVo to get them, but existing subscribers can get the same deal as new subscriber. So what is it that new subscribers are getting? The only thing I see is that in most cases they get to pay more. Now sure how you consider paying more a reward.

Regarding pricing - you have the right to negotiate the best price you can and if you don't like the bottom line price to not purchase it. Same for the seller they have the right to negotiate the best price they can if they don't like your offer not to sell it to you.

In a free society (and market) prices are fluid and are what ever the market will bare (what ever people will pay) at any specific point in time, just watch what happens on Amazon and ebay.


----------



## alyssa

nycityuser said:


> And yet, look at the poster right after your post. He was offered a $199 Premiere with the option to keep his $6.95. TiVo is very inconsistent in what they offer. You might even try calling back.
> <snip>
> So you never know.


I think the key difference was that he wanted a premiere & I want an elite. the cs/sales dude went away & said 'there's no way to enter in a discount on those units since they're so new'. I'm gonna wait a bit & try again. Eventually I'll get the cost down to $500 either by giving me the monthly $7 buck rate or the elite price will fall to a reasonable level.

of interest was his acknowledgement of how long I have been a customer.


----------



## Speed Daemon

atmuscarella said:


> What rewards are you talking about?


I was talking about the act of reward*ing* (or not, as the case may be), not what the rewards themselves are.

Just read through this thread. People who have never owned a TiVo before are being lured with great deals, no fuss or bother. Existing loyal TiVo customers have to do extra work in order to get similar deals, often with widely varying success. My time is worth money, so even if I eventually get the same deal that new subscribers get automatically, I'm still getting the short end of the stick.

Now think about mobile phones, cable TV and other services that give new users preferential treatment. Do you see a pattern?



> Regarding pricing - you have the right to negotiate the best price you can and if you don't like the bottom line price to not purchase it. Same for the seller they have the right to negotiate the best price they can if they don't like your offer not to sell it to you.


That's correct, but what bearing does it have on _services_? 



> In a free society (and market) prices are fluid and are what ever the market will bare (what ever people will pay) at any specific point in time, just watch what happens on Amazon and ebay.


In a free society you're able to openly believe what you wish. However that isn't any guarantee that what you believe is true.

In a so-called "free" _laissez faire_ marketplace you're free to *not* get what you want. Your actual negotiating power is directly proportional to the level of clout that you have. Who do you think has more clout--an individual of modest means, or a multi-billion dollar industry that have the clout of a monopoly, thanks to supply-side trade organizations like the RIAA, MPAA in the US, the Zaibatsu/Keiretsu in Japan and the People's Liberation Army in China? Precisely why shouldn't individuals be able to organize themselves as consumers to multiply their collective clout in the very same ways that Big Business does?

If you're referring to Amazon regarding its eBay style marketplace and not its own product line, that's all just a modern take on the old flea market concept. I have nothing against flea markets, online or in-person. Flea markets can be great for certain things, and not so great for others. I probably wouldn't buy a service contract at a flea market because I have no guarantee that the seller is a legitimate representative of that service provider, and the time it takes to verify the deal is legitimate gives a fraudulent seller ample time to get away with my cash.

Back to my idea: What if people like me who have been committing to "take it or leave it" 2 year contracts for services like cellphone, data, cable or satellite TV decided to work together in numbers large enough so that _we_ had the clout to make our own "take it or leave it" offers to our service providers? Most of us have worked for a big business of some sort at some point in our lives. Therefore most of us know how to apply teamwork and discipline to achieve greater results than we could alone. Why not use the very same business principles to get a better deal for ourselves as customers? What if we want to renegotiate every year...or 6 months?

One thing that's plain to anyone who knows the rudiments of business operations is that no business is entitled to ever-increasing profits. No top executives are entitled to breathtaking compensation packages. If the other side of the market has enough clout to affect profits so negatively that those top jobs (and perhaps the entire enterprise) are in jeopardy, management will inevitably choose less profit over no profit. Even US airlines, which perpetually operate at a loss to shareholders manage to find generous compensation for their top executives. There's almost always room for a better deal for the consumer. IMHO it's better to play the game well than to be played by the game.


----------



## Joe01880

Speed Daemon said:


> What if we want to renegotiate every year...or 6 months?


 arnt those called Unions and contracts, and didnt you agree to one when you bought TiVo service..contract that is...

Your free to sign up anytime you like, your also free you leave anytime you want..you'll just pay the early termination fee's you agree'd to when you signed up if you do!
Welcome to the Hotel California


----------



## Chris Gerhard

Speed Daemon said:


> I was talking about the act of reward*ing* (or not, as the case may be), not what the rewards themselves are.
> 
> Just read through this thread. People who have never owned a TiVo before are being lured with great deals, no fuss or bother. Existing loyal TiVo customers have to do extra work in order to get similar deals, often with widely varying success. My time is worth money, so even if I eventually get the same deal that new subscribers get automatically, I'm still getting the short end of the stick.


I am not aware of any preferable deals for new TiVo subscribers. Just by logging into my TiVo.com account over the last couple of years, I have seen deals from $450 to $500 for a Premiere with lifetime and I have never seen better deals and only rarely seen the same deals for new TiVo users. I don't have to call or negotiate or complain or do anything other than accept the automatic offer. The only thing I would consider is a TiVo with lifetime as monthly bills are a nuisance and usually a poor value in my opinion so if there have been any monthly deals for new subscribers, I would have missed those but I am skeptical even that has happened.


----------



## hpuxman

You'll all probably laugh at this, but a lifetime sub isn't necessarily a lifetime sub. Now, mind you, I got WAY more out of my lifetime sub than I ever expected (Series 1 D-Tivo bought in 2001 and removed from service in 2010), but I sold it with the understanding the new owner could use it w/o monthly fees. Come to find out that D-TV would have let me keep in on the network had I wanted to, but since it was removed and out of service over a year, they used the opportunity to disallow hooking it up again. Some excuse about how the access card wasn't supported anymore and none of the new cards would work in such an old unit. 
I replaced the dinosaur with a TiVo HD, added a 1TB HD, and paid $400 for another lifetime sub, but now I'm thinking that wasn't such a good idea (Uh, ya think? ). Even at $12.95 a month, I don't break even for 30 months, and who knows what'll be available in even the next year.
<sigh> Perhaps I should look in this forum a little more often!


----------



## Chris Gerhard

DirecTV TiVo with lifetime service was exactly the opposite of the traditional TiVo with lifetime. I kept my DirecTV TiVo lifetime and used it with several DirecTV DVRs with TiVo but it could not be transferred to another DirecTV user and did not stay with the DVR if I sold the DVR. This was all clear in October 2000 when I purchased the lifetime service, it was a great deal and I continued to use it until I discontinued my DirecTV service in 2009.

My TiVoHD with lifetime stays with the DVR and is transferred to the new owner if I sell it.


----------



## steve614

alyssa said:


> I think the key difference was that he wanted a premiere & I want an elite. the cs/sales dude went away & said 'there's no way to enter in a discount on those units since they're so new'. I'm gonna wait a bit & try again. Eventually I'll get the cost down to $500 either by giving me the monthly $7 buck rate or the elite price will fall to a reasonable level.
> 
> of interest was his acknowledgement of how long I have been a customer.


The other difference, if you're willing to pay full price for a Premiere box ($200 vs. $100), you might be able to transfer an existing plan to it.
For that deal to work with the Elite, you'd have to pay full price for that box.
The Elite is $500 with a normal plan, so I would think the full price would have to be about $750.


----------



## Speed Daemon

Joe01880 said:


> arnt those called Unions and contracts, and didnt you agree to one when you bought TiVo service..contract that is...


I'm talking about lower-case-u unions, not the Civil War. 

Come to think of it, I did _not_ agree to any service contracts when I bought my TiVos...


----------



## alyssa

steve614 said:


> The other difference, if you're willing to pay full price for a Premiere box ($200 vs. $100), you might be able to transfer an existing plan to it.
> For that deal to work with the Elite, you'd have to pay full price for that box.
> The Elite is $500 with a normal plan, so I would think the full price would have to be about $750.


I spoke the cs about buying the Elite from tivo at full price as long as I could get the $7/month. He declined & offered me a free accessory.  He did say he spoke with his supervisor & there was no box to fill in for the discount. 

Has anyone ever gotten a discount from tivo on an Elite?


----------



## gameboy2oo2

I called Tivo today. The cs told me it is $12.95/month, and $499 for lifetime. No luck.


----------



## Speed Daemon

Chris Gerhard said:


> I am not aware of any preferable deals for new TiVo subscribers.


 think I explained adequately enough why taking the initiative, spending time and doing work has value, and the difference between doing all that work and simply accepting an offer. Also bear in mind that I'm not just talking about TiVo. I'm talking about the industry-wide practice of taking customer loyalty for granted.

Whenever I call my cellular provider with questions or service changes, they always make a point to look up how long I've been a customer and tell me that they appreciate having my patronage for over a decade. The mere act of taking notice and saying "thank you" doesn't cost them a cent, and goes a long way towards building good will.



> Just by logging into my TiVo.com account over the last couple of years, I have seen deals from $450 to $500 for a Premiere with lifetime and I have never seen better deals and only rarely seen the same deals for new TiVo users. I don't have to call or negotiate or complain or do anything other than accept the automatic offer.


You do have to take the initiative and make the effort to go to the TiVo website, right? Right.

I already have two lifetime service deals, and I can get a Premier for $99 at Best Buy. I already have a $1200 hole in my wallet (and 2 S2 DT boxes gathering dust) to keep my original, first issue lifetime service attached to my HD boxes. After getting scammed into buying the DTs (they said it was a one-time opportunity to transfer my lifetime service) and having little choice but to throw good money after bad to have HD capability, it was mighty insulting for TiVo to offer to take another huge chunk of cash to beta test a machine I don't want with more lifetime service than I need.

If you're happy with offers like that, well God bless you. I'll keep my money in my pocket and my personal integrity no lower.



> The only thing I would consider is a TiVo with lifetime as monthly bills are a nuisance and usually a poor value in my opinion...


The only thing I will consider involves keeping my original, unlimited lifetime service, not the new "strings everywhere" lifetime contract. And I'm not willing to pay a cent more than retail for the hardware. For a hack-proofed Premiere that offers way to little in return for the lock-down, I'm willing to try one for free.

TiVo lost my good will all by themselves. I was a faithful and loyal customer before Premier came out. I did my part and more. Now it's up to TiVo to decide whether they want to earn my trust anew, or find out if they can lure enough new suckers to keep their now nothing special company afloat. I'm a FOSS user, and TiVo needs my kind a whole lot more than my kind needs TiVo.


----------



## alyssa

gameboy2oo2 said:


> I called Tivo today. The cs told me it is $12.95/month, and $499 for lifetime. No luck.


for a premiere?


----------



## Shanezam203

alyssa said:


> for a premiere?


I can upgrade my s3 HD to Premiere for $200 & keep my $6.95 multi service plan, that's the best I came up with while upgrading to Premiere. I have 1 other box with Lifetime allowing me to keep the MSD.


----------



## atmuscarella

Speed Daemon said:


> I was talking about the act of reward*ing* (or not, as the case may be), not what the rewards themselves are.
> 
> Just read through this thread. People who have never owned a TiVo before are being lured with great deals, no fuss or bother. Existing loyal TiVo customers have to do extra work in order to get similar deals, often with widely varying success. My time is worth money, so even if I eventually get the same deal that new subscribers get automatically, I'm still getting the short end of the stick.
> 
> Now think about mobile phones, cable TV and other services that give new users preferential treatment. Do you see a pattern?


I think you have TiVo confused with other companies. You do understand that this thread is about what retention offers people get when they are canceling TiVo service, right? As far as I know retention offer pricing has never been made to new customers.



Speed Daemon said:


> That's correct, but what bearing does it have on _services_?


Buying a service is no different than buying a physical product. Buyer and Seller both get to negotiate and both get to walk away if they don't want to do the deal.



Speed Daemon said:


> In a free society you're able to openly believe what you wish. However that isn't any guarantee that what you believe is true.
> 
> In a so-called "free" _laissez faire_ marketplace you're free to *not* get what you want. Your actual negotiating power is directly proportional to the level of clout that you have. Who do you think has more clout--an individual of modest means, or a multi-billion dollar industry that have the clout of a monopoly, thanks to supply-side trade organizations like the RIAA, MPAA in the US, the Zaibatsu/Keiretsu in Japan and the People's Liberation Army in China? Precisely why shouldn't individuals be able to organize themselves as consumers to multiply their collective clout in the very same ways that Big Business does?


No reason at all, in fact people have been doing what you outlined for a long time. They are called cooperatives. When I was young my family were dairy farmers we were in both buying and selling cooperatives. They are member owned organizations designed to provide group buying and/or selling power. Some work fine some don't, if they grow large enough they will either fail or basically become like a business.



Speed Daemon said:


> If you're referring to Amazon regarding its eBay style marketplace and not its own product line, that's all just a modern take on the old flea market concept. I have nothing against flea markets, online or in-person. Flea markets can be great for certain things, and not so great for others. I probably wouldn't buy a service contract at a flea market because I have no guarantee that the seller is a legitimate representative of that service provider, and the time it takes to verify the deal is legitimate gives a fraudulent seller ample time to get away with my cash.


I think you missed my point. Prices change all the time and in simplest terms they are set by what the buyers are willing to pay.



Speed Daemon said:


> Back to my idea: What if people like me who have been committing to "take it or leave it" 2 year contracts for services like cellphone, data, cable or satellite TV decided to work together in numbers large enough so that _we_ had the clout to make our own "take it or leave it" offers to our service providers? Most of us have worked for a big business of some sort at some point in our lives. Therefore most of us know how to apply teamwork and discipline to achieve greater results than we could alone. Why not use the very same business principles to get a better deal for ourselves as customers? What if we want to renegotiate every year...or 6 months?


You are certainly free to try and setup any type cooperative you would like. All I can tell you is that they are lots of work and time consuming (unless you pay someone to do it and then the $$ savings goes down fast).



Speed Daemon said:


> One thing that's plain to anyone who knows the rudiments of business operations is that no business is entitled to ever-increasing profits. No top executives are entitled to breathtaking compensation packages. If the other side of the market has enough clout to affect profits so negatively that those top jobs (and perhaps the entire enterprise) are in jeopardy, management will inevitably choose less profit over no profit. Even US airlines, which perpetually operate at a loss to shareholders manage to find generous compensation for their top executives. There's almost always room for a better deal for the consumer. IMHO it's better to play the game well than to be played by the game.


While business certainly are not "entitled" to ever-increasing profits they are entitled to try to make ever increasing profits and I expect any company that I invest in to be doing so.


----------



## atmuscarella

Speed Daemon said:


> TiVo lost my good will all by themselves. I was a faithful and loyal customer before Premier came out. I did my part and more. Now it's up to TiVo to decide whether they want to earn my trust anew, or find out if they can lure enough new suckers to keep their now nothing special company afloat. I'm a FOSS user, and TiVo needs my kind a whole lot more than my kind needs TiVo.


"faithful and loyal customer" Now that is an amusing statement. I have to assume your idea of what a "faithful and loyal customer" would be is completely different than mine.

Faithful and loyal doesn't mean you just bought something from someone. It means you bought something even though you had a equal alternative at a lower price or superior quality alternatives at the same price. Effectively you gave business to someone when you new it was not in your best interests.

So did you buy a TiVo when you new you could have bought a equal product at a lower price or a superior product for the same price?

I can say with near 100% assurance I will never be a "faithful and loyal customer". I have owned 5 TiVos and I bought them all because I thought they were the best deal for me at the time. If I buy another one it will be for the same reason not because I like TiVo Inc..


----------



## alyssa

Shanezam203 said:


> I can upgrade my s3 HD to Premiere for $200 & keep my $6.95 multi service plan, that's the best I came up with while upgrading to Premiere. I have 1 other box with Lifetime allowing me to keep the MSD.


What the cs/sales guy said was, the elite is their 'latest & greatest' so there's no discounts yet. He referenced the XL & said there had just started to be discounts on that. IIRC, the premiere came out in early 2010 & started having discounts in nov along with the $20 monthly rate. I gotta think they'll be some discounts on the elite happening by the end of the year.


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## gameboy2oo2

alyssa said:


> for a premiere?


It's Tivo S3.


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## nycityuser

alyssa said:


> I gotta think they'll be some discounts on the elite happening by the end of the year.


The end of the year?! We are only 19 days into the year - the promise of something "by the end of the year" is rather remote...


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## alyssa

nycityuser said:


> The end of the year?! We are only 19 days into the year - the promise of something "by the end of the year" is rather remote...


well, yeah  but... but.. it gives a time frame. Hopefully they'll still have the $99LT offer going for older units.

eta; there was no promise by the cs/sales guy, that was my guesstimation.


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## Joe01880

Speed Daemon said:


> Come to think of it, I did _not_ agree to any service contracts when I bought my TiVos...


http://www.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/tivoserviceagreement.html

Please note that without a subscription to the TiVo service, your TiVo DVR will not work! Please see Section 7, above. The TiVo service will be terminated at the end of the service period for which you have paid and unused subscription fees are nonrefundable. If you terminate your account or this Agreement before meeting any applicable Service Commitment, TiVo reserves the right to charge you the early termination fee agreed to by you at the time _you subscribed _to the TiVo service.

Section 15

maybe you can negotiate that in your next contract, let me know how that works out for you!

┌∩┐


----------



## Speed Daemon

Joe01880 said:


> http://www.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/tivoserviceagreement.html
> 
> Please note that without a subscription to the TiVo service, your TiVo DVR will not work! Please see Section 7, above. The TiVo service will be terminated at the end of the service period for which you have paid and unused subscription fees are nonrefundable. If you terminate your account or this Agreement before meeting any applicable Service Commitment, TiVo reserves the right to charge you the early termination fee agreed to by you at the time _you subscribed _to the TiVo service.
> 
> Section 15
> 
> maybe you can negotiate that in your next contract, let me know how that works out for you!
> 
> ┌∩┐


Yeah...about that...

I don't see any connection between the fact that I bought my TiVo hardware without service agreements and you reciting a 2008 service agreement that I'm not a party to. Do you have a point?

BTW, what makes you think I need luck, or have any desire to negotiate any "next contract" with TiVo? Two lifetime service accounts are enough for me. And it would be foolish to give up the original lifetime service offer terms now! As unitron said so well: "Once it's lifetimed, it's lifetimed.."


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## Lajonesin

I called just to cancel my Series 3HD since I have just upgraded to Premier and they really pushed hard to get me to keep it active for $99LT. I said it was just sitting under my bed so I really didn't need it so he hit me with a 2 day opportunity to think about it and call him back. All you have to do it seems is ask to cancel your service.


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## HenryFarpolo

Lajonesin said:


> I called just to cancel my Series 3HD since I have just upgraded to Premier and they really pushed hard to get me to keep it active for $99LT. I said it was just sitting under my bed so I really didn't need it so he hit me with a 2 day opportunity to think about it and call him back. All you have to do it seems is ask to cancel your service.


Take the offer and sell the HD with lifetime. It is worth more on ebay than it is under your bed.


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## sbiller

Lajonesin said:


> I called just to cancel my Series 3HD since I have just upgraded to Premier and they really pushed hard to get me to keep it active for $99LT. I said it was just sitting under my bed so I really didn't need it so he hit me with a 2 day opportunity to think about it and call him back. All you have to do it seems is ask to cancel your service.


Its worth $300+ on ebay once you add the PLS.


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## unitron

Lajonesin said:


> I called just to cancel my Series 3HD since I have just upgraded to Premier and they really pushed hard to get me to keep it active for $99LT. I said it was just sitting under my bed so I really didn't need it so he hit me with a 2 day opportunity to think about it and call him back. All you have to do it seems is ask to cancel your service.


All you have to do is ask to cancel the service on your HD once you buy a Premiere and sub it.

There's always a catch.


----------



## larrs

My youngest daughter has been after me to put tivo in her room and I have beenthinking seriously about it due to our main famiily tivo getting filled with shows like "Pretty Little Liars", "The Secret Circle" and "The Lying Game" (basically anything on ABC Family and some things on CW- OK, I admit I like "Nikita" and "Supernatural" ).

Since I transfered service from a couple of HD units to my Premieres, they are still sitting in my basement storage area. So, I called in to try to get he $99 lifetime on one of them for her. I got the standard $399 lifetime/$9.99 monthly offer. 

After I said I had heard about a $99 lifetime offer, they then said, they never heard of it and it doesn't exist. So, pulling out the big guns, I told the girl I had converted one of my HD's to lifetime a couple of months ago for $99, she then said that the offer was over.

I try not to get frustrated and I did remain calm, but I did ask her which was true- she never heard of it or, it ended. All she could say was that she couldn't give it to me. 

I decided not to go any further with that one. Sheesh.


----------



## gamerguy-n-TX

larrs said:


> After I said I had heard about a $99 lifetime offer, they then said, they never heard of it and it doesn't exist. So, pulling out the big guns, I told the girl I had converted one of my HD's to lifetime a couple of months ago for $99, she then said that the offer was over.
> 
> I try not to get frustrated and I did remain calm, but I did ask her which was true- she never heard of it or, it ended. All she could say was that she couldn't give it to me.


My $99 PLS offer came back in October via e-mail. It was valid until *12/31/11*.

This was an S2 DT that I had canceled at the end of April '11 and there are no active units on my account.

I let the offer lapse without action.

I'm not sure what if any offer I can get now but that unit was able to be re-activated on month-to-month $12.95 before I got the $99 deal.

Month-to-month shows up automatically thru the website whereas the Lifetime offer required me to call in.


----------



## nycityuser

larrs said:


> Since I transfered service from a couple of HD units to my Premieres, they are still sitting in my basement storage area. So, I called in to try to get he $99 lifetime on one of them for her. I got the standard $399 lifetime/$9.99 monthly offer.


I think that your problem was that you tried to get the deal on units that had already been deactivated. It is when you call to cancel that you get the deal. Not when you call to reactivate.


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## unitron

nycityuser said:


> I think that your problem was that you tried to get the deal on units that had already been deactivated. It is when you call to cancel that you get the deal. Not when you call to reactivate.


Yeah, it's all about who has who by the short and curlies.

You want to cancel, they want more of your money. That gives you leverage and makes them willing to be flexible in hopes of getting something rather than nothing.

You want to subscribe, they have the advantage.


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## larrs

nycityuser said:


> I think that your problem was that you tried to get the deal on units that had already been deactivated. It is when you call to cancel that you get the deal. Not when you call to reactivate.


I think I'll roll the dice on reactivating one of them on month to month ($9.99) and see what happens when I call to cancel after a couple of months. Can't hurt.


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## atmuscarella

larrs said:


> I think I'll roll the dice on reactivating one of them on month to month ($9.99) and see what happens when I call to cancel after a couple of months. Can't hurt.


Be careful, I believe you commit to 1 year service if you reactivate a unit. I would ask them, and also ask them if you can still cancel within the first 30 days if there is a cancellation penalty and avoid the penalty.

Good luck,


----------



## buscuitboy

I have a S3 (lifetime) and a S2 (DT) on a $6.95/month plan. Was thinking of getting a Premiere and then cancelling the S2. I then saw this $99 lifetime thread here. Figured I am the perfect candidate & would probably take the $99 lifetime offer (for S2) if given the choice. 

One question though; I was gonna get the Premiere from Best Buy. Since they have a 30 day return policy for it, was gonna go month to month for the first 1-2 months. If I like the Premiere and keep it, would then just get a $399 lifetime on the Premiere. 

Would this somehow affect my ability to get the $99 lifetime offer for my S2? Would I need to get it right away when signing up the Premiere? Or could I possibly get it 1-2 months later after I keep it and upgrade it to lifetime? 

If I have to take the $99 lifetime right away, but then decide to return the Premiere to Best Buy within the 30 day window, how would this affect everything as well?


----------



## Brighton Line

As far as I know you can not go month to month. The agreement you agree to is a year commitment at X per month.
I just activated a Premier I got from Amazon ($70) for $14.99 a month (Multi Service Discount) and do have the 30 Day cancel (It shows on Tivo.Com My Account) but the agreement says after 30 days it is a year with a cancellation fee paying per month.

I have an HD (Primary $12,99) and Premiere XL ($99 a year). I just finished all the updates on the new box and moved over recordings from the HD. Tonight I will divorce the external drive on the HD and put it on the Premier. Then sometime this weekend I'll call Tivo and see if I can get $99 lifetime on the HD box. 

Now I could be wrong and you maybe able to do a month to month on a new box. I did just skim the agreement. 
FWIW


----------



## kcmike

atmuscarella said:


> Be careful, I believe you commit to 1 year service if you reactivate a unit. I would ask them, and also ask them if you can still cancel within the first 30 days if there is a cancellation penalty and avoid the penalty.
> 
> Good luck,


There is no commitment if you are reactivating a unit that is already on your account. If you have a deactivated Tivo listed on the web site, and click reactivate, one of the options is "Monthly service with no commitment". If you click on details, it says "No commitment to the tivo service is required."


----------



## shwru980r

kcmike said:


> There is no commitment if you are reactivating a unit that is already on your account. If you have a deactivated Tivo listed on the web site, and click reactivate, one of the options is "Monthly service with no commitment". If you click on details, it says "No commitment to the tivo service is required."


I think you could activate any S1,S2 or S3 month to month, even if it wasn't on your account previously.


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## larrs

shwru980r said:


> I think you could activate any S1,S2 or S3 month to month, even if it wasn't on your account previously.


I activated one of my HDs today and it was month to month. Interestingly, I had transferred service from it to one of my Premieres when I got them (back before the new pricing). The HDs were not on my account under "deactivated", so I called in. No problem on the month-to-month.

TIFWIW


----------



## buscuitboy

buscuitboy said:


> I have a S3 (lifetime) and a S2 (DT) on a $6.95/month plan. Was thinking of getting a Premiere and then cancelling the S2. I then saw this $99 lifetime thread here. Figured I am the perfect candidate & would probably take the $99 lifetime offer (for S2) if given the choice.


Well, I got a Premiere bundle from Best Buy yesterday for $99 (includes a long range antenna). I even got the Best Buy "black tie" extended warranty service for 4yrs at $19.99 (compared to TiVo's at $30 for 2yrs). Had to go to the actual store to get their extended warranty as it didn't seem to be available if I tried to purchase the bundle online.

Then called TiVo directly and they offered me this $99 lifetime for my S2DT box and $399 lifetime on the new Premiere. Took them both and all works great. Will now stick the S2DT in the basement with a Comcast DTA box that is down there. Works for me.


----------



## unitron

buscuitboy said:


> Well, I got a Premiere bundle from Best Buy yesterday for $99 (includes a long range antenna). I even got the Best Buy "black tie" extended warranty service for 4yrs at $19.99 (compared to TiVo's at $30 for 2yrs). Had to go to the actual store to get their extended warranty as it didn't seem to be available if I tried to purchase the bundle online.
> 
> Then called TiVo directly and they offered me this $99 lifetime for my S2DT box and $399 lifetime on the new Premiere. Took them both and all works great. Will now stick the S2DT in the basement with a Comcast DTA box that is down there. Works for me.


How long had you had that S2 DT? Under 3 years?


----------



## buscuitboy

Have had the S2DT box since about 2008 so over 3 yrs. I was looking to possibly get another used Series 2 box (or boxes) somewhere to control my Comcast DTAs. 

However, it dawned on me that why mess with getting another Series 2 when I should just better utilize what I currently have. Instead, put that money toward a new Premiere for the bedroom (since I would like to eventually get a HDTV in there at some point anyway). Then just move my current S2 to be with a Comcast DTA like I originally wanted & get it as a lifetime unit for only $99 (instead of $6.95/month). Seemed like a win-win. 

Now, if I can clear up & figure out some issues I am having with an S3 (lifetime), I can then definitely move this S2 to the basement as desired  Will then just have 3 lifetime TiVos and not have to worry about paying Comcast $10-20/month in fees for each DVR (only the $1.50/cable cards)


----------



## Brighton Line

Just got my 2nd Premier, first one is almost 2 years old (on $99 a year MSD). This premier replaced my TivoHD ($12.95 a month) so I called up to cancel.
They first offered me $9.95 a month after being on hold for a good 10 minutes after asking to cancel. Then when I said I was also paying $4 in cable card fees he came back with $6.95 a month.
So I hemmed and hawed and asked if there is any lifetime option. Then all of a sudden "he saw" the $99 for Lifetime and read me the Tivo service agreement. 
My account page now says "Scheduled plan: $99.00 Product Lifetime service", can't wait for the Credit Card charge to go thru.
Thanks to all on this thread!!

P.S. Just found out the Scheduled Plan is because my monthly renewed TODAY so I've already paid for the month and won't get lifetime for 30 days.


----------



## poppagene

Is anyone still getting in on the $99 lifetime? And specifically has any one subscribed a recently acquired S3 to a monthly plan, cancelled after a month and gotten an offer of $99 lifetime. Tivo had earlier offered to reinstate an S2 that was out of service on a $99 lifetime plan, but I never took them up on it.


----------



## larrs

poppagene said:


> Is anyone still getting in on the $99 lifetime? And specifically has any one subscribed a recently acquired S3 to a monthly plan, cancelled after a month and gotten an offer of $99 lifetime. Tivo had earlier offered to reinstate an S2 that was out of service on a $99 lifetime plan, but I never took them up on it.


Just did it today. However, I also bought an Elite and added it to my account to replace an HD (added lifetime, so they did get $500 from me). I called and said I was probably going to unsub the HD now that I bought the Elite. The rep told me he could get me the $99 lifetime in case I wanted to give it to a friend or family member. It had been on month to month for two months.


----------



## NowPlaying

poppagene said:


> Is anyone still getting in on the $99 lifetime? And specifically has any one subscribed a recently acquired S3 to a monthly plan, cancelled after a month and gotten an offer of $99 lifetime. Tivo had earlier offered to reinstate an S2 that was out of service on a $99 lifetime plan, but I never took them up on it.


I just got it today. I had to talk to two agents and spent a lot of time on hold but in the end I got my S2 month-to-month switched to a $99 lifetime.


----------



## Soapm

NowPlaying said:


> I just got it today. I had to talk to two agents and spent a lot of time on hold but in the end I got my S2 month-to-month switched to a $99 lifetime.


Wow, you got the deal for a S2? That's something I haven't been able to do. You at least gave me hope.


----------



## nycityuser

Soapm said:


> Wow, you got the deal for a S2? That's something I haven't been able to do. You at least gave me hope.


I got the $99 lifetime deal on an S2 back in January. I also have a Premiere on an annual plan and two HDs on $6.95 monthly plans.


----------



## brosamj

I have a Tivo Premiere and an HD Tivo. I just ordered the Elite. I asked if I could get the $99 lifetime on the Premiere and he said no. He said that I could get it for the Tivo HD though. I am on the grandfathered $6.95 deal on that one, so i wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. He told me that he would make a note in my file and that they would give me the lifetime deal when and if I wanted it in the future. No dice on the Premiere unit though and am paying $9.99 on that one per month.


----------



## larrs

brosamj said:


> I have a Tivo Premiere and an HD Tivo. I just ordered the Elite. I asked if I could get the $99 lifetime on the Premiere and he said no. He said that I could get it for the Tivo HD though. I am on the grandfathered $6.95 deal on that one, so i wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. He told me that he would make a note in my file and that they would give me the lifetime deal when and if I wanted it in the future. No dice on the Premiere unit though and am paying $9.99 on that one per month.


You realize that $99 could be the ticket to lifetime on a premiere, right?

A Tivo HD is going for about $350 on Ebay with Lifetime. That nets you $250 toward a lifetime Premiere @ $399. Add in $49 for a Premiere box from Electronics Expo, etc. and you are looking at roughly $200 out of pocket for a Premiere with lifetime. Not a bad deal at all.


----------



## StuffOfInterest

Have there been any recent lifetime transfer offers for those of us with ancient Series 2 DT devices? I upgraded to this back around 2006 (or may '06) when TiVo offered a transfer deal from my old Sony SVR 2000 (purchased in 2000). If the deal was right I'd finally ditch the S2DT (currently serving a small TV in the kitchen) if there was a good deal to get into a Premier with the newly expanded disk capacity.


----------



## unitron

StuffOfInterest said:


> Have there been any recent lifetime transfer offers for those of us with ancient Series 2 DT devices? I upgraded to this back around 2006 (or may '06) when TiVo offered a transfer deal from my old Sony SVR 2000 (purchased in 2000). If the deal was right I'd finally ditch the S2DT (currently serving a small TV in the kitchen) if there was a good deal to get into a Premier with the newly expanded disk capacity.


This thread isn't about "transferring" lifetime subs, it's about having to pay almost $100 for them.

I'm curious as to under what circumstances they let you transfer from that Sony.


----------



## StuffOfInterest

unitron said:


> I'm curious as to under what circumstances they let you transfer from that Sony.


It was a package offer to get a Series 2 DT with lifetime and then the series 1 looses it's lifetime sub after 90 days. I don't recall what the package price was but it was good enough to make me change. I think the motivation at the time was TiVo trying to get the last of the Series 1 devices retired.

(edit)

The order is still listed in my account. Did it in July 2007 and it cost $299. Since it was a transfer my service account for that box shows an activation date of September 2000, 11-1/2 years ago.


----------



## atmuscarella

StuffOfInterest said:


> It was a package offer to get a Series 2 DT with lifetime and then the series 1 looses it's lifetime sub after 90 days. I don't recall what the package price was but it was good enough to make me change. I think the motivation at the time was TiVo trying to get the last of the Series 1 devices retired.
> 
> (edit)
> 
> The order is still listed in my account. Did it in July 2007 and it cost $299. Since it was a transfer my service account for that box shows an activation date of September 2000, 11-1/2 years ago.


Just for those who were not around back then or may have forgotten. TiVo was not offering new lifetime service subscriptions at this point (I think they stopped offering lifetime service late winter/early spring of 2006) and did offer a few deals to transfer lifetime service to new units. They started offering lifetime service again sometime around 5/2008. I do not believe there has been any general offers to transfer lifetime service to new units since TiVo started offering lifetime service again back in 2008.


----------



## shwru980r

Soapm said:


> Wow, you got the deal for a S2? That's something I haven't been able to do. You at least gave me hope.


You could probably find a used S2 with lifetime service on line for $99 or less, if you're willing to search for a while. If it's compatible with your existing S2, then you have spare parts that you wouldn't have if you got the $99 lifetime offer from Tivo.


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## larrs

One thing is certain and that is that the S3 is never going to get much more support for new things, etc. You surely do not offer $99 lifetime on a unit that is going to get any more bells and whistles.


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## ScottE22

Hey all -

My dad is going back to Dish (seduced by The Hopper...) and will be giving me back the TiVo HD I gave him three or four year ago. I'd like to put it to use in mu basement media area which currently has a projector, Apple TV, and DVD player, but no tuner. 

Has TiVo been known to give the $99 offer to people when they call to cancel outright without adding a Premiere?

If not, it appears from some of the posts above that I might be able to add it to my account for the monthly fee and then call in a few months and hope for the Lifetime offer. I have two Lifetimed Premieres already on my account.

If I do have to add it month-to-month, what's the going rate for a TiVo HD these days? Same as the Premiere?


----------



## steve614

I believe a TivoHD is $12.95 /mo ( $9.95 /mo with MSD ).

Is it currently unsubscribed?

If you have to go that route, I would subscribe it and then call TiVo within the 30 day window to cancel. Say you don't want to pay $9.95 /mo, but you would be willing to pay $99 for lifetime.


----------



## unitron

ScottE22 said:


> Hey all -
> 
> My dad is going back to Dish (seduced by The Hopper...) and will be giving me back the TiVo HD I gave him three or four year ago. I'd like to put it to use in mu basement media area which currently has a projector, Apple TV, and DVD player, but no tuner.
> 
> Has TiVo been known to give the $99 offer to people when they call to cancel outright without adding a Premiere?
> 
> If not, it appears from some of the posts above that I might be able to add it to my account for the monthly fee and then call in a few months and hope for the Lifetime offer. I have two Lifetimed Premieres already on my account.
> 
> If I do have to add it month-to-month, what's the going rate for a TiVo HD these days? Same as the Premiere?


Call them and threaten to cancel that TCD652160 now, before the name on the account changes. You want them to think that the TiVo is no longer wanted and that this is their last chance at getting any more money out of the present owner.

Then once it's lifetimed, it's lifetimed.


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## Soapm

shwru980r said:


> You could probably find a used S2 with lifetime service on line for $99 or less, if you're willing to search for a while. If it's compatible with your existing S2, then you have spare parts that you wouldn't have if you got the $99 lifetime offer from Tivo.


I can't use my S2 as a DT since Comcast went all digital. I was trying to give the one I have some resale value.


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## ScottE22

unitron said:


> Call them and threaten to cancel that TCD652160 now, before the name on the account changes. You want them to think that the TiVo is no longer wanted and that this is their last chance at getting any more money out of the present owner.
> 
> Then once it's lifetimed, it's lifetimed.


I had that thought, too. I guess there's nothing to lose by having him call and act like he's on the fence about canceling. Worst case, they don't offer it to him and I can do as steve614 suggested -- add it and then call on day 28.

From their perspective it's a legacy piece of hardware so any last but of money they can squeeze out of it is only good...


----------



## Leon WIlkinson

I got a great deal which I couldn't pass-up on, I called to see which boxes I have was qualifying MSD Boxes. 

Did I just play along (Just oh Really?)with the info that was given to me, yes.

Did I ask If I could buy the premiere right then, yep.

So, after the 26 minutes wait (almost hung-up) I was told I was given the wrong info,by the First CSR. Then he said he went to bat for me... So I come out with a new Premiere with lifetime for $325.64.

Last month I dropped $399 for a premiere, bought on Woot a yr ago. also bought a total of 6 prior TiVos (LT'ed) with my first one costing me $1049 for 30hrs in 1999 which helped his pitch.


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## SnakeEyes

I don't follow.


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## Leon WIlkinson

SnakeEyes said:


> I don't follow.


The first CSR She said I Qualified for the grand fathered Lifetime offer from my first TiVo which I had already done. I said to her Really!! could I buy it from you. She said they might have a Box they could do it on, but most likely I would have to buy it somewhere else.

Expecting to be declined when I was switched to the Sales. when he put me on hold 1 time for (26 Mins) then came back, To say She misinformed me & he went to bat for me, and had a deal. I had to buy the box for full retail and would be able to transfer it for free.


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## Leon WIlkinson

I really paid $220 for the Lifetime service 

My receipt is for a R74632 which I figure is the Refurb TiVo for $79.99, which is what I was expecting, I wasn't told it was a refurb, which is OK. Still gets me a great deal on a premiere which I would not of bought unless I sold one of my other 2 TiVoHD or my S1 all lifetime which I took out of storage around 5 months ago.


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## Soapm

Leon WIlkinson said:


> I really paid $220 for the Lifetime service
> 
> My receipt is for a R74632 which I figure is the Refurb TiVo for $79.99, which is what I was expecting, I wasn't told it was a refurb, which is OK. Still gets me a great deal on a premiere which I would not of bought unless I sold one of my other 2 TiVoHD or my S1 all lifetime which I took out of storage around 5 months ago.


I'll trade you a busted sawzall and a Ranger Rick nature club decoder ring for that lifetime service 

Good snag... Good snag...


----------



## Kevin249

I have a TiVo S2 with PLS, a TiVo HD with PLS and a Premiere with the MSD rate of $6.95 / month. I would like to purchase another Premiere to replace the aging S2. Does this sound like they would let me upgrade the older Premiere I have to PLS for $99 and transfer the $6.95 rate to the new Premiere if I pay the full Premiere price? anyone have any experience with that scenario?


----------



## unitron

Kevin249 said:


> I have a TiVo S2 with PLS, a TiVo HD with PLS and a Premiere with the MSD rate of $6.95 / month. I would like to purchase another Premiere to replace the aging S2. Does this sound like they would let me upgrade the older Premiere I have to PLS for $99 and transfer the $6.95 rate to the new Premiere if I pay the full Premiere price? anyone have any experience with that scenario?


I don't think anybody is getting $99 PLS on anything newer than S3 platform units, and (except for S1s for which PLS was purchased on or before January 20, 2000) probably only under special circumstances is anyone able to transfer, at an additional cost, PLS from an older TiVo to a Premiere.

You did well just to get the $6.95 on the Premiere.

It's likely that the best for which you can hope is for the S2 or S3 with PLS to qualify you for the MSD on PLS on a Premiere, which means it'll be $399 instead of $499.

Is that S2 single or dual tuner?


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## Kevin249

unitron said:


> I don't think anybody is getting $99 PLS on anything newer than S3 platform units, and (except for S1s for which PLS was purchased on or before January 20, 2000) probably only under special circumstances is anyone able to transfer, at an additional cost, PLS from an older TiVo to a Premiere.
> 
> You did well just to get the $6.95 on the Premiere.
> 
> It's likely that the best for which you can hope is for the S2 or S3 with PLS to qualify you for the MSD on PLS on a Premiere, which means it'll be $399 instead of $499.
> 
> Is that S2 single or dual tuner?


My S2 (actually I have 2 of them, but ones not hooked up at moment) are both single tuners. Perhaps they still have a little value with the pls on eBay?

The reason I was able to transfer the old $6.95 MSD rate was I bought the Premiere on Amazon the day it dropped to the restricted $99 price about two years ago, which required you buy a 19.95 monthly plan at the same time. For the first 24-48 hours after the price drop no where on the amazon page (nor other retailers if I recall) did it tell you this restriction until you actually got the unit and tried to get service hooked up. This was addressed pretty quickly, as by the time my TiVo arrived by UPS, this restriction was clearly highlighted in the Amazon product description online. I honestly didn't know this was the situation at the time, and felt pretty mis-led. When I complained, a TiVo supervisor offered the $6.95 transfer as a goodwill gesture, but they were adamant at the time that I couldn't get the PLS which I think may have been $299 at the time for existing customers, which was what I really wanted. Either way, the $6.95 offer was a fair deal I thought at the time, and I appreciated the company's willingness to be flexible to a longtime customer.


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## analog4

I just tried - they offered me lifetime on my TiVo HD for $99 - only if I got a new TiVo Premiere unit and paid for service on that as well - for $12.99 a month or $399 lifetime. Which is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I have already paid $129 for the last 4 years.

So they want $647 or $747 - my DirecTV HD DVR units are looking very tempting now.


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## unitron

analog4 said:


> I just tried - they offered me lifetime on my TiVo HD for $99 - only if I got a new TiVo Premiere unit and paid for service on that as well - for $12.99 a month or $399 lifetime. Which is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I have already paid $129 for the last 4 years.
> 
> So they want $647 or $747 - my DirecTV HD DVR units are looking very tempting now.


You've had that S3 HD on a monthly for the last 4 years and threatening to discontinue didn't get you the $99 offer?

Keep trying until you get a CSR that says "yes".

If they say no, ask them why others have been able to get the deal.


----------



## analog4

unitron said:


> You've had that S3 HD on a monthly for the last 4 years and threatening to discontinue didn't get you the $99 offer?
> 
> Keep trying until you get a CSR that says "yes".
> 
> If they say no, ask them why others have been able to get the deal.


Nope. I asked if there were promotions, and they said the $399 was it, unless I went with a MSD - $99 Lifetime for the TiVo HD. And $399 Lifetime for a Premiere.

I did web chat - so I may call. I asked how to stop the auto billing, and the guy gave me a toll free number to call, but nothing in the way of a reasonable offer.

So there is a $99 offer on my box with out requiring any purchase of new hardware or purchase?


----------



## steve614

analog4 said:


> So there is a $99 offer on my box with out requiring any purchase of new hardware or purchase?


No, nothing in writing.

You have to call the right CSR at the right time, and you _might_ get offered the deal.

It's called CSR roulette.

But let me just say this... the majority of people who have been offered the $99 lifetime on their old equipment had already upgraded (or were in the process of upgrading) to a Premiere.


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## shadowplay0918

I called the other day bc I continue to have trouble with 1 of my 2 lifetime Tivo HD's. The offered me a refurb on that one for $150 which I decided to pass on (it still working but rebooting) but they offered me $99 lifetime on my 3rd HD which I am paying $6.95/month. He claimed it was a new offer that just became available a couple of weeks ago.

I asked if I could think about and he said he would note my account...probably call back tomorrow and accept just for resell value if nothing else...


----------



## Chris Gerhard

steve614 said:


> No, nothing in writing.
> 
> You have to call the right CSR at the right time, and you _might_ get offered the deal.
> 
> It's called CSR roulette.
> 
> But let me just say this... the majority of people who have been offered the $99 lifetime on their old equipment had already upgraded (or were in the process of upgrading) to a Premiere.


Do we know of any $99 lifetime offers without the owner having a series 4? I called twice asking about the deal, the last time probably about 6 months ago. I have 2 TiVoHDs subscribed with lifetime and 2 without any service purchased used and I don't see how the 2 without will ever qualify but I can dream.


----------



## poppagene

Chris Gerhard said:


> Do we know of any $99 lifetime offers without the owner having a series 4? I called twice asking about the deal, the last time probably about 6 months ago. I have 2 TiVoHDs subscribed with lifetime and 2 without any service purchased used and I don't see how the 2 without will ever qualify but I can dream.


I was sent a $99 lifetime offer on a series 2 tivo on an account that was inactive at the time and had only had 2 series tivos subscribed.

Update: I just got another email offering $99 lifetime on a series 2 that is no longer subscribed.


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## donnoh

I just called to cancel a month to month service on an HD that I bought and they jumped all over the $99 lifetime to keep it subsrcibed. Bye Bye $9.99 a month, hello $99.00 one time fee!


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## unitron

donnoh said:


> I just called to cancel a month to month service on an HD that I bought and they jumped all over the $99 lifetime to keep it subsrcibed. Bye Bye $9.99 a month, hello $99.00 one time fee!


How long ago did you buy that HD?


----------



## donnoh

unitron said:


> How long ago did you buy that HD?


I bought it a few months ago and subscribed it month to month. I have two Premieres that I bought two years ago on my account that both have lifetime.


----------



## analog4

steve614 said:


> No, nothing in writing.
> 
> You have to call the right CSR at the right time, and you _might_ get offered the deal.
> 
> It's called CSR roulette.
> 
> But let me just say this... the majority of people who have been offered the $99 lifetime on their old equipment had already upgraded (or were in the process of upgrading) to a Premiere.


I'd upgrade to a Premiere, but I don't want to keep paying yearly for it, and the $399 Lifetime Offer is the same as I have now - so I still end up spending what I'm trying to avoid right now (and the cost of a new Premiere unit).


----------



## Chris Gerhard

poppagene said:


> I was sent a $99 lifetime offer on a series 2 tivo on an account that was inactive at the time and had only had 2 series tivos subscribed.
> 
> Update: I just got another email offering $99 lifetime on a series 2 that is no longer subscribed.


Interesting. I also have an unsubscribed Series 2 but I wouldn't subscribe it for $99 lifetime. I would sure jump on a TiVoHD for $99 lifetime.


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## lessd

As I understand the $99 lifetime deal, if you have any TiVo (except the Series 4) coming off monthly, you can renew that TiVo with the $99 PLS. I just did it for someone else without any problems. The $99 PLS starts on the day your monthly service would end.


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## Chris Gerhard

lessd said:


> As I understand the $99 lifetime deal, if you have any TiVo (except the Series 4) coming off monthly, you can renew that TiVo with the $99 PLS. I just did it for someone else without any problems. The $99 PLS starts on the day your monthly service would end.


If I knew I could buy a $99 lifetime for a TiVoHD, I would subscribe it for a month then call to cancel aka change to $99 lifetime but I am skeptical enough that so far I am saving the $10 that would cost. If I see that method is working for people without a Premiere, I will take the $10 gamble.


----------



## lessd

Chris Gerhard said:


> If I knew I could buy a $99 lifetime for a TiVoHD, I would subscribe it for a month then call to cancel aka change to $99 lifetime but I am skeptical enough that so far I am saving the $10 that would cost. If I see that method is working for people without a Premiere, I will take the $10 gamble.


IMHO I don't think one month would qualify, most likely you would need a year. Within 1 month you can get your money back anyways, I think you have to be coming off some monthly/prepaid contract.
Purchase a TiVo-HD just coming off contract then xfer the contract to your account, and you will be able to renew with a $99 PLS. (Not so easy to do, my friend just fell into this without planning it as the TiVo he got had about 3 weeks left on the contract then I told him to xfer the unit into his account than a few days later he called TiVo and said he would cancel at the end of the month or he would put on the $99 PLS, he got the $99 PLS.)


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## emkorial

Wait, if you have a tivoHD on monthtly you can switch to lifetime for $99?


----------



## Chris Gerhard

lessd said:


> IMHO I don't think one month would qualify, most likely you would need a year. Within 1 month you can get your money back anyways, I think you have to be coming some monthly/prepaid contract.
> Purchase a TiVo-HD just coming off contract then xfer the contract to your account, and you will be able to renew with a $99 PLS. (Not so easy to do, my friend just fell into this without planning it as the TiVo he got had about 3 weeks left on the contract then I told him to xfer the unit into his account than a few days later he called TiVo and said he would cancel at the end of the month or he would put on the $99 PLS, he got the $99 PLS.)


I don't think it will work either which is why I haven't tried it.


----------



## lessd

emkorial said:


> Wait, if you have a tivoHD on monthtly you can switch to lifetime for $99?


Yes if you have reached the end of your monthly contract, or when you do reach the end, or if your on month to month, than (most likely) you can get the $99 PLS on that TiVo.


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## poppagene

emkorial said:


> Wait, if you have a tivoHD on monthtly you can switch to lifetime for $99?


I got a Tivo Series 3 on ebay and am a week into my 2nd month of a month to month contract. I called to cancel and after a bit of discussion I mentioned I heard about a $99 lifetime deal. And this is the resulting email confirming my new lifetime:

Dear TiVo Customer,

This email is to confirm the changes made to your TiVo account.

Your service agreement changes have been made.

Your selected plan will begin on: 06/07/2012
Selected Plan: TiVo Service Plan - $99.00 - TiVo Lifetime Service

For the terms and conditions of your TiVo box + service bundle, please visit: www.tivo.com/policies/plan-details.
To view the details of this transaction or to make any further changes to your account, please visit: www.tivo.com/manage

Sincerely,

The TiVo Team

I currently have 2 S3 and 1 Premiere at lifetime.


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## SnakeEyes

You got the $99 LT because you have a Premiere on your account.


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## dlfl

Wahoo! I love this thread! I just got $99 lifetime on my TivoHD. This is the only TiVo I own and has been on yearly contracts for three years due for renewal next month. I selected "cancel" on the phone menu system and explained to the rep I was seriously considering cancelling because I can get the same Time Warner plan I'm on now with a DVR for only a few bucks more -- unless they could offer me an inducement to stay. Also mentioned it would be nice to no longer have to deal with a TA. After a minute or two on hold, the $99 lifetime was offered.

I suspect TiVo is willing to do this based on the odds of how much longer an S3 or TiVoHD box is going to last before the hard drive or power supply fails. For the average customer, this means the end of the lifetime sub. For those willing to mess with PS or HDD replacements to keep their box alive it's a good deal. 

If anyone gets $99 lifetime on a newer TiVo model that would be big news.


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## larrs

poppagene said:


> I got a Tivo Series 3 on ebay and am a week into my 2nd month of a month to month contract. I called to cancel and after a bit of discussion I mentioned I heard about a $99 lifetime deal. And this is the resulting email confirming my new lifetime:
> 
> Dear TiVo Customer,
> 
> This email is to confirm the changes made to your TiVo account.
> 
> Your service agreement changes have been made.
> 
> Your selected plan will begin on: 06/07/2012
> Selected Plan: TiVo Service Plan - $99.00 - TiVo Lifetime Service
> 
> For the terms and conditions of your TiVo box + service bundle, please visit: www.tivo.com/policies/plan-details.
> To view the details of this transaction or to make any further changes to your account, please visit: www.tivo.com/manage
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> The TiVo Team
> 
> I currently have 2 S3 and 1 Premiere at lifetime.


Thanks for this. I had originally bought a new Premiere to replace a THD and got the $99 deal. A month or so later, I decided I needed another tivo and tried to get the $99 on a currently unsubbed THD, and they wouldn't give it to me. However, I subbed that unit on month to month and got the lifetime after a couple of months but also happened to be buying an Elite when I mentioned that I could now cancel that unit. Now that I know I can likely add the last of my currently unsubbed THDs for a period of time and get the $99, I will try it again.

This may allow me to finally clear enough by selling my last two THDs (lifetime) to get one more Elite (or whatever the unit is now called) and be completely rid of THDs so we can have more tuners, MRS to every room and take advantage of whatever advanced services may become available.


----------



## SnakeEyes

Until now dlfl is a rarity in having no other boxes.

However, I just called TiVo and got my oldest HD on lifetime despite having no premiere. They wouldn't put it on my other HD since it was "too new". It's actually not too new but TiVo screwed up and cancelled the wrong box of my ex-GF, they were supposed to cancel her S2, so when it arrived at my house a few days they couldn't just transfer. So it has a very recent activation date on it.


----------



## just_lele

I have an HD with lifetime. I have a s2 with no service on it right now. Any ideas on what I could do to get a $99 lifetime on the s2?


----------



## Joe01880

just_lele said:


> I have an HD with lifetime. I have a s2 with no service on it right now. Any ideas on what I could do to get a $99 lifetime on the s2?


start by calling tivo, none of us can put lifetime on it. You can find s2's with lifetime for $99, if they wont hook you up picth it and buy one with lifetime already on it


----------



## steve614

just_lele said:


> I have an HD with lifetime. I have a s2 with no service on it right now. Any ideas on what I could do to get a $99 lifetime on the s2?


Call TiVo and activate it monthly under your MSD.
(Wait some time)
Anytime before the 30 day satisfaction guarantee is up, call TiVo back to cancel it. 
Say that you like the service on it, but don't want to pay monthly. 
Say that you recently heard (found this forum) that some customers are getting Lifetime for $99 on old S2 boxes and ask if you might qualify for such a deal.

Worst case TiVo says no, then go ahead and cancel. You're out nothing but your time.

Edit:

BONUS: You now have a fully functionional S2 because you unplugged it from the network before it got its "canceled" status. Granted, you'll have to put up with the loss of guide data, clock drift and eventual self deactivation.


----------



## cannonz

Joe01880 said:


> start by calling tivo, none of us can put lifetime on it. You can find s2's with lifetime for $99, if they wont hook you up picth it and buy one with lifetime already on it


Guy on ebay has 4 for $99 each. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tivo-Series...DVRs_Hard_Drive_Recorders&hash=item4ab79cf105


----------



## analog4

analog4 said:


> I just tried - they offered me lifetime on my TiVo HD for $99 - only if I got a new TiVo Premiere unit and paid for service on that as well - for $12.99 a month or $399 lifetime. Which is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I have already paid $129 for the last 4 years.
> 
> So they want $647 or $747 - my DirecTV HD DVR units are looking very tempting now.





unitron said:


> You've had that S3 HD on a monthly for the last 4 years and threatening to discontinue didn't get you the $99 offer?
> 
> Keep trying until you get a CSR that says "yes".
> 
> If they say no, ask them why others have been able to get the deal.


I just called to cancel, they asked why and offered me a $9.95 and a $6.59 a month deal, but not the $99 Lifetime. The guy I talked to said he did not "have" that deal available to him. He then went to cancel, but said I would lose any option at getting a $99 lifetime in the future.


----------



## mulscully

Just called TiVo. Explained I have 2 tivohds and just bought an elite last month with the purpose to replace one of the tivo hds. I heard about the $99 lifetime and figured I would call to see if I could get that instead of canceling. He explained that it was a special promotion but would see what strings he could pull. He place me on hold for about a minute and came back and told me he was able to talk them into it and I now have the $99 lifetime that would take effect next month... 

Sweet.... Not do I actually believe he had to fit for me? No.. I think that was a show for my sake, but I got it anyway.. FYI, I was ready to cancel the box if I didn't get it.. So YMMV...


----------



## dlfl

mulscully said:


> .........Sweet.... Not do I actually believe he had to fit for me? No.. I think that was a show for my sake.......


All psychological ... another form of bargaining. Feels good when you score, doesn't it?


----------



## cannonz

Love the used car salesman I have to talk to my manager bit..


----------



## lujan

I just called and he said that the special promotion of $99 was only for the older series TiVo boxes and not the new Premiere. I laughed and told him it was funny he's calling it new because it's been out for 2 years. He just said that it was the newest model but no, calling for the $99 promotion didn't work for me.


----------



## mulscully

I got the $99 lifetime on my tivohd, not my premiere...


----------



## steve614

The Premiere is the latest platform (i.e. "current hardware") no matter when it was introduced.

Don't expect to get $99 lifetime on a Series 4 Tivo at this time. Maybe when the S5 comes out.


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## analog4

mulscully said:


> I got the $99 lifetime on my tivohd, not my premiere...


How long ago did you get the $99 Lifetime?


----------



## mulscully

I got the $99 lifetime on may21st the date of my above post (post #408)


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## shwru980r

dlfl said:


> I suspect TiVo is willing to do this based on the odds of how much longer an S3 or TiVoHD box is going to last before the hard drive or power supply fails. For the average customer, this means the end of the lifetime sub. For those willing to mess with PS or HDD replacements to keep their box alive it's a good deal.


Plus accounting procedures allow them to count a lifetime subscription for 4 more years.


----------



## sbiller

shwru980r said:


> Plus accounting procedures allow them to count a lifetime subscription for 4 more years.


66 months.


----------



## MychaelP

What do you think my odds of getting the $99 deal in this situation:
I currently have a S2 with lifetime. I would buy a TivoHD or Series 3 on Ebay and then sub monthly. Wait two months and then try for the $99 deal. I'm just using it as OTA anyway right now so no need for Premiere.
Good odds? I've had my S2 for 8 years and would like HD quality now, but don't want to pay $400 or so for a new premiere with lifetime


----------



## Chris Gerhard

MychaelP, I think the chances that would work are approximately zero. I have 2 subscribed TiVoHDs with lifetime and an unsubscribed TiVoHD, if that would work, it should work in my situation so if you want to try, go ahead and I will see how you do.


----------



## mulscully

MychaelP said:


> What do you think my odds of getting the $99 deal in this situation:
> I currently have a S2 with lifetime. I would buy a TivoHD or Series 3 on Ebay and then sub monthly. Wait two months and then try for the $99 deal. I'm just using it as OTA anyway right now so no need for Premiere.
> Good odds? I've had my S2 for 8 years and would like HD quality now, but don't want to pay $400 or so for a new premiere with lifetime


He definitely looked at the history of my tivohd and saw that is was monthly subbed since 2008. I think your better bet would be to buy on with lifetime already on eBay...


----------



## Kenn159

quoteCall TiVo and activate it monthly under your MSD.
(Wait some time)
Anytime before the 30 day satisfaction guarantee is up, call TiVo back to cancel it. 
end quote

Tivo told me on the phone,you have to sign up for a year at a time......yes you have 30 days to cancel your subscription and get a refund, but after that period you must finish out your 1 year contract before you can cancel.
I guess if you don't they can screw your credit.

Given this information, I would think you would have to wait a year before cancelling to ask for the $99 lifetime deal, not after a month or so.


----------



## unitron

Kenn159 said:


> quoteCall TiVo and activate it monthly under your MSD.
> (Wait some time)
> Anytime before the 30 day satisfaction guarantee is up, call TiVo back to cancel it.
> end quote
> 
> Tivo told me on the phone,you have to sign up for a year at a time......yes you have 30 days to cancel your subscription and get a refund, but after that period you must finish out your 1 year contract before you can cancel.
> I guess if you don't they can screw your credit.
> 
> Given this information, I would think you would have to wait a year before cancelling to ask for the $99 lifetime deal, not after a month or so.


You have to sign up for a year on a new Series 4 (Premiere, Elite, etc), but the $99 deal isn't available for anything newer than Series 3 machines, and Series 1, 2, and 3 units can now be subscribed on a month to month basis with no commitment.


----------



## analog4

analog4 said:


> I just called to cancel, they asked why and offered me a $9.95 and a $6.59 a month deal, but not the $99 Lifetime. The guy I talked to said he did not "have" that deal available to him. He then went to cancel, but said I would lose any option at getting a $99 lifetime in the future.


Just called again and got bounced around to 3 different people. Still no luck.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

analog4 said:


> Just called again and got bounced around to 3 different people. Still no luck.


I called twice about 6 months apart, I don't qualify and won't waste their time on a third try unless something happens to make me think I will qualify.


----------



## billbillw

Last week, I was able to get a $99 lifetime deal on my Series 3, but that was only because I just purchased a refurb Series 4 Premiere and am locked into a 1y contract with that unit. 

The customer rep pretty much told me that you have to purchase a Series 4 to get the $99 lifetime deal on your older Series 3. It was also only available for 1 unit. I tried to get the deal for my other Series 3, but it was no go. I might try back in 6 months to see what type of deal they will give on my other Series 3, but it sounds like they only offer the deal for each new box purchase.


----------



## worachj

I got the $99 lifetime deal last week on my Series 3 when I purchase a refurb Series 4 Premiere with lifetime. I asked if I could also get it on my Tivo HD but they said no, just on one unit. Seems like the $99 deal is for one unit when a Series 4 Premiere is purchased.


----------



## mulscully

worachj said:


> I got the $99 lifetime deal last week on my Series 3 when I purchase a refurb Series 4 Premiere with lifetime. I asked if I could also get it on my Tivo HD but they said no, just on one unit. Seems like the $99 deal is for one unit when a Series 4 Premiere is purchased.


Wonder if you purchase a second Series 4? Is is one $99 lifetime on series 3 offer per customer or one $99 lifetime on series 3 offer per series 4 owned/purchased?


----------



## MychaelP

Thanks everyone for your input. I think I will stick with my S2 for now and upgrade when either the hard drive dies, box dies, or there is a better deal out there. Or of course when money isn't so tight.
I'll also follow the posts here to see what comes up as time goes by.

Thanks again, very much appreciated


----------



## ~kyle

I have a refurb Premiere I bought a year or so ago that I've never activated. I also have a Premiere on lifetime plus an HD that's on month to month. If I call to activate the refurb Premiere and to cancel the HD, is this a situation that they might offer me $99 lifetime on it (the HD that is)? 

I'm going to try it and see but for those that got the deal, is it better to call by phone or to contact through chat or does it make any difference?


----------



## mulscully

I called. You will. E able to tell more from the tone of their voice than by what they type


----------



## ~kyle

Thanks, I'll give it a shot tomorrow.


----------



## edwinyuen

I bought one of the refurb Premieres via Woot a short while back and I activated it yesterday. When I talked to the Tivo CSR, I asked if I was eligible for the $99 lifetime offer of my old TivoHD. He said the offer was only valid if I bought a $99 Premiere from Tivo directly, otherwise no.

Has anyone gotten the $99 deal lately? Did you have to purchase the Tivo from them? I was wondering if I want to get play CSR lottery again and call back a couple times.


----------



## jlin

You can try canceling your HDTivo now since the Premier has been added to your account.

You didn't get the offer because the Premier wasn't on your account until recently.


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## edwinyuen

jlin said:


> You can try canceling your HDTivo now since the Premier has been added to your account.
> 
> You didn't get the offer because the Premier wasn't on your account until recently.


I'll give it a try tomorrow.


----------



## lessd

edwinyuen said:


> I bought one of the refurb Premieres via Woot a short while back and I activated it yesterday. When I talked to the Tivo CSR, I asked if I was eligible for the $99 lifetime offer of my old TivoHD. He said the offer was only valid if I bought a $99 Premiere from Tivo directly, otherwise no.
> 
> Has anyone gotten the $99 deal lately? Did you have to purchase the Tivo from them? I was wondering if I want to get play CSR lottery again and call back a couple times.


Was your old TiVo-HD still on monthly, if so when does your contract end ?. If the unit does not have service on it now getting the $99 is not as easy.


----------



## farmermac

I dont want to read through the 15 pages of threads so i'll ask quickly... If im considering a elite/xl4, and i have a spare THD thats not on any accounts, should I add it to my account for a month or so before buying an XL4 and $99 PLS?


----------



## lessd

farmermac said:


> I dont want to read through the 15 pages of threads so i'll ask quickly... If im considering a elite/xl4, and i have a spare THD thats not on any accounts, should I add it to my account for a month or so before buying an XL4 and $99 PLS?


For sure nobody knows the answer, we can only give you a guess and one may still have to play CS roulette to get a good outcome.


----------



## unitron

farmermac said:


> I dont want to read through the 15 pages of threads so i'll ask quickly... If im considering a elite/xl4, and i have a spare THD thats not on any accounts, should I add it to my account for a month or so before buying an XL4 and $99 PLS?


Just remember, it's while you're thinking about buying that new S4 that you have any leverage over TiVo, Inc, not after you've bought it and are on the hook for a year or two of monthly sub payments, or after paying for PLS on it.

Call them up and ask if they'll give you $99 PLS on the unsubbed HD if you buy an Elite from them.

If they say no, call back later to get a different CS rep.

lather, rinse, repeat


----------



## farmermac

thanks..i forgot to mention that, but i would of course ask first before buying the XL4/Elite. Just was curious as to whether I should put the THD thats on my desk back together.


----------



## edwinyuen

lessd said:


> Was your old TiVo-HD still on monthly, if so when does your contract end ?. If the unit does not have service on it now getting the $99 is not as easy.


It's on a MSD $6.95 plan and has been since I got it. There wasn't a contract requirement when I bought it (and PLS was available if I remember correct).

I guess I have to threaten to cancel it but it's a bit hard also because it's already pretty cheap and if I cancel it, I can't get the $6.95 back.


----------



## jlin

Don't need to 'threaten to cancel'.. just kindly ask if your Tivo HD is eligible for the $99 promo plan.


----------



## hybucket

I'll try to be quick.
I have a TiVO HD with lifetime, and I'd like to get a Premiere. How likely are they to a)swap the Lifetime from the HD to the Premiere, or b) offer me a $99 Lifetime for the new Premiere? I would probably keep the HD going for as long as it's working if I could get the $99 deal. Since many of these posts go back a while, I was just wondering what's the best deal someone has gotten recently....


----------



## jlin

Real quick answers: "No" and "No"

They won't transfer Lifetime from one series to another.. and no $99 deal on Lifetime Premier.


----------



## donnoh

hybucket said:


> I'll try to be quick.
> I have a TiVO HD with lifetime, and I'd like to get a Premiere. How likely are they to a)swap the Lifetime from the HD to the Premiere, or b) offer me a $99 Lifetime for the new Premiere? I would probably keep the HD going for as long as it's working if I could get the $99 deal. Since many of these posts go back a while, I was just wondering what's the best deal someone has gotten recently....


Since you have an HD with lifetime, your best bet is to buy a Premiere with lifetime with the MSD discount and sell your HD on ebay for $300 or so. It'll cost you a couple of hundred to change out boxes, but in my opinion it's worth it to move up to the latest box.


----------



## steve614

jlin said:


> They won't transfer Lifetime from one series to another..


Years ago TiVo had a promo where they would transfer a lifetime sub from a Series 2 to a new Series 3 OLED (before the TivoHD came out) for ~$150 (IIRC).
At the time, I didn't have an HD TV nor did I have $800 (initial cost of the S3), or I would have jumped on it.

If they ever do this again for the Premiere, I'll be all over it.


----------



## hybucket

WHen I got the TiVO HD four or so years ago, they did transfer my Lifetime that I had on a series 1 (a Sony!!) to the HD. If I got a Premiere with the MSD, could I sell the HD with the lifetime? Does lifetime go with the unit PLUS owner, or any owner?


----------



## ~kyle

hybucket said:


> WHen I got the TiVO HD four or so years ago, they did transfer my Lifetime that I had on a series 1 (a Sony!!) to the HD. If I got a Premiere with the MSD, could I sell the HD with the lifetime? Does lifetime go with the unit PLUS owner, or any owner?


It stays with the unit.


----------



## vacaloca

I have been looking for a way to get an HD cable box w/ cablecard support for <$200. It seems like a TiVo HD and $99 lifetime would be the way to go. (Or for that matter Tivo Premiere + $399 after getting $99 lifetime on HD and selling it) I'm going to throw this scenario around to get feedback to see if it would work.

1) Buy used Tivo HD on eBay
2) Buy refurb Tivo Premiere on eBay
3) Sub Tivo HD month-to-month
4) (wait 1 month)
5) Sub Tivo Premiere
6) Attempt to cancel Tivo HD (and hopefully get $99 lifetime offer)

For that matter, would the getting the refurb Premiere and activation of it be necessary to get the HD on lifetime for $99? Or have others gotten lifetime $99 offers after >2months of a month-to-month sub for a Tivo HD?


----------



## BlkBear

farmermac said:


> I dont want to read through the 15 pages of threads so i'll ask quickly... If im considering a elite/xl4, and i have a spare THD thats not on any accounts, should I add it to my account for a month or so before buying an XL4 and $99 PLS?


I bought an Elite/XL4 from Tivo last week, just got it setup with cable card Monday, and added Lifetime to it this morning. The Tivo HD on my account, I bought second hand for $25 bucks last year from a fella that moved on to a Comcast DVR (poor sap). The rep I was talking to, noticed I still had an older Tivo (the HD on $6.75 monthly), and he offered the $99 lifetime on the HD box.

I was told that I can get the $99 offer for the next 29 days, if I still want it. So I suppose it really depends on how long the Tivo HD, S3, S2, S1's are on the account, before they will offer the $99 lifetime, bought from Tivo or not, when you buy a Premiere during this current promo.


----------



## steve614

BlkBear said:


> So I suppose it really depends on how long the Tivo HD, S3, S2, S1's are on the account, before they will offer the $99 lifetime, bought from Tivo or not, when you buy a Premiere during this current promo.


I suspect the fact that you had a $6.95 subscription rate also played into the offer.

If TiVo could just get rid of all those grandfathered $6.95 subscriptions ...


----------



## unitron

steve614 said:


> I suspect the fact that you had a $6.95 subscription rate also played into the offer.
> 
> If TiVo could just get rid of all those grandfathered $6.95 subscriptions ...


That's over $83 per year, so in one year and 3 months they get more than $99 with more coming in in the months to follow.

As far as I can tell it's going to cost them pretty much the same to service the unit either way.

Further, if you just paid out $99 for lifetime, you're more likely to replace/upgrade the hard drive and/or replace power supply caps to keep that thing running than if you were still making monthly payments, so that just keeps the thing bothering their servers longer for less money.

I can see where they might like the idea of bumping those grandfathered monthly rates back up, but I don't see the advantage to them of replacing them with PLS.


----------



## lessd

unitron said:


> That's over $83 per year, so in one year and 3 months they get more than $99 with more coming in in the months to follow.
> 
> As far as I can tell it's going to cost them pretty much the same to service the unit either way.
> 
> Further, if you just paid out $99 for lifetime, you're more likely to replace/upgrade the hard drive and/or replace power supply caps to keep that thing running than if you were still making monthly payments, so that just keeps the thing bothering their servers longer for less money.
> 
> I can see where they might like the idea of bumping those grandfathered monthly rates back up, but I don't see the advantage to them of replacing them with PLS.


When TiVo reports the number of retail sub, all working lifetime sub may be in the number, it is much less likely to stop using a lifetime TiVo than a monthly TiVo. If you don't want the box anymore it can be sold at a good price if the unit has Lifetime, so somebody else will start using that TiVo.
This is just a guess on my part.


----------



## unitron

lessd said:


> When TiVo reports the number of retail sub, all working lifetime sub may be in the number, it is much less likely to stop using a lifetime TiVo than a monthly TiVo. If you don't want the box anymore it can be sold at a good price if the unit has Lifetime, so somebody else will start using that TiVo.
> This is just a guess on my part.


So, does TiVo make more selling our combined viewing data than it spends getting the show listings it sends us?


----------



## lessd

unitron said:


> So, does TiVo make more selling our combined viewing data than it spends getting the show listings it sends us?


I would assume user data and ADs, TiVo collects viewing data by zip and TiVo must make some money on the ADs put on our TiVos. Again just a guess on my part.


----------



## unitron

lessd said:


> I would assume user data and ADs, TiVo collects viewing data by zip and TiVo must make some money on the ADs put on our TiVos. Again just a guess on my part.


I wasn't asking whether, I was asking how much.

I'm trying to see how it's in TiVo's financial interest to offer the $99 deal to people who would probably stay on monthly otherwise.


----------



## Worf

Well, the problem is, people may not pay monthly forever. They may discountinue service, especially on older boxes. Getting one final $99 payment for that box which would otherwise be cancelled is $99 more than they'll earn.

And if it's an old box, it may be given to someone else to enjoy who may buy a new TiVo as a result and get a new fee out of that.

I should call - I have a series 2 I don't use so much, so if I can get PLS, great, if not, well, I'd probably cancel it.


----------



## greggt007

i recently bought a S3 from ebay. the owner had 6.95 service. that ended a couple of days ago. i called tivo to cancel service since i only bought it for the power supply and drive. of course i called too late and they charged me. couple things, when i put it on my account they said they needed credit card info just to add it to my account, i said i was not sure if i may get lifetime or monthly, he said it doesnt matter. so i never picked a plan, i have screenshots of 'no future plan selected', and the name on the credit card is misspelled, so not sure how it went through. somehow they charged the 6.95 price, not 9.95 as i thought it would be. is this typical behavior? they didnt offer the 99 lifetime or else i would have bitten


----------



## unitron

greggt007 said:


> i recently bought a S3 from ebay. the owner had 6.95 service. that ended a couple of days ago. i called tivo to cancel service since i only bought it for the power supply and drive. of course i called too late and they charged me. couple things, when i put it on my account they said they needed credit card info just to add it to my account, i said i was not sure if i may get lifetime or monthly, he said it doesnt matter. so i never picked a plan, i have screenshots of 'no future plan selected', and the name on the credit card is misspelled, so not sure how it went through. somehow they charged the 6.95 price, not 9.95 as i thought it would be. is this typical behavior? they didnt offer the 99 lifetime or else i would have bitten


If you got the $6.95 rate carried over that's pretty good luck for an S3 that's new to you.

Unfortunately, the previous owner, if they had that rate, probably could have gotten the $99 deal if they'd tried before selling it, but now that chance is gone.

Although if you offer to buy a Premiere from TiVo they might be willing to do it for you.


----------



## lessd

greggt007 said:


> i recently bought a S3 from ebay. the owner had 6.95 service. that ended a couple of days ago. i called tivo to cancel service since i only bought it for the power supply and drive. of course i called too late and they charged me. couple things, when i put it on my account they said they needed credit card info just to add it to my account, i said i was not sure if i may get lifetime or monthly, he said it doesnt matter. so i never picked a plan, i have screenshots of 'no future plan selected', and the name on the credit card is misspelled, so not sure how it went through. somehow they charged the 6.95 price, not 9.95 as i thought it would be. is this typical behavior? they didnt offer the 99 lifetime or else i would have bitten


Just ask for the $99 lifetime, I got it on a Series 3 with monthly from a E-Bay purchase and TiVo gave me no problem, but it could my luck with the CSR roulette.


----------



## unitron

lessd said:


> Just ask for the $99 lifetime, I got it on a Series 3 with monthly from a E-Bay purchase and TiVo gave me no problem, but it could my luck with the CSR roulette.


Was there an S4 on your account, or about to be?


----------



## dlfl

lessd said:


> Just ask for the $99 lifetime, I got it on a Series 3 with monthly from a E-Bay purchase and TiVo gave me no problem, but it could my luck with the CSR roulette.





unitron said:


> Was there an S4 on your account, or about to be?


According to his signature there are 3.  TiVo's not being magnanimous in that case.


----------



## unitron

dlfl said:


> According to his signature there are 3.  TiVo's not being magnanimous in that case.


It's blurry, and my eyes are getting late.


----------



## dlfl

unitron said:


> It's blurry, and my eyes are getting late.


Officer, I'm not under the alcafluence of incahol.


----------



## lessd

dlfl said:


> According to his signature there are 3.  TiVo's not being magnanimous in that case.


There are 4 TPs in my signature, but they are all lifetime units.


----------



## stiege

I have a premiere xl monthly and just purchased an Elite. I'm going to call to get the 399 lifetime on the elite and then cancel the xl. Has anyone gotten the deal on a premiere they wanted to cancel?

TIA,

Jason


----------



## unitron

stiege said:


> I have a premiere xl monthly and just purchased an Elite. I'm going to call to get the 399 lifetime on the elite and then cancel the xl. Has anyone gotten the deal on a premiere they wanted to cancel?
> 
> TIA,
> 
> Jason


Seems to be a strictly Series 3 (all 3 models) deal, with a few S2s also getting it, but S4s? Not while they're still a current model.

This is pretty much a get a little more money out of people who were going to cancel move.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

I think the $99 deal is just to keep the subscribed units number up, I don't think it generates any profits, in fact when considering the small group that would add a subscribed Premiere if this wasn't available, it may mean less profits overall. It also generates goodwill among TiVo customers who must love this deal when they get it. I know I would if I could get it.


----------



## atmuscarella

Chris Gerhard said:


> I think the $99 deal is just to keep the subscribed units number up, I don't think it generates any profits, ...


Well I am not so sure about that; the majority of people being offered this deal are those who called to cancel the monthly service on a older TiVo for one reason or another. I got the offer when I called to cancel a $6.95/mo sub on one of my Series 3 TiVos instead they ended up getting another $99 from me, which they would not have gotten as I really don't need 3 HD TiVos. I am glad I did it but that TiVo isn't even plugged in right now. So it sounds like profit to me, plus making customers happy is also good for TiVo.

I look at this as one of those rare win-win deals. Sure some people on these forums who would have continued with a monthly sub called just to get the $99 deal, but mostly TiVo got another $99 they wouldn't have gotten and made their customers happier.


----------



## Test

I got a tp xl4 and called up to remove a monthly tp 2 and hd. The rep said I could get the $99 deal on the hd, but definitely not the tp because it's their latest generation.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

atmuscarella said:


> Well I am not so sure about that; the majority of people being offered this deal are those who called to cancel the monthly service on a older TiVo for one reason or another. I got the offer when I called to cancel a $6.95/mo sub on one of my Series 3 TiVos instead they ended up getting another $99 from me, which they would not have gotten as I really don't need 3 HD TiVos. I am glad I did it but that TiVo isn't even plugged in right now. So it sounds like profit to me, plus making customers happy is also good for TiVo.
> 
> I look at this as one of those rare win-win deals. Sure some people on these forums who would have continued with a monthly sub called just to get the $99 deal, but mostly TiVo got another $99 they wouldn't have gotten and made their customers happier.


There is no way to know how many monthly TiVoHD subscribers accepting the deal would still be paying and how many customers accepting the deal would have instead purchased and subscribed a TiVo Premiere if this great deal wasn't offered. I suspect, net bottom line after the cost to TiVo to provide the service to all of the $99 subs, no profits will be made. I did state it creates goodwill and putting a dollar value on that would be difficult.

I am pretty sure a huge majority of the customers accepting the deal are in fact using the TiVo or have sold it to someone that is using it, you are a rare exception if you continue to keep it and don't plug it in.

Whether there are small profits or no profits directly associated with this offer, it is clear it has resulted in a greater number of TiVoHDs subscribed, most of the units benefiting from the offer would be disconnected or just used unsubscribed if it wasn't available.

If TiVo determines it is profitable, that would mean it would be profitable to offer it to me and others who don't qualify under the existing terms. If the offer is expanded to include TiVoHD owners in my situation, I am definitely in.


----------



## steve614

Chris Gerhard said:


> I think the $99 deal is just to keep the subscribed units number up,


Ding ding ding!

TiVo can't be making a profit with this deal. The value is in the number of subscribed DVRs that they can report as active. 
IIRC a new lifetime sub is counted for 4 (maybe 5?) years, so the $99 lifetime deal guarantees that TiVo can report that DVR as active at least one more year as opposed to it being canceled. 
Who knows? Maybe "technically" it can be counted as a "new" lifetime subscription and be counted another 4 years.


----------



## shwru980r

steve614 said:


> Ding ding ding!
> 
> TiVo can't be making a profit with this deal. The value is in the number of subscribed DVRs that they can report as active.
> IIRC a new lifetime sub is counted for 4 (maybe 5?) years, so the $99 lifetime deal guarantees that TiVo can report that DVR as active at least one more year as opposed to it being canceled.
> Who knows? Maybe "technically" it can be counted as a "new" lifetime subscription and be counted another 4 years.


I read in another thread that it was 66 months. It would be interesting to know the monthly cost is to provide Tivo service per DVR.


----------



## unitron

shwru980r said:


> I read in another thread that it was 66 months. It would be interesting to know the monthly cost is to provide Tivo service per DVR.


It would be _very_ interesting to know how much TiVo pays TMS and how that's figured.

Once you pay for the server infrastructure to service one client, the second client is almost free, although obviously it costs more to serve 1,000,000 or 1 million of them than it does 2 or 3.


----------



## DonB.

I have a Dual tuner that I have lifetime on, and I had an Older HD unit that has issues with it, they swapped it out for a Premier, they even let me keep the $6.95 plan, I tried to convince then to make the Premier Lifetime and my Dual tuner the $6.95 plan but that was a no go, and I tried hard, LOL you think I could convince them to give me the $99 lifetime on the premier, as I have Bulk Comcast cable with our community and they are offering specials for Half price on their HD units, what do you guys thinks, if I tell them I am thinking of moving to the Comcast HD boxes, you think they would allow me the $99 lifetime on the Premier ??


----------



## unitron

DonB. said:


> I have a Dual tuner that I have lifetime on, and I had an Older HD unit that has issues with it, they swapped it out for a Premier, they even let me keep the $6.95 plan, I tried to convince then to make the Premier Lifetime and my Dual tuner the $6.95 plan but that was a no go, and I tried hard, LOL you think I could convince them to give me the $99 lifetime on the premier, as I have Bulk Comcast cable with our community and they are offering specials for Half price on their HD units, what do you guys thinks, if I tell them I am thinking of moving to the Comcast HD boxes, you think they would allow me the $99 lifetime on the Premier ??


You might have been able to get $99 on the S3 (and if its problems were power supply and/or hard drive, and not motherboard it would have been worth it), but getting it on an S4?

Ain't happening.


----------



## overFEDEXed

lessd said:


> Just ask for the $99 lifetime, I got it on a Series 3 with monthly from a E-Bay purchase and TiVo gave me no problem, but it could my luck with the CSR roulette.


I agree 100 percent.

I called to see about adding Lifetime to my inactive Elite. The csr said $399, of course. I asked if she could do $99 Lifetime on a couple of my HD's, if I added the Elite and she said ok. One HD is under the 30 day Money back deal.

I told her that I wanted to hold off on the Elite and she still added the $99 Lifetime to one of my HD's. I guess for them it is better than me cancelling it.

She said that if I added the Elite, at a later date, I could get Lifetime on another HD or Series 2. This makes four HD's that they have given me the Lifetime deal on and five if I call back to add the Elite.

I wonder if there is a limit? The only other Tivo's on my account are a series 2, which they are giving me the $6.95 plan on and a Premiere that I had transferred the $6.95 plan from an HD a couple of years ago. I do have some HD's, all with Lifetime.

All together I have;
One Elite, inactive
Three HD's, all Lifetime, had four but just sold one.
Three Premieres, two never activated, one at $6.95.
One Series 2 at $6.95, one-year retention deal, usually $9.95 or $12.95
One Series 2 Toshiba SD-H400, deactivated.

FYI;

The csr said that when I call back to add Lifetime to the Elite, I can get LT on the Series 2 for $99. Even though that is my qualifying unit, I can still keep the $6.95 plan on my Premiere.

I thought that the qualifying unit had to be at $9.95, $12.95 or $19.95.

Sorry if this is confusing.


----------



## shwru980r

overFEDEXed said:


> I could get Lifetime on another HD or Series 2.
> The only other Tivo's on my account are a series 2, which they are giving me the $6.95 plan on .


The $99 offer doesn't really help much on an S2, since you can easily find used lifetime S2s for $99 or less. The $6.95/month plan for an S2 doesn't help either since you can pay for lifetime after 14 months of payments.

Maybe you can find a used Tivo HD and transfer the $6.95 plan.


----------



## overFEDEXed

shwru980r said:


> The $99 offer doesn't really help much on an S2, since you can easily find used lifetime S2s for $99 or less. The $6.95/month plan for an S2 doesn't help either since you can pay for lifetime after 14 months of payments.
> 
> Maybe you can find a used Tivo HD and transfer the $6.95 plan.


My 86 year old Dad has the S2 and will not give it up. My step Mom doesn't like ANY changes with their tv so....Maybe I should go ahead and do the lifetime on it. I could get another HD from eBay for $50, add lifetime and then sell it for $250 to $300. That's the plan that I've been working on.

The csr at Tivo actually suggested this a couple of months ago. He said that I could recoup some of the cost of the LT for the Elite this way.

I have three, LT, HD's that I'm going to eBay. Then I'll wait on the IPSTB. The Cox gateway and cable card fees are getting old.

Also, I still have two Premieres that I could activate and use to get LT on some more HD's. (Calling during the 30 window to cancel after activating of course)


----------



## mulscully

I called Friday and said that I had gotten $99 lifetime last month on my HD and can I get it on my other HD.. The csr said let me check and came back and said yes.. For every primere you can get 2 lifetimes on older boxes..

The box I just called about was on the $99 yearly plan.. 

So now I have a monthly elite and 2 TivoHDs with lifetime

It may be a little csr roulette but it pays to ask nicely


----------



## Gai-jin

I was just offered the $99 lifetime when I called to cancell service on an old tivoHD we haven't used for a long time but were still paying $6.95/mo for. 

She gave a free month service and gave me a date to call back by to either cancel or pay the $99. It looks like I should be able to sell the box with lifetime for around $300 on ebay without much trouble. Any reason not to go that route, if I don't have any family or friends that would want it?


----------



## unitron

Gai-jin said:


> I was just offered the $99 lifetime when I called to cancell service on an old tivoHD we haven't used for a long time but were still paying $6.95/mo for.
> 
> She gave a free month service and gave me a date to call back by to either cancel or pay the $99. It looks like I should be able to sell the box with lifetime for around $300 on ebay without much trouble. Any reason not to go that route, if I don't have any family or friends that would want it?


If you can stand to "invest" the money short term, and have no objection to turning a profit, I can't see why not to. You might even be able to move it quickly on Craigslist and avoid the fleabay hassle.


----------



## HIHZia

Called to see about canceling my S2 and wasn't offered the $99 since I didn't have an S4, but I was offered to upgrade the S2 to an S4 Premiere 45hr for $200 and keep the monthly at $6.95. When I look at the tivo web site I only See Premiere with 75 hours and the XL with 150 hours. So which model was he talking about? I can't decide if it's a good deal or not.


----------



## MeInDallas

HIHZia said:


> Called to see about canceling my S2 and wasn't offered the $99 since I didn't have an S4, but I was offered to upgrade the S2 to an S4 Premiere 45hr for $200 and keep the monthly at $6.95. When I look at the tivo web site I only See Premiere with 75 hours and the XL with 150 hours. So which model was he talking about? I can't decide if it's a good deal or not.


The 45hr model was the Premiere that had a 320GB hard drive in it. The latest model has a 500GB hard drive. It could be a refurbished Tivo, or just an older model they have left from the old stock.


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## steve614

HIHZia said:


> Called to see about canceling my S2 and wasn't offered the $99 since I didn't have an S4, but I was offered to upgrade the S2 to an S4 Premiere 45hr for $200 and keep the monthly at $6.95. When I look at the tivo web site I only See Premiere with 75 hours and the XL with 150 hours. So which model was he talking about? I can't decide if it's a good deal or not.


It's only a good deal if you think it's worth it to upgrade.
You'd be paying MSRP for a 1st generation Premiere (not guaranteed to be 'new') just to get the $6.95 subscription transferred over to it.

Meanwhile, the S2 becomes a brick. Probably worth more if you gut it and sell the parts individually than if you tried to sell it as a whole.

If you think you might like the Premiere for what it has to offer over an S2 or just have an itch to upgrade, this is not a _bad_ deal. Although you would be paying full price for the hardware, you are getting to keep your legacy subscription. The perk is, that is not something that you can do outside of dealing directly with TiVo at this time.

YMMV as this is coming from someone who only gets Tivos with a lifetime sub.


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## truman861

I have my series 2 box with lifetime for 7 yrs where the hard drive is begining to go bad. I am seeing all kinds of people with boxes for sale on ebay so I figured I'd call Tivo and ask before I bought a new box.
Per the billing supervisor, the $99 lifetime deal is for people who have a series 1 or series 2 box and are looking to put lifetime on it. The reason they are doing this is because the boxes are becoming obsolete and dont have much life left in them anymore. 
If I buy a premiere box either series 3 or 4 then I have to pay the $399 lifetime or multi discount of $12.95.
The only other offer was a new premier box from them directly with a wireless g adapter and six months of hulu plus with lifetime service for $399.00 It does work out to be over $200 in savings but I still think i can buy a premier box with lifetime on ebay for cheaper. I already have a wireless g adapter and dont really care about hulu so I think thats the way Im going to have to go.
If anyone knows about getting the 99 special on a premier, please advise how to do this.
Thanks:mad


----------



## unitron

truman861 said:


> I have my series 2 box with lifetime for 7 yrs where the hard drive is begining to go bad. I am seeing all kinds of people with boxes for sale on ebay so I figured I'd call Tivo and ask before I bought a new box.
> Per the billing supervisor, the $99 lifetime deal is for people who have a series 1 or series 2 box and are looking to put lifetime on it. The reason they are doing this is because the boxes are becoming obsolete and dont have much life left in them anymore.
> If I buy a premiere box either series 3 or 4 then I have to pay the $399 lifetime or multi discount of $12.95.
> The only other offer was a new premier box from them directly with a wireless g adapter and six months of hulu plus with lifetime service for $399.00 It does work out to be over $200 in savings but I still think i can buy a premier box with lifetime on ebay for cheaper. I already have a wireless g adapter and dont really care about hulu so I think thats the way Im going to have to go.
> If anyone knows about getting the 99 special on a premier, please advise how to do this.
> Thanks:mad


The $99 offer started out on S3s, specifically I think it was S3 HDs that were coming off of 3 year pre-pays purchased during a period when lifetime wasn't being offered.

Then it spread to if you callled to cancel an S3 platform unit that you'd been paying on for at least 3 years, even if monthly, you could get it if you kept playing CSR roulette, and then if you were buying a Premiere you could get leverage to lifetime an S3 or S2 at $99.

I don't think you'll be seeing $99 lifetime on the Premiere anytime soon.

They do seem to have a thing going through Aug. 31 where buying a Premiere and signing up for a monthly one year commitment ($14.99 per, I think) let's you lifetime an S1 or S2 and maybe an S3 at $49.99

What model is your S2, is that the original hard drive, do you still have analog cable?


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## truman861

I have a 540040. still using all the original cables, the machine inside is as it came from the factory. The worst thing is I had a brand new never used 540040 that i bought six months ago at a garage sale for $20. The guy said it had lifetime on it although tivo said it didnt.
I decided 3 months ago that I had no use for it and gave it away for free on freecycle. Now I am kicking myself as I had a perfectly good machine I could have taken the drive out of. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.

Going to just hang in there for right now and weighing my options.


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## steve614

truman861 said:


> I have a 540040. still using all the original cables, the machine inside is as it came from the factory. The worst thing is I had a brand new never used 540040 that i bought six months ago at a garage sale for $20. The guy said it had lifetime on it although tivo said it didnt.
> I decided 3 months ago that I had no use for it and gave it away for free on freecycle. Now I am kicking myself as I had a perfectly good machine I could have taken the drive out of. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
> 
> Going to just hang in there for right now and weighing my options.


For the cost of a new hard drive (or free if you have any IDE hard drives 40 GB or larger laying around), you can most likely save that S2. You can find help with that here at TCF. Check out the Tivo Upgrade Forum section.
For a higher cost, there are resources where you can buy a hard drive with the Tivo software loaded onto it, where all you have to do is swap it out.

There's also a slight possibility that the power supply might be failing. That can also be fixed/replaced.


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## ~kyle

I called earlier this evening and activated my 2nd Premiere (that I've been using unactivated as a tuner). I asked about and was given lifetime for $99 on my TiVo HD.


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## poppagene

mulscully said:


> I called Friday and said that I had gotten $99 lifetime last month on my HD and can I get it on my other HD.. The csr said let me check and came back and said yes.. For every primere you can get 2 lifetimes on older boxes..
> 
> The box I just called about was on the $99 yearly plan..
> 
> So now I have a monthly elite and 2 TivoHDs with lifetime
> 
> It may be a little csr roulette but it pays to ask nicely


My CSR told me it was 1 $99 lifetime for each premiere -- I guess it's still the case that they make it up as they go along.


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## overFEDEXed

poppagene said:


> My CSR told me it was 1 $99 lifetime for each premiere -- I guess it's still the case that they make it up as they go along.


The first time that I called, dealing with the Premiere's, they told me that they might do two of the LT's, on HD's, if I add the Elite.

The second time I called, to cancel my 30 day HD, they changed it to LT. I didn't even add the Elite on! She said that if I called back to add the Elite, they would do another LT HD or Series 2, for me.

Who knows..........


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## Gai-jin

So they gave you 30 days free, then when you tried to cancel that they gave you lifetime?


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## overFEDEXed

Gai-jin said:


> So they gave you 30 days free, then when you tried to cancel that they gave you lifetime?


Yes,

I activated it online under the 30 day money back deal.
I called to cancel after a couple of weeks and they offered the $99 LT. Of course they gave me back $12.95 on the 30 day guarantee.

Now there was an Elite in the mix of that and still is. I'm still thinking of adding LT to it. I had activated it online months ago, but cancelled it before 30 days. They refunded that $12.95 and told me that if I called back to reactivate, I could get the $99 LT on two Series 2's or HD's.

I was waiting on news for the IPSTB to make my move on activating the Elite. The way that these cablecard fees are going, I should go ahead and sell all my LT Tivos, to do away with the $6 a month fee for each one. $2 for each card and $4 for the Digital Gateway fee (Advanced tv) for each. Then I could use just the Elite and the rest IPSTB's.


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## HIHZia

I went ahead and bought the 45 hour premiere for $200 to transfer my S2 service grandfathered in at $6.95 a mo, and got them to give me the $99 lifetime on my S3.

So I'm going from having a LT Humax, an S2 and an S3 ( both at $6.95 a mo) To having a $6.95 a mo Premiere and a LT S3, and an S2 that is pretty worthless and a LT Humax I need to get rid of.


----------



## replaytv

Chris Gerhard said:


> I think the $99 deal is just to keep the subscribed units number up, I don't think it generates any profits,


Other than the paperwork/time to get is started, it really doesn't cost TiVo much to have a TiVo subscribed. So I do think it generates revenue. As the Tivo services are all done automatically over phone lines and the web, so little or no expense, except if their phone lines have to be increased. But I think most people go with a internet connection to get the extra features. TiVo can sell their advertising for more when they have more subscribers. But I think TiVo probably really want to sell lifetime only when a person is not going to pay the monthly cost, as that is their real 'bread and butter'. 
There are at thousands of Tivos unplugged in peoples storage not making any money for Tivo. If Tivo got $99 for lifetime for each of those TiVos and the greater advertising money with a bigger customer base, it would help the bottom line of Tivo greatly.


----------



## mbergen

I called up to cancel my Tivo and was given this offer - went ahead and signed up, it sounded like a good deal. I am not sure which series without looking at home - was purchased in Sept of 2008 - before the premiere came out - it is an HD Tivo - online says 20 hr, in order history says 180 hr - think that's for sd. I have directv and use that in the winter then suspend and have used the tivo in the Summer - have hung onto for a few years not using it much, it but finally decided to cancel because I was barely watching tv. As I said it seemed like a good deal. I guess they figure some money is better than none?

Editing: I think it is the Tivo HD - series 3 from the pictures - the one that records 20 hrs of hd. I'd had service on this standalone tivo for almost 4 years, but have been using Tivo from the series 1 Directivo.


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## jrtroo

replaytv said:


> Other than the paperwork/time to get is started, it really doesn't cost TiVo much to have a TiVo subscribed. So I do think it generates profits.


You seem to be mistaking revenue for profit. Tivo is not yet profitable from operations.


----------



## replaytv

jrtroo said:


> You seem to be mistaking revenue for profit. Tivo is not yet profitable from operations.


Just because a company is not making a profit overall, doesn't mean that they don't make a 'profit' from a particular event.


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## buscuitboy

I might be able to get a hold of a series 3 Tivo HD (160GB drive) for about $40. I thought I remember reading here that someone basically put one of these older series 3 units on a month-to-month billing. Then, after about 3 months, was able to call and try to cancel it, but then also get the $99 lifetime offer for it. Is this true?

Also, I have 2 newer Tivo Premieres and was able to get the $99 lifetime offer for my S2 box after getting one of these Premieres & threatening to cancel the S2. I took it and its now on a TV in our basement. Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that you can get two $99 lifetime offers (for older units) per each Premiere. THen someone replied with this:



poppagene said:


> My CSR told me it was 1 $99 lifetime for each premiere -- I guess it's still the case that they make it up as they go along.


I wonder which it is? Or is it really more hit-or-miss with what kind of CSR you get with ANY of these $99 offers?


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## cannonz

buscuitboy said:


> I might be able to get a hold of a series 3 Tivo HD (160GB drive) for about $40. I thought I remember reading here that someone basically put one of these older series 3 units on a month-to-month billing. Then, after about 3 months, was able to call and try to cancel it, but then also get the $99 lifetime offer for it. Is th


I just put one on no commit month to month was thinking of trying after 6 or 7 months.


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## jrtroo

replaytv said:


> Just because a company is not making a profit overall, doesn't mean that they don't make a 'profit' from a particular event.


You mean they may be charging a price above cost for the service, which all providers seek to do. That is different from profit.

It would indicate that the service contributes positively instead of negatively to the overall bottom line.

Just before I posted this I note that you revised your previous statement- looks good.


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## unitron

buscuitboy said:


> I might be able to get a hold of a series 3 Tivo HD (160GB drive) for about $40. I thought I remember reading here that someone basically put one of these older series 3 units on a month-to-month billing. Then, after about 3 months, was able to call and try to cancel it, but then also get the $99 lifetime offer for it. Is this true?
> 
> Also, I have 2 newer Tivo Premieres and was able to get the $99 lifetime offer for my S2 box after getting one of these Premieres & threatening to cancel the S2. I took it and its now on a TV in our basement. Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that you can get two $99 lifetime offers (for older units) per each Premiere. THen someone replied with this:
> 
> I wonder which it is? Or is it really more hit-or-miss with what kind of CSR you get with ANY of these $99 offers?


I think CSR roulette is always a factor


----------



## buscuitboy

I have still be scouring & keeping an eye on ebay and Craigslist for possible series 3 HD TiVos (160GB), but am now rethinking it all. Instead, just waiting till these new IP set-top boxes come from TiVo later this year. Depending on their price, it might be a better "whole home" solution for my needs.

Getting a Series 3 for about $50, having it month-to-month for about 6 months, paying Comcast $8/month for the cable card and then trying to $99 lifetime it would mean about a cost of $275+ over that 6 month period. Then, there would still be an ongoing cost of $8/month from Comcast for the cable card. 

I already have an older dual tuner Premiere (lifetime) & recently read here that these IP boxes will work with these units after all (with a software update). This IP box would go in a basement room that has a TV that is not frequently used so this might be a great solution for my needs instead of paying an ongoing $8/month to Comcast for the use of their cable card (that probably isn't gonna be used all that much anyway). I might even be willing to get one of the newer/cheaper Premiere 4 TiVos since it has 4 tuners. 

While I'm being optimistic & hoping these IP boxes will be around $99, I'd be willing to maybe pay around $199 since it would essentially not need a cable card either. Another Comcrap cost I don't like coughing up. Will see (hopefully) this fall & I guess it all depends on the base pricing and if & how much of a monthly cost there is. 

.


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## cannonz

When you return their DVR or box for card (and TA) you should get using your own equipment discount. At least that's how brighthouse is and if they are doing it I'm sure the FCC is making them, they won't do anything good for consumer they don't have too.


----------



## supersnoop

Here's another data point from this month.

My parents had an S2 put into service about 5 years ago, renewed annually. About 6 months ago, I swapped it with an HD. Now, I called up to cancel the renewal and replace the box with a spare lifetime HD. The rep was able to offer the $99 lifetime on the annual unit. I wasn't upgrading to a premiere; just cancelling, so that still seems to work. I imagine the duration of the account helped.


----------



## unitron

supersnoop said:


> Here's another data point from this month.
> 
> My parents had an S2 put into service about 5 years ago, renewed annually. About 6 months ago, I swapped it with an HD. Now, I called up to cancel the renewal and replace the box with a spare lifetime HD. The rep was able to offer the $99 lifetime on the annual unit. I wasn't upgrading to a premiere; just cancelling, so that still seems to work. I imagine the duration of the account helped.


Were both the S2 (single or dual tuner?) and the HD on their account, or were you transferrring the HD to their account when you said you wanted to cancel the S2?


----------



## Hamstring

service for my TIVOHD. They gave me $6.95/mo no Lifetime 99. I've been around for 8 years. Just an FYI. The chat guy wouldn't give me any deal, had to call.


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## unitron

Hamstring said:


> service for my TIVOHD. They gave me $6.95/mo no Lifetime 99. I've been around for 8 years. Just an FYI. The chat guy wouldn't give me any deal, had to call.


Is that your only TiVo?

How long have you had it and what did you have before and what were you paying on which the whole time?


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## mstenzel

I'm currently on the $6.95 retention plan for my TiVo HD, but I just confirmed that the $99 is available to me. I am working on repairing the hardware on that box (thx, unitron), so I'm going to wait to make sure all is well before I drop the hundy.

I suspect that the timing of transfers and account changes can affect outcomes, so here's my question:

If I were able to buy a used TiVo HD and transfer my current service to it, would I be able to hang up, call back the cancel/retention dept., and get the $99 PLS for my "new" box? In other words, can I transmit my status laterally to a different box that acquired the $6.95 rate, then still capitalize on the offer?

The reason I'm considering this route is that if I can transfer my status, the I won't bother cannibalizing parts from the purchased used box.

I know I can ultimately get these answers from TiVo CSRs, but if there's any finesse involved in my plans, I'd rather be careful in my timing.


----------



## nycityuser

mstenzel said:


> If I were able to buy a used TiVo HD and transfer my current service to it, would I be able to hang up, call back the cancel/retention dept., and get the $99 PLS for my "new" box? In other words, can I transmit my status laterally to a different box that acquired the $6.95 rate, then still capitalize on the offer?


You should be able to just go to your account online and change the TSN (TiVo service number) from your old broken box to the newly acquired box. Then you can call in and ask for the $99 PLS. Your account will still show the same duration of service as you currently have so this should work OK.

I have also found that if the first person you talk to doesn't do what you want then you thank them, hang up and call back another time to talk to someone else. Different folks give different answers.


----------



## mstenzel

nycityuser said:


> You should be able to just go to your account online and change the TSN (TiVo service number) from your old broken box to the newly acquired box. Then you can call in and ask for the $99 PLS. Your account will still show the same duration of service as you currently have so this should work OK.
> 
> I have also found that if the first person you talk to doesn't do what you want then you thank them, hang up and call back another time to talk to someone else. Different folks give different answers.


That's my hope, but I worry that the offer is tied to the specific box and not the service history.
Assuming it would work, Do you have any idea if that would also work if a Premiere was my new box?


----------



## steve614

AFAIK, the Premiere is not available for a TSN swap online. You'll have to stick with a TivoHD if you do it that way. 
If you were to buy a Premiere from TiVo @ full price, they might be willing to transfer your $6.95 plan over to it. You just have to call and ask.

Otherwise, you might as well try to get your TivoHD running. If you buy another one, there's no telling how "used" it is, and you might find yourself having to repair that one sooner rather than later.


----------



## mstenzel

steve614 said:


> AFAIK, the Premiere is not available for a TSN swap online. You'll have to stick with a TivoHD if you do it that way.
> If you were to buy a Premiere from TiVo @ full price, they might be willing to transfer your $6.95 plan over to it. You just have to call and ask.
> 
> Otherwise, you might as well try to get your TivoHD running. If you buy another one, there's no telling how "used" it is, and you might find yourself having to repair that one sooner rather than later.


You are correct on the Premier. Spoke with CSR today and was told that one cannot move up into a different generation of unit.

Re: the TSN swap and the PLS offer. I must do the swap before I go Lifetime. So I'm stuck with two choices: 

fix the power supply on my own box, then take the PLS offer, or
test out the used TiVo HD that I will buy, deem it fine, transer the TSN, then take the PLS offer.
If either unit fully dies after that, then I'm stuck as there are no transfers post-PLS. Obviously easier for me to not have to cannibalize the power supply from the "new" unit and just use it. But as you said, I can't really know how used something is. I did have a TCF member PM me with an sale offer, so I suppose that lends a bit of credibility to a seller. Decisions, decisions.


----------



## unitron

mstenzel said:


> You are correct on the Premier. Spoke with CSR today and was told that one cannot move up into a different generation of unit.
> 
> Re: the TSN swap and the PLS offer. I must do the swap before I go Lifetime. So I'm stuck with two choices:
> 
> fix the power supply on my own box, then take the PLS offer, or
> test out the used TiVo HD that I will buy, deem it fine, transer the TSN, then take the PLS offer.
> If either unit fully dies after that, then I'm stuck as there are no transfers post-PLS. Obviously easier for me to not have to cannibalize the power supply from the "new" unit and just use it. But as you said, I can't really know how used something is. I did have a TCF member PM me with an sale offer, so I suppose that lends a bit of credibility to a seller. Decisions, decisions.


What did they offer to sell, and how much were they asking?


----------



## mstenzel

unitron said:


> What did they offer to sell, and how much were they asking?


Unused TiVo HD for $50.


----------



## nycityuser

mstenzel said:


> Unused TiVo HD for $50.


Wow, that sounds pretty enticing. $50 for an unused machine and $99 for PLS. That's $149 for unlimited years of TiVo service.

As an aside, I have a TiVo Premiere at a 2nd home but use TiVo HDs at my main place. I don't find any advantage for myself with the Premiere. Perhaps if I had more than one Premiere I would find the streaming of multi-room transfers to be useful, particularly as some networks get copyright protected. Yes, some services are only available with a Premiere. But most of what I use TiVo for (recording shows and some VOD content) can be done with an HD.


----------



## unitron

mstenzel said:


> Unused TiVo HD for $50.


That's a fair price, although a local one that you can see works and not have to pay shipping on at that price would be better.

The post office is under orders to push the most expensive shipping options, so you, or whoever's doing the shipping, needs to specifically ask to find out the lowest rates.

You're the guy who accidentally fried his power supply, right?

See if the seller is eligible to get lifetime for $99 on that box before they sell it.

They (TiVo) aren't going to offer it to you once it's changed hands.

If you get it, you can move the power supply and the not yet set up hard drive to your unit and make sure your motherboard works okay, and then look into getting the power supply fixed.


----------



## mstenzel

unitron said:


> That's a fair price, although a local one that you can see works and not have to pay shipping on at that price would be better.
> 
> The post office is under orders to push the most expensive shipping options, so you, or whoever's doing the shipping, needs to specifically ask to find out the lowest rates.
> 
> You're the guy who accidentally fried his power supply, right?
> 
> See if the seller is eligible to get lifetime for $99 on that box before they sell it.
> 
> They (TiVo) aren't going to offer it to you once it's changed hands.
> 
> If you get it, you can move the power supply and the not yet set up hard drive to your unit and make sure your motherboard works okay, and then look into getting the power supply fixed.


I am the power supply frier. The TCFer who offered it to me actually was relatively local and we pulled off the deal today. Nice fella. I pulled his power supply and put it in mine. Everything seems good. So I guess that means that my power issue did not affect my motherboard, right? That's a go/no go issue, I assume.

That being said, I still have a choice. Tivo will let me transfer TSN to the new box, then get the $99 PLS. Or I can just get the $99 on my current box. The owner of the box I just bought told me it was just sitting around as a spare that he kept if he ever needed parts. He didn't need any parts, so it's all original stock. So, perhaps it's been used less than mine and has more life in it, if that makes sense. (I guess I should ask him if he bought it used, in which case, who knows how much it was used.) That being said, is a mobo that has been used more than another more likely to go bad?

That's an interesting idea re: him getting PLS. I doubt he would be eligible for that since he doesn't have a Premiere. Plus, it wasn't under contract -- I'll ask though.

Now that the power supply is fixed, I'm back to my original problem of having MFScopied shows appear in the NPL, but not be able to play. I don't think I'll go the MFSLive route. I did wonder if I could pull those shows to my computer and then push them back, pyTivo-style. Perhaps the damage would affect playback at original location, but would allow transfers. Prolly not, but worth a shot, no?

Thanks again for your help.


----------



## unitron

mstenzel said:


> I am the power supply frier. The TCFer who offered it to me actually was relatively local and we pulled off the deal today. Nice fella. I pulled his power supply and put it in mine. Everything seems good. So I guess that means that my power issue did not affect my motherboard, right? That's a go/no go issue, I assume.
> 
> That being said, I still have a choice. Tivo will let me transfer TSN to the new box, then get the $99 PLS. Or I can just get the $99 on my current box. The owner of the box I just bought told me it was just sitting around as a spare that he kept if he ever needed parts. He didn't need any parts, so it's all original stock. So, perhaps it's been used less than mine and has more life in it, if that makes sense. (I guess I should ask him if he bought it used, in which case, who knows how much it was used.) That being said, is a mobo that has been used more than another more likely to go bad?
> 
> That's an interesting idea re: him getting PLS. I doubt he would be eligible for that since he doesn't have a Premiere. Plus, it wasn't under contract -- I'll ask though.
> 
> Now that the power supply is fixed, I'm back to my original problem of having MFScopied shows appear in the NPL, but not be able to play. I don't think I'll go the MFSLive route. I did wonder if I could pull those shows to my computer and then push them back, pyTivo-style. Perhaps the damage would affect playback at original location, but would allow transfers. Prolly not, but worth a shot, no?
> 
> Thanks again for your help.


There may be something long and complicated you can try to rescue those recordings.

What you need to do is go to the help forum and start a new thread laying out your story so far, so that it's all in one place, and we can go from there.


----------



## Scottie99

So I called to cancel my TiVo HD service as I have a Premiere.

I was given the option of $99 lifetime on the HD instead of canceling - as I have only one TV in the house I saw no need but the customer service rep offered to put the HD on hold and keep the $99 until the end of the month.

Would people say its worth grabbing this offer just to be able to sell the HD TiVo? Does service transfer?


----------



## ~kyle

Scottie99 said:


> Would people say its worth grabbing this offer just to be able to sell the HD TiVo? Does service transfer?


Definitely, I would.

and the lifetime service would transfer to the new owner (it stays with the box).


----------



## unitron

Scottie99 said:


> So I called to cancel my TiVo HD service as I have a Premiere.
> 
> I was given the option of $99 lifetime on the HD instead of canceling - as I have only one TV in the house I saw no need but the customer service rep offered to put the HD on hold and keep the $99 until the end of the month.
> 
> Would people say its worth grabbing this offer just to be able to sell the HD TiVo? Does service transfer?


The lifetime sub is attached to the machine, not the current owner, so whoever owns it has a lifetimed unit.

The resale value without a sub is about $50.

Someone buying it from you would have to pay another $500 for lifetime if that's their only TiVo.


----------



## NJChris

So I called to cancel all 3 of my tivos (i only use 1 now) and get an premiere 4. 

They offered me the 99 on my Tivo HD and said if i get the XL4 I could keep my 6.95 monthly fee on a second tivo. I'd have to pay full price for xl4 (499). I wasnt sure so they gave me 2 free months on my current tivos to give me time to decide. (the they couldnt guarantee the offer for that long)

My sister would buy my Tivo HD for $150 so that would knock $50 off th xl4 purchase plus the 2 month free on my boxes would save me another 50-60 $... so it would bring it down to 390-400. I'd make up the money in the apparent saving eventually....

Still not sure what to do.


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## Scottie99

Well called in to confirm the sale and off to ebay with a lifetime sub HD Tivo.

Thanks.


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## nycityuser

What should I do? I currently have 4 TiVo machines:

1) Premiere on a $129/year annual plan - the "primary" TiVo
2) HD - $6.95/month
3) HD - $6.95/month
4) Series 2 - Lifetime (paid $99 after "canceling")

I like having the grandfathered $6.95/month because in the past I've been able to swap machines and keep the price. This became verboten when the Premiere came out but it seems like they are getting more lax on that policy.

So I could call to "cancel" one of the HDs and hope for a $99 lifetime offer, even though I already received that on the Series 2 last year. Is there a good reason not to do so? I don't plan on changing my hardware anytime soon.


----------



## steve614

Scottie99 said:


> Well called in to confirm the sale and off to ebay with a lifetime sub HD Tivo.
> 
> Thanks.


We all know this is going on, but there's no reason to publicly state so.
TiVo might yank this offer if this behavior becomes rampant.

</Debbie Downer>




nycityuser said:


> What should I do? I currently have 4 TiVo machines:
> 
> 1) Premiere on a $129/year annual plan - the "primary" TiVo
> 2) HD - $6.95/month
> 3) HD - $6.95/month
> 4) Series 2 - Lifetime (paid $99 after "canceling")
> 
> I like having the grandfathered $6.95/month because in the past I've been able to swap machines and keep the price. This became verboten when the Premiere came out but it seems like they are getting more lax on that policy.
> 
> So I could call to "cancel" one of the HDs and hope for a $99 lifetime offer, even though I already received that on the Series 2 last year. Is there a good reason not to do so? I don't plan on changing my hardware anytime soon.


Can't hurt. Worst they can say is "no".


----------



## overFEDEXed

steve614 said:


> We all know this is going on, but there's no reason to publicly state so.
> TiVo might yank this offer if this behavior becomes rampant.
> 
> </Debbie Downer>
> 
> 
> The Tivo rep that I talked to TOLD me to buy some HD's, call Tivo back, add Lifetime, then sell them to help pay for the cost of the Elite plus Lifetime. $700 to $800
> 
> I only have one more LT HD left. Heck, I might buy a couple more, add LT and sell them also.


----------



## steve614

Well, color me surprised. 

I would have thought that TiVo might dislike individuals making a profit in this manner.

Maybe they don't mind, as the "new" lifetime sub gets counted in the subscriber stats for another couple of years?


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## dukenilnil

steve614 said:


> Well, color me surprised.
> 
> I would have thought that TiVo might dislike individuals making a profit in this manner.
> 
> Maybe they don't mind, as the "new" lifetime sub gets counted in the subscriber stats for another couple of years?


They have told me the same thing several times as well. "Don't cancel box X, just add lifetime a $99 and either give to family member or sell for a profif." 
I've never taken them up on the offer though (too much headache).

I'm guessing either the Reps are graded on subscriptions added/lost or Tivo wants to keep "subscriber" numbers high for shareholder and advertising purposes


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## Laird

Okay, how about this situation:
- We have 3 units, all with lifetime
- Series 1 w/upgraded HD
- Series 2 stock
- Series 2 w/DVD

Our cable company is going digital next month, so we would need to go through the hassle of using terminal adapters for them all. Yuck! Would really like to get the Premiere 4 XL for the tuners and HD recording, but hate to pay the 350 for the box plus 399 for lifetime on it. Any suggestions on how to do this for less cash?


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## Chris Gerhard

I am once thinking trying to figure out if there is some way to get a TiVoHD to qualify for the $99 lifetime offer. I don't think I qualify and don't think I should qualify but my current situation is I have two TiVoHDs with lifetime and three unsubscribed mostly for parts and one is sometimes used as a dual OTA tuner. I called a couple of years ago and asked and was denied. If I can come up with a coherent argument in favor of TiVo giving me the offer, I am going to call and ask again. I hate to waste customer service time with nonsense requests and won't do it if I can't convince myself it makes sense to ask again.

All three used TiVoHDs were purchased used, subscription history unknown, I have never paid a penny of monthly service on any TiVo and I can't imagine I ever will. I would however buy my fourth lifetime subscription if I can get it for $99. Even though I don't think I should qualify, I would take it if offered, hardly a compelling argument to convince TiVo, but that is just the situation. My only thought is maybe TiVo wants boxes in service, rather than closets.


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## Shanezam203

I started this thread a few years ago, and still have that Lifetime Box but it's an old series 2 and has gone defective. what options do I have to get it replaced but keep the lifetime? 

Ebay/ Tivo direct sales?

Thank you,

Shane


----------



## unitron

Chris Gerhard said:


> I am once thinking trying to figure out if there is some way to get a TiVoHD to qualify for the $99 lifetime offer. I don't think I qualify and don't think I should qualify but my current situation is I have two TiVoHDs with lifetime and three unsubscribed mostly for parts and one is sometimes used as a dual OTA tuner. I called a couple of years ago and asked and was denied. If I can come up with a coherent argument in favor of TiVo giving me the offer, I am going to call and ask again. I hate to waste customer service time with nonsense requests and won't do it if I can't convince myself it makes sense to ask again.
> 
> All three used TiVoHDs were purchased used, subscription history unknown, I have never paid a penny of monthly service on any TiVo and I can't imagine I ever will. I would however buy my fourth lifetime subscription if I can get it for $99. Even though I don't think I should qualify, I would take it if offered, hardly a compelling argument to convince TiVo, but that is just the situation. My only thought is maybe TiVo wants boxes in service, rather than closets.


I'm pretty sure they're only going to do it for units that are in service, i.e., subscribed, on your account, at the time and that have been for a while.

This started out with people who had HDs who took out a 3 year pre-paid when lifetime wasn't being offered.

When the 3 years was up and they called to cancel, they got the offer.

Then it spread to people buying Premieres and wanting to cancel service on their S3s and S3 HDs that they'd had subbed for several years.

I'm pretty sure they aren't interested in doing it in situations where it would take the place of someone buying an S4 or S5.


----------



## jrtroo

Shanezam203 said:


> I started this thread a few years ago, and still have that Lifetime Box but it's an old series 2 and has gone defective. what options do I have to get it replaced but keep the lifetime?


Attempting to fix it is your best bet.

These boxes are fairly cheap these days with lifetime, so a "new" box could be in order as the next cheapest option.

Most likely its the PS (I'm surprised Unitron did not address this above, he has some expertise on this), but the HD is a close second. If its the MB, dump it for another box.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

unitron said:


> I'm pretty sure they're only going to do it for units that are in service, i.e., subscribed, on your account, at the time and that have been for a while.
> 
> This started out with people who had HDs who took out a 3 year pre-paid when lifetime wasn't being offered.
> 
> When the 3 years was up and they called to cancel, they got the offer.
> 
> Then it spread to people buying Premieres and wanting to cancel service on their S3s and S3 HDs that they'd had subbed for several years.
> 
> I'm pretty sure they aren't interested in doing it in situations where it would take the place of someone buying an S4 or S5.


I think you are probably right, I won't waste their time with another call and just live with two and hope I can keep both running.


----------



## replaytv

Shanezam203 said:


> I started this thread a few years ago, and still have that Lifetime Box but it's an old series 2 and has gone defective. what options do I have to get it replaced but keep the lifetime?
> 
> Ebay/ Tivo direct sales?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Shane


If you are in Denver, you can come over and get a Series 2 Tivo to use for parts for free. I won't ship it though. It is usually a hard drive or power supply and very easy to fix with just changing the part out.

I think I would call to TiVo and ask them how much to fix it. Which they will say that they don't fix them, so then you ask what kind of special deal can they give you on a new TiVo with lifetime with some kind of credit for your broken box. I feel that all they can say is 'no'. And they might say 'yes'. You never know what TiVo is going to say. It is like each agent has a 'spin the bottle' technique to decide many things.


----------



## shwru980r

Chris Gerhard said:


> I am once thinking trying to figure out if there is some way to get a TiVoHD to qualify for the $99 lifetime offer. I don't think I qualify and don't think I should qualify but my current situation is I have two TiVoHDs with lifetime and three unsubscribed mostly for parts and one is sometimes used as a dual OTA tuner.


You could try adding one of the used unsubscribed Tivos as a monthly subscription to your account and then cancel before the 30 days are up so that it is on your account when you ask for the $99 subscription.


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## Hot4Bo

I'm not entitled to a discount on lifetime on a new box either. I have 2 single tuner S2s, one that I got for free with free lifetime in 2002 for some contest TiVo was running at the time. The other one I have been paying a grandfathered monthly $6.95 since 2006 (!!!) (there was no lifetime when I bought it). I was given the $6.95 rate because of some conflict between CSRs as to how much it should be.

I'd really love to upgrade to HD since I bought an HDTV last year but for the price of lifetime now, unfortunately, it is a little cost prohibitive right now.


----------



## unitron

Shanezam203 said:


> I started this thread a few years ago, and still have that Lifetime Box but it's an old series 2 and has gone defective. what options do I have to get it replaced but keep the lifetime?
> 
> Ebay/ Tivo direct sales?
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Shane


Get another TiVo of the same model (hard drive size can be different) and somebody who knows how to unsolder and solder Surface Mount Devices and have them move the Atmel brand chip from the lifetimed machine to the new motherboard.

The TiVo Service Number is burned into that crypto chip, and the lifetime sub is tied to that number in TiVo's database.

TiVo's servers will think the new board is the old board.

(Suggest you put new motherboard in old chassis so that the TSN matches the one on the sticker on the back where the power cord plugs in)

This method should work on all stand alone Series1 and Series 2 TiVos and the original Series 3.

After that, beginning with the HD, the crypto chip function is incorporated into the custom CPU and it uses a connection method called Ball Grid Array, which is much more complicated to unsolder and resolder and not for those of us playing along at home.


----------



## replaytv

Hot4Bo said:


> I'm not entitled to a discount on lifetime on a new box either. I have 2 single tuner S2s, one that I got for free with free lifetime in 2002 for some contest TiVo was running at the time.
> I'd really love to upgrade to HD since I bought an HDTV last year but for the price of lifetime now, unfortunately, it is a little cost prohibitive right now.


I think that if you put the lifetime box on your account by calling TiVo then you will get the discount. I don't think it matters if you or someone else paid for the lifetime originally, or if you got it for free. It does make a difference if it is a 'evaluation' type of lifetime though. Rumor is that if you try and put that on your account TiVo will take away the evaluation lifetime and make the TiVo a 'brick' only good for tuning and 30 minute temp' recording.

You can get a HD TiVo with lifetime on ebay or craigslist for about $200 now.


----------



## steve614

Chris Gerhard said:


> I think you are probably right, I won't waste their time with another call and just live with two and hope I can keep both running.


How long has it been since you last called TiVo?

I would do what shwru980r said except when you go to cancel before the 30 days, call TiVo. Don't do it from the website.

See what they say.

If they don't make the offer, mention that you would gladly take the $99 lifetime you heard TiVo was offering "everybody else" on the internet. 

Worst case you don't get the deal, but you might be able to get the info for the rest of us. You can then ask TiVo what would it have taken to get that deal.


----------



## unitron

jrtroo said:


> Attempting to fix it is your best bet.
> 
> These boxes are fairly cheap these days with lifetime, so a "new" box could be in order as the next cheapest option.
> 
> Most likely its the PS (*I'm surprised Unitron did not address this above*, he has some expertise on this), but the HD is a close second. If its the MB, dump it for another box.


Apparently Shane's post came in as I was composing my reply to Chris, so I didn't see it until sometime later.

And as you can see, when I did, I addressed his situation in a separate post, where I assumed he'd already eliminated the power supply and drive as sources of the problem.


----------



## Hot4Bo

replaytv said:


> I think that if you put the lifetime box on your account by calling TiVo then you will get the discount. I don't think it matters if you or someone else paid for the lifetime originally, or if you got it for free. It does make a difference if it is a 'evaluation' type of lifetime though. Rumor is that if you try and put that on your account TiVo will take away the evaluation lifetime and make the TiVo a 'brick' only good for tuning and 30 minute temp' recording.
> 
> You can get a HD TiVo with lifetime on ebay or craigslist for about $200 now.


My lifetimed S2 is an evaluation lifetime. That was the problem with my second box. One CSR told me if I bought the second one, it would qualify for the MSD even though the first was an evaluation lifetime. I know now that's not true but back in 2006, I had no idea. I bought the second one and when I went to activate it, it wouldn't do MSD. I called and got very upset and they saw notes from the first CSR so they gave me the $6.95 monthly with explicit instructions that neither machine will ever be good for MSD.


----------



## needgeech

I just bought 2 HD's with 1TB hard drives for less than $20 each. Older couple and taken care of. THey had been paying monthly for 5 years up until giving them to me. If I add them to my account with an old S2 with lifetime do you think I would be able to call in to get the $99 lifetimes on the HD's???

My situation: I also just bought a xl4 with 2.5 yr warranty and lifetime for $450. . .and I have a cancelled Etailz PM with Amazon to try and get for $465 Roamio pro after tax. The deal on the XL4 seemed too good to pass on--especially with the long warranty. That will give me a year to pounce on a real $399 Roamio Deal and sell the XL4 for say $350 plus. That also means that my eventual Roamio Pro will be new a year later. Am I wrong in not just going for the Roamio Pro? I plan to run 3 or 4 TVs. Will try and convert the 2 HD's to $99 lifetime--sell one and use one. Would give me xl4 + 2 more tuners=6. . . plus a mini for tv #3 and S2 or just straight cable for #4.

Any advice would be great. Not huge Apple people so that's not a real consideration. And the extra $400+ more upfront for the Roamio Pro would be hassle before tax returns.



replaytv said:


> I think that if you put the lifetime box on your account by calling TiVo then you will get the discount. I don't think it matters if you or someone else paid for the lifetime originally, or if you got it for free. It does make a difference if it is a 'evaluation' type of lifetime though. Rumor is that if you try and put that on your account TiVo will take away the evaluation lifetime and make the TiVo a 'brick' only good for tuning and 30 minute temp' recording.
> 
> You can get a HD TiVo with lifetime on ebay or craigslist for about $200 now.


----------



## unitron

needgeech said:


> I just bought 2 HD's with 1TB hard drives for less than $20 each. Older couple and taken care of. THey had been paying monthly for 5 years up until giving them to me. If I add them to my account with an old S2 with lifetime do you think I would be able to call in to get the $99 lifetimes on the HD's???
> 
> My situation: I also just bought a xl4 with 2.5 yr warranty and lifetime for $450. . .and I have a cancelled Etailz PM with Amazon to try and get for $465 Roamio pro after tax. The deal on the XL4 seemed too good to pass on--especially with the long warranty. That will give me a year to pounce on a real $399 Roamio Deal and sell the XL4 for say $350 plus. That also means that my eventual Roamio Pro will be new a year later. Am I wrong in not just going for the Roamio Pro? I plan to run 3 or 4 TVs. Will try and convert the 2 HD's to $99 lifetime--sell one and use one. Would give me xl4 + 2 more tuners=6. . . plus a mini for tv #3 and S2 or just straight cable for #4.
> 
> Any advice would be great. Not huge Apple people so that's not a real consideration. And the extra $400+ more upfront for the Roamio Pro would be hassle before tax returns.


You should have gotten the previous owners to try to get the $99 lifetime on them, they'd have had a much better chance.


----------



## Chris Gerhard

steve614 said:


> How long has it been since you last called TiVo?
> 
> I would do what shwru980r said except when you go to cancel before the 30 days, call TiVo. Don't do it from the website.
> 
> See what they say.
> 
> If they don't make the offer, mention that you would gladly take the $99 lifetime you heard TiVo was offering "everybody else" on the internet.
> 
> Worst case you don't get the deal, but you might be able to get the info for the rest of us. You can then ask TiVo what would it have taken to get that deal.


First time I called was about 2 years ago, and I tried a second time about 6 months later so a year a half ago was the last time I called. If I am going to try, I think you and shrwu980r are right, subscribe, wait almost a month and call is the best approach.


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## reedog117

I was just able to get the $99 lifetime deal with a 39-month old Tivo Premiere (2-tuner) that I had been paying monthly for. So.. YMMV.. but I think that's a pretty decent deal.

Does anyone know what the resale value would be on a 39-month old Tivo Premiere with an upgraded 2TB hard drive? I have been seeing wildly varying numbers between eBay and Washington DC Craigslist, but wanted to try to get a ballpark figure. I may just hold onto it since it's still more useful than a Mini (with the ability to use streambaby, etc) should I decide to get a Roamio later.


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## ~kyle

reedog117 said:


> I was just able to get the $99 lifetime deal with a 39-month old Tivo Premiere (2-tuner) that I had been paying monthly for. So.. YMMV.. but I think that's a pretty decent deal....


Care to explain how you did that? Did you purchase a new unit and call to cancel your subscription?


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## reedog117

~kyle said:


> Care to explain how you did that? Did you purchase a new unit and call to cancel your subscription?


Nope -- all I did was call customer care and ask whether there was any type of deal for upgrading from monthly to lifetime. I explained that I had been paying the monthly fee for over 3 years and thus have already spent more than $500 on monthly fees. The first rep said that he couldn't do anything so he transferred me to another department. I explained the situation to the second rep, and she put me on hold for a few minutes, then offered me the $99 lifetime deal.

I only have one box by the way, the 2-tuner Premiere, and didn't purchase a new one.


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## ~kyle

Wow, you got a heck of a deal then! I don't believe I've ever heard of that happening before.

I got $99 lifetime on my HD by calling to cancel the subscription after I bought my second Premiere.


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## bacevedo

I just got lifetime on my 3 year old premiere by calling up and asking if they could give me lifetime for $99 or I was thinking of canceling (which was true). I chose the option on the phone to "cancel" service, so I was probably directed to their retention department which has more authority to offer you deals to keep you.

The woman was very pleasant and told me that she could offer me a deal depending on the age of the premiere. Since it was 3 years old she could give me the $99 deal. This is the only unit on the account and has done the annual service for the last 3 years. My service was set to renew to annual the next day, and I told her if I couldn't get a deal on a lifetime plan that I was just going to cancel the service.

It appears that if you talk to the right person, $99 lifetime is doable depending on the age of the premiere unit.

Bryan


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## needgeech

I did not want them to realize they were losing out on an extra $100+ per unit on ebay w/LT!
When I checked the TSN's the monthly shows as $9.99. . .was that the norm on the HD's? In any case, seems they would rather have the extra $99 each rather than $0 as they are not being used. When I call I will have an S2 LT, and XL4 LT, a 3rd HD on monthly, and a Roamio Pro to add lifetime service to "during the call" or otherwise to help my odds. . .

Any other suggestions? TIA



unitron said:


> You should have gotten the previous owners to try to get the $99 lifetime on them, they'd have had a much better chance.


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## Brighton Line

I just called today to cancel service on my Series 4 TCD746320 (Dual Tuner 45 hr HD) which was rolling over to $14.99 no commitment. 
The Tivo is 2 years old come 2/1 and I was offered $199 lifetime on it instead of cancelling. 

I previously got $99 lifetime on a 3 year old Series 4XL TCD748000 (Dual Tuner 150 hr HD) when I added a Roamio Pro. 

FWIW


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## ort

Do they only do this at the moment of cancellation, or can you call them a little later and have them reactivate a box with $99 lifetime?


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## buscuitboy

ort said:


> Do they only do this at the moment of cancellation, or can you call them a little later and have them reactivate a box with $99 lifetime?


In the past, I got a used TiVo series 3 off Craigslist. It was previously subscribed to and I tried to get the $99 lifetime offer on it, but they wouldn't do it and said they couldn't since it wasn't currently active.

For another previous Series 3, I subscribed to it on a regular month-to-month. However, just before the free 30 days were up, I called to cancel and they offered the $99 lifetime (less the previous $10 I had paid to get it initially going).

I guess this is probably the best way to do it; first activate it monthly, but then call a few weeks later and say you changed your mind. They will then maybe offer you the $99 lifetime or you can also probably say you will keep it if you can get this rate.


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## Tivogre

ort said:


> Do they only do this at the moment of cancellation, or can you call them a little later and have them reactivate a box with $99 lifetime?


My experience has been that it is a right then or never proposition.

YMMV.


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