Do I want the Tivo HD with Lifetime Service?
Posted By RichC on July 31, 2008
As a Tivo fan, I’ve been “oh so tempted” to upgrade to the HD model and the lifetime service plan. Initially, they discontinued offering the “lifetime subscription” when they launch the first Series3 HD recorder. As time went on they introduced the smaller HD unit and tempted existing customers with “for a limited time” the option of upgrading and buying “lifetime service.” It looks as if that one time promo was just a marketing ploy, as now the lifetime deal is just another subscription option … although its priced at $399 for new customers and $299 for existing customers.
Recently though, I noticed an even more enticing deal, “Buy a new TiVo HD DVR for only $299.99 and we’ll knock $100 off the regular Product Lifetime service fee—that’s a cool 25% savings! And it means no monthly bills for the life of your new TiVo HD DVR.” Working the numbers, that’s $299.99 for the DVR and $299.00 for the Lifetime Service for a grand total of $598.99. On top of that I would need to upgrade my basic cable to include HD content and pay a monthly fee for the decoder card that plugs into the Tivo HD … two cards if I want the dual HD tuner capability. Hmm … I better wait since I really don’t even have a decent HD television!
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