Boing Boing’s Cory Doctorow and I exchanged a few emails regarding Tivo’s ability to honor Macrovision copy protection as a service update in light of Tivo’s new early termination fee. Unfortunately, something was lost in translation and I wanted to set the record straight:
Hi Cory,
I definitely think the new $150 termination fee is worth mentioning and appreciate the link back. But I wanted to clear some things up… I didn’t just buy Tivo, in fact I’ve had boxes for many years. Also I didn’t call to cancel, but I have noticed the modified service agreement indicating a cancellation penalty.
The scenario you describe is entirely conceivable (someone could buy a Tivo this month, receive a system update which adds the Macrovision copy protection restrictions, try to cancel, and get hit with a cancellation fee) but it didn’t happen to me and I’m not aware of anyone documenting it.
I hope you can make the necessary modifications to your article.
Thanks!
Dave Zatz