Ready to give those newly enacted, FCC mandated CableCARD self-install procedures a go? TiVo’s got a deal for you on refurbished Premiere DVR hardware. $50 gets you the hardware, $20 a month gets you the service. It’s not quite as good as their occasional $0 down promotions, but it doesn’t require that two year commitment. Something worth contemplating if you assume they’ve got Super Premiere hardware in the pipeline for 2012. Additionally, multi-room service discounts are in effect – dropping the monthly fee to $14.99 for existing subscribers.
The fine print:
- Commitment period: 1-year commitment to the TiVo service required after which your service plan will continue on a month- to-month basis thereafter. After your 1-year commitment ends, you are under no obligation to continue your TiVo service and you may keep the TiVo box. Offer ends August 25, 2011 or while supplies last. TiVo reserves the right to terminate this promotion at any time without notice.
- Early termination fee: If you cancel the TiVo service before your commitment ends, an early termination fee will apply equal to $200 minus $15 per month for each month of your subscription that you fulfilled, except as permitted by the 30-day money back guarantee.
- Service required: The TiVo box will not work without a paid subscription to the TiVo service.
(Thanks, Jon!)
It appears that product lifetime is not available with this offer. I’m still waiting to see the pricing on the Elite before I decide which direction I’m going to upgrade from my Series 3 and TiVo HD.
I’m still waiting on FiOS TV IMG 1.9 to decide what direction I’m going. ;)
Solid Signal is also running a promotion that gets you service for $9.99 /mo. http://www.solidsignal.com/p/?p=3823&utm_campaign=email_tivobanner&utm_medium=email&utm_source=banner&location=01
@john, that is probably the best deal I have seen in a while, renews at the 9.99$ rate apparently going forward.
Great deal on the hardware. If you can live without the next-gen hardware, hop on this deal.
My rationale for not upgrading from my TiVo HD to the Premiere was never about the money, so I won’t be taking advantage of the deal myself.
I wouldn’t trade my TiVo HD in for a free Premiere.
John, nice deal… ESPECIALLY because after the commitment is up it looks like you’re renewed at the $9.99 monthly rate indefinitely. Although I could see that somehow changing and customers have no recourse (other than cancellation).
Note the fine print on the Solid Signal deal; the monthly price is only good for antenna users. As soon as you put in a CableCard, the rate jumps to $19.99
“Note the fine print on the Solid Signal deal; the monthly price is only good for antenna users. As soon as you put in a CableCard, the rate jumps to $19.99”
Good catch for you in actually reading the fine print there.
The Solid Signal add-on deal is still a good deal for any OTA folks out there, however.
Hm, that’s interesting and weird. Never mind the confusion factor, how is that even kosher and how do they track it?
“how is that even kosher and how do they track it?”
TiVo must have signed off on it, perhaps with a subsidy from Solid Signal, perhaps not.
Tracking it is easy, as your box can certainly tell TiVo whether or not there is a CableCARD installed.
“Never mind the confusion factor”
I’m always of the mindset that variable pricing can work well for TiVo retail, and that the confusion factor is oversold. Why shouldn’t OTA folks pay less than CableCARD folks? Seems smart to me, as OTA folks are likely to be more on the lookout for bargains in the DVR market than CableCARD folks.
Tracking is technically easy, I agree. But does something in my end user agreement say they can monitor my connectivity choices and use that info to adjust my fees? Hm. Like I said, weird. I emailed TiVo earlier seeking clarification on how this works and who else is promoting it.
“Super Premiere hardware in the pipeline for 2012”
Oh, are there new rumors that this will be 2012? I thought the
I actually have a dead S3 (fan turns on & drive spins, but no other signs of power), and my TivoHD is acting weird — lots of reboots, sometimes loses channels and thinks it has no now playing until I reboot.. I even bought 2 used TivoHDs “for parts” thinking I’d try swapping the power supply.
But I got more use out of them than I thought (S3 was very early 2007).. so was vaguely considering “giving up” and getting a 4 tuner Premiere. (While hopefully keeping the HD alive to watch/get the existing programs off, and trying to resurrect the S3 for the same reason.)
Oops, I mean that I thought the current rumor was that it would be this year as soon as they got FCC waivers.
I was thinking something other than the 4 tuner Premiere Elite. Seems like they’d upgrade the hardware once again at some point. Assuming they stick with retail. The Premiere Elite is on track for 2011 as far as I know and as long as the FCC cooperates.
“Assuming they stick with retail.”
You always think TiVo is on the verge about retail, but I don’t see it anymore.
Now that the FCC is on the case, a dual MSO/retail strategy seems obvious as TiVo’s path. The only way MSO-only ever made sense for them in the US is if CableCARD wasn’t being made a safe space.
Or think of whatever they’re doing with the Solid Signal deal. Want a DVR for OTA? Hey, we make nice DVR’s.
TiVo should be leveraging their platform to wherever the customer is. OTA? Buy a TiVo. Retail CableCard? Buy a TiVo. Through an MSO in your market? Rent a TiVo.
Why wouldn’t they want to be wherever potential customers are?
Finally! A nice deal for OTA folks like me. But since I’m still on $7/mo plan, I’m good for now.
HOWEVER, can’t you combine $49 deal with $9.99/mo OTA plan using the promo code (Antenna)? I don’t see anything on SS’s site saying it’s restricted to their units ($99 and $249). At $49 and $9.99/mo, Premiere actually makes a very attractive OTA recorder. Not that there are many competitors; the only cheaper way would be to use a PC to record programming.
“I don’t see anything on SS’s site saying it’s restricted to their units”
If that ends up being the case, one wonders if the option will ever show in the store at tivo.com, or if it’s such a small niche that they’ll leave third parties do all the marketing.
Even if you have to pay the $99 the $9.99/month for OTA users is a decent deal for the interface & the options (I buy a lot of cable shows from Amazon)
There are standalone OTA DVRs w/ HDMI – but single tuner only, only OTA guide data, and they start at $300.