TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

"Bob" wrote in message
et...

"Chris Adams" wrote in message
...
Once upon a time, Bob said:
Exactly, information that is delivered OTA free.

Not the same information by a long shot. The TiVo data has a lot of
details (that are used for Wish Lists and Season Passes) that is not in
the free TV Guide data.

Sure it is.

I've got 4 sets that have this feature. One RCA, a Proscan, Sony HD LCD
and
Panasonic plasma.

The guide info is from the TV Guide Channel with content from Tribune
Media.
It's very extensive. Has all the descriptive info the Tivo sends along.
Program titles are color coded for genre and can be sorted as such.

It even covers all six subchannels for HD stations that are broadcasting
on
all six.


What I don't understand, is that in other countries (like the UK for
instance), a TiVo like box with 2 OTA tuners (digital) and an 80GB hard
drive sells for about $200. There is no subscription, no phone line
required, no updates expected. Simple to use and relatively low
functionality, suitable for mothers in law and grandparents.

Why can;t TiVo do the same - sell a decent box for a reasonable amount of
money and then go away and let me use it for free.

As it has been pointed out, the guide data is available for free OTA and
from many other sources - so there is no reason for TiVo to charge, and when
I buy other products (like a Palm or a GPS system for example) I don't need
to pay a subscription - and the SW in those products is at least as complex
as TiVo.

I really think that the subscription model is killing TiVo - most people
want little more than they get from a VCR. Networking and PC transfer are
great for the techies or which there are many, and could be sold as extras.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

What I don't understand, is that in other countries (like the UK for
instance), a TiVo like box with 2 OTA tuners (digital) and an 80GB hard
drive sells for about $200. There is no subscription, no phone line
required, no updates expected. Simple to use and relatively low
functionality, suitable for mothers in law and grandparents.

Why can;t TiVo do the same - sell a decent box for a reasonable amount of
money and then go away and let me use it for free.

As it has been pointed out, the guide data is available for free OTA and
from many other sources - so there is no reason for TiVo to charge, and when
I buy other products (like a Palm or a GPS system for example) I don't need
to pay a subscription - and the SW in those products is at least as complex
as TiVo.

I really think that the subscription model is killing TiVo - most people
want little more than they get from a VCR. Networking and PC transfer are
great for the techies or which there are many, and could be sold as extras.



The "thing" you don't understand is that the thing you want IS the
guide, not the box. You are subscribing to the SERVICE, not buying a
box. There are several boxes you could buy w/o worrying about Tivo. I
have several DVD recorders, etc. with "free" guides. You have to be a
real simp to think those things compare in any way with Replay or Tivo.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

On Fri, 10 Mar 2006 10:22:53 -0800, Fred Bloggs wrote:

What I don't understand, is that in other countries (like the UK for
instance), a TiVo like box with 2 OTA tuners (digital) and an 80GB hard
drive sells for about $200. There is no subscription, no phone line
required, no updates expected. Simple to use and relatively low
functionality, suitable for mothers in law and grandparents.

Why can;t TiVo do the same - sell a decent box for a reasonable amount of
money and then go away and let me use it for free.

They don't want to, and it's their company.:-) if you want such a box to
use in the US there are many choices that do just what you want. As soon
as I put together another MythTV frontend for the last TV in my house,
I'll be selling such a box for $100 since I won't need it any longer. RCA
DRS7000N.

http://reviews.cnet.com/RCA_Scenium_...-20324893.html

--
Want the ultimate in free OTA SD/HDTV Recorder? http://mythtv.org
http://mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html Usenet alt.video.ptv.mythtv
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
HD Tivo S3 compared http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/mythtivo.htm

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

"Tony D." wrote:

The "thing" you don't understand is that the thing you want IS the
guide, not the box. You are subscribing to the SERVICE, not buying a
box. There are several boxes you could buy w/o worrying about Tivo. I
have several DVD recorders, etc. with "free" guides. You have to be a
real simp to think those things compare in any way with Replay or Tivo.

What about the DirecTV TiVos? How do you justify the service on
those?

When it comes down to it, TiVo is a service that happens to include
guide data on the stand-alone units.

--
--------- Scott Seligman scott at firstname and michelle dot net ---------
We are the universe, trying to understand itself.
-- Delenn in Babylon 5:"Passing Through Gethsemane"

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

The "thing" you don't understand is that the thing you want IS the
guide, not the box. You are subscribing to the SERVICE, not buying a
box. There are several boxes you could buy w/o worrying about Tivo. I
have several DVD recorders, etc. with "free" guides. You have to be a
real simp to think those things compare in any way with Replay or Tivo.

Not so. I'm buying the box and the features. The guide for me is secondary.
What sold me on Tivo is the pause, rewind, skip forward, instant reply. And
in the case of the DirecTivo, the dual tuners.

Recording and archiving for me is secondary. I watch more live TV than
recorded. Sports, always live.

Those features have nothing to do with the guide.

Yeah, I could have gotten another box. But, as for the above mentioned
features, Tivo does it best.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

Bob wrote:

The "thing" you don't understand is that the thing you want IS the
guide, not the box. You are subscribing to the SERVICE, not buying a
box. There are several boxes you could buy w/o worrying about Tivo. I
have several DVD recorders, etc. with "free" guides. You have to be a
real simp to think those things compare in any way with Replay or Tivo.


Not so. I'm buying the box and the features. The guide for me is secondary.
What sold me on Tivo is the pause, rewind, skip forward, instant reply. And
in the case of the DirecTivo, the dual tuners.

Recording and archiving for me is secondary. I watch more live TV than
recorded. Sports, always live.

Those features have nothing to do with the guide.

Yeah, I could have gotten another box. But, as for the above mentioned
features, Tivo does it best.

They are all part of the SERVICE and have nothing to do with the box per
se.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

Scott Seligman wrote:

"Tony D." wrote:

The "thing" you don't understand is that the thing you want IS the
guide, not the box. You are subscribing to the SERVICE, not buying a
box. There are several boxes you could buy w/o worrying about Tivo. I
have several DVD recorders, etc. with "free" guides. You have to be a
real simp to think those things compare in any way with Replay or Tivo.


What about the DirecTV TiVos? How do you justify the service on
those?

When it comes down to it, TiVo is a service that happens to include
guide data on the stand-alone units.

Gee, why didn't you get one of those lame "cheap" sat supplied PVRs
instead of a DirecTivo? I guess, lame as it is, you REALLY wanted the
SERVICE.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

Recording and archiving for me is secondary. I watch more live TV than
recorded. Sports, always live.

Those features have nothing to do with the guide.

Yeah, I could have gotten another box. But, as for the above mentioned
features, Tivo does it best.

They are all part of the SERVICE and have nothing to do with the box per
se.

I guess then it comes down to your definition of service. To me, those are
features that came with the box. Even if they are software driven.

The program guide is the service Tivo downloads everynight. Or whenever.

So I guess we disagree.

But at $20 a month, it's a bit steep.

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

"Tony D." wrote:
Scott Seligman wrote:

What about the DirecTV TiVos? How do you justify the service on
those?

When it comes down to it, TiVo is a service that happens to include
guide data on the stand-alone units.

Gee, why didn't you get one of those lame "cheap" sat supplied PVRs
instead of a DirecTivo? I guess, lame as it is, you REALLY wanted the
SERVICE.

Yes, that's why I'm paying for the service, because it's something I
want at a price I think is justified.

It, however, is just a pricing model. That extra $5 (or $6, whatever
it is) doesn't actually get me anything other than the bit that turns
on the TiVo features. I'm not getting any magic guide data that
someone else on DTV isn't getting that enables the majority of the
TiVo functionality.

(And nope, I'm not getting the TiVo specific data since I have
scheduling conflicts for the time it wants to record that info off the
satellite feed, and my box doesn't call home anymore.)

--
--------- Scott Seligman scott at firstname and michelle dot net ---------
The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who
reads nothing but newspapers.
-- Thomas Jefferson

TiVo announces new pricing plans
 

I guess then it comes down to your definition of service. To me,
those are
features that came with the box. Even if they are software driven.

That's totally true. Except that when you buy a tivo you agree to
Tivo's definition of service, which is more than just guide data. Other
companies define it differently, but their service isn't as useful. It
all comes down to you get what you pay for.

The program guide is the service Tivo downloads everynight. Or whenever.

Not as Tivo defines it, which is what counts here.


So I guess we disagree.

But since Tivo *provides* the service, their definition is the final word.


But at $20 a month, it's a bit steep.

I will agree with you on that. But it looks like that's not going to be
the actual service cost (I thought it was a first as well). The serice
cost is still 12.99 per month, the additional cost is the cost of the
hardware amortized over a fixed period. So for the 1 year, 19.95 rate,
$7 per month goes to paying for the box. After one year you will have
paid $84 for the box, and from then on you would pay 12.99 like everyone
else. For the 2 year, 18.95 rate you would pay $6 per month for the box
for a total of $144 (equivalent present worth would be ~$128 assuming
6% interest). For the 3 year, 16.95 rate you would pay $4 per month for
the box for a total of $144 (equivalent present worth would be ~$121).
So that doesn't really sound like that bad a deal, does it (though the
1 yr deal seems much better)? Plus, the upfront purchase plus 12.99
rate will still be available at retail stores.

The only real negative change here is the loss of the lifetime sub
option, and you can bet that nobody here is happy about that.

RandY S.