First time tivo buying tips.

I am doing some research before I buy a tivo. I was wondering if some
of the old timers here could answer a question or two.

1. What is the difference between the series 1 and 2? I think I got
that right.
2. Should I go for lots or record time right off or wait and see how
it plays out.? I kind of have been doing some figuring in my head.
With our VCR we have never recorded more than 2 or 3 hours 4 at the
most.
3. What about service?
4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

Any tips in general for the first time buyer?

In article ,
Paul Tutle Sr. - OCC wrote:

I am doing some research before I buy a tivo. I was wondering if some
of the old timers here could answer a question or two.

1. What is the difference between the series 1 and 2? I think I got
that right.
Series1 havent been made for 3 years. They have no USB ports, 1/2 the
memory, but are easier to "hack"

2. Should I go for lots or record time right off or wait and see how
it plays out.? I kind of have been doing some figuring in my head.
With our VCR we have never recorded more than 2 or 3 hours 4 at the
most.
Get the less time to start, it's cheaper to later upgrade yourself,
if you decide you want a larger HD.

3. What about service?

Service is required for a Series 2.

4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

The Lifetime subscription is for the lifetime of the unit. If it really
fails, send it to TiVo for repair, in the unlikely event it needs to be
replaced THEY will transfer the subscription. You can always get a
better unit by selling the unit with the subscription on ebay.


Any tips in general for the first time buyer?

Buy local so if you are in the minority that have a major problem or
dont like the TiVo it's trivial to return.

In article ,
Jack Zwick wrote:

4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

The Lifetime subscription is for the lifetime of the unit. If it really
fails, send it to TiVo for repair, in the unlikely event it needs to be
replaced THEY will transfer the subscription.

That's one approach.

The "extended warranty" approach is another one, and I believe that
caution is called for. If it's an extended warranty provided by the
manufacturer of the recorder, then the lifetime service certainly
ought to be transferred if the unit needs to be replaced rather than
repaired.

Extended warranty protection from a third party may be another issue
entirely. "Extended warranty" programs are often offered by
individual stores or retail chains. My experience with these, over
the past few decades, has not been good. These third-party warranty
programs are usually _not_ backed by the manufacturer, and the repair
or replacement service is often performed by an independent repair
company whose skill (and level of support from the manufacturer) may
not be terribly good - the service depot may be "factory trained" or
"factory authorized", but not "factory operated". Because the
manufacturer itself is not a party to the third-party warranty
agreement, the manufacturer isn't legally bound to do anything to
honor its terms.

What this adds up to, in this case, is that if you buy a third-party
"extended warranty", and your TiVo system breaks, and if the
third-party repair company can't actually repair _your_ TiVo system
and gives you another in exchange, then the replacement unit might or
might not have lifetime service on it. It's up to the repair company
to ensure that it does... it's not (as far as I know) TiVo's
responsibility.

If you do decide to buy a third-party extended warranty on a TiVo
recorder, and you're planning to buy lifetime service on the recorder,
I'd encourage you to make _very_ certain what the third-party warranty
covers, and does not cover. It would be a good idea to make sure
_in_writing_ that the extended-warranty company will ensure that your
lifetime service is transferred legitimately to any replacement unit
that they might give you as part of a repair under their warranty.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

"Jack Zwick" wrote in message ...
In article ,
Paul Tutle Sr. - OCC wrote:

I am doing some research before I buy a tivo. I was wondering if some
of the old timers here could answer a question or two.

1. What is the difference between the series 1 and 2? I think I got
that right.
Series1 havent been made for 3 years. They have no USB ports, 1/2 the
memory, but are easier to "hack"

2. Should I go for lots or record time right off or wait and see how
it plays out.? I kind of have been doing some figuring in my head.
With our VCR we have never recorded more than 2 or 3 hours 4 at the
most.
Get the less time to start, it's cheaper to later upgrade yourself,
if you decide you want a larger HD.

3. What about service?

Service is required for a Series 2.

4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

The Lifetime subscription is for the lifetime of the unit. If it really
fails, send it to TiVo for repair, in the unlikely event it needs to be
replaced THEY will transfer the subscription. You can always get a
better unit by selling the unit with the subscription on ebay.



The ONLY time a lifetime subscription can be transferred to a new TiVo
is when the original unit is still in warranty. A lifetime subscription
doesn't provide a lifetime warranty.

Look here... http://customersupport.tivo.com/know...ic/tv1003.htm?

An extended warranty is not the original warranty. An extended warranty
replacement will be provided by the seller of that warranty and it may or
may not include a lifetime subscription replacement clause.

Paul Tutle Sr. - OCC wrote:

1. What is the difference between the series 1 and 2? I think I got
that right.

Since the pre-"Series 2" units are older they are much harder to find.
But http://www.servicedvr.com/ is an "Authorized Service Center for
Philips Branded TiVo Products".

I bought a 20-hour Philips HDR112 for the purpose of adding a larger
disk and an Ethernet interface.
-Joe

Paul Tutle Sr. - OCC shaped the electrons to say:
1. What is the difference between the series 1 and 2? I think I got
that right.

Moot - since they stopped making the Series1 back in 2001. The S2 has
a faster CPU, more RAM, USB ports, etc.

2. Should I go for lots or record time right off or wait and see how
it plays out.? I kind of have been doing some figuring in my head.
With our VCR we have never recorded more than 2 or 3 hours 4 at the
most.

Keep in mind the advertised time on a standalone TiVo is for the
lowest of 4 quality levels. A 40 hour unit is 40 hours at basic, and
about 12 at Best.

3. What about service?

What about it? If you get a Pioneer or Toshiba unit they come with
TiVo Basic, otherwise you have a doorstop unless you pay for the
service.

4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

If you have lifetime on a unit and you have it repaired by an
authorized repair center, or replaced by an authorized retailer, the
lifetime sub will be transferred.

-MZ, RHCE #806199299900541, ex-CISSP #3762
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-755-4098
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris

"Jack Ak" shaped the electrons to say:
The ONLY time a lifetime subscription can be transferred to a new TiVo
is when the original unit is still in warranty. A lifetime subscription
doesn't provide a lifetime warranty.

Look here... http://customersupport.tivo.com/know...ic/tv1003.htm?

Except for the large number of people who have had TiVo transfer their
lifetime sub for a unit well past warranty.

TiVo does it all the time.

-MZ, RHCE #806199299900541, ex-CISSP #3762
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-755-4098
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris

I bought my first Tivo, (40 hr-Series 1) at Best Buy. I purchased the 4
years service/warranty plan for $79.95. Two years later my hardrive died. I
took it back to Best Buy, they had it about 2 weeks and finally said that
they couldn't fix it. They told me to go pick any Tivo I wanted off the
shelf up to the original cost that I paid for the unit.

I was able to get to get a new 80 hr-Series 2 DVR. I did have to purchase a
new BB warranty plan. I purchased a new Tivo lifetime service, because
someone on e-mail support said that it couldn't be transferred.

2 weeks later the new series 2 was making a clicking noise. I called Best
Buy and they said it sounded like the hardrive and to bring it back. They
have a 30 day lemon policy. Therefore, I again picked another one off of
the shelf and they transferred the BB warranty plan (less the two weeks) to
the third Tivo.

When I got home, I called Tivo. I told them I had just purchased a second
lifetime warranty two weeks before on a Best Buy replacement, etc, etc. and
that my new toy was getting very costly. He told me that he had only been on
the job a short time but he didn't think that that was the policy. He put me
on hold to check.

To shorten this story, I spoke with a supervisor. He told me that lifetime
service is eligible to be transferred to a replacement unit as long as that
unit was a replacement received under a service/warranty plan such as I had
purchased at Best Buy. He was adamant that if anything happened to the 3rd
unit within the new Best Buy service/warranty period, that Tivo Lifetime
Service could be transferred to the new unit. My $299.00 was refunded.
ct

"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jack Zwick wrote:

4. If you buy the lifetime subscription and say you buy a tivo with
an extended warranty and it goes out, does the lifetime subscription
cover the replacement tivo that you would get as a replacement?

The Lifetime subscription is for the lifetime of the unit. If it really
fails, send it to TiVo for repair, in the unlikely event it needs to be
replaced THEY will transfer the subscription.

That's one approach.

The "extended warranty" approach is another one, and I believe that
caution is called for. If it's an extended warranty provided by the
manufacturer of the recorder, then the lifetime service certainly
ought to be transferred if the unit needs to be replaced rather than
repaired.

Extended warranty protection from a third party may be another issue
entirely. "Extended warranty" programs are often offered by
individual stores or retail chains. My experience with these, over
the past few decades, has not been good. These third-party warranty
programs are usually _not_ backed by the manufacturer, and the repair
or replacement service is often performed by an independent repair
company whose skill (and level of support from the manufacturer) may
not be terribly good - the service depot may be "factory trained" or
"factory authorized", but not "factory operated". Because the
manufacturer itself is not a party to the third-party warranty
agreement, the manufacturer isn't legally bound to do anything to
honor its terms.

What this adds up to, in this case, is that if you buy a third-party
"extended warranty", and your TiVo system breaks, and if the
third-party repair company can't actually repair _your_ TiVo system
and gives you another in exchange, then the replacement unit might or
might not have lifetime service on it. It's up to the repair company
to ensure that it does... it's not (as far as I know) TiVo's
responsibility.

If you do decide to buy a third-party extended warranty on a TiVo
recorder, and you're planning to buy lifetime service on the recorder,
I'd encourage you to make _very_ certain what the third-party warranty
covers, and does not cover. It would be a good idea to make sure
_in_writing_ that the extended-warranty company will ensure that your
lifetime service is transferred legitimately to any replacement unit
that they might give you as part of a repair under their warranty.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!