Tivo License question

[JLMannin]

OK, I have a Tivo license question and I am too lazy to look it up myself. If I buy a lifetime Tivo license, is that for the lifetime of the device, or can I transfer the lifetime license to another Tivo device in the future.

In other words, If I buy a Tivo today and spring the $400 for a lifetime license, and in four years fails and I buy a replacement Tivo, do I need to buy another lifetime license, or can I transfer the old lifetime license one to the new Tivo?

[nissan gtp]

it's per device IIRC

[JLMannin]

it's per device IIRC

Hmmmm. In that case, I think I would be inclined to pay year to year for service. To go lifetime, I would need the Tivo to last / not become obsolete for 31 months or longer to not lose money compared to paying month-to-month.

[dando]

Hmmmm. In that case, I think I would be inclined to pay year to year for service. To go lifetime, I would need the Tivo to last / not become obsolete for 31 months or longer to not lose money compared to paying month-to-month.


* Includes a "Product Lifetime subscription" to the TiVo service which covers the life of the TiVo DVR you buy – not the life of the subscriber. The Product Lifetime subscription accompanies the TiVo DVR in case of ownership transfer.
* Money Back Guarantee applies only to initial activations if canceled within 30 days and DVR is returned for a full refund.
* No refunds for cancellations, except as permitted under 30 day Money Back Guarantee.
* A subscription to the TiVo service is required and the TiVo box will not work without a paid subscription to the TiVo service.

That being said, I don't know if you can replace a hard drive like I have with my ReplayTV boxes three times over the past ten years.

-Kevin

[nrc]

Life of the box, as stated above. They used to be pretty good about offering "upgrade" deals to move to a new box and keep your lifetime. They would also replace a failed box and transfer the lifetime at no charge.

Lately they haven't had as many upgrade offers and they've started charging a lifetime transfer fee if your box dies after three years.

Hard drives are easy to replace although they're not plug and play. It's rare for anything else to go wrong with them.

We went with the three year deal which will be up next year. That comes out to $8.31 a month which is pretty reasonable.

[oddlycalm]

That being said, I don't know if you can replace a hard drive like I have with my ReplayTV boxes three times over the past ten years.

-Kevin

Yup, changing the drive has no effect on the lifetime activation. I changed out the drive on one of our S3's a couple months ago after the OEM drive died. I put in a 500GB drive from WeaKnees and it fired right up and worked fine after I did the whole guided setup thing.

oc