Here’s a post that I put together prior to TiVo announcing their new pricing structure. I thought I’d publish it even though I am taking a break…

Are you wondering what you should get your TiVo fanatic for Christmas? Here’s a list of some of the best accessories and TiVo DVRs that every TiVo geek would love to receive on Christmas. Feel free to recommend any item that I haven’t mentioned.

• Sling Media Slingbox PRO ( SB200-100 ): The Slingbox allows you to watch what you’ve recorded on your TiVo from anywhere you have an internet connection.
• Logitech Harmony 890 Advanced Universal Remote Control: This is a great remote especially if you have multiple devices each with their own remote. I don’t currently own one but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Harmony remotes. Anybody have anything to add to this?
• TiVo TCD648250B Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder: The Series 3 TiVo will allow yo u to record multiple shows all in high definition. It’s by far the most advanced DVR on the market. If you’re feeling really nice, you can also pick up one for me :).
• TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter for Series2 DVR (AG0100): This is a must have if you want to network your TiVo. By networking your TiVo you can access your music and pictures on your computer as well as several other features including TiVoToGo.
• TiVo TCD649080 Series2 80 Hour Dual Tuner Digital Video Recorder: If you don’t have the cash for a Series 3 TiVo (mentioned above), I would recommend that you go with this TiVo. It doesn’t allow you to record HD but you do get dual tuners so you can record two shows at once.
• TiVo Hacks: This a great book for anybody who wants to hack their TiVo and access some new features/capabilities.
• TiVo Upgrade Drive: Both Weaknees and DVRupgrade provide upgrade drives so you can add more recording capacity to your TiVo.

Disclaimer: All of the links above reference my Amazon associates account

Yesterday’s news really has me wondering what the future of this site will be. I truly think I am going to find it hard for me to recommend TiVo when the product requires you to sign up to a three year commitment in order to get a decent monthly rate. I know what some people are happy with the new pricing structure but, I’m really don’t like how the new pricing structure is laid out. Because of this, I think I am going to take the next couple days to decide what I want to do with this site.

I really do love TiVo but I feel like the company has made some poor decisions over the past couple of months (ie: the initial price of the Series 3 TiVo). I guess what I am trying to say is that I just need a little time to figure out what I’m going to do. I really have had a lot of fun meeting new people and covering TiVo news and I’d hate to see that come to an end…..

One of the biggest TiVo evangelists (MegaZone) has broken down the new pricing plan that has so many people seem to be irritated with. In his post, MegaZone does a great job explaining what the differences are. Check it out if you’re at all confused with the new pricing structure.

After reviewing his post, I guess I realized that I shouldn’t have called my previous post “TiVo Raises Rates. What Are They Thinking?“. Instead I probably should have called it, “TiVo Raises Some Rates And Lowers Others…”. The bottom line is that TiVo has raised some rates while lowering others. MegaZone does a good job explaining this in his post.

The main reason why I am so irritated with this new pricing structure is simply because it requires you to commit to three years if you want to get the lower rates. Personally, I like purchasing my TiVo from a brick and mortar store and then paying the $12.95 per month for service. Under the new plan, I am required to commit to three years in order to get the same deal. If I only want to commit to one year, I am required to pay $19.95/month under the new plan :(. Let’s be realistic, who wants to commit to any technology for three years? I know I’m a little reluctant to do it.

I’m also kind of irritated with the new multi-service discount offering. I would guess that people who take advantage of the multi-service discount tend to be “advanced” TiVo users or the type of customer that you don’t want to alienate. What TiVo did to the mult-service discount is not good.

Does anybody else agree with my analysis or have I simply exaggerated the situation? I’d like to hear what other people have to say….

Update 11/06 @ 8:30PM EST: I’ve published a related post here.

I just received an email from Dave Zatz letting me know that TiVo has decided to raise their monthly service rates and screw around with the multi-service discount. Here’s how the new plan will work:

• If you choose the monthly TiVo Package Payment Plan, your options are as follows: (a) Commit to the TiVo Package for three (3) years at $12.95 per month; (b) Commit to the TiVo Package for two (2) years at $14.95 per month; or (c) Commit to the TiVo Package for one (1) year at $19.95 per month. Promotional Pricing may be available from time-to-time.
• Alternatively, you may prepay for your TiVo Package Payment Plan for either three (3) years at $349, two (2) years at $299, or one (1) year at $199. Promotional Pricing may be available from time-to-time.

Here’s how the new multi-service discount will work:

• The MULTI-SERVICE DISCOUNT reduces the Monthly TiVo service or TiVo Plus service subscription fee by $6 per month to $6.95 per month for (3) years; $8.95 per month for (2) years; or $13.95 per month for (1) year

What is TiVo thinking? Even though I’m truly one of the biggest TiVo fanboys, I don’t think I will be able to recommend TiVo to any of my friends given the new pricing structure. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what I would do if my TiVo were to die tomorrow. $19.95/month is a lot of cash especially when I already pay $80 for a cable bill. I really hope TiVo takes a closer look at this new pricing structure and realizes that it’s not going to get them new customers and that old customers may decide against buy another TiVo or recommending the service to their friends and family.

Right now, I am really discouraged and irritated by this decision. I understand that the company is trying to turn a profit but raising rates is definitely not a good thing. What does everybody else think of this? Is this going to make you think twice about recommending a TiVo or purchasing your first TiVo DVR?

Hat Tip: Dave Zatz (Digg here)

Effective today, TiVo is now offering a $220 rebate for the standard Series 2 TiVo and a $180 rebate for the Dual-Tuner and DVD burning TiVos.

Here’s a snippet taken directly from the rebate form:

• Choose eligible TiVo® Series2™rebate amount for purchases between November 5, 2006 and December 31, 2006
• $180 TiVo® Series 2™ Dual Tuner Rebate (valid only on TiVo Service Numbers (TSN) starting with 264,275, 565, 590, 595, 649)
• $220 TiVo® Series 2™ Rebate (valid only on TiVo Service Numbers (TSN) starting with 540)
• Activate TiVo® service at www.tivo.com/activate by January 31, 2007.
• Service must be active for at least 30 days. Service terms and restrictions apply.

This is the best deal I’ve seen in a long time. The rebate form isn’t up on TiVoRebates.com however, Weaknees has a copy of the rebate form which I’m sure you can use. Unfortunately, the offer doesn’t allow you to get a rebate off of the Series 3 TiVo but I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up seeing a rebate offer before the start of the holiday shopping season.

If you do decided to take advantage of this offer, I would appreciate it if you put me down as your referrer (raianoat@gmail.com).

Spotted on the WeaKnees Blog.

I’ve been so damn busy lately working on my masters that I haven’t had time to cover a lot of TiVo news and commentary. Here’s a bunch of links for you TiVo fanatics.

• TiVo with a Twist: Ways to Enhance the TiVo Experience (PVRWire)
• TiVo Unveils $50 Premium ‘Glo’ Remote (ZNF)
• Rant: The Comcast HD DVR Is Simply, Terribly Awful (John Battelle’s Searchblog)
• New content for TiVoCast! Union and dLife (Zeigen)
• TiVo To Support WPA in 8.1? (Spotted on TiVoLovers)
• Open Beta for TiVo Fall Service Release (TiVoLovers)
• Yet Another TiVo Promotional Video (DavisFreeberg)

Take a look at this Halloween costume. Why didn’t I come up with this idea? Maybe next year :).

Spotted on: Troy on Tivo

If you’re at all like me, you’re always looking for new shows to record on your TiVo. Thankfully, TiVo Central Online has you covered. On a weekly basis, TCO publishes a list of the 25 most recorded shows. If you don’t find any new shows in the top 25 list, you might want to take a look at the Guru Guides. In case you don’t know what the Guru Guides are, here’s a description take directly from the Guru Guides webpage:

- Guru Guide™ Recommendations are lists of the best television programs, hand selected by experts in categories you care about.
- Guru Guide™ Recommendations automatically record show suggestions. Recommendations are updated over time, so you’re always sure to record fresh programming.
- Guru Guide™ Recommendations are sent to your DVR at low priority, so they won’t conflict with your existing Season Pass™ Recordings.These recommendations typically record between 2 and 5 hours of programming per week.

How do you find additional content to record? Do you use another website or do you pretty much stick with TCO?

This is an amazing setup!  The author of this post has four DirecTV TiVos and a Slingbox in their shed.  I thought I was addicted to TiVo :).

I finally got around to burning all of the Christmas shows that I recorded and transferred last year to DVD using MyDVD.  The process was time consuming but I had to do something.  The recordings were taking a decent amount of space on my hard drive (23.3 Gigs) and I had to create some space for all the darn pics and videos I’ve taken (eat up a lot of disc space when you have a 21 month old).