Thanks to John (a.k.a Mr. Tangent), I placed my order today for a free Series 3 TiVo! That’s right, John as well as several other TiVoBlog readers have been kind enough to give me enough referrals for a free Series 3 TiVo. In fact, since October 2004, I’ve referred 22 people via the TiVo Rewards program.

Back in Oct. 2006 when TiVo added the Series 3 TiVo to their rewards program, I thought it was nearly impossible for me to ever get enough referrals for the Series 3.

Obviously, I’m very excited to get this DVR. I look forward to being able to record HD OTA as well as being able to get rid of my Time Warner DVR. I plan on keeping my Series 2 and using it mainly for transferring shows to my iPod. I also plan on using my Series 2 for my son’s TV shows. The Series 3 will be used mainly for HD content as well as an occasional standard def program. As soon as my Series 3 arrives I’ll be sure to let everybody know. Stay tuned for more information. TiVo said that it could take up to 10 weeks for me to get my Series 3. I really hope it doesn’t take that long….

TiVo.com is running a great special on the Series 3 TiVo. For $499.99 you can get the Series 3 TiVo plus a wireless TiVo adapter (no rebates required & free shipping)! The offer expires on April 30th so you better act fast.

If you do decide to take advantage of this offer, I’d appreciate it if you put me down as your referrer (raianoat AT gmail DOT com)

This is the lowest I’ve ever seen the Series 3. It looks like Gizmodo may have been correct when they said we would see the Series 3 price drop.

Details on the offer:

* Early termination fee and other restrictions apply. See offer for full details. Offer available for a limited time while supplies last.

† Instant Savings:

1. You save $180 instantly on the 80-hr TiVo® Series2™ DT (MSRP $249.99) plus $59.99 on the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter for a total savings of $239.99, with a qualifying TiVo® service plan.
2. You save $230 instantly on the 180-hr TiVo® Series2™ DT (MSRP $349.99) plus $59.99 on the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter for a total savings of $289.99, with a qualifying TiVo® service plan.
3. You save $300.00 instantly on the 300-hr TiVo® Series3 HD DMR (MSRP $799.99) plus $59.99 on the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter for a total savings of $359.99, with a qualifying TiVo® service plan.

$500 is still a lot of money but it has me thinking that I should get a Series 3. I’m currently using a Time Warner DVR for my HD content however, I’m extremely unhappy with the DVR. The only thing that is nice about my SA 8300 is that I didn’t have to pay anything up front and if it breaks all I have to do is go down to my cable company’s local office and pick up another one.

Are you going to get a Series 3 TiVo now that you can get it for $500?

Spotted On Gizmodo

Tonight (Sunday) is one of the best nights to watch TV in high definition.  Two of my most favorite shows (Desperate Housewives & 24) are both broadcast in HD.  In order for me to watch both of these shows in HD I have to forgo the benefits of my Series 2 TiVo and watch both shows live.  Unfortunately tonight, 24 is on from 8 -10PM and Desperate Housewives is on from 9 -10PM.  As you can see, it’s kind of difficult to watch both shows at once.

A keen reader would suggest that I pick up my cable company’s DVR so that I could record both of these shows at the same time in HD.  The problem with this solution is that my cable company (Time Warner) doesn’t offer Fox or ABC in HD.  In fact, I’m currently only able to get CBS and ESPN in HD (how sad is that). In order for me to get the most HD possible, I’ve gone through the hassle of putting up an antenna so that I can get both Fox and ABC in HD for free. As far as I know, the DVR that Time Warner has to offer isn’t capable of recording over the air (OTA) HD (my assumption is correct, right?).

This dilemma has made me start to think that the $800 Series 3 TiVoisn’t such a bad deal.  If I had a Series 3 TiVo, I could record both shows at once using my antenna.  Without the Series 3 TiVo I am forced to watch one show live and record the other one using my somewhat antiquated Series 2 TiVo.  I know that this isn’t that big of a deal for most people but, for a geek like me who is totally obsessed with HD it is a big deal. 

Has anybody else encountered a situation similar to mine?  How well does the Series 3 TiVo handle OTA HD content?

Update 1/11 @ 8:37 AM: A number of blogs including PVRBlog, TiVoLovers and PVRWire have posted screenshots from the Comcast TiVo. The interface looks clean and easy to use. Check it out if you haven’t already…

Damn I wish I was at CES this year :(. According to Yahoo Finance, TiVo and Comcast are going to demonstrate their integrated service at this year’s CES. It’s great to see that the Comcast & TiVo partnership is finally getting somewhere considering the fact that I’ve been reporting on it since March ‘05. Now if only Time Warner would do the same thing (Time Warner is my cable provider)…

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA - News, CMCSK - News), the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO - News), the creator of and leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), are demonstrating a new TiVo® service for Comcast DVRs at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The companies began trialing the TiVo service for Comcast DVRs in late 2006.

The new service will offer consumers the ease and convenience of using a single digital cable set-top box to enjoy popular TiVo DVR features along with Comcast’s innovative video-on-demand (VOD) service and the most high- definition (HD) television viewing choices for the first time. Working in concert with Comcast, TiVo has developed a software application that will enable Comcast to deploy the service for a modest monthly fee to existing set- top boxes without an additional in-home visit by a technician.

Remember a post that I put up three days ago which talked about how TWC was giving one of their customers hell? Well, the individual (John) who was having a tough time with TWC sent me another email letting me know that TWC did stop by and that his Series 3 TiVo is now up and running. What follows is the email that John sent me detailing what the experience was like.

Hi Alex,

It was a very trying experience… but the CableCARDS are installed (Saturday) and (as of 1:30pm Sunday) working! The installer (to TW’s credit) showed up on time, but seemed quite confused by the Tivo. I left the instruction sheet out for him, but he didn’t read it. He also didn’t read the big letters “use lower cablecard slot first” written both onscreen and on the back of the Tivo - although it didn’t seem to matter. After popping the cards in (in the wrong order), he seemed very confused about what to do next, so I sat down and read the instructions to him. After he was satisfied that we *really* didn’t need to sit through the guided setup together, he tried to call in the CableCARD info…

I live in an area with poor cellphone reception and the installer was insistent on trying to use a push to talk phone. It didn’t work. He tried over and over to call in the CableCARD ID and Host ID. They couldn’t hear him. I offered to let him use the phone, he said no. So, my fiance and I sat there while he fought with his phone for 30-40 minutes. After he *thought* he had closed out the job, he left. Then we actually tried to use the box and, sadly, none of our subscription channels were available. We called in to TW but there was a big local outage and gave up waiting after spending 30 minutes in the queue.

Today I called TW and got through. They reprovisioned the cards on their end, and within 5 minutes, everything was showing up, just lovely. So… it is possible to get this working through TW, but just be aware that they will have no experience with the unit and seem to have a general dislike for dealing with CableCARDs at all.

One note that *may* help people - During the process of him trying to get these things activated, he went through the same “what kind of TV is it” problem with the people he was trying to get to activate the card. When they asked the question, he looked at the front of the TV and said “Samsung”… (not realizing they really meant what kind of DEVICE are the cards being installed in). They accepted that and moved on… So, if TW gives anyone a problem, I’d say just tell them the kind of TV the Tivo is connected to and feign ignorance when the installer arrives.

Best wishes,

— John

I really hope TWC and the rest of the cable industry learns that a CableCARD capable Series 3 TiVo is available and that some consumers are willing to pay the $800 price tag to get a far superior product (I only wish I had $800 right now).

Based on the following email that I received from John, it looks as though the folks over at Time Warner Cable (TWC) never got the memo that TiVo sent out. I suspect that other people will have the same problem when they try and get a CableCard so; I decided to post his email here. Hopefully it will help somebody out….

Just an FYI that I thought you might like to hear about since I haven’t seen any other postings yet from TW customers…

I purchased a Tivo series 3 from Circuit City that will arrive today (Friday). After getting the shipping notice, my fiance Robyn started the painful process of trying to arrange Cablecard installation through Time Warner in Columbus, Ohio.

As expected, it didn’t go well. Customer service refused to believe that a Cablecard Tivo existed. They informed her repeatedly that a Cablecard went in a *TV*, not a Tivo, then proceeded to ask her over and over what type of TV she thought a Tivo was. She asked to speak to another support person.

The second support person asked the same questions and repeated the same thing, and, on top of it, chastized her for wanting to get rid of bidirectional service. “Why would you want to give up On-Demand Service?” At some point she mentioned that she wanted *2* Cablecards for the Tivo, and they basically told her she was insane - ie. 1. “A Tivo isn’t a TV”, 2. “2 Cablecards would be for 2 TVs”.

Finally, Robyn asked to speak to a sales manager. The sale manager was less hostile, but didn’t believe that a Cablecard Tivo existed. Robyn explained the particulars, cited the FCC mandate as well as the well-publicized Internet snafu with TW in North Carolina. The sales person, at that point, seemed to believe she knew what she was talking about and agreed to look into it and call us back. (She gave them my number for the callback )

About 45 minutes later, the sales manager called back and appologized, said that he was still doing alittle investigating to make sure there weren’t any known issues with some “new release” of Cablecards they had just gotten in, but went ahead and scheduled our install for this Saturday between 3 and 6pm (read “noon to 2 or 10pm” in TW-speak). He also indicated that we would be the first people in central Ohio to be doing this.

At any rate, hopefully this will all have a happy ending. If there are other TW customers out there, I’d bet they can expect the same problems we encountered - clueless customer service and quite a bit of condescending behavior. They really don’t want to give out Cablecards… that much was apparent - Tivo or not.

Interestingly enough, I *may* have kept my TW HD DVR if it weren’t for the fact that in this area, Time Warner is feuding with the local Fox and ABC affiliates (Sinclair Broadcasting). As a result, they haven’t carried either of these networks in HD for the past 2 years. Every other local cable company DOES, but Time Warner won’t pay the fees that Sinclair broadcasting wants. (Unfortunately, I’m in a nice area that the other companies don’t service). The result of this stubborn BS is that I have to run a Windows MCE box to get OTA HD Fox and ABC (Bones and Lost ). The Tivo FINALLY provides me with a consolidated solution for all my channels.

Anyway, that’s my story. Thought you might be interested.

If you have a problem getting a CableCARD from your cable company, I would recommend doing what MegaZone said. Let your CC know that the Series 3 TiVo is on the list of devices which have been CableLabs certified and that they (the cable company) are required to provide CableCARDs for any device on this list.

The individual who originally sent me a news tip about TWC not supporting CableCARDs in the Series 3 TiVo forwarded to me the following followup email which essentially states what we know (TWC will install CableCARDs in the Series 3 TiVo).  I just thought I would post this so that we could put the whole TWC Series 3 TiVo issue to bed. 

——
Forwarded Message From: “Cust.Ops”
Reply-To: “Cust.Ops”
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:55:46 -0700
To: XXXXXXXX
Subject: Re: Re: FEEDBACK_Customer_Service
Hello XXXXX,

Thank you for your inquiry. We do supply CableCARD’s with our cable system. However, they are not two way interactive. The CableCARD will only be able to transmit channels and not allow Interactive programming such as the On Screen Guide, On Demand, Sports Packages and Pay Per View.

If the On Screen guide is downloaded directly from TiVo, then Yes, the CableCARD will work with it. However, if anything goes wrong with your TiVo system, we will not be able to support it (troubleshoot).

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the number listed below. Our telephone representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Have a nice day! Time Warner Cable (888)TW-CABLE

Last week Time Warner Cable (TWC) of Raleigh, North Carolina said that they wouldn’t support CableCARDS in the Series 3 TiVo. This week they’ve contacted one of their frustrated customers to apologize and let him know that they would in fact support the Series 3 TiVo (mp3).

….once the tivo series 3 device are released we will be able to install a CableCARD for those devices as well as any other CableLabs certified devices…

I’d like to think that all the news that I provided on this site might have had something to do with TWC changing their policy and apologizing. Thanks for getting involved and letting TWC know that not supporting the Series3 TiVo isn’t an option.

Looks like it’s time to save for that Series 3 TiVo. How much are you willing to spend?

Thanks Billy, Digg here!

Update 08/04/2006 @ 8:57 PM EST: Time Warner Cable Raleigh, NC has apologized for providing misinformation!

When all the news came out about TWC not supporting the Series3 TiVo, William Tello decided to email TWC directly so that he could figure out what was going on. Well, according to William, a TWC manager contacted him directly about the issue. The TWC manager told William that TW will provide CableCARDS for TiVo installs.

1. Cablecards will definitely be available to customers for use with the TIVO series 3 and as many as the customer needs. (I didn’t discuss pricing with him because frankly I’m not concerned about pricing for entertainment at all - I’m always willing to pay whatever it takes for exactly what I want).

The manager also told William that the CSR that William originally talked to didn’t have the correct information and that SDV won’t be as big a deal as some people were saying.

2. He has told me that the CSR(s) that I talked to, did not have the correct information to give me. He said that all of the currently available programming in a local TWC channel lineup, be it: analog, digital, standard-definition or high-definition will remain available to the cablecard and will not use SDV.

3. He assured me that when SDV is deployed it is only going to be for new programming only - anything not currently on a local TWC channel lineup. (That is a huge relief - so I might just buy a TIVO S3 now).

After reading this thread I feel a little more optimistic about the whole situation. This entire debate really comes down to what TWC and other cable companies mean by the word “support”. As somebody over on engadget said, just because the cable company doesn’t “support” your VCR doesn’t mean that they will try to keep it from working. Based on everything that I’ve read, it looks like TWC and other cable companies are simply trying to cover their a** so that when one of their customers has a problem with a third party DVR (ie: TiVo) they are not responsible for it.

Does anybody disagree with my analysis?

Update 08/04/2006 @ 8:57 PM EST: Time Warner Cable Raleigh, NC has apologized for providing misinformation!

Update 07/31 @ 9:22PM EST: TWC has contacted a user on TiVoCommunity.com to let him know that TWC will provide CableCARDs for the Series3 TiVo.

In case you don’t already know, Time Warner Cable in Raleigh, NC has said that they won’t support the Series 3 TiVo. Now it looks like TWC in Los Angeles (San Fernando Valley) is saying the same thing.

I received the following email from Phil which contains a response he received from TWC in Los Angeles (his email address has been removed upon his request).

To: Editors of Engadget, Gizmodo, ZatzNotFunny, TiVoBlog and Tivo Pony
re: TimeWarner in Los Angeles — NO Cable Card for Tivo Series 3

Here’s the answer from Los Angeles Time Warner (San Fernando Valley)

A big fat NO.

Let’s light a fire under these guys — throw the FCC at ‘em whatever… who’s
with me?

PK

[If you run this -- please remove my e-mail address.]

—— Forwarded Message
From: “Cust.Ops”
Reply-To: “Cust.Ops”
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 18:45:36 -0700
To:
Subject: Re: FEEDBACK_Customer_Service (KMM1035923V50920L0KM)

Hello

Thank you for your inquiry. We do offer Cable Card technology, however, we will not install Cable Cards onto equipment aside from the television itself.

We will not support any 3rd party equipment devices such as Tivo.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via our Live Online Help. Our Live Online Help Representatives are available Monday through Friday between 9 AM to 7 PM at:
http://www.TimeWarnerLA.com/chat/ .

Time Warner Cable
(888)TW-CABLE

Now you can pay your bill online or with your digital remote! Just visit http://www.TimeWarnerLA.com/PayXpress or tune to channel 1 and select “Interact.”

Original Message Follows:
————————

** THIS IS MESSAGE HAS BEEN FORWARDED BY THE ONLINE FEEDBACK SYSTEM **

TIME WARNER CABLE WEBSITE CUSTOMER FEEDBACK
Thursday, July 27, 2006, 10:35:47

The following inquiry was received through the TimeWarnerCable website feedback form.

NAME: XXXXXXXX
E-MAIL: XXXXXX@XXXXX
PHONE: XXXXXXXXXXXX

MESSAGE:
I am a current customer of Time Warner for Cable Modem service. For TV, I switched to satellite a few years ago — BUT I am expecting to return to Time Warner for Cable TV service later this year.

However, my coming back to Time Warner is dependent on the answer to one very important question.

Will you be supporting CableCard installation in the new Series 3 TiVo which is about to come out? This is a CableLabs certified device and should fall under the FCC mandate for CableCard support.

I’ll be a customer of yours again, IF you will be supporting this. It all depends on whether the new TiVo Series 3 will have your CableCard support. Please let me know asap.

Best Regards,
XXXXX

What if anything can we do to fight this? Anybody know who we should contact? I’m willing to host a letter or email template that everybody can send to the FCC (if that’s who we should be contacting).