TiVo extends lifetime subscription offer

Despite the fact that competing DVRs from cable and satellite companies have made great headway in the past few years, we're still fans of TiVo's intuitive interface and constantly improving feature set. However, the knock against TiVo is that it's expensive--you have to buy the box and pay a $13 monthly fee, while a DVR from your cable company usually costs less than $10 a month with no up-front cost.

As of late, TiVo has been offering a lifetime subscription plan as a promotion that was slated to end in February, but the eagle-eyed TiVo fans over at Gizmo Lovers noticed that the offer has been extended to July 2, and Dave Zatz writes that he's received word that the lifetime subscription deal is here to stay. The lifetime subscription plan costs $400, plus the cost of the TiVo box itself.

The real question is whether the lifetime plan is a good deal. The key thing to remember is that TiVo's lifetime subscription plans are for the lifetime of the box, so if your TiVo dies or you want to upgrade to a new model, your lifetime subscription is tied to the device. (In some cases, TiVo has allowed customers to transfer their lifetime subscriptions for an additional fee.)

Acting as a new subscriber, we were able to get a TiVo HD plus a lifetime subscription for $700, and a TiVo HD plus a three-year subscription for $600 from the TiVo Web site. So unless you plan on using your TiVo HD box for more than three years you're probably better off skipping the lifetime subscription plan.

With switched digital video on the horizon and the possibility that TiVo will release a newer, SDV-compatible (without the dongle) DVR in the future, chances are you might feel some upgrade-itis around the three-year mark and won't want to feel obligated to stick to your old TiVo box. Still, the lifetime plan seems to be popular with TiVo fans and it's only giving buyers another option, so it's good news for TiVo lovers who want to lock into their service.

[Renegade Knight]

I forgot to mention. Lifetime for a single box? Tha'ts not worth much even if you were happy to pay the rental fee for your equipment after having purchased it. Boxes change too fast right now. The HD TV era is going to force a lot of changes.

[mikepublic]

As a long time Series 1 owner, with a lifetime subscription (have had my Sony unit since September 2000), I can say the following. Although I do firmly believe that TiVo's interface is by far the best in the industry from what I have seen, and the lifetime subscription was well worth it for a Series 1 and 2 unit, I no longer feel that TiVo is a good option anymore; I cannot justify paying the ~$300 for an HD unit, along with the $400 lifetime or ~$13/month TiVo subscription fee(s), plus the ~$6 cable card fee (2 x $3), when:
A) For $7.95/month I rent an HD DVR from my local cable company. How long would it take for me to recover my investment in the TiVo box? Um.... Never.
B) If anything goes wrong with the HD DVR, I just pick up the phone, and get another box from the cable company.
C) If a new model of the DVR comes out, I just pick up the phone and request the new DVR; no extra cost to me.... Just my normal $7.95/mo I am already paying.

OK, I realize the cable DVR rental cost may go up in the future, but I'm still ahead at this time.

I wish TiVo good luck. They revolutionized the way most of us watch TV today, and I thank them. But I'm no longer going to blindly support them until they have an offering that is competitive.