Tivo does not need a subscription to work

E

eugdog

Guest
Despite claims to the contrary you can get by with out a subscription - you can set the recording manually althought the play list will only give you date and channel you have recorded. I find this pretty satisfactory. The critical advantage of Tivo - no tape, high quality, instant access and easy recording is still there. The on screen manual recording is very easy to set up, far more so then most VCR screens!

As I have two machines I find paying £30 for two subscriptions a bit steep.

One particularly useful function of a second tivo is to transfer to it DVD I have rented from BlockBuster, Sky Box office or the library - this allows me to enjoy them for longer - but they cannot be transferred to a VCR or DVD recorder - macrovision prevents it!;)
 
Originally posted by eugdog
As I have two machines I find paying £30 for two subscriptions a bit steep.

£20 methinks.

.....but yes you are right about a non-subcription Tivo being a perfectly functional Hard Disc recorder, Tivo forums tend to frown on owners doing this, considering such people cheapskates who aren't supporting Tivo.
While available, £99 Thomson Tivos are a terrific alternative to buying a normal VCR, probably to those who would never pay a subscription for Tivo service anyway.

Hopefully new Tivo hardware will be available next year with the benefit of better marketing :rolleyes: , such a product isn't best served by ads featuring blokes eating pies and dogs wondering what to watch on tv.

Get them while you can, maybe after the Tivo free trial ends you'll not be able to live without it.
 
TiVo manual recording without sub has been available since the 2.5.5 software became available.
The £99 cost recently of TiVo is heavily subsidised and is not a real price for the units. This can only be offered if the units are used with a sub. There are now no units being made in the UK, probably due to a lack of profit being made on the initial price.
During 2003 Sony and other manufacturers will start to sell TiVo units, but these will be sold closer to the origional sale price of £400 and I don't think they will drop as far or as quickly in price as before.
 
I am not quite sure if the previous poster is correct about subsidy - the £99 is really a fire sale price because they were selling really badly! They were just of loading bad stock! They use to cost £400 (one of the best £400 I have spent!!!

I do not think there is any cross subsidy of the manufacturers Thomson and Tivo which is a seperate company entirely!
 
The Thompson has always been sold with subsidies in mind, even at £400, and especially now at just £99, all profit comes from subscriptions.

It's not an uncommon thing to happen. It's the norm in the mobile phone industry and becoming so in the video games industry.
 
I bought a Tivo a couple of months ago,

I don't have a subscription yet, I'm waiting to see what happens with new Tivo hardware. I'm really happy without it.

After hearing peoples concerns about the future of the system (hardware and software) spending a lot of money on subcriptions a old piece of kit, where the subcription is for that piece of kit only, is crazy.

Obviously if I'd bought it a couple of years ago, then the subscription would have made sense.

If they release new Tivo kit in the U.K., and the subscription can be moved between systems, then I will get a subscription.
 
...Without a subscription you are missing the whole world that is TiVo. Paying £20 a month for 2 of them may not be cost effective but if you only have 1 then avoiding the subscription seems pretty daft really. It really is value for money :)
 
If the TiVo unit was originally subsidised by TiVo (as it seems to be), then TiVo obviously expects a certain percentage of buyers to refuse to buy a subscription. I'm sure they realize that some people will just buy it to use as a digital video recorder, and that goes into their subsidy scheme.

The recent price cut was from Thomson, who were clearing old stock as they announced that they are no longer producing the TiVos. Sure TiVo is getting hurt, because at this price more people are likely to buy one without the sub. But, on the other hand, most of these people would not have bought a TiVo to begin with, so I think Thomson is the one taking the brunt of this consumer winfall.

As a specific example, I bought a TiVo at £99 and would never have bought one at the £300 range. But, I do subscribe, so that's £££ that TiVo never would have gotten from me if it were not for the Thomson price cuts.

So, in the end, don't let people tell you that you're a cheapskate for not subscribing. It all comes down to what you want to use the box for and what you're willing to pay for their service.
 
...You are a cheapskate for not subscribing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

You are missing the whole point of it!
 
Originally posted by eugdog
I am not quite sure if the previous poster is correct about subsidy - the £99 is really a fire sale price because they were selling really badly! They were just of loading bad stock! They use to cost £400 (one of the best £400 I have spent!!!

I do not think there is any cross subsidy of the manufacturers Thomson and Tivo which is a seperate company entirely!

Yes I am correct about the subsidy. TiVo paid Thomson money for every box they produced.
Also TiVo is/was not selling that badly. Aprox 30,000 sales in the UK.

All my info comes from www.tivicommunity.com
 
Originally posted by alle v
...You are a cheapskate for not subscribing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

You are missing the whole point of it!

This is the kind of stuff that bugs the hell out of me on the TiVo forums. It almost makes me want to cancel my sub just for spite. These people are not helping TiVo, and are more likely to turn people away from it than anything else. Idiot.

The sub is NOT MANDATORY! Personally, I think it's terrific and well worth the money, but people should be able to buy the box and use it without a sub, without getting a load of grief.
 
Not just concerning TiVo subs, people should be able to do whatever they want (on topic of course) and discuss it in a civilised manner on these pages without being criticised in such a manner and told what they shoudl be doing.

Don't think there was any intent by alle v to throw grief at eugdog, but such a post really doesn't help move along a serious discussion.

TiVo kicks ass, and there's no way I'd be without a sub.
 
Most people want the quality of recording that can be achieved on hard disc as compared to tape.

Most people want the facility to record one channel while watching another.

Most people do not want to pay subscription for fancy features they will never use. It's not a point of being tight I do not want (or need) what subscription offers.

I also do not want extra's on DVD's that I never watch or interactive features I never use. I like a lot of others on these forums want the best picture and sound quality!
 
Originally posted by Azrikam
This is the kind of stuff that bugs the hell out of me on the TiVo forums. It almost makes me want to cancel my sub just for spite. These people are not helping TiVo, and are more likely to turn people away from it than anything else. Idiot.

The sub is NOT MANDATORY! Personally, I think it's terrific and well worth the money, but people should be able to buy the box and use it without a sub, without getting a load of grief.

...Buying a TiVo and not subscribing is helping TiVo how exactly? :confused:

They need subscriptions to continue to provide the great service that they do now.

And there's no need to call me an idiot just because I have 'bugged' you. If you want to resort to personal abuse...fine I can play along with that otherwise please be quiet.

If you have a subscription then I don't see any point to your argument.

eugdog doesn't make it clear if he does indeed just pay for one sub. Maybe he's happy with none. Thats up to him. None of my posts were aimed at him.
 
Let me start by saying that "idiot" was probably the most abusive thing I've said on these boards. But, it didn't add anything to the discussion, so I apologize for it.

Buying a TiVo and not subscribing doesn't help TiVo one bit, unless you subscribe in the future. Neither do comments like these:

...You are a cheapskate for not subscribing and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

It's this kind of comment that makes TiVo look like a third-rate company or some kind of high-pressure sales cult. Look, they set the price of the system with budgets in mind. They are the ones who added functionality to make sure that the TiVo functioned quite well without a subscription. Functionality I might add, that was not always there. TiVo are full aware that people might buy the hardware without getting a subscription. Sure, they would prefer they did, but not everyone is going to think that the sub is worth £10 a month.

TiVo provides the boxes with a free sample of the subscription service in the hopes that people will see how valuable it is and sign up. If they don't... well too bad. Just because someone doesn't sign up right away doesn't remove them from the list of potential TiVo subscribers either. I'm sure there are owners out there who used their boxes as dumb recorders for months before finally deciding to subscribe.

Blanket statements like, "you have to subscribe", "you're a cheapskate", and "people too cheap to subscribe don't deserve a TiVo" only turn potential TiVo subscribers away from the whole thing, and end up hurting TiVo as a company. (and rightly so) Statements like these are mostly found on the TiVo Community forums, but you get the idea. I can understand people wanting to stand up for the company, but you can't shove subscriptions down peopple's throats or coerce them into paying for them. In my opinion, people who post things like that are only hurting the company's reputation and credibility.

TiVo as a company are not an endangered species and don't need to be coddled by the public. If someone chooses to buy a TiVo machine and not subscribe, they are well within their rights to do so, and shouldn't be attacked for their decision. If I want to buy a video recorder and only use it for changing channels on my TV and never watching videos... that's my right. If I want to buy a video game console (that the company loses money on) and then never buy any games for that console... that's my right.

As for me subscribing but defending non-subscribers, it's simple. For me, the £10 a month is well worth the price. But, it may not be for everybody.
 
The 'cheapskate' was aimed at you as I have said. Didn't mention anyone else...maybe I should have added the smileys after all.

It was a ½ hearted attempt at humour as you were already a subscriber...

As for the other statements you mention I didn't post those.

The company's reputation and credibility have in no way been harmed by any statement you care to mention so I'm not sure you are talking about now.




I think joining these forums was my 1st mistake....trying to converse with like minded people was apparently the 2nd. Shame.
 
Totally agree with Mello (especially the DVDs) and Azrikam .

Ill be getting a TIVO after reading this as its great to have another HD recorder .
I don`t want or need any more Subs I have no use for the TIVO in any other form especially the predictive recording facility .

Im not digging anyone here but im always amazed at how vigorusly TIVO people are so defensive over TIVO .

I have Sky+ and if someone gets a Sky+ and doesnt want to subscribe and just wants the 5.1 sound or whatever I say fine good luck to them thats their choice .
 
Originally posted by alle v
The 'cheapskate' was aimed at you as I have said. Didn't mention anyone else...maybe I should have added the smileys after all.

It was a ½ hearted attempt at humour as you were already a subscriber...

As for the other statements you mention I didn't post those.

The company's reputation and credibility have in no way been harmed by any statement you care to mention so I'm not sure you are talking about now.

I think joining these forums was my 1st mistake....trying to converse with like minded people was apparently the 2nd. Shame.

Well, I did jump off the handle a bit and took your attempt at humour seriously. It's just that I see a lot of this kind of thing (people attacking potential TiVo customers if they don't subscribe) and I lumped you in with those people. I won't apologize again, but you can re-read my original apology and pretend I wrote it twice. :)

I still stand by my statements, however, that people who post these kind of things are not helping TiVo at all.
 
Statements like these are mostly found on the TiVo Community forums

I have been on the TiVo community for a couple of years now and know several people on there that have a TiVo without a sub (most have another with sub though!) and I have never seen people demanding that you have got to have the sub. It is a personal choice.
We all support TiVo on the community because they have provided us with a great product that IMO is second to none and we want to see the company go from strength to strength.
I hope that people with only 1 TiVo will subscribe, but if not then it is up to them and I think they are missing out on a great product.
People that have 2 or more units only really need 1 sub so yet again it is their choice.
 
Hmmmm, after all that I think I will buy a tivo today-without subscription. Someone mentioned that you get a preview of the benefit of the subscription and if I like what I see I may well get the subscription too. My choice.

Even though there seems to be a few tivo dedicated subscription sales reps on here I won't get the subscription untill I prove to myself that it's worth it as I have not used one before.

Thanks to this forum and this chat I have decided to buy one, so it's better that I get one now with the chance of a later subscription rather than not get anything at all!!

Thanks everyone, I'll let you know what I think(and if I go for the subscription)

PS its interesting that no-one has mentioned what the advantage of the subscription actually is!

Cheers
Alex:D :confused:
 
to be honest, I don't see much point in TiVo, or other HDD recorders which only have manual features.

The main benefit I find are season passes and wishlists, which require a subscription and give me the flexibility I need. Otherwise you only have a VCR with no tapes.

Of course for £99 thats still a bargain, but there is a reason most of these types of recorders are £400+, so TiVo's price is an anomaly.
 
Just out of interest does anyone know where £99 TIVO are *actually* still avaialble or is the argument academic.....
 
PS its interesting that no-one has mentioned what the advantage of the subscription actually is!

EPG - 2 weeks or more of TV listings for all the channels you receive.

Season Pass - find a programme you want to record and TiVo records all the episodes, even if time/day changes.

Recorded programmes listed by name, Date/day recorded, channel so finding a recording is easy.

Wish Lists - enter an actor, director, key word and TiVo will record all programmes that have that person/word in them.

Rate the programmes you like and TiVo will then pick others like it that you might also like.

If you forget to set the timer, TiVo knows that you like it and will record it for you.

I could go on.........:cool:
 
to be honest, I don't see much point in TiVo, or other HDD recorders which only have manual features.

otherwise you only have a VCR without tapes .

Er thats the benefit you answrered it yourself !!!!
and for £99 !!

the sub is great but if you already have sky + it doesn`t mean too much .
 
I admit that a VCR with no tapes is better than a VCR with tapes.

But the other items I listed are far more relevant to me, and more than worth paying a subscription for.
 

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