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 jdmatl
join:2000-04-27
Deerfield Beach, FL
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal said by ColorBASIC  :But if you don't want a very long contract they rip you for their ad filled monthly service. Not ad-filled. There are some, but you have to click on them to see them. They are not "pop-ups" that spring up all over the place like a webpage without a pop-up blocker.
You must not own a Tivo.  | |
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matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Deep River, CT
| This is the same time of business practice that causes me to avoid MMORPG games such as World of Warcraft -- they expect me to shell out $50-$60 for the game and then spend another $15/month on top of it? No effing thank you. However, with the TiVo the hypocrisy is even worse. With WoW, at least I can understand that some, if not most, of the monthly fee is used to pay for bandwidth and server maintenance and upgrades. However, what exactly is the monthly fee to TiVo paying for? The advertisements they cram down your throat? I'm sorry, but the last time I checked it was supposed to the advertisers that paid for that and not the consumer... or maybe they are? I have a feeling TiVo may be hanging onto both ends of the stick here. | |
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NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal Online games cost money to keep running. Do you honestly thing that sales alone could generate enough money to keep such a massive game going smoothly.
You get what you pay for. Great game and worth the fee.
As for the Tivo, the listings cost money, they put out great updates and as a company are fighting to make your recorded videos easier to access wherever you want.
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Mac Chatter
»www.macchatter.net | |
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| | apollo80
join:2002-01-31
Richmond, VA
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal said by NOCMan :As for the Tivo, the listings cost money, Don't PC tv tuner card software allow you to download tv listings for free? I don't buy that the company has to charge you for the listings.
Now everything else you mentined, I believe. | |
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| | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK
 ·Future Nine Corpor..
·Teliax VOIP
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal Using screen scrapers, in violation of the terms of service of the various websites that offer listings. Zap2it is cutting off their XML based service soon.
In addition to the listings, there is the work involved in updating the software, (sometimes) subsidizing the box, bandwidth, running the servers to aggregate the information for TiVoCast and Swivel Search, and whatever other stuff they do that the unit queries their servers for. | |
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| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| Answer this long age old question.
Why is it you shell out the hundreds of dollars for a "DVR" and when you no longer pay their fee, you have what amounts to a paper weight?
Why can't you still use the box to time shift live TV? Why can't you set manual recordings? Why can't you view your saved programs and why can't you even watch regular TV any more?
We pay subscription fees to cable and satellite.. NOT TV. Tivo has built itself as a service, not hardware.
Where are the people crying out about this rip-off? Because that's what it is.
I purchased hardware that should not require a guide to work, technically. So what say you now?
(and Tivo TV Guide listings should not cost upwards of $19.99 a month... the listing is a relatively small download that is also ad supported. Everyone else charges about $4.95 a month for listings - even cable. Windows MediaCenter has been giving away the guide data for free all along and others can use Zap-2-it for guide data.)
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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| | matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Deep River, CT
| Let me quote my original post:
quote:
With WoW, at least I can understand that some, if not most, of the monthly fee is used to pay for bandwidth and server maintenance and upgrades.
I already acknowledged that it costs money to maintain the servers and pay the people that do so. However, I pointed out that what TiVo is saying amounts to: "Pay us $300 for this DVR that SHOULD be able to record and timeshift WITHOUT our advertisements listing service but doesn't unless you pay us a monthly fee so we can make money off of you AND the advertisers." They're sucking through both ends of the straw. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
| I have no problem paying a monthly fee, but they should then tone down the advertisements, especially when they (TiVo) are trying to get $17/mo. For $17/mo in service fees plus the cost of the HW, you should never see a SINGLE advertisement on the TiVo service.
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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| | soccerguy
join:2004-06-28
Seattle, WA
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal No disrespect, but I've owned two TiVo's for years and have never had any problems with advertisements. The only one's I've ever seen require the user to actively click on messages to view them, which I never do. In other words, I never see an advertisement unless I go looking for it on TiVo. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
2 edits | Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal I've posted examples of what I saw on my Series 2's on numerous occasions and they included banner ads during program playback, banner ads within the interface (which you mention) and system message spam. The system message spam was the worst. I would get notifications that I had an important system message which was often a lineup change. But then I would get system messages selling stuff like Sheryl Crow CDs, TV shows and movie trailers. A lot of this stuff appeared with software version 7.2 so units like my HD-DirecTiVos never saw it while both of my Series 2's did. It also depends on what programs you were watching as the banners were purchased for playback during certain programming either during commercials or when you would FWD or RWD.
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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| | | | soccerguy
join:2004-06-28
Seattle, WA
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal But those are messages that you have to go into System, select Messages, and THEN actively click on the message to see the "advertisement." I just delete them without reading them. It's a far cry from pop-up advertising in the middle of your show. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think the nuisance value is about a 2. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
3 edits | Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal Yeah but they mask the spam by calling it an "Important System Message" which until then were reserved for specific TiVo service related matters like billing, line up changes, service update messages etc. You don't know it's them selling you a Sheryl Crow CD until you've selected it. You also can't remove the system notification without selecting then deleting it. In any event trying to sell me something isn't an Important System Message.
For $17/mo + $300 my point is I shouldn't have to put of with a nuisance value of 0.1.
Some people love their TiVo's so much they'll excuse anything TiVo does. $17+HW+banners+spam is not worth it IMO.
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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| | | | | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| You're right.. however, the point remains that you think the advertiser is getting their ads there for free? No. Therefore, Tivo is gaining revenue from the advertiser.. so how about that $17 fee?? Shouldn't it come down more?
You need a Tivo subscription to use the device that you purchased. (My views are different on the free-for-service boxes) So what's with the 1 year, 2 year, and 3 year pricing levels? This TRULY and CLEARLY is a penalty for not coughing up the money fast enough. Like I said, with out their subscription, you have a door stop.
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"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..." | |
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TechieZero
Tools Are Using Me
Premium
join:2002-01-25
Wesley Chapel, FL
| said by soccerguy :No disrespect, but I've owned two TiVo's for years and have never had any problems with advertisements. The only one's I've ever seen require the user to actively click on messages to view them, which I never do. In other words, I never see an advertisement unless I go looking for it on TiVo. Same here. Too much wine and nothing else to snack going on here. | |
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Cabal
Premium
join:2007-01-21
Boston, MA | $8/mo. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
4 edits | Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal
$17 |
said by Cabal :$8/mo. $17/mo with a 1 year contract AND a $200 cancellation fee (which is nearly a 100% penalty given that $17x12mo is $204). It's only $8.31 if you buy 3 years of service in advance for $300...$300 which not too long ago got you LIFETIME service. Also that $300 is a sale, normally they charge $300 for 2 years of service which is $12.50/mo.
I'm just whining like a schoolgirl over their new pricing plans which are lame. I wish they would go back to the $300 lifetime or $13 no contract pricing. | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
 ·Optimum Online
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal
bargain? |
said by ColorBASIC :said by Cabal :$8/mo. $17/mo with a 1 year contract AND a $200 cancellation fee (which is nearly a 100% penalty given that $17x12mo is $204). It's only $8.31 if you buy 3 years of service in advance for $300...$300 which not too long ago got you LIFETIME service. Also that $300 is a sale, normally they charge $300 for 2 years of service which is $12.50/mo. I'm just whining like a schoolgirl over their new pricing plans which are lame. I wish they would go back to the $300 lifetime or $13 no contract pricing. Damn. I hope that if they hook up with DTV again my pricing stays the same for the tivo portion of the service. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal DirecTV's deal is completely separate. They don't get the spamming interface or the huge fees. But then you don't get network return (the TiVo dials in) and you don't get the other goodies like the Home Media Option.
And no MPEG4.
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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Pz_
join:2001-03-31
Brownsburg, IN
clubs: | Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal I had to hook my Tivo up to the phone line once when I first got it. I've never had it back on since. Its been over 3 years now. | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
1 edit | Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal You need it to order PPV though the box. I'm not sure what else you would need it for. E* uses theirs to insure that all the boxes in the account are in the same house (dialing out from the same phone number).
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ
·Optimum Online
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal said by ColorBASIC :You need it to order PPV though the box. I'm not sure what else you would need it for. Not even for that. Post-hacking, I got leery of the call and unplugged the line. I was able to order PPV via the website just fine.
I'm just really, really hoping that DTV and Tivo team up again, and that if they do they keep the same monthly fee. $6 I'll do, but not $17. | |
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wmcbrine
Touched by His Noodly Appendage
join:2002-12-30
Laurel, MD
1 edit | said by ColorBASIC :Also that $300 is a sale, normally they charge $300 for 2 years of service which is $12.50/mo. It seems to be a permanent sale... it's been going on since January, at least.
But I agree with most of your points.
Re DirecTV: Most of the ads are also presented on the DirecTV units; and the pricing is a $6 a month "DVR fee" to cover all units (waived if you subscribe to the highest level of service), plus $5 a month for each box beyond the first (though the latter applies to any DirecTV receiver). You also have to pay up front for the box.
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| | | | wierdo
join:2001-02-16
Tulsa, OK | Thanks to my previous lifetime service, I pay $6.95 a month.  | |
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| | fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20 | For once, we agree. | |
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| | Couch Potato
What?
Premium
join:2004-08-29
Evansville, IN | $17/month ?! an HD DVR here costs $13/month to rent from the cable company, why would I pay for the HW then pay a monthly fee also ?! | |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal Some people believe that the cable company DVR software interface is so horrible that they're willing to pay more, or pay the same (by prepaying) to get the TiVo's software interface.
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Macintosh Users Group Serving the Inland Empire | |
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| | | | keeska
Premium
join:2007-04-06
Sedona, AZ
| Re: Ditch the contract and you may have a deal quote:
Some people believe that the cable company DVR software interface is so horrible ...
For me the TiVO interface is not that good. I was glad when DirecTV dropped TiVO in its new HD box. On the other hand I agree - the Cable DVR interface is so bad it makes anything else look good. I would have thought the Cable companies would have put more pressure on SA and Motorola to do a better interface. | |
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anon tivo
@theplanet.com | you must not have a tivo. | |
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