Isn’t Life Strange?

Since 2002, I’ve been enjoying the wonder of TiVo, the most user-friendly, feature-rich digital video recorder on the market.  Since that time, my VCR has never been used, and my television viewing experience has improved significantly. 

Sadly, after six years of loyal service, my TiVo stopped working last night.  Here’s what happened…

As I retired to my bedroom last night to watch a little television before nodding off to sleep, I picked up my trusty TiVo remote, pressed the TV button and to my surprise the usual broadcast signal was replaced with the standard "Powering Up" screen that displays when TiVo begins its boot cycle.  "Hmm, this is odd," I said to myself. 

I waited for a few minutes.  There was no progress in the boot cycle and neither of the standard LED lights on the front of the TiVo turned on.  I did the only thing I could do.  I unplugged the device and plugged it back in.  My TiVo appeared to spring back to life as it progressed past the "Powering Up" screen and to a bright and colorful "Just a Few more Minutes" screen featuring the happy TiVo logo.  Unfortunately, that was all my TiVo could do. 

It didn’t take long before a rather bright lime green screen appeared stating that my TiVo had experienced a severe problem and that it would take 3 hours for it to try and repair itself.  With that, I went to sleep with hopes that the problem would be resolved by morning.  It wasn’t. 

I called TiVo this afternoon and spoke to a tech support person.  There was nothing we could do to troubleshoot the problem, and we both concluded that my TiVo had died.  I wondered what would happen then to my "lifetime" service agreement.  As it turns out, TiVo has a pretty good deal.

TiVo no longer offers a lifetime service plan with the purchase of a new unit, instead charging up to 12 dollars a month for programming updates.  But they do offer an opportunity to transfer your agreement to a refurbished box for a grand total of $161.29.  That might seem like a lot of money but  it’s actually a very good deal considering I spent around six hundred dollars to get the original TiVo Series 2 with the lifetime service package.  If the life of the refurbished TiVo is as long as the last one, that equals about $2.25 a month. 

So in a few minutes I’ll be leaving to ship my old TiVo series 2, 60 gigabyte unit to Fort Worth, and in return they will be sending me a dual tuner, 80 gigabyte refurbished model.  I’m happy.

I considered other options, but this was the least expensive and most helpful among those I considered as a replacement for my dear departed friend. 

In all my experiences with them, I have found TiVo to be a great company.  Their customer service people are friendly and helpful, and thoroughly knowledgeable about the product.  I had assumed that they would tell me there was nothing they could do about my old TiVo, that I would need to buy a new one with a new service agreement, but the fact that they offer this opportunity to purchase a "new" unit and keep my lifetime service plan for a very reasonable price makes me a huge fan and very appreciative of their fairness and desire to appeal to the needs of their customers.

If anything, I am a bigger fan than ever, and even more tempted to take advantage of an offer they are extending to current customers to purchase a TiVo HD with a lifetime service agreement.  Yes, it’s expensive, but with this kind of service and the advantages the product offers, it may be well worth it.