PVR Wire

1. I am a former multi-ReplayTV owner and a Comcast customer with two Motorola 6412 HD DVRs.

TiVo will sell the Series 3 to existing TiVo owners and past TiVo owners longing to return only. If a customer has not used a TiVo [or a ReplayTV] before the likelihood they will buy a Series 3 instead of going for the cheaper alternative of a cable/satco provided box is zero.

The Series 3 introduction will slow the loss of TiVo customers to cable/satco HD DVRs but it won't add any new TiVo customers.

Posted at 7:26PM on Sep 6th 2006 by Bill G

2. I'm an existing TiVo customer who's been waiting for the HD TiVo for quite some time. I also have the Comcast HD DVR so I'm fully aware of just how superior TiVos are.

Even with that knowledge, $800 is way too much. My Comcast DVR may not be as intuitive or even reliable, but it costs me less per month than the TiVo (not to mention no upfront costs). It gets the job done enough that I can't see myself paying anything over $300 for a HD TiVo.

Posted at 8:17PM on Sep 6th 2006 by Angel

3. I spent about $1500 on my home-built HTPC that seems similar in functionality. No cablecard but I rip HD streams directly from the STB. I can expand it, update it, and do some nifty DVD archiving & postprocessing with it. Oh, and no subscription fees (other than the premium I pay for the full STB over a cablecard, but with it I get 2-way services, so....).

I also have a Tivo that I've paid a $99/year subscription on for the past 6-7 years (I'm on my 2nd box). As much as I love the UI and the features, the value has diminished to the point where for a user like me (pretty advanced), the subscription fees alone are a deal-killer when my current year expires.

As for the new hardware, it's not worth it at $400, let alone $800. Most of what I feel like I'm missing is recording of HD-HBO/SHO/etc., but I've got plenty of recorded content and I can watch that stuff live anyway.

Posted at 8:17PM on Sep 6th 2006 by Josh

4. Good point Jet.

I just found this from a 1999 Cnet Article:

"Analysts think DVRs will be a big hit with consumers--once they are affordable enough. A basic box from TiVo now sells for $499, plus a monthly service fee. A DVR from competitor Replay goes for $699, although its program guide service is free."

I'm thinking $800 still seems high, but this does put a little perspective on it. Maybe in a few years, TiVo will be practically giving away the Series 3 for free after rebate.

But the difference is that there's a lot more competition in the PVR market today than there was back in 1999.

Posted at 9:26PM on Sep 6th 2006 by Brad Linder

5. I had a Tivo 2 and was a happy child. Then i bought an HD tv and my life went down hill. The T2 recordings thru my HD cable box looked awful. That's when i went for the Motorola HD pvr ($13 per month),
and the recordings look great but the recording menu is so bad, i can't stand it. I want my T3,
but this $800 talk has driven me into a deep depression. How can Tivo do this too me? Do they hate me? I was loyal for years.
I was an early adopter, Tivo's bread and butter.
I feel like i'm a victim of PVR gentrification. I should of never upgraded to HD.

Posted at 10:06PM on Sep 6th 2006 by bobseger

6. What did the original 13-hour TiVo DVR cost six years ago? And how much is that in today's dollars?

Posted at 6:21AM on Sep 7th 2006 by jet

7. If the rumors turn out to be true and the Series 3 is $800, TiVo is in for a rude awakening. As good as a TiVo is, I'm not paying that kind of money for two tuners and HD. I've got a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD that costs me $10 a month and while the interface sucks, it works. It's got two tuners and HD and it didn't cost me any money up front.

Posted at 7:00AM on Sep 7th 2006 by ReplayTVBlog

8. The S3 will be $800 MSRP - and a lot of people will buy them. I will. I've already seen comments all over the web from people saying they plan to buy one, two, even three Series3 boxes even at $800. Especially with the news today that TiVo will allow Lifetime sub transfers for $199 - but only if you buy the S3 by the end of the year. That has pushed a number of people into deciding to buy one.

$800 is the MSRP - you know it'll be available from online resellers for less. Reports are the cost is $500 to retailers like Best Buy. So an online reseller could sell it for $650 and still have a $150 markup.

TiVo isn't in for any rude awakening. They don't expect to sell millions of S3s at $800. But they'll sell plenty and make a good buck. Then, once the early adopter rush is tapped, the price will drop - and another wave of buyers will rush in.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Posted at 7:01AM on Sep 7th 2006 by MegaZone

9. When do we get an update to the very out of date Series 2 TiVo in the UK... Sky+ is taking over in the UK. I'd love to be able to buy a twin tuner TiVo.

Shaun
London, UK

Posted at 7:18AM on Sep 7th 2006 by Shaun Gostelow

10. "In a nutshell, we're talking about the first set-top PVR that can record two over-the-air or cable HDTV programs at the same time."

Um, well my Dish HD-DVR can record up to three HDTV programs at one time (one over-the-air, two on Dish), and I've had it for almost a year. Sure, it doesn't record cable (why would anybody have cable?), so technically I guess that statement is correct.

Posted at 3:47PM on Sep 7th 2006 by Cap'n Ken

11. Bill G wrote:

"The Series 3 introduction will slow the loss of TiVo customers to cable/satco HD DVRs but it won't add any new TiVo customers."

Bill is correct, but yet he's wrong. He's correct that new users won't buy the S3, but many of the current Tivo owners who buy the S3 will sell their used S1s and S2s, and the people who buy those used Tivos become ... new Tivo customers.

Posted at 8:36PM on Sep 7th 2006 by Lee willis