We've been having some account issues with our TiVo boxes.

After trying on-line chat to fix had to call in. Then the nightmare began.

As a long time customer I can remember calling Tivo in USa and getting good service previously.

Now, it's a dumpster fire.

I don't have any problem with any nationality. But they seem to have farmed out tech and CS to India. Man, it is so frustrating. No one knows anything, they stick to the script of wasting time and thanking profusely for your email address (again and again) and not fixing any problems.

When I first got TiVo I said I'd be a customer for life. And pretty much I have ... but now I am wondering about a different solution. Anyone tried anything?

I'm paying something like $40 a month for Tivo on two boxes and neither work.

I have 4-6 TIvos, all are lifetime. Tivo HD, Tivo Bolt TIvoVox.

Yes, I understand the frustration of companies that farm out their customer service.

The other day, I was talking to someone in South Africa, cant remember if it was Quicken or Amazon.

But I have been there. But getting back to the TIVO

What type of Tivo is it, and what trouble are you having?

Tom

Wish I could offer you some help or advice.

In my experience their support has never been any good.

And they killed off all the competition so I can’t recommend another box.

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Wow! Tivo is still around!

I believe i’ve gone through two units both with lifetime. can’t even recall how long ago i realized they were useless for me and tossed them.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

I guess it depends on what you do with it? I steam everything so all that I watch is already on demand.

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C(-)ris
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Throwback Thursday Signature:

Chopper,

Can't offer you any advice other than to not purchase another TIVO system. Use the existing hardware until it's dead and/or incompatible and then move to a different system. I gave up on TIVO because it was no loner cost-effective in the face of competition from Optimum and Verizon. Great example...

I have Toshiba TIVO DVD recorder with TIVO basic (for life of the unit) and regular TIVO services (for the live of the unit. Since it was standard def only I stopped using the system when i moved to HD TVs. I looked into newer TIVO hardware but, after some bad experiences with it as well as concerns about its longevity (the Toshiba required repairs more than one), I switched to the cable TV provider's DVR and never looked back. No regrets.

Prior to the advent of streaming and smart phones and tablets, one recorder box, multiple tuners, easy access to the content on multiple TVs. One additional fee per month above and beyond the normal set-top monthly fees. DVR breaks? New one is sent. Switched from Optimum to FIOS. Same deal. Nowadays, it's the same deal as above and I also get the option of viewing recorded content on smartphones and tablets.

Is it as nice as TIVO? Not in my experience. Is it nice enough that I don't care? Yups. Can I move recorded content from the box to my computer, media server or storage devices if I want to save something permanently and not have it take up space on the Verizon DVR? Nope. Has this been an issue? Nope.

Are the monthly fees overall comparable for the main box and multiple satellite boxes? Yups. Will TIVO be less expensive in the long run? Yes, assuming you buy a lifetime plan and the hardware doesn't fail. Even then, it'd take years to recoup the investment. In looking at the bigger picture, I decided TIVO isn't worth it, especially since the hardware involved changes at such a fast pace these days.

Robert

WAAAAY back in the day (20+years ago in the DealNews days) I got a deal on a refurb TiVo. Pay $150 for said refurb; get Lifetime service AND a $150 rebate! A year or so later, I dropped Cablevision so the TiVo box & service had no value for me. I gave it to a relative who never bothered to set it up. For the time I used it, I really liked it. The DVR that Cablevision had (back then) was NOWHERE near as good as the TiVo.

I use the Tivo Vox and have Tivo Bolt, and upgraded the HD, to store more shows. I love it, it works great.... I still use the older software, and there is a different user interface if I want it, but don't. So no monthly bills, and the thing works great. So nice to sit down, and have all your shows ready to watch, and a 30 second skip plus with some shows a commercial skip

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C(-)ris
I guess it depends on what you do with it? I steam everything so all that I watch is already on demand.

Same here; I considered them about 15 or so years back but once we started with streaming (both what we have now and in the prehistoric days, when you could watch past episodes via the Comcast cable box), I never did any kind of time shift recording ever. Haven't had cable (or used broadcast) TV since about 2014 so it's all well in the rear view mirror nowadays.

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Zoid,

On-demand as provided by Verizon FIOS doesn't cut it. Many recent episodes of shows and episodes of past shows are available but a vast number of them aren't freebies these days. Many of them are rental and purchase now.

Renting or buying even just a handful of episodes easily outweighs the cost and convenience of the DVR. Same goes for subscribing to a service that provides access to recent episodes, i.e. Hulu. That doesn't factor in most of our TV watching is content from the DVR now. Definitely worth every penny to get the DVR from Verizon and call it done.

I'll be the first to say that TIVO has a very nice interface. Definitely nicer than the interface of Verizon's past and current DVR. However, and this is key, TIVO's interface is not enough better and nicer that it's worth buying their hardware and signing up for their service either monthly, annually or as lifetime.

Robert

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Microman
I use the Tivo Vox and have Tivo Bolt, and upgraded the HD, to store more shows. I love it, it works great.... I still use the older software, and there is a different user interface if I want it, but don't. So no monthly bills, and the thing works great. So nice to sit down, and have all your shows ready to watch, and a 30 second skip plus with some shows a commercial skip

I use the TiVo Bolt (on Cable) on my Living Room setup (along with Apple TV). I like the previous user interface as well and have Lifetime on the unit. Not a fan of the updated user interface, so I am happy that I have the option to stick with the previous interface. My TiVo Bolt suffered what I think was a hard drive problem. TiVo replaced it for free, had to send them my box first which was inconvenient - however, was happy to get a new TiVo Bolt which has been working without issue since.

I also have two lifetime Premier units in the other rooms (connected to OTA).

I also get frustrated when getting CS across seas, but only when no communication can take place. So, I can understand where chopper is coming from.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2021 04:13PM by SKYLANE.

Probably still under $250 for a base Tivo Roamio w/ lifetime service off eBay.

Cablecard rental here is $2.50/month.

Cable company DVRs are $25/month each.

Bill,

Which provider? Verizon has three tiers of DVR service. Basic is $12.00, enhanced is $20.00 and premium is $30.00 per month. Each level changes the number of places where you can watch the recorded shows, the number of shows that can be recorded simultaneously and the amount of storage available for recording shows. The premium service doubles the capacity of the enhanced service by replacing a standard set-top box with a second DVR box. We just upgraded to the premium service and it's a little cumbersome at first but we've gotten accustomed to it now.

Verizon's tiers:

With Standard DVR service, you can:
Single room, two simultaneous recordings, 50 hours.

With Enhanced Service, you can:
Record up to (6) shows at one time
Watch up to (5) shows on 5 TVs at one time
Get up to 100 hours of HD storage for all your favorite shows and movies

With Premium Service, you can:
Record up to (12) shows at one time
Watch up to (10) shows at one time on 10 TVs at the same time
Get up to 200 hours of HD storage for all your favorite shows and movies

The Premium Service is multi-hub and you have two separate DVR boxes in the location, both accessible from any TV.

Robert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/2021 05:26PM by Robert M.

Spectrum.