TiVo Mini -- Launches March 6

Thanks for the info Dawn! Price is a little higher than I would like, sub $200 is where I'll think about getting one. Never going to pay monthly on these.

How much were the Moxi-mates going for.

I am disappointed they are charging a subscription fee no matter how small it is. Tivo has gone too far with the monthly fee on additional boxes. I like my Tivo equipment and was interested in the mini. I was prepared to install 4 xl4 units but not at $14.95 per unit per month. To accomplish my goal at a reasonable monthly cost I may finally be leaving Tivo after 13 years. Tivo are you listening ? You may be closer to finally getting the equipment correct but out of line on the pricing.

Lifetime can make more sense than paying a monthly fee indefinitely depending on the situation. I typically sell my lifetime TiVos to cover most of the cost of new TiVos with Lifetime service. A TiVo with only monthly service is not worth very much, while a TiVo with lifetime service has a high resale value.

$249 is too much for an additional TV outlet? I feel this price is just about perfect for what you get. I'm in for 2! I've been waiting for Tivo to get this out forever!

It's at least $50 too high for me given what's in the box, but Tivo is appeasing their MSO partners by not making additional outlets too cheap.

Lifetime is a no-brainer for these boxes btw, it will easily pay for itself.

TiVo may still be thinking about pricing. Their test page is now offline.

Am I completely missing the concept or is the TiVo Mini a way of generating extra revenue for TiVo instead of users having to pay cable co.'s monthly Additional Outlet fees?

I would say a bit of both. It's the same concept as buying a Ceton Echo or X-Box as a WMC extender -- one full-functioned base unit and a bunch of satellites. As far as cost, the $250 for the mini does not compare favorably to the cost of the Echo or a minimalist X-Box -- I agree it is $50 too high. I also think TiVo is making a huge, huge mistake to even offer some sort of lame subscription model for the mini. No one in their right mind will pay a subscription for this -- all it does is give new fuel to the haters who will conveniently (and consistently) ignore the flat purchase price and refer to having to pay monthly, forever, like they do now for the TiVo.

Are you sure about that?

The varied opinions are interesting. I always did lifetime in the past but the shortened product life cycle does not make lifetime worth it. I don't have an issue with the cost of the hardware cost of first subscription, lifetime or monthly. It is when you have multiple boxes. To the person that thinks lifetime on older boxes has value I have two older tiros one series 3 with lifetime and an Xl. The 3 is not compatible with the app and the Xl won't work with the new TiVo mini. That makes them have either no or little value. I am told lifetime has more value now because these boxes should be around longer ,technology moves to fast for that to be true. TiVo needs a fair lifetime replacement deal they would only let me move one of my 3 series to a plain Xl because they have an abundance of inventory.

If you rotate your TiVos often enough....stay sort of bleeding edge lifetime is worth it. I am in the process of replacing a couple of Premiere XLs with Premiere XL4s. I sold my 4x Series 3 HDs with lifetime when you could still get $450 for them. Made buying a Premiere with lifetime a bit easier to swallow. I figure I upgrade my TiVos every couple of years and I spend about $150/box to upgrade.

Back to the topic at hand......I am a sad panda that I don't see a TiVo Mini up yet. I am really ready to get rid of the MoCA and tuning adapter in my bedroom and have a unit that can be mounted behind the TV....but not as much as the wife is! Once that is in, I will get rid of one more TiVo Premiere XL and the project will pay for itself.

Before:
3x Premiere XL
1x Premiere (upgraded to XL)

After:
1x Premiere XL4
1x Premiere XL
1x TiVo Mini

Selling the upgraded Premiere and 2 XLs will more than pay for this project. I am sure a few other people are doing (or at least planning) the same thing I am. I hesitate to say "no one needs 8TB of recording and 8 tuners.....but there is a lot of good stuff on TV.

New thread up at TCF with a Mini unboxing, purchased from Best Buy (looks like they jumped the gun). New retail release will supposedly be 3/12 now.

Yeah, and a search on a certain well known online auction site for TiVo Mini Unreleased Unannounced brings up an interesting listing!

It's Official!

"Mini service plan options

TiVo® service is the magic behind the TiVo Mini. At less than half the cost of a TiVo DVR service fee, the benefits of TiVo Mini service include:

Watch live TV or recorded entertainment (no additional CableCARD™ required)
Access web entertainment from Hulu Plus, Pandora®, YouTube™ and more*
On-screen guide updated daily with up to 2 weeks of scheduled programs
Exclusive software features like Suggestions, Collections and WishList® searches
TiVo software, feature and application updates (as available)

Monthly service
$5.99
1-year commitment; month-to-month thereafter.

Plan details:

TiVo Mini + 1-year monthly service plan

If you cancel the TiVo service before your 1-year commitment ends, an early termination fee will apply equal to $50 minus $4 per month for each month of your subscription commitment you fulfilled, except as permitted by the 30-day money back guarantee.

Product Lifetime service
$149.99
Pay once for the life of your TiVo Mini!
30-day money back guarantee

TiVo Mini requires a TiVo Premiere 4, Premiere XL4/Elite DVR.
Does not work with TiVo Premiere or Premiere XL

*Broadband internet connection via Ethernet or MoCA required."

Hmm, I have not found that. I have tried to sell 2 on eBay and not got bids over $50 (despite my Series 1 having a brand new original Sony remote, which is a hard to find item).

Does anyone know if the Mini will use the THX sound output from an XL4?

 

I have sold roughly a dozen over the years and in a lot of cases turned a buck or two. Obviously, you don't want to keep a model too long... and it helps if you upgrade the hard drive. It typically add more value than the cost of the drive itself.

Yea, I know. However my Sony has run almost non-stop for 11 years. Down only when I upgraded the hard drive. I figure it's paid for itself!

I don't think there is much market for a Series 1 TiVo. Series 3 HD and Series 4 Premier with lifetime command $300 and up.

You're right. Mine are Series 1 and 2.

Agreed. Basically you should think of this box as a $250 media center front end/extender. For that price, it is expensive but TiVo is a boutique product with a price premium.

There's no justification for a subscription, you have the subscription for the main box and all you're doing is accessing the same information you've already paid for. No load or probably even access to any external servers (except to check you've got a subscription). But that's the way TiVo's marketing plays, and, if people buy it, then it's working for them.

Yep, there's no cost basis for the fee it's just the way they want to make their money (to make sub numbers look good, most likely). Just look at $250 as the cost of the box and disregard how they want to market it.