Originally Posted by jleavens
ReplayTV Service Activation for a newly purchased unit is mandatory.
Whether you choose the monthly or lifetime service plans, you must activate the unit with ReplayTV. If you do not activate your new Replay, it will cease operation completely. It will not work as a digital VCR, it will not let you do manual recordings, it will not let you do anything. It becomes a doorstop.
Why, you ask? Because the cost of the units is greater than the sale price of the box at the retailer. When you activate the unit, you are simply paying the remaining cost of the unit to ReplayTV. If you just paid for the box, ReplayTV would lose money on every unit sold. If you want to know the price of just buying a box and never paying service fees, just add $300 to the price of the unit at the store.
Some units in the past have been sold with service activation included in the price, and some have not. See below for information on how to tell the difference.
Any discussion of methods to avoid paying this service fee are absolutely prohibited here in this forum, and anyone who discusses this topic will see their posts deleted and face possible banishment.
