UPDATE: DirecTV tells Consumerist it will credit affected customers’ accounts when the issue is resolved.
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Since the first week of November, DirecTV customers with Tivo Series 2 DVRs have been smashing their head against the wall (not literally, we hope) trying to get people to do something about their DVRs resetting randomly and frequently throughout the day. [More]
Instead of a cable company-provided DVR, Leon uses a TiVo. It gives him greater flexibility, since he can transfer programs to his backup hard drives to free up space, then transfer the programs back when he is woefully short on entertainment. Only the cable networks and Time Warner Cable don’t want us to be able to do this. Where Leon lives, every program that’s not on one of the over-the-air broadcast networks is copy-protected. He can’t copy any of these shows to his backup drives. It’s as if it were 1990, and every time Leon ejected a recorded TV program from his VCR, a cable company employee stormed through the door, confiscated it, unspooled the tape, and set it on fire. Only less labor-intensive. [More]
If TiVo is in the news in these days of its irrelevance, it’s usually because it’s won another massive settlement dispute with a company it accused of ripping off its tech. After getting $500 million from Dish Network last year, TiVo has now shaken down AT&T for $215 million. [More]
TiVo has long alleged Dish Network violated its DVR patents, and the satellite provider has settled things by giving TiVo $500 million to put the issue behind them. TiVo can now presumably exact similar settlements from Microsoft, Motorola, Verizon and AT&T, which it’s also suing. [More]
TiVo and Dish Network are locked up in a never-ending lawsuit over the satellite provider’s alleged violation of TiVo’s DVR patents, and a U.S. Federal Court of Appeals ruling Wednesday only served to muddle the picture. [More]
What first looked like a small e-mail list breach at New York & Company over the weekend was just the tip of the iceberg as multiple national retailers and banks found themselves the victim of the same data hackers. [More]
Mike wanted to renew his suspended love affair with TiVo and inquired about ordering a box through his cable provider. He reconsidered when he was told the only way he could get a TiVo through the company is if he paid an unnecessary $50 “installation fee” to plug the box into his TV and wall. [More]
Tara says she’s stumbled upon a gem of a deal for those who’ve subscribed to TiVo for three years or more: Get the normally $300 TiVo Premiere box for $162 with free shipping. She says you have to ask for the un-advertised promotion. [More]
Victor wants to warn Consumerist readers: no matter how much you love your TiVo, do not jump in and let yourself be an early adopter of the company’s new product, the Premiere (or series 4) box. He and other Premiere users have shared their tales of heartbreak and bugs with the Internet. [More]
Riddle me this, Batman. How many Comcast cable techs does it take to install a TiVo? We’d love to give you an answer, but we can’t because reader Lynn still hasn’t got a working TiVo after 3 appointments. Whoooops. [More]
If you bought a TiVo with an extended warranty at Circuit City before the chain died and came back as a retail zombie, TiVo forum poster Mark has good news and bad news for you: It is still technically possible to use your warranty, but doing so requires superhuman levels of persistence. [More]
Are you struggling with a problem with TiVo that regular customer service can’t solve? Send your complaint to the office of President and CEO Tom Rogers at trogers@tivo.com, and you’ll hear back from someone in the Executive Relations department. (Thanks to reader IndyJaws for the info!) [More]
This past summer, Time Warner Cable introduced a new DVR service to subscribers. The New York Observer noted at the time that some of the changes–namely the “Start Over” feature that lets you watch something from the beginning even if you just switched to it–were nice. At least one customer, however, doesn’t agree. In fact, now that he’s given the revamped service a 4-month trial run, he’s ready to list the problems with it, some of which sound suspiciously anti-consumer. [More]
TiVo may not have treated Lee right, taking him for granted and unfairly billing him while cutting off his lifetime service. Maybe it even slept around with cocktail waitresses and D-list reality show stars. But TiVo stopped dragging its feet once Lee told us his story. [More]
Lee’s TiVo saga is enough to scare you off from gift cards and lifetime service subscriptions from the company. It’s a long, not easily summarized tale, but as things stand now, Lee is without service, stuck with an unwarranted $97.64 charge and has a gift card that won’t work. [More]
Over a year ago, Michael didn’t want TiVo service anymore, and he called them to cancel. This would have been a perfectly reasonable request. The problem, he tells Consumerist, is that TiVo refuses to acknowledge his multiple cancellations, and now won’t let him call and try canceling again until he pays the balance that has accrued since his credit card expired.
Reader Tim is canceling TiVO and going with the Comcast DVR and was presented with a retention deal that he was able to resist. Why? Because $299.99 – $100 doesn’t equal $249.99.
TiVo customers have a few different choices when paying for their service plans. The one that’s gamble of sorts is the “lifetime” plan, which includes service for the entire life of your device and currently costs $399. Lifetime service is technically transferable when a TiVo is replaced under warranty, but Nate discovered a new feature: a new $150 fee to transfer service from the original DVR to the replacement.
