Tivo Premiere XL.

[BluPix]

I'd been thinking for a long time about replacing my generic Time Warner Cable DVR box with a higher-end TiVo model. This past weekend, TWC replaced its box, for about the third time this year (or maybe it was the fourth; I long ago stopped counting how many times they replace it each year) with a model that actually has *less* storage capcity than the previous one. It looks as if my current box can store about 20 hours or so of HD recordings. The last one stored about 40 or 45 hours (that is, when it actually recorded the programs it was supposed to). TWC actually regressed. What is wrong with them?

In any case, I'm thinking of buying the TiVo Premiere XL. It's $300 flat for the box plus TiVo's monthly service fee plus the monthly fee TWC would charge for the cable cards they would provide. My monthly TV-related fees would increase a bit, but it may be worth it to be able to record 150 hours of HD programs (or 1,350 of SD recordings) and have a (hopefully) reliable box. I could actually record entire seasons of my favorite series, plus have some space left over for sizeable films. I saw that it's expandable, though I haven't looked into how to do so yet.

My questions are to everyone who has this particular TiVo model (those who use it with Time Warner Cable service are especially encouraged to respond)...

-How reliable is it? Will it eventually start to malfunction like the numerous TWC boxes I've had? Or will it remain completely problem free for years (as I still expect even in this age of near-constant upgrades and replacements)?
-Is there an extended warranty that can cover it? Like SquareTrade?
-Has your cable company been shown less accountability for technical issues because of the presence of your TiVo box (i.e., blaming things like picture freezing and dropped audio on your TiVo box rather than a poor cable provider signal)?
-Does TiVo or anyone else ever offer discounts or special promos on this TiVo box or on TiVo service?

Thanks.

[Mad Setter]

I pre-ordered mine early this year and received half off of the lifetime subscription. Early on, it was VERY buggy. The Tivo kept crashing on me at least 3x a day, forcing me to perform a hard restart. Nowadays, it's far more reliable, although every now and then, I'll have signal issues with some of the second and third-tier channels. But they do correct themselves with a channel change.

I record a lot of science and music shows so I quickly ran low on space. I picked up an additional 1TB drive and simply plugged it in...no problems. Now I'm 72% full of content over 2TB. Sheesh.

I live in Phoenix and my cable provider is Cox. Whenever I've called (maybe 3x since early April), they've been very helpful and have been able to solve my signal issues with a reboot on both their end and on my Tivo. The initial cablecard install was pain-free.

When I pre-ordered, I also got the 3-year extended warranty. I usually skip those (except for Microsoft's game consoles) but this time I didn't. Most likely overkill on my part but I figured what the heck.

The interface is a mash-up of the old interface along with a newer, higher-def one. The inconsistency used to bother me a bit but no longer. Also, navigating through the menu used to take so long you could measure it in geological time. After the system updates, navigating is far quicker. But if you keep pressing the page up/down buttons rapidly to cycle through selections, you'll eventually force the system to have to "catch up."

Overall, I'm very pleased with my Premiere XL. But then again, I was looking to upgrade my Sony Series 1 box. It was a shaky start but I'm not so concerned about it anymore.

Hope this helps.

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by Mad Setter

I pre-ordered mine early this year and received half off of the lifetime subscription. Early on, it was VERY buggy. The Tivo kept crashing on me at least 3x a day, forcing me to perform a hard restart. Nowadays, it's far more reliable, although every now and then, I'll have signal issues with some of the second and third-tier channels. But they do correct themselves with a channel change.

I record a lot of science and music shows so I quickly ran low on space. I picked up an additional 1TB drive and simply plugged it in...no problems. Now I'm 72% full of content over 2TB. Sheesh.

I live in Phoenix and my cable provider is Cox. Whenever I've called (maybe 3x since early April), they've been very helpful and have been able to solve my signal issues with a reboot on both their end and on my Tivo. The initial cablecard install was pain-free.

When I pre-ordered, I also got the 3-year extended warranty. I usually skip those (except for Microsoft's game consoles) but this time I didn't. Most likely overkill on my part but I figured what the heck.

The interface is a mash-up of the old interface along with a newer, higher-def one. The inconsistency used to bother me a bit but no longer. Also, navigating through the menu used to take so long you could measure it in geological time. After the system updates, navigating is far quicker. But if you keep pressing the page up/down buttons rapidly to cycle through selections, you'll eventually force the system to have to "catch up."

Overall, I'm very pleased with my Premiere XL. But then again, I was looking to upgrade my Sony Series 1 box. It was a shaky start but I'm not so concerned about it anymore.

Hope this helps.

This does help. Thanks for all the details.

How much is a lifetime subscription? Would it still remain in effect even if I were to upgrade to the next generation of TiVo boxes?

Also, where did you buy the extra 1TB drive? Is there a particular model you would have to get? How many HD hours of programming would 1TB store?

[BluPix]

Any more experiences?

[BluLobsta]

I have a TiVo standard HD box and love it. Interface can't be beat and features are pretty cool too, Season Pass, etc. Never had a problem with the box and TiVo customer service is very good. Never had a problem with the cable company either, although it's a $35 service call to have the cable card installed and $2 a month to rent it.