Is there a way to get the tivo listings for free using the ethernet add-on? Ok, I don't want the ethics brigade coming down on me. I feel I'm justified in doing this...

I bought a series 1 tivo and paid for lifetime subscription. The unit breaks JUST after the warranty period so I need to buy a
new one. Tivo REFUSE to transfer the subscription.

I refuse to pay for another subscription when I've nowehere near had my moneys worth. Maybe you think I'm wrong, I'm sure you'll tell me!

Did you keep the old unit?

Its under my bed - won't power on though, I've been through it with a volt meter and nothing obvious. There were noises coming from it before it died, so who knows.

http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=23

That Totaly sucks !!! I have heard of Tivo transfering before over at http://www.tivocommunity.com

Why have they stopped ??? I think you are right to hack it, I sure wouldn't be happy if they did that to my Tivo Sub

Cheers

Cris.

They say the subscription comes with the unit itself, and not the owner. But they also say if you sell it, you can't transfer subscription ownership, so they kind of contradict themselves there!

Lifetime subscription is for the life of the unit, not the owner.

If you sell your unit, the lifetime subscription you paid for goes with the unit. The new owner would have the lifetime sub.

This is one of the more misunderstood things about the TiVo service. I'm not sure why. Seems pretty clear to me. Compare the prices on ebay. Tivo boxen with lifetime sub always goes for more money. If yours is broken and has a lifetime sub, someone will buy it just for the subscription in hopes it can be brought back to life.... or they'll just steal service.

On a side note, be careful about buying used Tivos on ebay with subscriptions. Some sellers have been known to sell you the unit for a few hundred dollars/pounds, then report it stolen and leave the buyer with a dead machine.

You can change the serial number of the Tivo using the crypto command. Have a search on the Tivo hacking FAQs and forums. Only do it if the other Tivo is dead however as they do check to see if multiple units are downloading guide data using the same serial number.
Can't you get the Tivo repaired? From what I remember, they'll transfer the subscription only if your old one is broken. It should be cheaper than buying a new one... (Unless of course you've already got one)
It's not hard to upload your own guide data into the Tivo. Took me a day or so to work out how to generate the correct data. I only did it to see how it worked as I've got a normal subscription anyway. Tivo is really useful IMO and I don't want to see them go down the tubes.

- Trevor

Not exactly an answer to your question, but if your lifetime sub is at risk why not consider a repair?

TiVo Repair Service

We also offer a repair service for the Thomson TiVo (at the moment, only the UK TiVo). With a complete SMT rework facility, we can do component level repairs to the power supply or main board.

Repair prices are from £35 to £150 depending on the nature of the fault. Send your TiVo to us for a quote.

DO:
..include as much information about the fault as possible.
..wrap your TiVo well and insure the carriage.

DON'T:
..include any accessories (cables, handset etc.) unless they are a part of the problem.
..forget to include your Name, Address, Email, Tel no. etc.

Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

If you have an hu card, I would use Extreme HU to unmarry the card and then put it in your new tivo receiver. I beleive the sub is in the access card and not the actually receiver itself. Try it out, if it doesn't work, then you can try to use Kryptonite as an hu emulator.

It's a standalone TiVo series 1 unit. We don't have DirecTiVo over here in the UK. The closest thing would be Sky+ but that's from Sky (satelite broadcasting company) and doesn't use a TiVo unit.
The sub checking is done by the unit connecting to the TiVo servers over the internet and requesting the guide data. They're identified by a serial number inside the unit itself.

- Trevor

Yep - IIRC the serial number is stored on the mainboard somewhere / somehow (on our humble UK series 1's).