TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Was "talking" to a friend in the US mentioned TiVo & the charges that Virgin are making. He says you can buy them for $99 (£66) & then pay a service fee per month. Not sure if he understands so I questioned it He refered me to this.

I wonder what they cost Virgin ?:confused:

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I'm not really sure what your question is but $99 is for the box with smaller drive. Bear in mind also that electronics in Britain usually cost the same in GB pounds as they pay in dollars in the US. Often they actually pay less in dollars than we pay in pounds.
Good article though.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Id Sooner have VM pricing structure.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Also the US version only has 2 tuners?

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

From the article $299 / 1.61 (exchange rate today) = £185.72.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Yeah but thats to buy it, VM wanted £200 from me last week for a box i dont own :confused:

VMs excuse is always "but with sky you have to buy a new box if yours dies" which is of course rubbish. Ive had 2 sky boxes die on me in the past and i had both replaced free of charge.
The other excuse is that you dont pay a monthly sub for HD unlike with sky and this is why they have install charges. For the amount of HD they have available though its a good job they dont charge, i certainly wouldn't pay.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

So how does VM get new ongoing equipment upgrades paid for? It's not a charity you know. ;)

Pay up or you get nothing LOL :D

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Neither am i, why would i pay a £200 charge for a box i dont own? its the same reason i refused to pay the £50 activation of my V+ box.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

And you have that choice, just as VM have the option to charge it.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

If I'm reading that correct , £185.72 and then a monthly sub of over £10.00 , VM pricing looks ok in comparison.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Yeah of course they do, i'm not saying they dont. I refused to pay the £200 charge for Tivo so didn't get one, luckily for me i also refused the £50 V+ charge but did get one of those.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

So to answer the main question at the beginning of the thread "Tivo whats does it REALLY cost" I'd say less than the yanks:D

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

But you get to use the goods, so you get what you pay for. It's really just an upfront rental fee to keep the monthly cost down to you.

---------- Post added at 23:02 ---------- Previous post was at 23:00 ----------

You are never going to get the 1TB TiVo for free, so forget that. You will have to bite the bullet and pay for the 500gb one at £49 if you really want one :)

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

So there's going to be 150 quid difference between the 2 boxes? 150 quid for 500gb of space???? Crazy.

I dont want one anyway, happy with the Samsung V+

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

So my point is you pay Virgin the cost of the box - in fees then an extra charge to use it ( So that would be insurance cover). Except that is not yours what is the difference to just buying one ( OK I know you can`t but you get my drift) and "renting " from Virgin - it seems to have cost them nothing to supply it.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I am not sure how you arrive at "it seems to have cost them nothing to supply it"?

(unless you mean that TiVo have supplied them FoC to VM?).

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I can't see your logic. If it is costing in the same ball park as the USA price and a lot less for the tivo software monthly charge, in a country where electronics are usually much cheaper than Great Britain, then how do you figure it is costing them nothing to supply it? I remember as well Cindy Rose saying that they could only roll out a limited amount of boxes before the end of the last financial year. If it was costing nothing to supply subscribers with the box then that wouldn't be the case would it? Like all electronics I would expect the price to reduce after a while once the initial development costs have been met.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

You think VM get the boxes for nothing? :confused:

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Sorry its the way my mind works. How much do you pay up front to get one ?

By the way they are I am told self install in the US

In case I am not clear box cost $100 or so (£63 at the rate I bought $ today) and thats retail.

So cost Virgin a fair bit less I would say. To get one costs you & me in round figures say £90 ergo they in affect cost Virgin nothing. in the end

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

If I'm paying £150 for a box I want VM to set it up for me after all don't the signal levels have to be checked and numerous other things on a TIVO install.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I rest my case, however you look at it the box in affect costs Virgin nothing;)

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

They will replace it if any problems should arise, and a tech call out is free if you have a TV issue.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I still can't see your logic. They need to sell it a price that will allow them to make a profit. Is there a company that doesn't do that? If there is they wont last very long.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

I dont understand the point of this thread:erm:

If you buy an item e.g a new car for say £10000 the motor dealer will have paid say £5000 for it and if its doesnt cost him more the £5000 to sell it to you he will make a profit and so it has cost him nothing as the person at the end of the chain has paid for it;)

you can go on down the chain as far as like until you come to the original raw materials being dug out of the ground.

So what does the car or tivo really cost? Well that depends on who you ask.

Re: TiVo whats does it REALLY cost
 

Well said :D My TiVo did not cost me anything:D Some have paid £149.95 and some will be paying £199.95 Plus the install fee, Which some did not pay:confused:

Take you pick of what TiVo cost's