Tivo Series 3 HD

I recently upgraded my Tivo Series 1 to Tivo Series 3 HD. Nope I dont have HD programming. So why did I get it you might ask? Well, because Tivo made me do it.

Here was the deal (expired).

For a limited time, transfer your product lifetime service from a Series1™ or
Series2™ box to the new Series3™ HD for only $199. As an added bonus, we'll
keep TiVo service activated on your old box for another 12 months for no
additional charge.

My current Tivo Series 1 w/ lifetime subscription works perfectly fine. I've been using it for over 5 years now and I love it. But what caught my attention in this deal was the opportunity to transfer my lifetime subscription. Tivo recently retired their lifetime subs on all Tivos. You can no longer get a lifetime sub on a new Tivo. Also, you cannot transfer a lifetime sub to another Tivo box. So this would be my only opportunity to upgrade my Tivo box as well as transfer my lifetime sub in one shot. I dont think Tivo will ever offer the opportunity to transfer a lifetime sub again. In otherwords, this will be the only way to get a Tivo Series 3 with lifetime. But that $199 lifetime transfer fee hurts, especially when I originally already paid $299 for my original lifetime sub. Ouch. So that's how Tivo trapped me.

Why do you LOVE Tivo? - No one can beat the functionality and the user experience that the Tivo has to offer. It is smart, sexy, and simple. You've probably heard of the cable companies offering their DVR's, but everyone who has experienced them says that they cannot compare to Tivo. Tivo is truly one of my favorite tech gadget. Tivo really did an outstanding job when it comes to user interface. Its hard to think of anything to improve it even on my standards ;)

What are the main differences between Tivo series 1, 2, and 3? - A lot. Let's talk about the Series 2 first.

1. Series 2 has the networking functionality which allows you to network your tivo to your home computer which is connect to the internet. You will need a Tivo wireless adapter to wireless connect your tivo to your wireless router.



2. Once you have this connection, you can do several things.You can use TivoToGo which is the ability to transfer your Tivo recordings onto your computer. Once the videos are transfered to your computer, then you can do whatever you want with the video. ie. burn them on dvd.



3. Stream your mp3s and pictures to your TV and home theater system.



4. Update Tivo without using a phone line.



5. Use Tivo online scheduling. In otherwords, you can go to Tivo's website and schedule your recordings there. This is cool if you are not home and you forgot to record something. However, you must schedule the recording at least 1 hour prior to the show starting since the Tivo does the online update about once per hour.



6. Real time Traffic and Weather



7. Many of the series 2 are dual tuner which is one of my favorite features. It can record 2 shows at the same time. Therefore, you can also record a show and watch another show at the same time.

Onto to Series 3

1. Series 3 has all of the features above except for TivoToGo. This is very sad, but hopefully they will allow it in a future software update. I think Tivo ran into a lot of copyright issues so until they get those settled, no TivoToGo.



2. Can record in HD.



3. THX



4. More than enough space. 300 hours standard record time. 32 hours in HD.
   

So basically, Series 3 is much like the Series 2, but has all of the high quality sound and video capabilities.

So what happens to your Tivo Series 1 box? - So this box no longer has the lifetime sub. Tivo gives me a free year's subscription. But in order to use the box after a year, I would have to start paying the monthly fee :(