I have a Sony TiVo that I bought nearly 5 years ago. I deactivated it at the beginning of summer (and with the new TiVo software "upgrades", that prevented me from even using it for manual recordings). Now that the new seasons are starting, I decided to reactivate.
After going through the online reactivation process, with no mention of a 1 year obligation, I noticed that my receipt had a tiny line in fine print stating that there was a 1 year obligation with activation of any TiVo, and I could read more in their privacy policy (?).
I immediately called TiVo customer service, and was informed by the first agent and that agent's supervisor that, yes, that obligation even applies to TiVos bought before this new policy went into affect and that did not receive a rebate. Reactivation of an old system is the same as activation of a new system, even if it's not a new owner activating it and even if that owner had service continuously for almost 5 years previously. Needless to say, I immediately cancelled my reactivation and made up a shopping list to rebuild my MythTV box (or BeyondTV, trying them both).
Slashdot Mirror
I have a Sony TiVo that I bought nearly 5 years ago. I deactivated it at the beginning of summer (and with the new TiVo software "upgrades", that prevented me from even using it for manual recordings). Now that the new seasons are starting, I decided to reactivate.
After going through the online reactivation process, with no mention of a 1 year obligation, I noticed that my receipt had a tiny line in fine print stating that there was a 1 year obligation with activation of any TiVo, and I could read more in their privacy policy (?).
I immediately called TiVo customer service, and was informed by the first agent and that agent's supervisor that, yes, that obligation even applies to TiVos bought before this new policy went into affect and that did not receive a rebate. Reactivation of an old system is the same as activation of a new system, even if it's not a new owner activating it and even if that owner had service continuously for almost 5 years previously. Needless to say, I immediately cancelled my reactivation and made up a shopping list to rebuild my MythTV box (or BeyondTV, trying them both).