@cjcox$230 for this is not zero margin to TiVo--they've been making DVRs for 15 years.
Don't look for this program to last forever without some change. I'm banking on my experience when saying this. Low margin products are ok, and you might get away with zero margin if you have "services", but this has business disaster written all over it (e.g. HP TouchPad, Microsoft RT). I'm ok with being wrong... but I don't think I am, not in this case.
@kspace But $50 (not $230) is less than zero. Just saying.
The $50 price requires a 1-year subscription at $15/month
@jestep when you go to your menu they are up above, “suggesting” all kinds of tv shows, movies etc, past the point of being helpful, to bombarding you. yes, i got to be pretty at good at ignoring them, but in principle don’t like the idea of Tivo trying to influence your viewing habits when you have the “privledge” of paying them $15 every month. the product ads are every time you pause a show.
@millerprm Maybe it is the model? I have TivoHD upstairs which is what I generally watch and I know I see a little ad at the bottom sometimes, but not always. I paid for lifetime and I have had it since 2007, so it paid for itself now.
@Jestep, good for you. The only reason I didn’t pay lifetime, is i wasn’t sure how long I would use that box. In hind sight it might have been a better deal. My TiVo is on eBay now and should have a new home by the end of the week. 
@millerprm, yea, at the time I got it I knew I would have cable for years and it made the right choice. Now the field has become larger and many more options exist 
This ‘new’ Tivo OTA box really isn’t new at all, it’s just a repackaging of the Tivo Roamio (ok, w/o the cable card slot). And it WILL make money for Tivo in the long run, because paying $50 is attractive to new buyers (who don’t really factor in the monthly ‘it’s only $15’ totals over time). If you buy the box, Tivo is betting you will continue the service. If you cancel after a year, then yeah, they will lose money, but once you have it, you get very used to it. This box is also supposedly not upgradable to lifetime, though only time will tell on that in a year or so when someone tries to cancel.
Tivo has a definite pricing structure regarding their boxes and how they make money. I have two of them now (both Premieres), one I bought at the lifetime price, one I got a deal on and paid the monthly for a year. I cancelled the monthly after a little over a year to go with Tablo. I’m sorry to say, Tablo was a dreadful experience in comparison. Then I went with Windows Media Center. It worked but brought all the ‘wonderful’ Winblows computer problems with it. After a couple months of that, I went back to Tivo and reactivated the box. At first they wouldn’t give me a deal on the lifetime, so I took monthly. Called after a few days to cancel and they then gave me the deal on lifetime. I hate you have to play these games, but it’s the way it is (Sirus XM radio pulls the same kind of crap too).
I post here because I am still hopeful for Tablo, it’s just not for me. The Tivo experience is so much better for me. However, you will pay more for a Tivo overall, so you have to weigh things out on a personal level.
Thought you guys might want to know that the new TiVo officially does not support TiVo Mini nor lifetime subscriptions. We’ve updated our blog post and charts to reflect this. At those costs, it’s definitely not aimed at folks looking for a whole-home solution.
@TablotTV - Making tables like this is laughable and worse misleading. Is the features set or experience of the Tablo as of TODAY in any way remotely comparable to TiVO for a whole home/regular TV solution? Tablo TV as of today is an immature product lacking significant features and capabilities of a regular DVR. Want your product to succeed? Start delivering on the large to do list. Not trying to be harsh but the continual patting on the back regarding the “awesomeness potential” is a joke. Everyone knows you are working toward adding features but as of now I will again repeat, anyone doing an objective review of the Tablo as a whole home solution TODAY would be disappointed with its capabilities.
@7up, I have to disagree with you on certain things. The Tivo HD that I have had for 7 years now has had zero features added. In the short time I have had Tablo I have seen multiple features come in, so I need to stand with Tablo on that side.
My Tivo will never be a whole home DVR unless I add hardware to support that, Tivo Stream. And even then, my Tivo HD is not supported at all for this feature so it is useless as a whole home dvr.
Now, with you, I agree that Tablo and Tivo are completely different solutions and there is no comparison really. If I were to really compare side by side Tablo loses because I cannot connect directly up to my TV, and I think that is a big deal. However, I knew what I was getting when I bought the Tablo.
I have been looking for years for something like Tablo that had the potential for greatness. Is Tablo there yet, no. But I do see the potential because I have seen newer features, which I never saw with my Tivo personally.
@Jestep - I respect your opinion and your decision to transition from TiVo to Tablo. So there is no misunderstanding, there is no special place in my heart for TiVo, that belongs to ReplayTV I’m rooting for Tablo as I would like nothing more than to use it as a whole home solution but that day isn’t here for obvious reasons, just look at the wish list/to do thread.
If anyone want a good laugh check out 4 tuner Tablo on Amazon sellling for 1200.00!
Plus $5 to ship it.
I hope no one is fooled.
Yowza… Trust me, we don’t have a relationship with these guys.
@TabloTV, it may be the new 16 channel box you didn’t realize you were working on 
I hate to be in this position, but I am seriously considering returning my 4-Tuner tablo and getting an Tivo OTA (it does support the Mini!).
As I have said all along the most important thing for me is video quality, especially during football games. My Tablo does not stream recordings at the same level as my FIOS DVR or anyother TV device I have used in the past. This issue is less noticeable for non-sports, but is very noticeable during football and baseball games. It is kind of like watching TV through a fan, it is not showing all the frames.
Base on my comparison cost, TIVO OTA with the $15 monthly subscription is not much more than the Tablo and the experience/features are much better (from what I’ve read).
| Tivo OTA with monthly subscription | Tablo TV | |||||
| Item | Recurring Fee | Upfront Fee | Item | Recurring Fee | Upfront Fee | |
| Internet Only | $50 | Internet Only | $50 | |||
| Cable Modem | $ | $30 | Cable Modem | $ | $30 | |
| OOMA | $5 | $100 | OOMA | $5 | $100 | |
| HDTV Antenna | $60 | Tablo | $5 | $300 | ||
| Tivo OTA | $49 | Tablo HD | $80 | |||
| TivoMonthly Sub | $15 | HDTV Antenna | $60 | |||
| Tivo Mini | $149 | Netflix | $8 | |||
| Tivo Stream | $129 | |||||
| Netflix | $8 | |||||
| Total Monthly | $78 | Total Monthly | $68 | |||
| Total Upfront | $517 | Total Upfront | $570 | |||
| Total Cost 3 years | $3,325 | Total Cost 3 years | $3,018 | |||
| Total cost 4 Years | $4,261 | Total cost 4 Years | $3,834 |
@MattMan13 what is this “Tablo HD” fee you have in there?
Good question. Let me fix that.
@Jestep Tablo Hard Drive