I didn’t realize they had a limit, just a one-time fee. Thanks for the info.
That is a self-selected sample, not a reliable statistic. It only reflects the choice made by those who comment on a forum. It does not tell me anything about the universe of all OTA DVR purchasers.
Think it’s decision remorse people who paid the one year subscription use it and like so much and realize they should have just paid the lifetime and it never hurt to ask for discount, for me when I got my tablo after a week decide just paid the lifetime sub one of the great decision I made.
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How could one ever know the always changing universe of OTA DVR purchasers. But you do know the business model of TiVo, Plex, Emby,etc. With these it’s hard to accomplish any OTA DVR recording and playback without a subscription.
If you want a product that provides the functionality you want and doesn’t need a subscription - go for it.
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With Tivo, for example, the “subscription” was just a way to attract people who think cheaper is better. Or who think they’ll use it for a few months then get rid of it.
But when Tivo offers a lifetime subscription, the REAL price of the unit is what they sell it for PLUS that lifetime subscription.
Even Tivo realized how stupid that was, and sells the OTA stuff ready to go right out of the box–no hoops to jump through.
Plex has the free stuff, then unlocks the extra goodies for a ONE TIME purchase of a Plex Pass–frequently available at $70. That’s not a subscription; that’s a one-time purchase.
Plex is a wonderful Media Server. I’d love to setup and try the Plex DVR, however Plex never has any love for Canadians. Their Plex Pass is always $159.99 CAD. Plex also has monthly and yearly subscription prices to their Pass.
It could be that the history of subscription charges goes back to the roots of software as a service.
That the price of the iron and the price of the service are costed out separately before ROI is applied to determine the final costs of each part.
The subscription is a marketing strategy to lock-in customers. Once you buy the lifetime deal you feel leaving the platform would be throwing away cash. So now you are a committed customer.
In defense of this strategy most, like Tablo, offer you options so you can be certain you like the platform before committing to it for life…
With the exception of Tivo, Plex, Tablo, and Emby all have similar subscription costs.
And these costs are actually fairly small. So I doubt the subscription costs versus the cost of hardware cause cognitive dissonance.
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Interesting, but I don’t feel that way, cuz the lifetime subscription is still mine.
I could always come back to the platform and use it again.
I bought an on sale Nvidia Shield, hdhomerun, and lifetime plex pass.
Didn’t really like it compared to tablo. I still use the hdhomerun. But the lifetime plex pass is always there to use if the tablo product ever went down crapper. Subscription costs have different value to different people.
True, and even if I don’t use it any more, my wife, and my mom can continue to use it.
They have their own Tablos. 
I only wish that $70 or $75 for a Plex Pass was frequent. I ended up getting it on sale for just over $120 but never did get the opportunity to buy it at half price.
Hi theuser86
I’m in Canada and always thought the Plex Pass was just too expensive , even the odd time it went on sale … which is seldom. I’ve had the free version on my PC for years and just never really used Plex … up until a few months ago …
I’m a music buff and have had a Tidal streaming music account for a couple years now. You can stream ‘HiFi’ or ‘Master’ quality music which is much higher quality compared to other music streaming services. Yes it is $19.99 CDN for this higher quality music but to me it is completely worth the extra cost.
Plex is offering FREE Plex Pass if you move your Tidal subscription over to Plex. I was paying for Tidal anyway, so I now have Plex Pass.
Just thought I’d mention it in case you are currently using Tidal. Just search Google for details.
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It’s so funny… I just removed TIDAL on my Plex server so it won’t keep splattering it’s full page ad on my Plex.
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So you’ve packed your Plex costs into Tidal subscription, which you’re already (happily) paying. Fantastic. That’s a win-win.
Hi Ben1
Yes, I am still paying $19.99 for Tidal but it is now bundled with Plex Pass.
| Type | Description (Plan) | Status | Amount | Created At | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Created | TIDAL HiFi Bundle | Executed | $0.00 CAD | 2018-11-30 | |
| Recurring | TIDAL HiFi Bundle | Settled | $19.99 CAD | 2018-12-30 | view |
| Recurring | TIDAL HiFi Bundle | Settled | $19.99 CAD | 2019-01-30 | view |
As you can see, that was back in November so I don’t know if it is still being offered.
I use the Tidal apps on my Win10 PC (which plays Master Quality music) and on my android devices which gives me HiFi quality.
I was really hoping that the Roku Plex App would let you play Tidal through it. Unfortunately it doesn’t. My wife would listen to Tidal through the Roku.
Yes, I’m a happy camper!
Thanks for the info. Tidal doesn’t have a Roku app? Do you have an iPhone or iPad? Supposedly Roku devices are getting AirPlay 2 soon. You could AirPlay the Tidal music on the iPhone to your Roku then,
Hi theuser86
Roku is not on their list of apps.
https://tidal.com/ca/download
I was surprised because ‘everything’ is available on a Roku. We’ve got 4 in the house because if it’s not on the Roku, my wife won’t watch it or listen to it.
No Apple stuff in this house:grinning: Strictly PC and Android.
I don’t know if this is still available but if you download the Sennheiser app (headphone manufacturer) you can open a new Tidal account from within the app and get 90 days FREE Tidal Premium. The Sennheiser app isn’t particularly nice to navigate but once the free account is setup then just use the Tidal apps. I did this for the first year opening up new Tidal accounts under different email addresses, but it just got to be too much work transferring over my playlists. see link below for details.
Been there, done that 