TiVo goes with subscription model, what about Series 3?

Yesterday's TiVo conference call shared some interesting details but kept others in hiding. Lifetime service goes away as an option and TiVo is going with a subscription-based model on the Series 2 boxes. Depending on your commitment of one, two or three years, your monthly TiVo service and the hardware will set you back $19.95, $18.95, or $16.95 a month so you can TiVo to your hearts content. What's that? Don't want a monthly fee? No prob, but that will cost you $224, $369 or $469 for the box and service, again based on the length of your subscription.

Series 3 pricing is still unknown, but we should see the new HDTV boxes after mid-year. Our take is that we're really looking at the fourth quarter, but that's pure speculation.

[hmurchison Posted Mar 9th 2006 1:10PM]

Running a DVR is getting too expensive. On top of an already expensive monthly HD Cable package you now have to toss in another monthly fee that will never end to use TIVO DVR?

I'm thinking that it's probably better to jettison premium cable and DVRs and go to Netflix for movies and enough cable to get sports. If you don't watch enough movies to justify the $70-100 a month the Premium Cable and Tivo DVR will cost.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 9th 2006 2:08PM]

I cannot see spending $20 for TIVO program guide service. I can rent my TWC SA8300HD DVR and digital access for $10/month.