The Secret TiVo Roamio Pro $100 Price Drop (YMMV)

tivo-roamio-pro

Outside of Apple, it’s inevitable that a vendor’s product pricing drops over time. So it comes as no surprise that TiVo is offering a $100 discount on Roamio Pro hardware to folks that call in looking for a deal, lowering TiVo’s top-end unit with 3TB of storage, 6 tuners, and streaming capabilities from $600 to $500. It’s also appears non-subscribers may be offered discounted Lifetime service pricing typically reserved for existing customers – $400 versus $500. It may not be quite as good a deal as I received and still seems somewhat pricey, but a hundred bucks is a far more logical delineation between the 1TB Plus and 3TB Pro model — with the only difference being storage space. And it may be the best we’re going to get in 2013. Having said that, CEO Tom Rogers has indicated they intend to target Premiere owners for upgrades… and I could imagine some sort of Lifetime Service transfer dealio in the works as well.

23 thoughts on “The Secret TiVo Roamio Pro $100 Price Drop (YMMV)”

  1. I would buy a Roamio Pro in 2 seconds if they let me transfer my lifetime service… I’ve got 4 lifetime boxes (including a dead Series 2). Would be nice if I could transfer that one! ;)

  2. I’d gladly pay the same lifetime fee of $199 that I paid on my 2004 Series 2 to move the lifetime to a new Romio Plus or Pro.

  3. I would upgrade if they’d transfer my annual sub. I’ve had my premiere since launch and was grandfathered with my annual sub. Unfortunately, I renewed a week before the Roamios were announced. I called to see if a transfer was possible but they said no (although said to check back around Thanksgiving time.)

  4. I do agree and wish they would offer a trade in program. I have two Premiere XLs and would happily trade them for one Roamio Pro. I just don’t feel like dealing with ebay and craigslist.

    It is nice to see they are offering some deals. Maybe we will see some nice holiday bundles.

  5. Hmm, wonder what that deal would be. Any word on shipping charges? We were thinking about going to Best Buy tonight to get a 1TB unit.

  6. I also wonder what the lifetime transfer deal would be. Both my parents and I have 2 series 2 and 1 TivoHD that I would throw in to transfer lifetime to a new box :) (thought one of mine is dead and long since recycled). Wonder if you could buy today, go on monthly for a month or 2 then get the lifetime “deal” if such thing becomes real.

  7. Bummer. I got my 2TB upgraded plus from Weaknees for $475. Would’ve happily paid the extra $25 for a 3TB Pro.

    Fwiw I did get lifetime service for $400 with the usual code.

  8. Michael, I believe one of the two people confirmed to have taken part in this promo said shipping was free (but tax was added). I imagine a Lifetime transfer deal, if one ever came to pass, would require a couple hundred bucks to make the move (as they’ve done a few times in the past). Also, they’ve historically allowed those older units to retain Lifetime for $100. (But with FiOS CableCARD fees going up, I’m happy to flip my XL4.)

  9. I just got off the phone with Tivo sales support. They told me the following:

    $25 off of base Roamio
    $50 off 1TB Roamio
    $100 off 3TB Roamio

    Sale goes through Jan 31.

    No discount on lifetime service but they will transfer a lower priced monthly service plan if you have one on an older box at the same rate.

    It appears to be phone only (at least for now)

  10. I have a singe-tuner series 2 that I probably should retire. I never got lifetime on it, and if there was ever a chance to upgrade to a Roamio Pro with lifetime, I’d take it. I’ve put more money into that DVR than I care to think. But TiVo would need to make an offer based on being a long-time customer.

  11. I don’t get it, just called and spoke with a rep. He never heard of the deal. Explained the boxes have only been out a month and it didn’t sound right that they would be discounted this early.

  12. I have 2 lifetime subscriptions: One on a Series 3 with the other one on a basic Premiere. Even with the discounts above, I’m still looking at $750 or more to buy a Roamio Plus or Pro w/ Lifetime. Kinda’ hefty when my current Premiere works well as a DVR and I have the Roku and Apple TV for streaming duties. I really hope they do something for current Premiere owners.

  13. Well I wish they would have done it back in August when I ordered my Roamio Pro. I already sold my Lifetime two tuner Premieres and my two lifetime Elites.

  14. I don’t understand the need to get tivo to transfer a lifetime subscription to a Roamio. Can’t you just sell the life time tivo and apply to proceeds to the cost of a Roamio?

  15. I’d prefer a free Roamio with lifetime service at $89, personally.

    But I’m willing to make severe allowances in my preferred cost structure, if they’d just make a S5 Programmable Glo for additional cost…

  16. To give a perspective on the price of the Roamio models here’s a comparison versus the original Premiere models:

    $299 Premiere 2-tuner, 320GB vs $199 Roamio 4-tuner, 500 GB
    $499 Premiere 2-tuner, 1TB vs $399 Roamio+ 6 tuner, 1 TB
    $499 Premiere 2-tuner, 1TB vs $599 Roamio Pro 6-tuner, 3 TB

    *Roamio models have WiFi built-in.
    *The Plus and Pro models have built-in streaming support.

  17. How much does that really inform given a 4 year product lifecycle? Both features and pricing will have to be aggressive to recoup the large number of customer defections during the Premiere’s rein. I assume they’re off to a good start… but wondering what happens after the holidays once us early adopters and fans are spoken for. (My Series 3 retailed for $800 in 2006… OLED! Original Glo! No TiVoToGo or MRV!)

  18. My point is “expensive” is all in one’s head. Clearly for those who bought a Premiere a Roamio by comparison is a bargain. As for aggressive pricing I think Roamio is (ok, clearly the Pro’s high margin is aimed at the high end customer). Especially as it was just released!

    Cutting TiVo’s margins early in the product lifcycle when costs are highest might not be the best thing. Tivo has to start showing earnings in addition to customer gains.

    Tivo has completely turned the itself around this past year more than anyone could have imagined. From all new hardware offerings including a well thought out Tivo Mini, to multiple all new software product releases, first steps with cloud storage to global partnerships with Virgin Media.

    There is not a cable provider out there isn’t going to be at least interested in what the modern HTML5 based Roamio platform offers. It’s just a matter of time before the apps start coming. And when paired with the Tivo mini it a very compelling offering.

    Not compare that to the Tivo of a year or two ago and you can see just how far they’ve come in a short time.

    Even Cramer is impressed with Tivo of late and feels it deserves more respect.

  19. Agreed… However, the challenge remains educating consumers that they can get a cable box from someone other than their cable company and that comparing pricing to a Roku or Apple TV is somewhat out of line. Related, TiVo just launched a new microsite for cord cutters – sadly, no discounted month fee as they once tested (and thought they might bring back at some point):

    http://www.tivo.com/discover/antenna

  20. I had two Panasonic hard drive DVR. I got the first one in 2006. Fully programmable off the tv guide and shows could be copied from hard drive to dvd and vice versa.
    I never considered Tivo because of the monthly charge and a lifetime subscription didn’t make sense because of obsolescence and the possibility of failure.

    When Comcast went fully digital it made my dvrs practically unusable. I replaced my Comcast DVR with an xl4 to maintain the 4 tuner capacity. The monthly cost for a second dvr (I have a Comcast in another room) is more than what Tivo charges.
    I just ordered a Roamio Pro and will swap out the other Comcast with the XL4.
    The $100 discount was enough to make me buy the Roamio. I was surprised that the mid level Roamio only had half the capacity of my xl4.

    I would have been happy staying analog and not having to pay any monthly DVR recording charges.

  21. I just spoke to someone in TiVo sales who indicated the $100.00 discount was for existing customers only. I have never owned a TiVo so I am not eligible.

  22. I have three Tivo’s. HD, Premier HD and the old analog with the DVD burner. I’d upgrade the HD and the DVD Tivo to Roamio if they’d offer to let me transfer the lifetime from each to new machines.

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