March 31, 2011

TiVo launch now April 11th - £149 plus £40 activation plus £3 a month for existing customers

Just received this from Virgin Media. It's addressed "Dear Dean" but I think it was for me...
Now here’s something you don’t see everyday. You’ve got the chance to be one of the first to order our amazing 1TB TiVo® box before everyone else because you’re a Virgin Media customer and you pre-registered your interest in our TiVo service.

During the week beginning 11th April, we’ll be opening an exclusive pre-sale event just for you, so you can order Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo. We’ll email you the details on the day and you can be one of the first to get your hands on our latest kit before it goes on general sale.
Here’s the deal:
1TB TiVo box £149.95 one-off activation fee exclusively for existing customers (everyone else pays £199.95) £3 additional monthly fee with TV XL
Our exclusive pre-sale event for the 1TB box is only available to you. Think of it as a little ‘thank you’ from us for being a Virgin Media customer and for being one of the very first to register your interest in our TiVo service.
We’ll email you again during the week of 11th April to tell you more. If you’d like to take another look at what our TiVo service can do, head over to our Discover TiVo site for all the details.
We’ll email you again during the week of 11th April to tell you more. If you’d like to take another look at what our TiVo service can do, head over to our Discover TiVo site for all the details.
Keep your eyes peeled on your inbox

The Virgin Media team

General: £40 installation fee applies. TiVo box remains property of Virgin Media. New 12-month minimum term contract applies. 1TB TiVo box: you must take, or upgrade to, TV XL to be eligible. If you cease to be an XL TV customer, we reserve the right to charge you the then applicable monthly TiVo charge (currently £8 for TV L or M+). TiVo is not available on TV M. Information about your TiVo use: By having the TiVo service and/or by using it you are providing your consent for us to use your viewing information to personalise your experience of the TiVo service (in addition to the other purposes set out in our privacy policy). We may share with third parties information about your use of the TiVo service in an aggregated form which will not personally identify you. This aggregated data may be used by those third parties for their marketing purposes (e.g. to improve their targeting of advertising based on user preferences).

47 comments:

Julius said...

I got the same email. Dean must be a popular name (although note mine)

Carryonvending said...

About F***ing time too.

Its been like the sexiest woman in the World doing a striptease with hundreds on layers of clothes - Then just when you thought you would get a flash of her charms, the New Seasons Clothes designs were added to her frame to start over again.

mattbuk said...

haha I got dear dean too.

Saj said...

I have got the same email too. Dean will be more famous than Richard Branson in few days :-)

Saj said...

Also, I have received this on my email address which I have not registered intrest on!!
Virgin? What are you up to?

Buzby said...

Shame they're tryiung to engender interest by misleading. Nobody yet has ever paid the higher price (because it hasn't been available) it MAY an intention, but has no basis in fact. Also, us early registrants got it for this price, so saying that 'only you' get it for this price is nonsensical.

Dazz285 said...

I like Dean, shame it's not mine either... ;-)

AvitChris said...

Ha £150 activation + £40 setup......

Lee68 said...

Glad I'm not Dean, he's not getting a good deal is he! Hope mines better :)

Anonymous said...

Doesn't seem to be a special launch offer. Just a £50 discount for existing customers.
I think I will wait a little while:
a) for a few more kinks to be knocked out
b) 'till hopefully they have a 250GB/5000GB box.
Then I will negotiate a deal for 1x1TB and 2x250GB(or 500GB) for our other boxes.
I would hope at least to save on multiple installation fees and maybe a bit more :)

Unknown said...

I thought triple XL people were getting it without the £149 fee AND with the £3 waived for 12 months?
What happened to that? I was going to upgrade my phone line to XL and downgrade my broadband to XL (cost saving) just for that.
I am also Dean... apparently...

Unknown said...

Bit cheeky, I got mine for £149 no install fee had it a month now.

Bad luck Dean's

nick said...

Up-front fees near on £200, no thanks.

Unknown said...

Just spoken to Virgin and queried why I was not given the chance to enter the competition to win TiVo free for a year as apparently I'm a 'Much Valued Customer' on a VIP package. Felt very let down as the Staff Member could only apologise and suggest the £149 + £40 offer was some sort of reward. I am now going to consider just keeping the Broadband and moving everything else to SKY. Great marketing campaign, Virgin!

David said...

@nick much better than paying £250 for a sky hd 1tb box thats no where near as good as tivo

spudgun055 said...

I have had Tivo for a month (only paid £149 (no install fee) and I can tell you its well worth it. There is no other more powerful box out there that even comes close to doing what tivo does. Sky HD is not a patch. It Is well worth the money trust me. I was not going for it but they called me and I thought what the hell. Best thing I ever did (had sky for last 17 years glad to see the back of them)

Jaunty said...

No email for me yet

Ken said...

Another Dean here. Do you reckon we can phone them up on the 11th and order? Looking at the comments here, the line might be quite long.

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...

Mike said...

i got this e-mail to, i was 1 of the lucky 1000 who got a remote sent to me on 8 Feb and still waiting for a installation date call from the Tivo team.
Well pi---- off now as been waiting 8 weeks for the call.

Anonymous said...

Mike ring them up and tell them your names dean,That might help lol

spudgun055 said...

As pocket lint said Sky no point in having 50 HD channels and nothing on.

The tivo box learns your viewing patterns and recommends things that may suit you. I have discovered loads of good programs that I did not know existed. thats trouble with loads of channels you never know what's on. Every time you sit down there is wither something on tv or that tivo has recorded and thats not to mention the 4000hrs of on demand and catch up tv that sky do not offer and it has on demand in HD

Anonymous said...

Just got an email saying sorry we know you are not Dean :-)

ca9phoenix said...

Just had another email, apologising for calling me Dean and correcting it. Nice to know someone important noticed!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
alan said...

i think the new tivo is good,but does not account for lack of hd on virgin,look at all the hd on sky,new stuff all the time,no i am fed up with virgin saying,we will get more hd o yeah they been saying that to long and still waiting,roll on sky at least they put there money into more hd,it true they believe in better,not just a new box,its all about what you have to watch,i am going to sky,when my year is up.
alan

lee said...

I ain't payin that much tbh.

Plus, read the small print - there is an additional £40 set up fee too.

Just wait, it will be cheap soon, or, most of us will get a fault at some point then we can bargain with the price ;-)

streaky_7 said...

I'm a little gutted if I'm honest. I had prepared myself for the £149 charge but now they say there is a £40 install charge as well? I know others who have had it, paid the £149 but didn't have to pay the install charge.
I feel as some of us pay over a £100 a month then things like that may have been waived.

I mean, where is the benefits for the VIP20 and VIP50 customers. As it seems this deal offered is available to all existing customers regardless of package.

I want it. I know I have to pay for it. I just don't see why there isn't a loyalty discount for top package customers - surely this would be a way to entice customers on to the top package as well???!!!!!!!!!

RodHull said...

So I pay VM over £100 a month and yet still have to pay nearly £200 for a fancy new box? Just for a fancy new psychic EPG and YouTube? No ta.

Virgin Media: a more expensive place to live.

Saj said...

I have now received same email, with another new name
Did we say Dean? We meant Dawood!
Not me though. Great, not paying £200 for sure. Will wait man

Skirmantas said...

I would pay that for Netflix..but just a new EPG and a bigger HD? Sadly, I do not spend enough time in front of the screen to justify the price. Now if they only pitched this back in autumn when the cold dark evenings were rolling in..

sibod said...

As with Apple product roumers, this Tivo launch has been preceeded by rumour and counter rumour, which have artificially set up expectation from people clamouring to be 'first' to have it.

Lets be clear, Virgin have not previously announced anything but £199 + £40 for the Tivo. It was only on here and other blog sites that various deals were speculated/rumoured etc. Same goes for launch date. Virgin have never announced a date until now for the TiVo to go up for order.

Yet even though Preregistrants get £50 off, that's still not good enough for some!

If you dont want to have it, fine, dont buy it. Sky wont give you anything better - £250 for a 1tb box is a lot worse than £150!

What is more, their EPG is not nearly as good, and youd lose all the on demand, iPlayer, ITV Player, 40d etc. Sky Player? Nope - not even rolled out yet accross all Sky boxes and costs you extra if you dont have a Sky Broadband connection.

Your paying upfront for a lifetime rental, which includes free repairs and free replacements whenever things go wrong. Sky dont do that.

And yes, you get to 'keep' your Sky box even if you cancel Sky, but what use is that? You wont get HD, Recording or on demand at all - it will just be a freesat box. You might get some resale value from it, but not much seeing as Sky give the basic box away for free!

But there's no pleasing some people.

Hornet Productions said...

This is still WAAAAYYY too expensive for what you get. I just have a sneaky feeling that this Tivo launch is going to fall flat on its face. People just cant afford that sort of money in these days.
I will most certainly giving it a wide berth until the price drops dramatically.
Dont be misled by the commenst on here meanimg it will be a popular product - although this blog is great and really useful we are only a small percentage of the VM customer base

Square eyes said...

Again for everyone that is moaning about the cost of the box

Simple - If you don't want it, don't get it

The box is just a bit more than a new looking EPG & suggestive recording.

You have
1TB drive
3D ready
3 tuners (record 3 & watch 1 recorded same time)
FREE HD on standard packages
on-demand service
wish list
discovery bar
enhanced search
set recordings from PC/Laptop or smartphone
internet apps - youtube, twitter, ebay etc ..
LIFE TIME WARRANTY
more to come

£149 & £40 - £189 total

And for those still banging on about Sky

Compare
1TB
2 tuner (record 1 & watch 1)
3D ready
£10 HD subscription
text record from mobile
12 month warranty

£250 + £60 install - £310 total

Yes Sky have more HD channels inc Atlantic
but there are more channels on the way and these will be FREE because they are in the standard channel line up.

Yes Sky have 3D broadcasts, wey hey again not everyones cup of tea. If you have not got a 3D TV the pitfalls are as follows

£700 upwards new TV
£60-£100 3D glasses per pair (how many in your household & what about if you have your friends round to watch the match...oh sorry not enough glasses)

and don’t forget the headache tablets as well because again 3D has been known to cause these as well. 3D does not agree with everyone

VM has delivered on its promises over the last 12months, so Whats you problem???

For those who keep moaning about VM, simple question

WHY STAY?

AJ said...

Aftera promise that I will be contacted in March to give me the chance to order a TIVO, sending me an email on the last day of march that just promises a further email in another couple of weeks is stretching the point somewhat. Still the £50 discount is welcome news.

Louise said...

What I don't get is that people will pay Apple hundreds of pounds for an iPad that can't even show a majority of internet sites as it doesn't support Flash and doesn't do anywhere near most of the stuff a laptop or Android phone can, but everyone will grumble about paying for TiVo that is the best stb on the market and way better than Sky+HD. If you don't want "DON'T BUY IT". Stop moaning about the cost. I have had it over a month now and it's the best £149 I have spent. You soon forget about the money once you get lost in it and marvel at the genius of the thing. Unless Set give me a free lifetime subscription I am never going back to the money grabbing megalamaniac world domination wannabes.

RodHull said...

All this support for TiVo is admirable, but Sky are offering a free HD+ box at the moment...

Square eyes said...

@iggypopbarker

and your point is?

That box is not as good a a V+ box, let alone a TIVO box.

You cannot even mention it in the same breath as TIVO

get real

Carryonvending said...

I rang last night and said..."I don't want to leave you, but I really would like some respect".

The agent agreed. So I asked about the £40 install and was told by the same agent that the staff had to pay the same rates and installation fee. I suppose I should feel grateful Sir Richard ??????
Plus as an existing client I wouldn't be paying the full price... I am now feeling that I should kneel down and kiss Sir Richards 'ring' lol for him being so kind to me.
At present I have the Sky Films HD package so my monthly spend is £76. So..... if TIVO is great and points me at great personalised viewing, why should I keep the films when I only use it 'to find something to watch'.

So axing movies and taking TIVO even with the extra £3 per month will save me £25.50 per month - but will lose VM the profit they made from me with the Sky package.

All in all VM this whole launch (or lack of it) has been a complete PR nightmare.

Andrew Aedy said...

Registered for interest and got the "TV heaven is just weeks away!" Email back in February but have not had my "Dear Dean" Email!?! Does that mean I miss out of getting from April 11th?

halcyondays said...

I have not got an email yet, had all the others though. typical :(

Jaunty said...

Anthony I have not had one either, even though I have had ones confirming I registered interest for Tivo.

Does any one know if emails are still being sent, or do we need to try and contact Virgin to make sure we are not missing out on the £50 discount??

Viola said...

Just a point to note:
"During the week beginning 11th April" does not mean "ON April 11th".

Carryonvending said...

Viola said...

Just a point to note:
"During the week beginning 11th April" does not mean "ON April 11th".

2 April 2011 20:04
-----------------------------------
Or which year!

Jaunty said...

I still have only had an email in February 2011 and none since. I rang and spoke to 3 peoiple at Virgin to check I was preregistered and would not miss out. They said no other emails have been sent out apart from the free draw for 1000 people - clearly not true! Their marketing has been rubbish

Old Dear said...

I'm a little lost here why is no one is asking why we have been asked to pay the £149? What are we paying for? The box is not ours it remains the property of Virgin so it is not that. The installation fee is either free or £40 so it is not that. The service provided is £3 per month so it is not that. So why the charge?
Wy not just charge the £40 installtion fee only.
Am I being stupd here?

streaky_7 said...

Others will have better knowledge on here but in case no one sees this as the original post is getting a little old now, I thought I would offer my view...

Now, although you do not own the box, you do get full service on the box, like all your VM services, completely free. If the box breaks in 2, 3 or 5 years time, VM will fix or replace it for free (assuming you are still with them of course).

So I think of the charge as a one off hire fee which includes all maintenance and replacements where necessary....not to mention all future updates on the machine (hopefully! as its clear the machine has some way to go before it is the perfect product).

SKY charge £x amount for their boxes and yes you do get to class them as yours, but you only get 12months warranty, after which you pay for insurance (or take the risk of costly future issues/replacements). When I was with SKY for 3years my box broke 2 times and my dish once. Insurance cost me something like £90 a year give or take.

Personally I would rather pay VM a one off charge and never have to worry about that box again and get all issues dealt with for free!

But thats just my opinion of course...as I say, others on here will be more qualified to answer your question...

Unknown said...

I have Tivo and I find it still pauses for a couple second's or more on virtually every remote command.

BT box is faster then them all and even remember's the last viewed place of what seem's to be every programme watched and is extremely slick and fast and so beat's Tivo on that score and their On Demand is extrememly good, if not better than Virgin's offering. Just a pity it is only a freeview box with bolstered on-demand content.

As a plus though, it has approximately 80 films for free each month from Picture Box - that Virgin change something like £7 a month for and also have BBC iPlayer.

Tivo is still powered by Virgin and is exactly where quality of service suffer's most. I have always loved their on demand contact, however the glitches with the software and hardware, that seem to have a minor but annoyingly common presence in TiVo does detract any added quality that this service is lauded to have with the Tivo partnership (presumably).

Virgin customer service = horrendous. My stomach goes in knot's and huge feeling of stress before I even have to call them. Can't even get a DD date right.

Customer service with BT is OK, mixed bag, sometimes on par with Virgin. Sky, generally very good but has occasional glitches but considering their picture quality is the bext, not exactly HD as described but considerably better than Virgin and BT's offering, including SD on my 42 inch, but on a 32 inch, probably no issue for most of the population.

Sky's on demand contact is laughable and paultry, even Anytime+ but also TV package is very expensive where all 3 services could probably be received with BT and Virgin where the TV is high in price with Sky but do cheap deal's on broadband and phone but still expensive considering BT box is the best for responsiveness and extrememly well though out.