Weather | TV Guide | Horoscopes | Competitions

Hotmail
Messenger
Mobile

Aussie Tivo users outraged over $200 fee

Send to a friend

Samantha Rose Hunt26 March 2009, 10:18 AM

Users are outraged over the high price of a TiVo upgrade -- that users get free in the USA.

The Australian importer of TiVo, a subsidiary of Channel 7, is facing investigation over a potential breach of fair trading laws by asking Australian users to pay $199 for a software upgrade it promised would only cost "tens of dollars".

When TiVo was launched last year, it left much to be desired for Australians, including the absence of a basic home networking feature that is provided free of charge in the US.

The feature allows users to transfer TV recordings from their TiVo to their PCs and vice versa. The feature also allows Tivos in different rooms to be linked to one another. You can check it out in more detail at TiVo's website.

Customers were promised by Channel 7 that the upgrade would cost them a mere “tens of dollars.” This month, the feature went on sale at the "low cost” of $199, prompting user outrage.

NSW Office of Fair Trading says it will investigate claims of the potential breach of trade practices laws if TiVo users filed a complaint via the website or phone with its office.

TiVo has reduced the upgrade price to $99 for existing owners, barely scraping in to what an ordinary person might expect "tens of dollars" to amount to, but the price of the upgrade will return to $199 after April 1.

The CEO of Hybrid Television Services, Robbee Minicola, claims that a comparison between the US pricing model and the Australian pricing model is ridiculous because the US version is sold on a subscription basis.

Her argument is that the company has to charge a high rate for the upgrade due to the declining value of the Australian dollar when compared to the US dollar, and TiVo royalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the cost of converting the TiVo to work well in the Australian Market.

"At the end of the day, if our business doesn't work, nobody gets a TiVo," Minicola told Sydney Morning Herald.

Comments

RSS feed

Email alert

Halcon (Advanced member):

rubbish!
This kind of crap called Tivo is nothing more than a rip-off, if you want to record TV programs then buy a DVD and Hard Disk combination Video recorder, it will probably cost a little more than the Tivo unit, but it is a better buy than the insignificant product talked here.
Only the lazy people and those with extra cash will fancy the extravaganza of buying such nonsense!

26 March 2009, 10:32 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (User):

Quoting Halcon:
Only the lazy people

Ok there seems to be plenty of people here who obviously haven't used one.TIVO is the best thing to ever grace our shores as far as tv is concerned,and for people like me and my wife who are hardly ever home to watch our favorite shows.It record's everything we want with no fuss at all,way easier than my dvd recorder or tv card in my computer,(I don't like to leave it on when im not there as its a a highly strung beast).It is certainly NOT a rip-off and is WAY better than the dvd recorder for programming.Halcon,GET A CLUE !!(PS,And im far from lazy.)

26 March 2009, 8:32 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Halcon (Advanced member):

Are you annoyed with my comment about Tivo?
Well I don't care what do you think about it.
Just I know this stupid gizmo does absolutely nothing!
I would not even want one in home. Most of the series are released on DVD later, so what's the point in buying that Tivo anyway.
I can't justify why on earth this product should be still on sale.
So is pointless to keep arguing on this matter.

26 March 2009, 10:02 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (User):

Is there a reason for you hating it that much ?

27 March 2009, 10:58 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

The Big Baboo (User):

Onya "Halcon" I agree 200%. I had a look at one of those units and the salesman was flabbergasted when I said I'd rather tape programs with my video recorder or dvd and couldn't really see the sense in one of these boxes. I still haven't got a set-top box yet so I'm not sure what I'll do when analogue tv finally shuts down. Watch dvd's mainly I suppose.

26 March 2009, 10:57 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

TV Bis (User):

Quoting The Big Baboo:
I still haven't got a set-top box yet so I'm not sure what I'll do when analogue tv finally shuts down. Watch dvd's mainly I suppose.

Ahh easy, get a set-top box!

26 March 2009, 11:19 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

The Big Baboo (User):

Quoting TV Bis:
Ahh easy, get a set-top box!

This is probably the easiest solution :) However now we have basically 5 stations of crap plus SBS. When digital tv comes in we'll have 15 stations of crap plus SBS. I rest my case :)

26 March 2009, 11:24 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting The Big Baboo:
5 stations of crap plus SBS

Better do a quick recount on that 5 plus. :>

Quoting The Big Baboo:
When digital tv comes in

I think you'll find that it's already here.

Ten launches its sports only channel today.
ABC2 has offered alternate programming and some time shift.
SBS offers a choice of language at almost any time of day.
Seven offers some alternate programming so you can watch the same sequence of adds interspersed with an alternate program
And Nine well nine is still busy downsizing but does offer you the same program with a clearer picture.

Yes its mostly crud, but digital crud is much clearer than analogue crud, and a good HD set top box can be had for well under a $100.

26 March 2009, 11:32 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Tin (Senior Forumologist):

Pity NBN still haven't got off their arse in northern NSW... Would be nice to ditch the analog receivers altogether.

26 March 2009, 11:43 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (User):

Quoting Raindog:
Yes its mostly crud

Wrong

26 March 2009, 8:40 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting NetR@nger:
Wrong

Well that's it for gain-saying. Care to share the wisdom that lead you to such a decision?

What is this content that just has to be Tivo'd?

Treasured recordings of old episodes of "Big Brother"?
Topical consumer tips from "Today Tonight" or "A Current Affair"?
Arriving Home safe in the knowledge that you've captured every second of "It's a Knockout"?
A mind numbing few hundred hours of televised golf?
Finding out who set fire to the surf club this season from summer bay?
hearing first hand accounts of how hard it is to stay off the pies from some knob on "Biggest Loser"?
The latest episode of "Inspector Rex" the crime fighting canine?
Antiques roadshow?
Old has-beens behaving badly on one of the "Footy Shows"?
Or maybe one of the many variants of "CSI" where 10 year old spit can be positively identified from a hotel banister using a special DNA torch?
Perhaps watching NZ coppers pursue a spidding slicker on "Motorway Patrol"?

Yes that lot is all scheduled as prime time by TV network Gurus, imagine the rubbish that is shown after hours.
I rest my case and submit that the assessment of mostly crud is accurate.

26 March 2009, 9:08 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (User):

Yes im sorry,i misread your post,the tv is most definitely crud

27 March 2009, 10:55 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Aubrey (Advanced member):

Quoting Raindog:
The latest episode of "Inspector Rex" the crime fighting canine?

Now you have definitely gone too far, Raindog. Dissing The Dog is beyond the pale. Do you have any evidence at all that Inspector Rex is in any way as bad as the other crud you mention - or is this just another example of your unnecessary and childish famebaiting? Are you against all German Shepherds or just intelligent and charismatic ones?

Where are the mods when you really need them?

27 March 2009, 11:20 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting Aubrey:
Now you have definitely gone too far

sadly not far enough, there must be hundreds more pieces of TV dirge that didn't even come to mind.

Quoting Aubrey:
Do you have any evidence at all that Inspector Rex is in any way as bad as the other crud

It's on SBS? What more evidence is required. :> It's just Lassie with subtitles.

Quoting Aubrey:
or is this just another example of your unnecessary and childish famebaiting?

As your well aware famebaiting is more necessary than it has ever been.

Quoting Aubrey:
Are you against all German Shepherds or just intelligent and charismatic ones?

Every dog has to know it's place, even big dogs. And I have no issue at all with any dog as long as its over 30cm tall.

Quoting Aubrey:
Where are the mods when you really need them?

They are there! Watching your every keystroke. Be afraid, be very afraid. :>

27 March 2009, 6:15 PM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

The Big Baboo (User):

Quoting Raindog:
.Quoting Aubrey: Are you against all German Shepherds or just intelligent and charismatic ones?Every dog has to know it's place, even big dogs. And I have no issue at all with any dog as long as its over 30cm tall.

Actually I loved the episodes when they were in Italy :) To hear old Rex barking in Italian sent me into a frenzy :)

30 March 2009, 8:36 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

The Big Baboo (User):

Quoting Raindog:
Quoting The Big Baboo: When digital tv comes inI think you'll find that it's already here. Ten launches its sports only channel today. ABC2 has offered alternate programming and some time shift. SBS offers a choice of language at almost any time of day.Seven offers some alternate programming so you can watch the same sequence of adds interspersed with an alternate programAnd Nine well nine is still busy downsizing but does offer you the same program with a clearer picture.Yes its mostly crud, but digital crud is much clearer than analogue crud, and a good HD set top box can be had for well under a $100.
Yea but "Raindog" It doesn't matter which channel shows what :( Nowadays it's all basically crud and to think I have to spend $3-4000.00 for a new digital tv or even a few hundred just to watch the same old recycled soapies really burns me up. Sheeeeeeeeesh even Foxtel has lost the plot with 80% of it's programming.

30 March 2009, 8:42 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting The Big Baboo:
Yea but "Raindog" It doesn't matter which channel shows what :( Nowadays it's all basically crud

yes but as I said before digital crud has much crisper picture than analogue crud, even on your old Rank Arena.

Quoting The Big Baboo:
to think I have to spend $3-4000.00 for a new digital tv

Why? When you can have many excellent digital TV's for well under $1K. Hell some are even offering models at a Rudd Dollar run out. (Yeah, yeah you've told us you excluded yourself from the national "use their inheritance spend-a-thon".)

Quoting The Big Baboo:
or even a few hundred just to watch the same old recycled soapies really burns me up.

Why a few hundred? You're not proving to be a canny shopper, are you?
Under $100 for a good quality HD set-top box.

Quoting The Big Baboo:
even Foxtel has lost the plot with 80% of it's programming.

Now let me get this right, you say its all crud, and yet you have a contract with Rupert to pipe more crud in for a monthly charge?

Some people just like to complain.

30 March 2009, 9:04 AM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

The Big Baboo (User):

Quoting Raindog:
Quoting The Big Baboo: or even a few hundred just to watch the same old recycled soapies really burns me up.Why a few hundred? You're not proving to be a canny shopper, are you?Under $100 for a good quality HD set-top box.Quoting The Big Baboo: even Foxtel has lost the plot with 80% of it's programming. Now let me get this right, you say its all crud, and yet you have a contract with Rupert to pipe more crud in for a monthly charge?Some people just like to complain.

I know how much set-top boxes cost "Raindog" and I'm also pretty well clued up on the current prices of HD-TV's. What I object to is our beloved Govt. pouring all this crap down our throats and then expecting us to pay extra to watch the rubbish they put on TV now-a-days. "Digital Crap Is Still Crap No Matter How Good It Looks."
And as for the Foxtel people they know enough by now not to come knocking on my door again coz they know what they'll get and it's not a subscription.

11 April 2009, 2:33 PM (11 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

NetR@nger (User):

Quoting The Big Baboo:
I agree 200%

What can i say,i guess some people like to live in the stone age.

26 March 2009, 8:43 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

todd_h86 (Cornerstone member):

I just recently bought a dvd recorder, hdd recorder, digital settop box in one, and it was cheaper than tivo... so what it doesnt make popping noises when you fast forward or rewind but it lets me record anything i want and then burn it to dvd if i please (which tivo doesn't) all while giving me access to digital tv. I can also play video files in divx format from a flash drive if I feel like it, no it doesnt have network access, but I get around that via the dvd/usb connections. Tivi is a waste of money even more so now!

26 March 2009, 11:16 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Tin (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting todd_h86:
so what it doesnt make popping noises when you fast forward or rewind

Just watch out... Some of the cheap ones make popping and squeeling noises when the power supplies start to eat their own capacitors.

26 March 2009, 11:35 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Raindog (Senior Forumologist):

Quoting Tin:
Some of the cheap ones make popping and squealing noises when the power supplies start to eat their own capacitors.

Not to mention all those E-bay SD boxes that can near launch a speaker cone on every signal glitch.
Of course any users is free to make their own clicks squeaks and pops as they press their remote buttons if they really hanker for a full Tivo experience.

26 March 2009, 11:43 AM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Pauly (User):

Is anyone actually going to make a comment regarding the article or is this just a bitch session for lonely housewives?

26 March 2009, 3:21 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

agami (User):

All I need is a decent (uncensored) internet connection. The networks can rot in a ditch for all I care. If they had spent on new revenue models the effort they expended in protecting outmoded revenue streams, then this whole Tivo thing would never have occurred. Tivo in Australia is pointless, it's just another PVR/DVR.

Also, I have no sympathy for the people who have gone an purchased one. You all live in the information age participating in a consumer economy. Buyer beware. You'll never hear me bitch about an item I purchased out of my own free will (if there is such a thing).

Unless these people have it in writing on the Terms and Conditions (if there even were any) that the software upgrade will be a certain amount then all they can do is suck it up. Pay the $99.00 before 1st April or sell the thing on ebay.

26 March 2009, 5:27 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend

Halcon (Advanced member):

In my place there is a High Definition LCD TV, Sony XBR 52" model, My relatives watch news, TV programs and some movies on Digital TV.
When there is nothing new to watch we simply load a DVD disc and watch movies at home.
These days, movies start from around $5 each, if you have luck you can find real bargains about $2 or more in selected retailers outlets.
Blu-ray movies cost more than DVDs in price, the only reason I buy them is because my Mother want more flexibility with audio languages.
A good example of DVD and Hard Disk recorder is the LG bramd, this one has a connector for USB flash drive, that can be used to watch content in DivX format, for more details go to: http://www.lge.com.au/
For Blu-ray content I use the Sony BDSP-S350, this unit is not too bad for watching DVDs and Blu-ray movies, is also region free DVD player as well.
LCD TV has a better appeal now, is just a matter to look which brand you like more, just look at one that has built-in Digital tuner, after this you will not look back at those ugly and heavy CRT Television sets that have standard definition, see the bright side!

26 March 2009, 5:39 PM (12 months ago)report abuse Send to a friend