Well, today is the 14th of February (yes, yes, Happy Valentine’s Day). The word was that lifetime service for new TiVo DVRs for existing TiVo customers would no longer be available after the 13th of February. But it’s still on their site for now – see this screenshot, just taken:

View image

We haven’t had any word from TiVo as to whether this will continue or if they just haven’t changed their site, but for now, if you want lifetime on a new unit from us, and you have an existing TiVo.com account, then you can place your order and ask for your TSN (TiVo Service Number) right away so that you can catch this deal.

Phone or web orders are fine – just be sure to ask for the TSN so that you subscribe right away!

We can confirm that AppleTV upgrades we perform work just fine with the new 2.0 software. The updates download and install exactly as they should, so if you have a WeaKnees-upgraded unit, go ahead and download 2.0, and if you’ve been waiting to be sure that our upgrades are compatible, well, you can order.

If you have a unit, you do need to initiate the software download to get the new software (whether or not the hard drive has ever been changed). This only takes a few minutes, and you get a progress indicator.

Finally, now I can crash on my couch and watch Silver Spoons – with no commercials!

We have finally gotten our hands on the DIRECTV SWM multiswitch. These switches effectively allow you to split a single line from your DIRECTV dish into two, just as you would a line from the cable company. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you have an old house and don’t want to run additional wires down from the dish, this multiswitch solves the problem.

The switch works with the new 5LNB dish, and requires all 4 lines from the dish to run into the SWM. This means that the SWM would have to be installed at the dish or anywhere else in your house where the 4 lines meet.

Once you have the four lines in, you need a special power device (a “power inverter”). From there, you will run a single wire from the output of the SWM, which can split and power multiple receivers, with a single wire feeding TWO tuners!

The SWM will ONLY do it’s magic with DIRECTV’s newest HD equipment–the HR20, HR21, H20 and H21. If you have older “legacy” receivers (including DIRECTV TiVo receivers), the SWM has outputs (legacy ports) for those receivers, but you have to run two dedicated lines out from the legacy ports to those receivers.

We currently carry the SWM8 multiswitch, which can power up to 8 tuners.

Right now, current TiVo customers can add a unit to their TiVo.com account, and activate that new DVR with lifetime service for $399. These current customers have to have a TiVo.com account in good standing, with a TiVo DVR that has dialed in within the last six months.

As far as we know, this lifetime offer is ending on 2/3. So if you want a new Series3 TiVo, a TiVoHD, a Humax DVD TiVo, or a Dual Tuner TiVo, and you want lifetime service, order fast!

If you order from us up to and including the 3rd, we can email you your TSN (TiVo serial number) so that you can go to TiVo.com and subscribe right away, and get lifetime service.

Now, it’s certainly possible that TiVo will extend this offer, but if you want to be on the safe side, order before the deadline!