At WeaKnees, we really recommend the lifetime service option (PLS, or Product Lifetime Service) for your TiVo DVR. At $399 for your first unit (and less for additional units – see below) this pays for itself in 31 months versus the monthly plan option at $12.95.

TiVo Service Plans

Compared to the Annual service plan, the Product Lifetime plan pays for itself in just over three years. You just have to come up with the $399 up front. But if you’re considering Lifetime, make sure you don’t pay for any monthly service first; that money would just be wasted.

Another benefit of Lifetime Service is that, since it’s tied to that box, it’s transferable. So if you decide, down the road, to upgrade to a newer TiVo, you can sell the old one with the lifetime attached. In many cases, that’s what makes the upgrade to a new box financially viable.

Next, for existing customers with TiVo DVRs, or for customers activating more than one DVR, the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth DVR on one account qualify for discounted service – called MSD or Multi Service Discount.

So instead of the pricing as above, these second-through-sixth TiVo DVRs (on the same account, at the same address) qualify for $100 off Product Lifetime Service and other discounted options:

TiVo Multi-Service Discount (MSD)

We make the same argument here that lifetime service is worthwhile, for the same reasons. Again, the lifetime option pays for itself in about 30 months, versus the monthly option.

So how do you activate your new TiVo DVR? Click over to TiVo! and choose the “Activate a TiVo box” link on the very bottom left of the homepage.

TiVo is calling this one “THE ONE BOX TO RULE THEM ALL.”

The big pitch is that the Premiere “elegantly combines access to cable programming, movies, web videos, and music all in one box.”

TiVo’s goal with the Premiere is to integrate content from cable and the Internet into one user-friendly device. A brand-new HD interface (based on Adobe® Flash) will make it easier and prettier to find shows and content.

TiVo’s massive press release contains a load of features of the new interface. For example, with a mandated broadband connection (no phone modem allowed, at least not until a modem adapter is released), you can find programs from YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video On Demand, or Blockbuster On Demand, plus options from the Web.

Not sure if TiVo paid KB for this one, but they boast of “Six-Degrees of Separation” using the new interface. According to TiVo, Premiere will settle debates over “where have I seen that actor before?” If you have a favorite actor, for example, you can view entire entertainment resumes and cast lists. And so on.

We haven’t yet tried it yet, but TiVo has incorporated a “30-second scan” feature, which let’s you blitz through 30-seconds in a second or two. We’ll wait to see whether the “real” 30-second skip can continues, but we’ve heard hints that it will still be there.

FINALLY, the Premiere will include an on-screen disk space meter that shows how much room is left to record and the ability to watch TV from within the Guide.

Ok, so what about capacity? What about upgrades? We fully intend to offer upgraded units once they are stable. Until then, The TiVo Premiere box has up to 45 hours of HD storage space or up to 400 hours of standard definition programming capacity. The TiVo Premiere XL box holds up to 150 hours of high-definition or up to 1350 hours of standard definition programming.

3D Glasses?! If you  look carefully, you’ll see product shots that show glasses in the XL box. Sorry, not 3D. They are “THX Optimizer Blue Glasses” (aka cheap calibration mod or Halloween costume, take your pick), that are “designed for adjusting Color and Tint settings.”

More Accessories as well: TiVo is releasing a new (more-expensive) wireless N adapter in May. Later this year, TiVo will release a QWERTY remote using Bluetooth. Also, we expect to see a phone adapter for those unable to connect to a broadband network.

For the latest and greatest info, keep reading the blog, and to pre-order a TiVo Premiere, visit our website.

Beyond Disgusting

The video (and we do have one) is probably worth 10,000. The “mat” here flaps in the breeze. It’s really something.

When customers get a new hard drive from us (we’ve got them for every model TiVo) and they install it and set it up, they find that it’s recording a lot of shows that they haven’t requested. And, shows they don’t want.

This is happening because TiVo Suggestions is on by default – and the new drive is using the default settings. And why are they shows you don’t want? Your thumbs-up and thumbs-down history was on your old drive. So the new drive has very little info to offer to the Suggestion engine.

OK – here’s how to turn it off. Go to:

Settings -> Recording -> TiVo Suggestions

and choose No!

That should do the trick. Now you can just delete the accumulated shows. If you have folders on, you should see them all in a folder marked “TiVo Suggestions”.

TiVo does have them in stock if you want a refurbished unit.

If you want a new one, we have them – all shapes and sizes. See our complete line of TiVo HDs.

Seriously: does anyone use the white pages anymore? Or even the yellow pages?

I guess this is why we have big recycling bins here in Los Angeles.

Hopefully we’ll have something more interesting to report from CES . . .

You’ll need overnight shipping to make it happen, and please get your order in with time to spare for us to build it (if necessary) and pack it properly. If in doubt – call! 888 932-5633.

All TiVos, upgraded and stock, and all DirecTV DVRs are in stock and can be shipped out today!

Man, do we wish we had a good answer.

Both DirecTV and TiVo have generally only gotten as specific as “2010.” And that’s all we’ve been able to repeat to everyone.

But, recently, DirecTV has posted a couple of tweets that narrow down the 12 month window to, maybe, a four month window. They’ve used the terms “early next year” and “first part of 2010″ in their posts.

Yes, this is important breaking news, and it’s definitive.

Now, if only we had some clue as to features, pricing, looks, availability, etc. . .

TiVo answers! See the Q3 press release:

“‘One small example of [recent research and development initiatives] is a new keyboard remote control that we are developing, which will build on the ease of the original TiVo remote control and will enable users to get even more out of the broadband experience that TiVo delivers.’”

Yippee!