Instruction: Answer the given question using the supporting document.

Input:
Question: If I buy the unit why do I need to pay TIVO a subscription fee?
Document: I originally thought I'd pay $5.00 monthly for a cable card and use the $250 credit from Verizon FiOS to cover the bulk of the TiVo equipment purchase. As soon as i pressed the &#34;guide' button on the remote to schedule DVR recording: I discovered the hard way that I needed to pay a TiVo  subscription fee of $14.99 each month. For the same monthly fee renting Verizon's Set-Top unit I'd equipment replacement.
What a waste.Still expensive for something that requires a monthly subscription (and I've had more than one unit die out of warranty to scare me away from the lifetime fee).
No upgrade for lifetime subscriptions. I have 2 Series 3 TiVos with lifetime service. In the past, they sometimes allowed you to transfer your subscription to a new model for a fee. They won't now. Lifetime service is $500. If you have other TiVos they will deduct $100. But I don't need 3 TiVos, especially with current options for multi room or remote viewing.Reason #3. And the biggie.
Comcast will give you the first CableCard for free and charge a minimal fee for additional ones. Since I have two TiVo Mini's and one Roamio Pro, I only need one.At $525 with a $499 lifetime subscription, the cost ratio is in favor of the Pro. I know you can upgrade the HD, but didn't want to go through all the trouble.Also, make sure you have a Wired or MoCA connection.
TIVO had a special in January that would allow you to transfer your lifetime subscription to the new unit, but they no longer honor that and seriously don't care about customer loyalty whatsoever! I have been with them for over 13 years and have about 6 different units, but it means nothing to them. My one unit that had lifetime died about a year into it!
Yikes.To be determined is -- was it a wise decision to buy a life time service contract that is unit specific for a unit that has a one year warranty = stay tuned. Gotta hope I get at least 3 years out of my unit. No doubt why they push the extended warranty.
I owned the prior generation Tivo before this one and had no major issues like this. Otherwise, while I'm at it, I'll share a few other experiences.Tivo's ipad/iphone aps are great and a compelling reason to stick with the new Roamio's. It is not as clear that I can do this with other devices. HTPC's are PC-centric. Xfinity X1 may, but I don't want to have to sign up for their "triple play." I don't need to pay for another home phone.
After thoroughly researching every single DVR available on the market, the decision to buy this incredible, intuitive, revolutionary Tivo was an easy one. I replace my direct tv units in my one home with Comcast and this incredible new Roamio device, and I upgraded the primary tivo that I use in my downtown apartment with this unit as well.
Wow! I'm posting a review of a TiVo with less than 5 stars. I never thought that would happen, and for what appears to be their latest and greatest box.Since others have reported on why this unit is so good, I will tell you why it is not.Reason #1. The latest models have different tuners. If you want a TiVo that can be used with an OTA antenna, and avoid high cost cable service, you must buy the low end model.
The huge upfront cost almost drove me away. The price of the Roamio and the lifetime subscription is too much in my opinion. But if you do the math you'll see that in 3 to 4 years that pays for itself and you can still sell the device to help buy a new one. Being able to record 6 shows at once is great and streaming to iOS is almost perfect and I'm sure it will get there. The Roamio is also quieter and cooler than my previous fios dvr and that's good.
Answer: First off, I don't work for Tivo, I'm just a happy customer. Second, I had the same problem with the Tivo at first and it kept me away from them for YEARS. Why buy the hardware and then pay? Well, there are a few things to consider and after having Tivo for several months now, I HAPPILY pay that fee.1) Program Guide - This seems like a simple thing, but Tivo does so much more with the program guide, finding shows, recording options, etc. All quite remarkable with Tivo. No more worrying about time/date/channel. Just pick a show, Tivo finds it and records it for you. It's a smart schedule, not just a standard time based schedule.2) Software Updates - The Tivo is going to be your friend for years, and you want the latest software. Funding that development takes money. Sure, you paid for the hardware, but that really only covers the R&D; and the actual hardware itself. Just like your smartphone and other things, they have to pay for ongoing development somehow. Smartphone manufacturers just refuse to support the hardware after 18-24 months to force you into a new one, and that's how they get away with not charging you. Tivo wants you to keep your box for years to come.3) Think about what you're saving. If you're a cable customer, like I am, the savings can be huge. I have 3 TVs, but I'm a bachelor so I can really only watch one at a time. So I had 3 HD DVRs @ $15/mth, 3 Premium Channel packages @ $10/mth, with a $10/mth up charge on the secondary / tertiary DVR for the premium channels. So that's $95/mth. Now I bought a Tivo Roamio Pro and two Mini units and I'm at $8/mth for the cable card, $30 for the premium channels, and $15/mth for the Tivo service. (The Mini units DO NOT require a subscription). So $53/mth total, $42/mth savings. That's $504/year, or the entry price of the Roamio. Within 18 months, Tivo has paid for itself. With all that being said, I had regular DVRs, X1 would have added another $10/mth per TV and an install charge and Tivo still has more features than X1. With the X1 math, it's $72/mth in savings, or $864/year. Which is more than my Roamio Pro + 2x Tivo Mini cost. :)Now toss in the Smart TV integration. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Pandora, Spotify, etc, and you've got a great platform. Sure, other boxes offer streaming, but Tivo is integrated into the guide. Find a show and it finds it across all services like the Roku does. It's pretty epic. Shows you what's out there on all of your available sources, and lets you turn off the sources you don't subscribe to so you don't get a cluttered guide with stuff you can't get anyway. Also, if you're a Comcast customer, you get Xfinity on Demand built into Tivo. It's tricky to get it to work the first time, but it's a Comcast problem. Once they correctly set up your account, the Tivo end works fine.Last but not least, the Roamio Premier / Pro have 6 tuners, and the Mini looks and works the same way as the main unit, so there's no reason not to get a Roamio Pro and slap on Mini units for the rest of your TVs, where you'll have access to all of your shows, all of your streaming services, etc. It really is all that it's cracked up to be.So yes, I'm officially a Tivo fan boy now, but everyone I've convinced to try it out has thanked me. It's a great platform. I kept all of the best parts of Comcast (On-Demand, etc), lost the worst part (ridiculous equipment rental fees), and gained so much more (streaming, better mobile device support, etc) than I had. I'll happily buy a new Tivo every 3 years if I have to and gladly fork out the $15/mth for their service.I hope this answers your "Why do I need to pay TIVO" question. I tried to keep the overzealous attitude to a minimum. :)