Unfortunately, with monthly service fees, TiVo is guaranteed to have no more than marginal success. People don't like having to pay contract fees on a perpetual basis for something they've "bought." Note that putting fuel in a car is a completely different mentality and so is a service contract like a phone line.

So how can TiVo change their model? I really don't know. Even selling lifetime subscriptions for $200 to everyone (or rather rolling in to the base price of the hardware) likely won't cut it. You see, Tribune Media Services (TMS), the program listing providers, don't supply data for free. I have a pretty good idea of how much TiVo pays every month for this and therefore know why their current model is in place. What really boggles my mind is how a company like Snapstream can sell their BeyondTV3 application for so cheap and still provide free listings - they're also with Tribune and I know approximately how much they should be paying as well.

TiVo really has to move into large contracts with CableCo's - that's the only mass-market avenue they've yet to tap. Knowing the Cabe sheep mentality however, this would be an extremely hard sell.

Back on topic: If picking up a SERIES 1, make sure to get a CACHECARD if you want to use the programming guide or if you plan to keep more than a handful of shows recorded on it.

Bruno