- Change their mind or
- release some information to help with a home brew EPG
I have the wording below. Once spread around the various TiVO forums and Facebook we might be able to get a good amount of signatures.
Let me know if you think this is a good/bad idea and if you think there should be different wording.
Remember, nothing we do now can really hurt, so saying 'I'm not signing it that will never work' is not really constructive!
We, the undersigned, petition those responsible for closing the TiVO uk series 1 EPG update facility to reconsider their decision.
TiVO has a dedicated user base with the old series 1 machine in the UK, and many of them would like to remain loyal, but cannot see themselves paying for the Virgin Media service, even if it is available to them in the first place.
TiVO would stand to earn a great deal of good customer relations by providing at least one of these proposed solutions. By doing nothing TiVO stand to create a lot of bad feeling and ill will towards them and their products, be they old, current or future.
It is based on this that we ask they consider the following:
- That many of us were sold a 'lifetime' subscription which was stated to be 'for the lifetime of the equipment'. Regardless of any clause which allows TiVO to close the service within 30 days, this would appear to be a fair assumption that only TiVO going bankrupt should cause this service to stop.
- The supposed 'alternative' of paying more money for a new TiVO to Virgin Media, a device they would never actually own, plus having to pay for the most expensive TV package to get it, is not going to happen for a lot of people.
- This same alternative is not even available to many users as 49% (approximatley) of the country is not serviced by Virgin Media's cable network.
- Many users (even those with lifetime subs already) may be willing to pay a token amount per month or year to keep the service alive if the cost of the service is a driving factor.
If TiVO cannot be persuaded to reverse this decision, we would ask that the following be implemented:
- A final software upgrade to at least allow end users to easily change settings such as the dial out phone number and update server ip address through the TiVO menu
- A release of any information pertaining to file formats, communication protocols and procedures to the 'home brew' community to enable them to provide a community based service with no direct responsibility or liability to TiVO themselves.
