Walking Backwards

I wanted to watch an AVI file that I had on my computer on my TiVo. No problem, I thought, I've even already written a blog entry about how to do that. So I referred back to that post, and discovered that it doesn't work anymore.  Sometime in the last year I had updated to the latest version of the free TiVo Desktop for PC software.  And in so doing, I lost the ability to transfer video files from my computer to my TiVo.  I researched this on the TiVo website, and thought, surely that function has just moved somewhere else in the software and I'm overlooking it.  Nope, it turns out that the ability to upload from the computer to the TiVo has been reclassified as premium feature, requiring the $24.95 purchase of a TiVo Desktop Plus Key.

Now, charging me $25 to unlock additional functionality in software that I already have installed is a long-standing revenue strategy for monetizing "shareware" software.  It's how they get you to go from using the free version, to paying money for added functionality.  Except that three things about this really annoy me:

First, I already bought the hardware.  I supposed you could equate buying the TiVo HD hardware to purchasing a computer, and now they're selling software to run with it.  But buying a TiVo is not buying some hacked-up home media server box.  It is an appliance, designed to provide a self-contained solution that offers additional flexibility to my television viewing.  Generally when you upgrade the software on appliances you get fixes and sometime even enhanced functionality for free...  Otherwise, you might go buy the competing product that offers better functionality.

Second, I am already paying a subscription fee to use the TiVo.  I actually bought the lifetime service contract for for my TiVo HD, instead of paying monthly, but the several hundred dollars I paid up-front is effectively just the lump-sum purchase of an annuity for the monthly service fee.  So I'm paying for this monthly subscription, and STILL the are charging more to get the added functionality.

Third, they aren't even asking me to pay more for additional functionality, they are asking me to pay more JUST TO GET BACK FUNCTIONALITY I USED TO HAVE.  This is not how product evolution is supposed to work, and it's really annoying.  They are probably counting on inertia to keep me tied to the TiVo platform, because I have already paid for the hardware, and I've already paid for the lifetime service contract.  They probably also selected $24.95 to be a low enough price barrier that most people will just bend over and pay.  But I feel like I'm effectively being fined $25 for upgrading to the latest version of the free TiVo Desktop for PC software.  How about instead TiVo reward customer loyalty by not removing useful features they've already previously released in earlier free versions?

UPDATE: I sent TiVo email about my gripe, and pointed them to this blog entry.  They replied:

Hello Phillip,

Thank you for contacting TiVo Customer Support.

I would be happy to assist you in getting your feedback recorded and into the right hands. What I recommend that you do would be to fill out the TiVo Feature Request questionnaire located here: http://research.tivo.com/suggestions/2web519.htm . I apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause and invite you to contact us again if you have any other questions or concerns.

101009-00XXXX is the reference number for this inquiry. Please refer to this number if you choose to contact us again regarding this request. In order to respond to this email, please log into your account at www.tivo.com/mysupport. Replies directly to this email will not be received.

Sincerely,
James

TiVo Customer Support Representative
www.tivo.com/support
http://forums.tivo.com

I will submit the form, and see if I hear anything more about it...