Still not cheap enough

March 10, 2003

The Shifted Librarian: ReplayTV Rebate

That means you can get a 40-hour DVR for $390 total. Not bad considering how expensive these machines still are. Another $100 and I think they'll start cutting into the mainstream some. If you've been waiting, perhaps this is a more appealing price point for you?

Getting closer, but still too expensive to filter down into the mainstream (and the apartments of cheap law students.) TiVo and Replay need to either follow the cell phone model, with a low, subsidized initial cost for the equipment and a monthly fee, or sell the box at a premium and include the cost of the monthly service. In some markets, Time Warner is offering a cable box/DVR for $10/month more than digital cable alone-- the same monthly fee that ReplayTV is charging. Not only does this avoid the upfront cost of the DVR, but it eliminates the need for a second box. While the Replay DVR may have more features than Time Warner's, Replay and TiVo need to concentrate the cost of their DVRs into either an upfront cost or a monthly fee, not both, as they do now.

I do agree with Jenny that $100 cheaper (single payment of <$300 or initial payment of <$100 with a monthly fee) is the price at which DVR starts to break into the mainstream.

Posted by Andrew Raff at March 10, 2003 11:32 AM