TivoBlog has a great comparison on the pros and cons of paying the monthly service vs. the lifetime subscription. I think his pros and cons are right on the mark and something that every Tivo owner struggles with when they first set their unit up.

I’ll add two more that I’ve heard others mention.

Lifetime Subscription Pro

• One additional factor that I’ve heard mentioned is that the lifetime subscription adds to the resale value so you can always sell it on e-bay so some of the lifetime cost will be recouped.

Lifetime Subscription Con

• Like all service agreements, it was written to protect Tivo and gives lifetime subscribers little protection. I’m not an attorney, but it appears to allow Tivo to terminate your subscription at any time without cause. For instance, Tivo could stop supporting certain obsolete models and stop providing guide data. I find it unlikely that Tivo would alienate its original diehard users without offering some sort of upgrade discount, but there is a risk.

At the end of the day, a lifetime really isn’t a lifetime, but in general, the lifetime subscription can save you some money in the long run.