It is about a 3.5 year break even on the lifetime vs. annual. You can opt for the extended warranty (what I did on my Bolt), and if the box craps out within that warranty, the service will transfer to a new box if they replace it. No-brainer for $35-40 or whatever it cost.
And you CAN transfer lifetime service from an older box to a newer one. I say this because I just did that. They ran a promo, so it was a one time offer, and may not ever be offered again. But I know a lot of people took them up on it because it took them forever to ship mine, and the 1TB models were gone. They charged me $99 to transfer lifetime from a TivoHD I bought ~10 years ago to the new Bolt.
Back in those days, I paid $299 for a 3 year plan, at the end of the 3 years, they offered lifetime for $99. So to date, I have had 2 Tivo boxes, and have paid $497 for lifetime service essentially. ~$1000 for 10+ years of Tivo? Not bad if you ask me.
I agree that YouTube TV is looking good on paper. Who knows when it will be launched in my area in podunkville. At least that should give them time to iron out the bugs. I remember trying Sling when it launched and it was laughable.
"When I eat, it is the food that is scared." - Ron Swanson
