VCRs and the all digital switchover

You can still record off the minibox as long as you VCR has a coax input.  You just set the VCR to channel 3 or 4 to match the switch on the minibox.  What you won't be able to do is change channels with the VCR.  You must preset the minibox to the channel you want to record.  You won't be able to schedule multiple recordings on different channels without manual intervention to change minibox channel.

Other options are purchasing a TiVo and getting a cable card from Cox or renting a DVR from Cox.

bcgordy1 said:
Looks like we are stuck with Cox's $22/mo. charge for their DVR recordings come January.

You are not stuck with the Cox DVR charge every month.  Get a dirt cheep TiVo Roamio w/ Lifetime Service, Hurry this sale will not last long.

https://www.tivo.com/shop/promo/supersavings

New base 4-Tuner Roamio (CableCARD or OTA) - $149.99 + $249.99 Lifetime Service = $399.98 total, while supplies last...
Factory Refurbished base 4-Tuner Roamio (CableCARD or OTA) - $49.99 + $249.99 Lifetime Service = $299.98 total, while supplies last...

I am also one that likes to record shows on my VCR once in awhile. I have Hulu so I can watch most of the evening shows I miss the next day but they don't get shows from all the stations, like NCIS...which is starting up again this Tuesday so I am anxious to figure out how to record it. As others have said the quality of the playback of a recorded show (after installing the mini box), is horrible. My tape looks like its terribly worn out...going in and out of color, jumping, blurring, etc. Yet other shows I recorded on that same tape before installing the mini box are just fine.

One question I have is about changing the mini box to the channel a person wants to record...someone made it sound like you have to do that on the back of the mini box, yet there are only two channels on it...3 and 4. Of course I can change it to the channel I want to record using the remote.  That doesn't help though the quality is still horrible. I have tried putting everything on channel 3...mini box, VCR, and the TV station and just hitting record on my remote for the VCR...again the picture is horrible. :(  I am out of ideas...

The channel switch on the back of the minibox is the channel the box will output over the coax connection, not an input channel selector.   When using coax, your VCR input must be set to the same channel.  Yes, you use the remote to select the channel to record.

I don't have a VCR setup to test with but am guessing the horrible picture quality you are getting is a result of copy protection.  DRM has been talked about here but never confirmed by Cox.  Maybe a mod can comment.

If that were true, that some shows (all basically) are copyright protected from being recorded which is why the recording is scrambled ..then the DVR from Cox shouldn't be able to record anything either but it does... Cox has claimed people can still record using whatever they have used in the past to record shows...but so far I am not find anything on the internet explaining how to do that successfully.

I think by tomorrow if this problem hasn't been solved (I have also posted on another thread on here for help),..have been trying to solve this problem for weeks now,  I am going to take the mini box off the TV in my bedroom, get the VCR/DVD player I have and unhook it all from the TV in the living room and just hook it up to the TV in the bedroom so I can tape NCIS Tuesday evening. I know this is a temporary fix that won't last long because from what I understand all the stations will go blank or something once cox gets completely switched over to all digital. Once the switch happens I will call my son and see if he can still get anything on his TV...he has antenna only. If he can get channel 12 clearly, I might just return that mini box so I don't get charged for it, and get an antenna for it instead. What a pain though! I have the CBS app but they want you to pay to watch the shows.  So I would be paying twice for one show...paying cox to have it, though I have to work to pay that bill, so not home when NSCI airs...then paying again to see it on CBS...ugh. Some of their shows, a week or so later they make free, but not NSCI...:/ They just recently unlocked last seasons and made it free. Don't really want to wait a year to see it.

Becky, thank you for your truthful and concise answer.  It made my day   This is all we, as customers, want, a truthful response, not company representatives hiding behind either no answer or "company confidential".  Thanks again for a ray of hope

Julie38: "They told my sister she cannot record anything unless she gets the cox dvd player."

There is NO SUCH THING as a "Cox DVD player." You're confused.

Domino, please give it a break, Julie obviously meant DVR, not DVD.

Julie, let's give Becky a chance.  Nothing she said didn't make sense and if she gets back to us in a reasonable time with an eta for a fix, all is good.  Now, if it drags on for months or years, I will have to agree with you.  Right now, I have a wait & see attitude.

Thanks Allen, yes that is what I meant...

Will see if there is a fix for this but I would be very surprised if there is. Meanwhile, I plan on taking the mini box off my TV and going back to the regular TV so I can tape NSIC tomorrow evening. I have been looking for a solution for this problem for a good three weeks now and so far haven't found anything anywhere that fixes it.

Hi Everyone,

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