Change start time on scheduled recording - Contour 2

CurtB...it is definite that the Contour2 does not have anything near the Contour1 recording capabilities.  the +- on times for start and end for All shows, even non-sports is tremendous....Dont know why COX took those things away.

As to having 2 DVR's, well when I exchanged my original old boxes, they gave me 2.  The old boxes were strictly stand alone, and allowed the kids to record on their box, and me to do on the other.  Could not see each other.  Now, it kinda Sometimes works, and other times I see crossover records.  Of course, the 2max records is another issue, like Ferfer.  I keep hoping that COX will add back the Contour1 feature of isolating each box on its own.  See if you see this somewhere in your settings.  I read it on a help item some time ago.  I don't do adult records or strange things like that, but how do you isolate your recording from the kids or mother-in-law?

Contour provides the ability to create new users, but I've never used that feature so I can't say what service it provides.  It also has "Parental Controls" that the settings menu says may be used to lock or unlock programs.  But, I've never used that either.

If any Contour customer has added a new user or used the "Parental Controls", please let us know how they work.

Since Contour and Contour 2 use different software, they may have been developed by different vendors.  I don't know.  But, if that's the case, then some Contour features may have just never been included in the Contour 2 platform.

Can someone shed some light on whether Contour and Contour 2 are from the same vendor or different vendors and, if known, what vendor(s)?

Hi Ekhawaii. The only way to isolate recordings is by the receiver, which you choose once you go into your saved recordings list. - Lisa, Cox Support Forums Moderator

Hi CurtB. Setting up parental controls helps parents monitor what their kids watch and times that they watch it plus it keeps them from purchasing OnDemand content without consent. Setting up a user on Contour allows each person in the house the ability to set their own preferences regarding favorite channels, skipped channels and guide view. - Lisa - Cox Support Forums Moderator

LisaH....yes, the "saved recordings list" does show the under Recorded On...either my Family room or Office(where kids record).  But because one cannot isolate the DVR's from each other, recordings can roll onto a DVR that did not initiate the record.  Under Scheduled, all DVR selections appear instead of those specific to a DVR.

As to parental controls...here is a older forum link: Parental

Contour1 has a way to isolate DVR...none on Contour2...CurtB, could you check your Settings.  Try this link: Isolate

Since Cox, and most users do not have a multiple DVR system, it's hard to understand or explain what happens on mine.

ekhawaii, I checked Contour 1 settings described in the link you referenced:

Settings > Receivers > DVR Network > Change Network Status > Visible or Invisible

"Visible status allows full access from networked receivers to this DVR.  All your recorded programs and future recordings on this DVR will become visible to other networked receivers in your home".

"Invisible status prevents sharing of this DVR with your networked receivers.  All recorded programs on this DVR will be inaccessible from other receivers.  However, this DVR will have full access to all...".

Thanks for looking CurtB...No such option on Contour2.  Yours is an option that would possibly be perfect for me with 2DVR's but COX or their minons got rid of it.  There may be other hardware, like filters....but the software made sense.  So, LisaH from COX...what happened?

I do have under settings, Device Settings/Device Name that I can Identify Family Room or Office (kids record from).  However, what seems to happen is that most of the shows recorded on the Family DVR appear on the Kids DVR under Family/office.  NCIS is one that came from the Family Rm DVR.  Particular is many shows that are Series type, rather than single records.  I've tried resetting the Series on the Family DVR but since I cannot control which DVR gets the shows....seems like once a path is chosen, I get the same recorded sequence.  Invisible!!!! where are YOU!

In a Contour 2 whole home DVR system this behavior is by design. Recordings will be recorded to the DVR with the greatest availability at a given time. You can check which box a recording was saved to however since it is a whole home DVR system the specific box a recording was saved to is not supposed to have significance.

-Chris

ChrisL.....I truly understand that the whole home DVR concept works great for a single, like a 6record box.  My 2 box configuration was to isolate the kids from seeing my shows and recording their shows on their own TV/DVR.  Contour1 has identified a way to isolate a box from the whole system... Take a look at this link, which is gone for the Contour2 : Isolate

It is true that you can see, see my image I posted above, that shows Family and Office...names that were given to the Devices.  Both appear when reviewing the Saved/Scheduled on each DVR....However, the listings under each of the categories are different.  I thus believe that each DVR has two internal folders where shows are stored, But these folders cannot be accessed from the other Box.  Recordings can go to either box, but viewing can only see 1 box. 

The whole house system is really intended for a single host DVR and multiple client TVs.  It fails when you have 2 or more host boxes, unless you can Isolate...which disappeared with Contour2...

ekhawaii, I'm still not trying to convert you to Contour.  I know you prefer Contour2.  But, I received this reply from Cox Friday night to some questions I had and thought you might be interested.

"I would be glad to help. Yes we do still offer our Contour 1 whole home service. Each host box (master) supports up to 3 client receivers. The clients will allow DVR functionality as long as they are networked. The client receivers will have access to all the same channels. The only boxes that do not have access to the same channels are mini boxes. The box rental is $10.00 but if you have DVR services you would pay an additional $19.99 for the Record 6 option. The master and clients have the function to watch the same programming at the same time".

I had asked if the master and client(s) could watch the same programming at the same time at different locations in the program or if they had to be synced, but the reply about that was a bit vague.  But, my guess would be the same program could probably be watched from the master and client(s) at the same time in different locations.

The explanation ChrisL gave about the Contour 2 Whole Home DVR system makes it sound like your two Record2 Master DVRs setup provides essentially the same type of access as the Record6 Contour Master/Client Whole Home Service.  But it uses two DVRs instead of one and has two less program recordings capability at a time.  The Contour DVR with the Record 6 option costs more than a Contour 2 DVR with Record 2.  But, when you figure the cost of the Contour client should be less than the cost of the second Record 2 Contour 2 DVR, I start to wonder how the total cost of the two systems would compare.  Wouldn't the Record6 Contour Master/Client be cheaper?  They both require two boxes but one $19.99 Record6 option is less than two $12.99 Record2 options.  I realize I'm making some billing assumptions here that may not be correct.  Do you pay the same rental for each of the two DVRs?  Isn't a client box just a networked receiver? 

CurtB...thanks for the info.  I pay $12.98 for each 2 record box.  A 6record host + 1 client would probably  cost $19.99 + $ for the extra client.  $ is a smaller issue, although a 6record would be nicer.  I also pay $10 each for the DVR service...TV is costly.

My 2DVR system does not act like a host/client...at lease not to me since I can record on both but cannot control who records.  If I go to Recordings, I see 37 shows on one DVR and 47 shows on the other.  From one DVR, I do not think I can see the other boxes physically stored files.  I need to do more testing and comparisons.  I feel that Series records tend to be less controllable.  Single records seem to appear on the DVR that initiated it.  Series, appear more random, and once appearing on the other machine, they all seem to continue going there.  I will have to cancel the Series record and go back to single and see if I can get more shows to appear on the initiating DVR.

Having an isolate feature like Contour1 would help me better understand the situation and allow a customer some options...right now, its random...at least for me.  Too bad I never see any others that have multiple Contour2 DVR's chime in to this forum..I could not be that unique.

If I understand you correctly and am able to correctly guess the ambiguous parts, series recordings can be initiated by any user from either DVR but there's no means available to control on which DVR it will record.  From either DVR, any user can either:

1. see a comprehensive listing of all recorded programming on both DVRs that includes an indicator for each recorded program of the DVR on which it is recorded.

or 

2. see a listing of recordings on your current DVR and a summarization of the number of recordings on the other DVR.

Is either of these possibilities correct?

However, you are only able to view programs that were actually recorded on the DVR where you're currently located.  To view programs recorded on the other DVR, you must physically travel to that DVR and initiate playback with that DVR's remote.  

Is that correct?

If you don't have to actually move to the other DVR to view programs recorded on that DVR, then I'm not sure I understand why it matters where something is recorded since everyone can view all recorded programs anyway.  

But, if I got that right, I can see how that would be extremely frustrating.  You have both parental control and logistical issues.  A host/client relationship would eliminate the logistical issue that requires a physical relocation within your house to watch a program recorded on the other DVR.  To address the parental control issue, you would have to create users for everyone and setup parental controls.  I've never setup parental controls, but Contour has a lengthy list of options:

* Lock Channels  (block selected channels)

* Lock Ratings (Adult, NR, NC-17, TV-MA, R, TV-14, PG-13)

 * Lock Content Advisories (Violence, Sexual Situations, Suggestive Dialog, Adult Language)

* Lock Times

* Block Titles (Adult, NR, NC-17, TV-MA, R, All Locked Programs)* 

* Lock Recordings (Prevent Deletion, Prevent Cancellation)

* Lock Purchases

* Lock Services (Adult Content, On Demand)

* Lock Users (Add, Edit, Delete)

I asked Cox earlier today for a comparison between a Record6 Contour Whole Home Service and your two Record2 Contour 2 DVRs and I received this reply. 

"The cost of the cable box rentals are the same for both Contour 1 and 2 regardless of DVR capability. Essentially, all equipment rental fees would be the same. You would start to see a difference in pricing with the DVR service itself. If you were to do a 6 tuner, you would have the 1 DVR service fee($19.99) as compared to the 2 tuner($12.99). However, the 2 tuner DVR service would include a DVR service charge for each DVR box. In that scenario to get to 6 tuners, you would be charged 3 times for $12.99. Regarding the last question, they do not need to be watching the recording at the same point. I hope that helps. If you would like additional clarification, please let us know".

The last question was whether the host and client(s) could watch the same recorded program at different places in the program at the same time.  

Based on this reply I received from Cox, the cost of the two cable box rentals required by each option would be a wash.  However the DVR service for two Record2 boxes with 2 less tuners is $5.99 per month more than a Record6 host.  To get the same 6 tuners would be $18.98 more plus the rental fee for a third cable box. Of course, you would never actually opt for 3 DVRs to get 6 tuners.  I think the price quoted by the Cox Social Media Specialist differs slightly from what you said you are charged.