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JohnR-Omaha's avatar
JohnR-Omaha
New Contributor
6 years ago

How do you control a stack of Contour Cisco 4742hdc boxes?

We just had 5 Cox Cisco 4742hdc boxes installed in a rack that then connect with component cables to a bunch of TVs.  The Cox installer gave us one remote.  Now we can't change the channel on one box at a time without turning all of the other boxes off.  The remote changes all 5 boxes at the same time whenever we need to change a channel.  The Cox installer didn't know how to fix it.

I tried covering the IR eye on the front of the boxes, but they all still "listen" to the one remote.  I'm thinking it is an RF remote to box setup but couldn't find any details on it from Cox or Cisco.

Does anyone know how I can make each box respond to a different remote or code.  I want to be able to change channels on just one box at a time in the rack.

  • ekhawaii's avatar
    ekhawaii
    Contributor
    6 years ago

    Wow, this is different.  Not really sure what your intent was, maybe like a business that wants to have different TV units playing different programs.  You cannot be intending this setup for home use. 

    I myself have 2 separate Arris xg1-a DVR.  I have 2 remotes, that work independently, because they are in separate rooms but most notably they hook up to 2 different makers of TV.  So, one remote cannot even change the channels on the other even when both are on.  The remote is "tied" to the TV, at least for me.  So this would have worked for me, even if each was stacked on each other as long as the TV was different..  But your situation is different.  I know COX knows each of you devices with a separate internal numbers but I'm not sure how "tuned" each is to the remote, especially since you only have One.

    On a side issue, you are going to have all kinds of problems if you plan to Record on this multiple DVR setup.  Maybe business end yup running multiple accounts rather than a single account to a home.

    • JohnR-Omaha's avatar
      JohnR-Omaha
      New Contributor
      6 years ago

      Hi ekhawaii!  Thanks for your reply.  We are using it for a bar/restaurant.  We could select each box individually with the old Cox boxes, but they said we had to upgrade to the Cisco's.  I don't need to record or use the DVR.  It's just live TV.  We need to have different TVs on different channels and be able to change the channel on one box at a time. 

      We might have ESPN on 2 TVs, local news on another, and maybe a football game on FS1 yet another. 

      I heard about someone else that had a similar problem with their "man cave." They had several of these boxes along a wall connected to several TVs.  That person ended up giving up on Cox and switching to Dish.  My problem is more time-sensitive than a home man cave, since I have customers that want to see what they want, and of course they don't care if we get it from Cox or somewhere else. Just hoping to find a solution soon since we have our phone and Internet through Cox too.

      • ekhawaii's avatar
        ekhawaii
        Contributor
        6 years ago

        A business, I truly understand.  COX should have told you before you started this quest.  They surely knew what you wanted and this configuration is not New.  You may have to talk to your other Bar owners to find out how to set up....I'm guessing that each box is hooked to a single or a splitter multiple TV combo.  As I said, for mine, I had 2 different brands, but also had 2 remotes.  With only one remote I'm not sure how the setup "talks" to each box internally.  My remotes "talked to the TV"  at least that's what I thought.  Sorry about the hangup!

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    6 years ago

    Is this a set-up for a sports bar or something?  If so, switch to a commercial set-up.

    If not, why aren't the cable boxes near the TV sets?

    Whatever your purpose, you're doing it wrong.

    • ekhawaii's avatar
      ekhawaii
      Contributor
      6 years ago

      Commercial set-up....COX should have suggested this from the get-go.....thanks Bruce

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    6 years ago

    Is this the Cox Business TV Service?  If so, either your technician sucked or the service **.  I can't imagine all TV sets in a restaurant have to tuned to the same channel.  That'd be the worst Business TV service in the business.

    There's a phone number in the following link.

    www.cox.com/.../bars-restaurants.html

    • Bruce's avatar
      Bruce
      Honored Contributor III
      6 years ago

      And how do you turn off the other 4 boxes without going through a reboot?  Aren't these cable boxes designed to be always powered on?

      UPDATE.  My bad.  The 4742HDC has a power button.

      • JohnR-Omaha's avatar
        JohnR-Omaha
        New Contributor
        6 years ago

        Yes, power button on the front.  The old silver boxes also had a channel selector button on the front panel, but these don't, so we have to turn 4 of them off to use the remote to change the channel on just one box.