6-Tuner DVR
A Cox rep. told my dad this weekend that a new DVR would be available today (6/18/13) that would allow for 6 shows to be recorded from 1 DVR. I was super excited! But when I chatted with a rep. online just now, she said that such a thing did not exist. :( I'm tired of paying $200+ for just 2 shows at once. I've been waiting to switch to Whole Home DVR, but I only have 1 TV right now.43KViews0likes61CommentsIs there something wrong with the Cisco Explorer 8642HDC Firmware
I recently had the trusty Scientific Altanta DVR replaced after a Service Call about being unable to view ON Demand movies. The new Cisco box worked ok for few days until we tried to view a recorded program. It stuttered and was generally unwatchable on the playback. That started to occur watching live TV too. Was this a bad disk? Another symptom was that viewing the guide shrank the live TV picture as expected, but when exiting from the Guide, the picture remained small in the upper right quadrant. Changing channels didn't reset. A complete reset by unplugging power was the only way to get it back. The continued playback stutter made me visit a store for an exchange. The second unit seemed OK, but suffered from the same stuuer playback. I left the stuttering program on what I thought might be bad disk, and subsequent recorded shows seemed fine. This morning I noticed the program playing through this box, was about 5 seconds delayed from the same program playing through a non-DVR box, where previously they had been in perfect sync. I clicked the guide, and the same shrunken picture state happened. I have been searching issues with the Cisco boxes and the stutter is mentioned a lot. Is the box subject to overheating - it is in a cabinet with glass doors. Can I get a Scientific Atlanta DVR Cable box. I am seriously considering a move to satellite36KViews0likes18CommentsContour DVR - Shut Down/Reboot Issue
I have had Cox Contour now for about 2 months, overall it not been too bad an experience, unfortunately, the enjoyment of this service is being marred by the Cisco 9865HDC shutting down and rebooting at daily, but irregular intervals. I have disconnected the power for 5 mins and restarted the unit but the problem persists, shutting down at a key moment in a program and when eventually restarting, tuning to a different channel. Anyone else having this problem or should I just arrange to get the equipment changed out? Thanks21KViews0likes18Comments
Cox Mini box remote code for TiVo Series 2
I use a tivo series 2 with lifetime contract as a DVR and it's unable to change the channels through the COX mini box as I don't know the correct 5 digit remote code so that it can mimic the IR remote. I know there were threads about this with others with this problem, but I wasn't finding anything with a quick search so I Made this post in the hope that someone has posted the remote codes somewhere by now. Also if there's no solution yet, when is the final date where I'll stop receiving analog signals? If no solution is available by then are these my options for continuing to get TV through a TiVo DVR? 1) Spend more money each month for a service from COX that doesn't use the Mini-BOX 2) Cancel COX and get my tv signal over the air 3) Invest in a newer TiVo with a cablecard Any other options I'm missing? This whole thing has been pretty frustrating and I'm very surprised there's not a solution out there by now.18KViews0likes35Comments
Cox countour app out of home mode.
I just upgraded from basic to preferred service to enjoy HD programming and my contour app says I'm "out of home". I've already tried restarting my iPad and the Contour app and I've already assured that I'm on my own network. Nothing works. During installation there was some confusion as to which receiver was supposed to be installed and I ended up with a 2-channel DVR (Cisco). Is this the reason for my problem.? If so, why didn't anyone tell me this? I didn't upgrade service and more than double my monthly bill just to fall short of the requirements to enjoy all the features I thought I signed up for.15KViews0likes7Comments
Minibox Effectively Precludes Recording by Customer-Owned DVR
When Cox went all-digital, I lost the ability to record the shows I want to watch on my own device. Three years ago, my monolithic "cable-ready" JVC CRT television died. I replaced it with a $1000 Panasonic Viera TC-L47E50 Smart TV which enabled me to watch true HD. I also upgraded from recording shows on my trusty Thomson ProScan PSVR70 VCR to a $350 Magnavox MDR537H DVR/DVD player with both analog and digital tuners and 500-GB hard disk so that I could record the HD shows in HD resolution. I never needed a set-top box, simply plugging the coax cable into my TV and recording device. All worked just fine: I was able to record the shows I wanted to watch, and watch them when I wanted to, at an amortized cost of $10/month (and falling). That is, I was able to do so until Cox went digital. With the unwelcome appearance of the so-called Minibox, I've lost that capability. Now, as others with the same equipment have posted to the Cox forums, it is impossible to schedule the Minibox-connected (via coax cable) DVR to record shows due to the Minibox's incompatibility with the DVR. The Minibox simply cannot switch channels in accordance with the scheduling function of the DVR. And as others, and Cox, have posted, it can only record the last channel to which the Minibox was set. The resulting quality for playback is terrible. This "workaround' simply is not a practical, valid solution. It is wholly, totally and completely unacceptable. As another customer posted, this situation constitutes breach of contract since I signed a 2-year agreement with Cox stating that I would pay a rate and they would provide me with TV -- the same TV I'd been receiving, in its (then) current form, with its current capabilities. But beyond this breaking their promise of service, "what is the remedy?" -- as same customer demanded -- since digital with encryption is a done deal. If I'd known that this was what was in store for me in the near future, I never would have signed a long-term agreement with Cox. So I've learned my lesson here. With its myopic digital implementation (really: did anyone at Cox, when planning its digital rollout, consider customers who record using their own devices? I was surprised to find from postings to Cox forums that many customers were still recording shows with tape-based VHS VCRs! These customers are similarly out of luck), Cox has effectively stripped me and other customers of our own capacity to record and play back programs we want to watch. Further, by forcing use of the Minibox, I cannot use all the wonderful features built into the $1000 Panasonic Viera SmartTV since the TV's native functionality is only accessible via the TV's remote, not the MInibox's remote. The reason I use a cable TV company is because I have no other cheaper alternative. Because of my neighborhood's topography, I cannot receive over-the-air high definition (OTA HD) transmissions of local or broadcast channels which carry the shows I want to record and watch. The only other non-satellite provider in my area is Verizon, but they definitely don't support customer-owned DVRs. I haven't investigated satellite-based options yet, but maybe I'll have to. Okay, Cox: I need to be able to record the shows I want to watch in an unattended automated manner for playback. So what are my solutions, Cox? I'm sure I can rent a DVR from you -- so how much more is that going to cost me? What are the other alternatives? Can I purchase a DVR from a vendor like cableboxandmodem.com and use a cablecard? How much is the cablecard rental? Would this latter approach enable me to ditch the minibox? There was a time -- during my life, even -- when one could purchase a decent color TV for $150, plug in the power cable, throw up the antennae, and you got TV! A VCR could be had for another $100, and you didn't need a PhD in electrical engineering to connect it to the TV to record and playback your favorite programs whenever you wanted. After the initial layout, the price was what a kWhr of electricity cost for as long as you watched the TV. Forcing people to pay for what was free is a recipe for alienating, and losing, customers.13KViews0likes19Comments
On Demand never works properly.
I find it sad, annoying etc etc that our ON Demand never works properly. There are several issues with this service. Either it hangs up getting stuck for all eternity causing us to have to unplug the box, jump up and down while hoolahooping holding a small poodle, all while on one leg. OR It give us the following message "You show can not be accessed at this time, please try again later. If the problem persists please contact coustomer service." Blah blah blah... I did the whole walk through trouble shoot with the CSR. I asked first if there was an outage in the area. I was told "NO" Cool right? Wrong... After the trouble shoot, un plug the box, yada yada blech. Nothing... same message same ole song and dance. The the tech sent a "signal" to the box. Again did not work. Then he reset the box on their side. Still not working. At this point I was told that "if (I) wait a few hours it should be fine." I should not have to go through this, none of us should. COX is hands down the worst service on the East Coast. The prices keep going up up up but, the service goes down down down. I would never recomend COX to anyone. DVR a show and the CC won't work half the time. On Demand does not work half the time. You don't even have all the basic stations on demand. I'm sorry but wow... there are a million things you need to do to even hope to remain in business. I for one will move asap and make sure the next community has a contract with either verizon or comcast. SO over giving COX my $ just to be annoyed. And so help me God don't say " we can have a technition come out to take a look" I am not paying even more $ to have someone come in and "Look" this should never have happened in the first place. IMHO COX is exactly what it sounds like (Insert intended pun here!)13KViews0likes1Comment
DVR (Scientific American 8240HDC) Pixeling and Freezing
I have been a Cox customer for many, many years. At present, we have one DVR and two regular boxes in our home. Over the years, we have had problems with our family room television picture, which used to have just a regular cable box, pixel and freeze, and Cox sent several technicians to try to remedy the situation. It took awhile to get rid of this problem, but it finally went away for quite a long time (years). Eventually, we upgraded to a DVR box, which we had been using for the past several years without any problems. A couple of months ago, it starting acting up - wouldn't allow us to record or playback, almost like it lost its memory. We'd have to unplug it to restore it. So I finally got tired of dealing with it and took it into the Cox outlet and traded it out for a new DVR box, the same SciAmer as before. After two weeks, this new DVR box started tiling and freezing a lot, which the old one never did. I disconnected it and put one of our other non-DVR boxes in its place to see what would happen. The picture was perfect for over a week using the other box. (The tiling and freezing only happens on the DVR box, not on any other outlets in the house.) I re-attached the DVR box and it pixeled and froze again right away, so I took it back to the Cox outlet for another one. This new DVR is doing the very same thing. I have rebooted it, checked all the connections, disconnected it for ten minutes and reconnected it, rebooted it again (where it goes through the whole sequence, takes about 10 minutes) etc. etc. Works fine for about a half an hour and then it is tiling and freezing again.. I can't tell you how annoying it is. I need someone from Cox to be honest with me. I've been a customer long enough to know that this issue has gone on for years and years. Is it the luck of the draw as to which DVR box a customer gets as to whether it will pixel and freeze? Remember, substituting the DVR for a regular cable box gave us a perfect picture for over a week, so my cables are working fine. Then as soon as the DVR is put back in place, freezing and tiling. It is ridiculous to keep going back for a new DVR or waiting for a technician to come out, only to tell us "everything seems to be working fine" only to have it start acting up again. Is there any other DVR box to use besides this Scientific American or are we stuck, in which case, there is no reason to rent a DVR. The playback shows we record on this DVR won't play if the box started freezing while it was recording, which makes the box useless. I've wasted too much time on this, I just want a box that works as advertised and paid for.12KViews0likes12CommentsHow can a user know that a conflict is upcoming for already scheduled series?
I've seen this question asked on the forum in 2012 and 2014 with respect to Contour DVRs, both times left unresolved, and still the problem persists. I just got my first Cox Contour DVR. Still there seems to be no way to predict an upcoming series conflict, so that priorities can be adjusted. The user is informed only when initially scheduling the series, with respect to then-existing conflicts, and after the fact of a missed recording. Seems insane; can't believe Cox or software developers can't provide this simple functionality, which I have had on every previous DVR I've owned, going back years. Manual scheduling every week is going to make the fall premiere season an ongoing hassle.11KViews0likes16Comments
Fast Forward using Cox TV Remote with DVR
The fast forward use on DVR recorded programs never worked perfectly for me. Now, however, it does not work at all. Before FF generally worked, with some deft timing on the remote buttons. Now, I cannot fast forward DVR recorded programs. Usually, I am trying to go over commercials, but sometimes I will FF over parts of a program that, to me, is not interesting. Are there trouble shooting methods to correct this, or do you have a fix for the problem? I'm hoping cable services or networks have not found a way to stop FF, altogether. I'd appreciate your help. Thanks!8.8KViews0likes5Comments