Ok, you guys shamed me into a real fix. I abandoned the old cable and ran a new cable from the amp to the 3416. It is a few feet longer than the old run, but it is a single length of cable instead of 3.

The power levels stayed about the same but the S/N improved from 18 to 38.5. I will watch it tonight and see if this fixed things.

Again thanks to all of you for the help

38.5 is a good # :)

I have HSI and DT service (no TV service) and did a scan for clear QAM channels. In the past, this setup with Cox (92691) and TimeWarner (90034 & 90401) yielded the local HD channels which is all I watch and need. However, I was only able to get the following in Irvine (92612):

2.1
4.1
5.1
9.1
+ 15 other channels like PBS and telemundo

I didn't understand why 7.1 and 11.1 werent available when the rest of the locals were, esp as all the locals are usually broadcast in the clear. To be sure that the locals were in clear, a Cox tech pulled off the filter they use on the main line and lo and behold, all the locals came in HD. Hence, the filter being used is somehow blocking 7.1 and 11.1 but not the other local HD channels.

Does anyone know why a filter would block a couple unencrypted HD channels but not all of them? I understand the need to filter as I am not paying for any TV service but I dont understand why the filter is selective. Similar filters have been used in my previous setups as I never ordered TV service but I always had ability to recieve local HDs.

As a side note, the very cool tech changed the filter to an older model to see if that would work but it didnt. However it did add a few more PBS HD streams.

I have HIS and DT service (no TV service) and did a scan for clear QAM channels. In the past, this setup with Cox (92691) and TimeWarner (90034 & 90401) yielded the local HD channels which is all I watch and need. However, I was only able to get the following in Irvine (92612):

2.1
4.1
5.1
9.1
+ 15 other channels like PBS and telemundo

I didn't understand why 7.1 and 11.1 werent available when the rest of the locals were, esp as all the locals are usually broadcast in the clear. To be sure that the locals were in clear, a Cox tech pulled off the filter they use on the main line and lo and behold, all the locals came in HD. Hence, the filter being used is somehow blocking 7.1 and 11.1 but not the other local HD channels.

Does anyone know why a filter would block a couple unencrypted HD channels but not all of them? I understand the need to filter as I am not paying for any TV service but I dont understand why the filter is selective. Similar filters have been used in my previous setups as I never ordered TV service but I always had ability to recieve local HDs.

As a side note, the very cool tech changed the filter to an older model to see if that would work but it didnt. However it did add a few more PBS HD streams. It's quite simple really. ABC & FOX are @267MHz frequency, much lower than all the others. See this past post of mine for more details:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17658579#post17658579
Since you don't have TV service it's likely there's a high pass frequency filter on your drop. The channels you mentioned you can tune are in the 591-657 MHz range whereas 7-1 & 11-1 are at 267 MHz. Your cable modem downloads operate in the 561-567 MHz range. So most likely Cox is filtering out lower frequencies in your drop so you can't get the analog channels or digital (QAM) channels much below 560 MHz or so.

Once/if Cox goes all digital (no more analog channels) then it will be much easier for them to deal with this since filters will no longer be necessary.

Thank you for the quick response moyekj! That makes sense. I guess both their old filter and new filter block out the lower frequencies. This wasnt the case with TWC and maybe not the case when I was in Mission Viejo (hard to be sure as it was 5+ years ago).

Even though I am not a TV customer, does Cox have to provide access to all the local HD or should I consider myself lucky that I am getting a few?

Thank you for the quick response moyekj! That makes sense. I guess both their old filter and new filter block out the lower frequencies. This wasnt the case with TWC and maybe not the case when I was in Mission Viejo (hard to be sure as it was 5+ years ago).

Even though I am not a TV customer, does Cox have to provide access to all the local HD or should I consider myself lucky that I am getting a few?

You should be lucky that you are getting a few. It is probably easier to keep these channels broadcasting to everyone than try to put the hardware in place to block it in the area

You should be lucky that you are getting a few. It is probably easier to keep these channels broadcasting to everyone than try to put the hardware in place to block it in the area

I guess I am lucky...though I wish there was a better model. TWC (90034) charged only $10 a month to have their lowest tier which had nothing but local channels but it got me the local HDs and I felt like it was a fair deal. However, the same offering in TWC Santa Monica (90401) was $30 a month which felt like they were stealing from me as it gave me very little and hence, I stopped service and realized I never needed to pay in the first place. So far, my calls to Cox sales have me at $25+/month for the most limited TV offering. Maybe its just me but paying more than $10 for local HDs seems a bit much considering I already have DT and HIS and just want the filter removed. I really dont want to be "lucky" and rather have a fair pricing model to access 7 local HD channels.

Just imagine how many people muck around with antennas to get OTA HD and dont want to pay $$$ for cable TV but might be willing to pay $10. Seems like an easy way to get new customers.

I guess I am lucky...though I wish there was a better model. TWC (90034) charged only $10 a month to have their lowest tier which had nothing but local channels but it got me the local HDs and I felt like it was a fair deal. However, the same offering in TWC Santa Monica (90401) was $30 a month which felt like they were stealing from me as it gave me very little and hence, I stopped service and realized I never needed to pay in the first place. So far, my calls to Cox sales have me at $25+/month for the most limited TV offering. Maybe its just me but paying more than $10 for local HDs seems a bit much considering I already have DT and HIS and just want the filter removed. I really dont want to be "lucky" and rather have a fair pricing model to access 7 local HD channels.

Just imagine how many people muck around with antennas to get OTA HD and dont want to pay $$$ for cable TV but might be willing to pay $10. Seems like an easy way to get new customers.

actually there is a company that is soon to provide such a service to some areas of LA/OC. They are going to charge just $5/month for all OTA stations, but you also have to buy their receiver (which includes a dual-tuner DVR with 1tb hard drive), so it may or may not necessarily be a good deal. See: http://www.multichannel.com/article/389094-Sezmi_Tells_L_A_Story.php

Does COX carry KCOP in HD? I have COX limited basic in Irvine but can't find where they p-ut KCOP HD. I get other local HD channel OK. Also, how about KCET?

Thanks.

Does COX carry KCOP in HD? I have COX limited basic in Irvine but can't find where they p-ut KCOP HD. I get other local HD channel OK. Also, how about KCET?

Thanks.
There's been a lot of moving channels around last few months. Currently:
KCOP = 759MHz (RF 118)
KCET = 237MHz (RF 26)

Cartoon Network made the "decision to start delivering content in standard definition and not high definition"Hmm.. after the "great" tuning adaptor outage a few days ago, looks like Cox of OC's ToonHD is back on HD again, Eastern feed.

Pretty nice!

KCOP HD, is I think on 713 (KCOPDT), and KCETHD is 706 (KCETDT).

What tuning adapter outage? I have not had any trouble at all with both my TAs.

There's been a lot of moving channels around last few months. Currently:
KCOP = 759MHz (RF 118)
KCET = 237MHz (RF 26)

what channels are these translate to? I did a rescan on my Win 7 Media Center and still not find them.
Thanks.

what channels are these translate to? I did a rescan on my Win 7 Media Center and still not find them.
Thanks. The specific sub-channel # depends on your QAM tuner. But they will be 118.x and 26.x (i.e. major channel numbers correspond to the RF channels they are on in the absence of PSIP that gives you "friendly" channel numbers and names).

Is anyone else with a TivoHD with a TA getting suggestions anymore? Mine's been sitting at zero for a few days, and I have 20+ things in the deleted items. I've heard that they may have a way to turn off suggestion recording for SDV channels, but I'm not getting ANYTHING.....

Same issue. 3 TiVo HDs with TAs and collectively they get about 5-10 suggestions a week now...up from zero! I emailed TiVo Field Trials about it and they didn't have much to say on it. I did try disabling and re-enabling suggestions and that gave me the 5-10 a week total on 3 boxes I get now.

Ok, you guys shamed me into a real fix. I abandoned the old cable and ran a new cable from the amp to the 3416. It is a few feet longer than the old run, but it is a single length of cable instead of 3.

The power levels stayed about the same but the S/N improved from 18 to 38.5. I will watch it tonight and see if this fixed things.

3 cables together? Holy mackerel! :D You lose a few dB with every splice so your SNR being that low is not surprising.

Same issue. 3 TiVo HDs with TAs and collectively they get about 5-10 suggestions a week now...up from zero! I emailed TiVo Field Trials about it and they didn't have much to say on it. I did try disabling and re-enabling suggestions and that gave me the 5-10 a week total on 3 boxes I get now. Are any of them recorded on SDV channels? Most likely not. What channels did suggestions record on recently?

Are any of them recorded on SDV channels? Most likely not. What channels did suggestions record on recently?

Have to check when I get home. I think it was on SciFy though. Seem to remember seeing some Twilight Zones on there.....

Does COX carry KCOP in HD? I have COX limited basic in Irvine but can't find where they p-ut KCOP HD. I get other local HD channel OK. Also, how about KCET?

Thanks.

KCOP HD is at 118-686, but KCET has moved again, to 26-915.

I did a scan tonight:
2-1 KCBS HD
4-1 KNBC HD
4-2 KNBC weather
5-1 KTLA HD
7-1 KABC HD
7-2 LivWel
7-3 KABC weather
9-1 KCAL HD
11-1 KTTV HD
24-388 KABC SD (7)
26-3 Cox3
26-812 KCET-W (28-4)
26-813 KCET V-ME (28-3)
26-814 KCET OC (28-2)
26-915 KCET HD (28-1)
36-1 KVEA HD (52-1, not in HD on cable)
50-1 KOCE-HD
50-2 KOCE-2
56-1 KDOC
74-310 Audio KAMP
74-364 KAZA (54)
77-470 KTBN (40-1)
90-11 Audio KYSR
90-31 Public Access
90-65 KFTR SD (46)
90-67 KPXN SD (30)
90-70 KLCS (58-1)
90-73 KRCA (62-1)
90-83 KTLA SD (5)
90-85 KCAL SD (9)
90-86 KCBS SD (2)
90-87 KTTV SD (11)
91-811 This (5-2)
92-219 KJLA (57-1)
92-966 KVMD (31-1)
93-40 KMEX HD (34-1)
93-899 KFTR HD (46-1)
98-2 On Demand ad
98-5 MV City
98-12 Saddleback College
102-1 to -27 Radio stations
102-38 KNBC Olympics (4-3)
111-708 KPXN HD (30-1)
118-686 KCOP HD (13-1)

Same issue. 3 TiVo HDs with TAs and collectively they get about 5-10 suggestions a week now...up from zero! I emailed TiVo Field Trials about it and they didn't have much to say on it. I did try disabling and re-enabling suggestions and that gave me the 5-10 a week total on 3 boxes I get now.

Yes, I, too, am getting less suggestions - perhaps 3-5 a week.

Yes, I, too, am getting less suggestions - perhaps 3-5 a week.

Maybe it would help if I/we understood how the suggestion system works? Is it done locally or off site? Another words, if your Tivo is not online, do you still get suggestions? Also, if you deleted everything in your Tivo, would you still get suggestions based on your previous content? I am not a Tivo expert by any means, so forgive my ignorance.

Maybe it would help if I/we understood how the suggestion system works? Is it done locally or off site? Another words, if your Tivo is not online, do you still get suggestions? Also, if you deleted everything in your Tivo, would you still get suggestions based on your previous content? I am not a Tivo expert by any means, so forgive my ignorance. This explains the issue pretty well:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=419994

# TiVo does not record as many Suggestions after installation of SDV tuning adapter

The SDV tuning adapter specification requires that compatible devices classify every tuning request for a SDV channel into one of seven types, including live full-screen video, "user directed recording," and non-user "speculative recording." Cable companies are able to refuse SDV tuning requests for "speculative recordings," which halts the recording of Suggestions on those channels.

Why do cable companies do this? Switched digital video (SDV) is essentially a form of on-demand channel delivery. SDV is implemented under the the assumption that customers in a given area watch a relatively small number of unique channels at any given time. Hence, bandwidth is only allotted to deliver a certain number of channels at once in an area. When no customers in an area are watching or recording a SDV channel, it is shutoff to make room for another requested SDV channel.

This system breaks down when customers in an area attempt to watch many different SDV channels at the same time. That's exactly what happens when a significant number of TiVos in an area attempt to record Suggestions from SDV channels. Thus, the tuner adapter specification gives cable companies the option to disable SDV tuning requests for "speculative" recordings like Suggestions. It also allows cable companies to turn off any tuned SDV channel [not being recorded at the user's request] after a period of remote inactivity.

Some cable companies have few customers in a particular area, or allocate more SDV streams than currently needed, so they do not invoke these restrictions. In those areas, Suggestions continue to work as they always have. Even if a cable company does invoke those restrictions on its SDV channels, Suggestions should still record from non-SDV channels.

Be aware that some providers (ex: Brighthouse and TWC) use SDV to provide digital versions of channels 0-99. When a SDV tuning adapter is installed on those systems, SDV channels replace all analog channels. Customers on those systems may not have as many non-SDV channels as they think.


i.e. If you disconnect Tuning Adapter then the cable company imposed restrictions on "speculative" recordings would no longer be in effect, however obviously since you couldn't tune SDV channels you would have to remove those from lineup anyway, so depending on how many SDV channels there are you may still be SOL.

So I think with current design basically you eliminate all SDV channels from contention for suggestions and the channels you are left with are the ones eligible for TiVo to record suggestions from. We know SDV eliminates most SD channels > 99 in Cox OC as well as several HD channels (and a few < 99 as well). That's why it would be interesting to compile a list of channels that are still being recorded with Suggestions enabled to test the above theory.

Hmm.. after the "great" tuning adaptor outage a few days ago, looks like Cox of OC's ToonHD is back on HD again, Eastern feed.

Pretty nice!. My TiVo was tuned to 771=TOONHD this morning and there was quite a lot of macro-blocking across the screen. I check diagnostics and saw very few RS corrected/uncorrected errors and signal strength and SNR were fine so looks like a transmission issue. Perhaps that is why the HD feed was taken off line for a while to try and fix up these transmission issues for this channel. They still have some work to do by the looks of it...

This explains the issue pretty well:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=419994


i.e. If you disconnect Tuning Adapter then the cable company imposed restrictions on "speculative" recordings would no longer be in effect, however obviously since you couldn't tune SDV channels you would have to remove those from lineup anyway, so depending on how many SDV channels there are you may still be SOL.

So I think with current design basically you eliminate all SDV channels from contention for suggestions and the channels you are left with are the ones eligible for TiVo to record suggestions from. We know SDV eliminates most SD channels > 99 in Cox OC as well as several HD channels (and a few < 99 as well). That's why it would be interesting to compile a list of channels that are still being recorded with Suggestions enabled to test the above theory.

Okay, that certainly makes sense. Well, my feelings about Suggestions are mixed anyway. I rarely watch any of them, so perhaps I'll just shut it off. By the way, so many (if not all) of the shows I gave thumbs up to are on SDV and so many (if not all) of the shows I gave thumbs down to are not on SDV, so this really does explain it.

Yes, Suggestions was one of first things I turned off right after the annoying "Bloop" sounds for remote presses so I don't care about this much. Having stuff in Recently Deleted folder has proven far more valuable to me. Now with 1TB internal drive I have > 100 items most of time in Recently Deleted folder.

I just realized today that absolutely everything I record now is from HD channels exclusively.

Yes, Suggestions was one of first things I turned off right after the annoying "Bloop" sounds for remote presses so I don't care about this much. Having stuff in Recently Deleted folder has proven far more valuable to me. Now with 1TB internal drive I have > 100 items most of time in Recently Deleted folder.

I just realized today that absolutely everything I record now is from HD channels exclusively.

Now that we have Fox News HD, I guess I, too, record 100% in HD - except for those few pesky suggestions, but I'll shut 'em off. I'm really not that interested in Bob the Builder anyway. :)

My TiVo was tuned to 771=TOONHD this morning and there was quite a lot of macro-blocking across the screen. I check diagnostics and saw very few RS corrected/uncorrected errors and signal strength and SNR were fine so looks like a transmission issue. Perhaps that is why the HD feed was taken off line for a while to try and fix up these transmission issues for this channel. They still have some work to do by the looks of it... Looks like Cox as fixed this problem.

Very off topic: I'm looking to have some speaker wire/power/hdmi cables run through a wall and a 50" Plasma mounted above a fireplace. If you have any recommendations, please PM me.

Thanks,
Chris

Just sent you a PM!

Does anyone have a list of the resolutions for the HD channels on Cox? I couldn't find one in a search of the thread and if there is one, it would save me some time by not having to create my own list by tuning to each channel!

Or, if nearly everything is 1080i (as I'm inclined to think), a list of the 720p channels would obviously work just as well.

Thanks in advance.

While not concerning Cox TV services, I am wondering what internet speeds people get around this area. Of course, there are a lot of variables besides the network connection when testing internet speed via one of the top search hits, but what do you see for your upload and download rates? If I connect directly to my cable modem via ethernet, my best upload speed was ~26 Mbps (3.25 MB/s) and best upload speed was ~350 kB/s. I used speedtest.net, speakeasy, and bandwidthplace.com to check the speeds.

I'm very pleased with my upload speed, but curiosity is starting to make me wonder how good the connection really is.

Thanks again.

----EDIT----
I meant to say that i'm very pleased with my download speed. I would love fiber though.

Does anyone know if this COX Advanced TV is just a new marketing package with the same old stuff? I'm getting really tired of the degradation of service on HD channels and thinking hard about switching to Directv or ATT Uverse, anyone else have any comments on the quality of COX HD vs. Directv Vs. ATT Uverse HD channels? I just came back from Texas and saw Time-Warner HD there and IMHO, it blew away our COX OC HD channel quality....

Oh yeah, if I stay with COX, is it worth it getting TIVO/cable card, and how much can I expect to save on COX charges....granted I have 2 HD DVRs and 1 other digital settop box from COX, so I am paying $40.40 a month just for the boxes and dvr service....

Or, if nearly everything is 1080i (as I'm inclined to think), a list of the 720p channels would obviously work just as well.

Thanks in advance.
There are actually more 720p channels than one would think. Not surprisingly the ABC & FOX family of channels comprise a lot of them.
May have missed 1 or 2, but here is a fairly comprehensive list of 720p HD channels (i.e. rest not mentioned are 1080i):
706=KCETDT
707=KABCDT
708=KPXNDT
711=KTTVDT
713=KCOPDT
715=ESPNHD
716=ESPN2HD
717=FXHDP
719=ABCFHDP
720=DISNHD
729=BIOHD
730=SPEEDHD
737=MLBHD
742=FBNHD
746=FNCHD
762=HSTRYHD
763=PRIMHD
764=FOXHDWE
767=AETVHD
790=NGCHD
796=KABCDT2

While not concerning Cox TV services, I am wondering what internet speeds people get around this area. Of course, there are a lot of variables besides the network connection when testing internet speed via one of the top search hits, but what do you see for your upload and download rates? If I connect directly to my cable modem via ethernet, my best upload speed was ~26 Mbps (3.25 MB/s) and best upload speed was ~350 kB/s. I used speedtest.net, speakeasy, and bandwidthplace.com to check the speeds.

I'm very pleased with my upload speed, but curiosity is starting to make me wonder how good the connection really is.

Thanks again.

That is a great download speed, but it somewhat attributable to Cox' PowerBoost. As for upload, it varies greatly. I get closer to 2 Mbps, but others usually see less. Sure would love to have FiOS - 35 Mbps (http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/18/verizon-fios-internet-upload-speed-hits-35-mbps/33257/) would be incredible (and perhaps overkill) for my slingbox.

Does anyone know if this COX Advanced TV is just a new marketing package with the same old stuff? I'm getting really tired of the degradation of service on HD channels and thinking hard about switching to Directv or ATT Uverse, anyone else have any comments on the quality of COX HD vs. Directv Vs. ATT Uverse HD channels? I just came back from Texas and saw Time-Warner HD there and IMHO, it blew away our COX OC HD channel quality....

Oh yeah, if I stay with COX, is it worth it getting TIVO/cable card, and how much can I expect to save on COX charges....granted I have 2 HD DVRs and 1 other digital settop box from COX, so I am paying $40.40 a month just for the boxes and dvr service....

There have been a ton of posts over the last year or two about Cox' HD quality. Suffice it to say, many of us are not pleased, but it does vary. In fact, some channels are consistently good and some channels are good on occasion.

As for the Advanced TV, yes, they are renamed and reconfigured packages. IMO it's very confusing now. I mean Advanced Ultimate, Advanced Premier, and Advanced Preferred. What's next, Economy Preferred, Economy Best, and Economy The Bestest [grammar error intended]? I don't even know what to make of the packages.

As for TiVo, generally the payback period is three years or greater. Don't switch to a TiVo for cost; switch to a TiVo for, well, the TiVo interface and other features including multi-room viewing - although Cox is close to launching the latter.

There have been a ton of posts over the last year or two about Cox' HD quality. Suffice it to say, many of us are not pleased, but it does vary. In fact, some channels are consistently good and some channels are good on occasion.

As for the Advanced TV, yes, they are renamed and reconfigured packages. IMO it's very confusing now. I mean Advanced Ultimate, Advanced Premier, and Advanced Preferred. What's next, Economy Preferred, Economy Best, and Economy The Bestest [grammar error intended]? I don't even know what to make of the packages.

As for TiVo, generally the payback period is three years or greater. Don't switch to a TiVo for cost; switch to a TiVo for, well, the TiVo interface and other features including multi-room viewing - although Cox is close to launching the latter.

Anyone want to draft up a letter to send to Cox? We can all send it in or all meet over at cox RSM one day and ask for an answer

General note: If your TiVo suddenly forgets it has a tuning adapter attached, try swapping USB ports.

Seen a few posts about Cables in here.

http://www.monoprice.com

http://www.monoprice.com

http://www.monoprice.com

If your shoping anywhere else your 99 times out of 100 paying too much. Local SoCal company so you'll pay tax, but shipping is cheap and everything arrives in a day or two. Been using them for years for the home and cars. Unreal quality, Unreal prices....

I have to second that. I've been using them for over 4 years, and they are great!

Seen a few posts about Cables in here.

http://www.monoprice.com

http://www.monoprice.com

http://www.monoprice.com

If your shoping anywhere else your 99 times out of 100 paying too much. Local SoCal company so you'll pay tax, but shipping is cheap and everything arrives in a day or two. Been using them for years for the home and cars. Unreal quality, Unreal prices....

I have to second that. I've been using them for over 4 years, and they are great!


and they are an AVS sponsor ;)

Cox prices going (mostly) up. (http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/29/cox-raising-cable-tv-hd-and-internet-prices-in-orange-county/34775/)

Cox prices going (mostly) up. (http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2010/01/29/cox-raising-cable-tv-hd-and-internet-prices-in-orange-county/34775/)

That link is currently not working, but I guess this (http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/16/cox-cable-no-price-hikes-planned-for-2010-yet/30079/) didn't hold true for very long - barely a month.

Hey, they have to charge us something for all that "Free HD programming (http://ww2.cox.com/residential/orangecounty/tv/high-definition.cox)," at least "Most" of it. :eek:

edit: here's (http://m.ocregister.com/ocregister/db_13184/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=AE70C0B989051C0EA2A8EF813BA8922 A?contentguid=r2TAxCls&detailindex=2&pn=0&ps=3&full=true) a cached version of the article.

That link is currently not working, but I guess this (http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2009/12/16/cox-cable-no-price-hikes-planned-for-2010-yet/30079/) didn't hold true for very long - barely a month.

Hey, they have to charge us something for all that "Free HD programming (http://ww2.cox.com/residential/orangecounty/tv/high-definition.cox)," at least "Most" of it. :eek:

edit: here's (http://m.ocregister.com/ocregister/db_13184/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=AE70C0B989051C0EA2A8EF813BA8922 A?contentguid=r2TAxCls&detailindex=2&pn=0&ps=3&full=true) a cached version of the article.

Well I don't expect this to be the last price increase. Cable, electric, gas, next 6 months I predict increases across the board. And I doubt anyone will like the next round any better. Just seems the way of things these days. Maybe it will teach America the concept of responsible spending.....nahhhhh.

I wonder why the DVR service is going down almost $2 a DVR/month. Is that to make room for a pricier multi-room DVR?

I wonder why the DVR service is going down almost $2 a DVR/month. Is that to make room for a pricier multi-room DVR? Probably because the HD & HD DVR box rental is going up $2/month, so they had to offset.

Does anyone know if there is any hope that Cox will carry Universal Sports during the Olympics? It looks to me like quite a bit of the stuff that was on Uni HD last games is on Universal Sports this time.

Does anyone know if there is any hope that Cox will carry Universal Sports during the Olympics? It looks to me like quite a bit of the stuff that was on Uni HD last games is on Universal Sports this time.

I don't see it listed here (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-offers-customers-expanded-coverage-of-the-2010-olympic-winter-games-83674347.html) in the (corporate) Cox press release, but perhaps some of the programming will be available On DEMAND - small consolation for those without a Cox DVR, of course.

Hey yesterday after the superbowl around 9 PM, I noticed that some HD channels did not have a video picture. I would get the sound for them, but not the video. The local channels were OK, but those above 713 had problems.

Any one else see this?

Does anyone know if there is any hope that Cox will carry Universal Sports during the Olympics? It looks to me like quite a bit of the stuff that was on Uni HD last games is on Universal Sports this time.

I received a Cox mailer a couple of weeks ago about the winter Olympics; it listed Universal HD as well as NBC, USA HD, MSNBCHD and CNBCHD networks and indicated that a lot of content would be available via On Demand (free).

I received a Cox mailer a couple of weeks ago about the winter Olympics; it listed Universal HD as well as NBC, USA HD, MSNBCHD and CNBCHD networks and indicated that a lot of content would be available via On Demand (free).

Yes, saw that, too, but Universal HD (channel 788) is different than Universal Sports HD (http://www.universalsports.com/whats-on-tv/index.html). I don't believe we'll have the latter in time for the Olympics - although, much of it may be available online.

Yes, saw that, too, but Universal HD (channel 788) is different than Universal Sports HD (http://www.universalsports.com/whats-on-tv/index.html). I don't believe we'll have the latter in time for the Olympics - although, much of it may be available online.

If I remember correctly, the last time we had the olympics Cox added an HD station for just olympic stuff.

You are also correct that it should all be online. Microsoft is again this year providing the olympics via their Silverlight streaming services. Silverlight 4.0 now supports 1080p steaming video at 4-8mbps using VC1 which looks about the same as the quality we get from cox at 12mbps via mpeg2

If I remember correctly, the last time we had the olympics Cox added an HD station for just olympic stuff.


Correct, but those (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=14414848#post14414848) were specifically for soccer and basketball, so I'm not sure what they'll do this year. I just hope the On DEMAND will have much of the programming available so we can watch what we want when we want to.

Does Cox still require a technician to come out and "install" the cablecard into my Tivo or can I go to the Irvine, CA location (over by Quail Hill) and pick up a card myself.

If they're the ones that need to physically install it, what about if I brought my Tivo to that location. Can they do it there?

I'd rather not take time off work for something so trivial.

Does Cox still require a technician to come out and "install" the cablecard into my Tivo or can I go to the Irvine, CA location (over by Quail Hill) and pick up a card myself.

If they're the ones that need to physically install it, what about if I brought my Tivo to that location. Can they do it there?

I'd rather not take time off work for something so trivial.

My understanding is they will have to send out a technician; they did for me, but I got them to waive the fee. As for the retail center question, since they are not "technical" employees, I'm doubtful, but you could call and ask.

Either way, let us know.

My understanding is they will have to send out a technician; they did for me, but I got them to waive the fee. As for the retail center question, since they are not "technical" employees, I'm doubtful, but you could call and ask.

Either way, let us know.

They contract it out to a 3rd party. Last time they actually came out on a Sunday. Go figure.

Is anyone having bad pixelation issues on Fox News HD? My recording are virtually unwatchable, and when I watch the channel live, I'm seeing the same issue.

I thought it was my TiVo, so rebooted, but the problem still persists. I suppose it could still be my TiVo, but other channels seem fine.

edit: just checked my Cox DVR and I get the same issue, so it's either my local connection, Cox, or Fox News - although the SD channel is fine

Is anyone having bad pixelation issues on Fox News HD? My recording are virtually unwatchable, and when I watch the channel live, I'm seeing the same issue.

I thought it was my TiVo, so rebooted, but the problem still persists. I suppose it could still be my TiVo, but other channels seem fine.

edit: just checked my Cox DVR and I get the same issue, so it's either my local connection, Cox, or Fox News - although the SD channel is fine There was an incredible amount of pixelation on 721=DISCHD tonight making it unwatchable. Same goes for 746=FNCHD - a whole hour of The Factor completely trashed. Luckily on other TiVo I recorded Factor in SD with intent to download to my portable player to use at gym and that recording was clean.
Checking RS corrected/uncorrected errors, SNR and signal strength on TiVo all was well there for both channels so it was transmission problems from Cox. And they continue now as I type on 721. Hope Cox gets this sorted out...

There was an incredible amount of pixelation on 721=DISCHD tonight making it unwatchable. Same goes for 746=FNCHD - a whole hour of The Factor completely trashed. Luckily on other TiVo I recorded Factor in SD with intent to download to my portable player to use at gym and that recording was clean.
Checking RS corrected/uncorrected errors, SNR and signal strength on TiVo all was well there for both channels so it was transmission problems from Cox. And they continue now as I type on 721. Hope Cox gets this sorted out...

Okay, good to know, but most unfortunate. Fortunately, I, too, recorded the SD version of the Factor, so I can watch it old style on my Series 2. It's still pixelating horribly..:(

Does Cox still require a technician to come out and "install" the cablecard into my Tivo or can I go to the Irvine, CA location (over by Quail Hill) and pick up a card myself.

If they're the ones that need to physically install it, what about if I brought my Tivo to that location. Can they do it there?

I'd rather not take time off work for something so trivial.

Not sure if the policy has changed, but I picked mine up at the Quail Hill store the day they came out and installed them myself. There is a one page guide that walks you thru the install (easy) and you just have to call a number for activation.

I got a new LCD TV and was getting a vertical green line on the right side of the picture. Addionally there was a 1/2" vertical tear on the left side (you'll know what I'm talking about if you see it). I discovered in the Vizio XVT thread that other people were having the same issue, all of them with Motorola DVR's.

If you change the HDMI output setting from 1080i to 720p in the DVR the problem goes away. Just thought I'd share this info.

Not sure if the policy has changed, but I picked mine up at the Quail Hill store the day they came out and installed them myself. There is a one page guide that walks you thru the install (easy) and you just have to call a number for activation.

Are you thinking of the tuning adapter? As far as I know, a cable card install still requires a tech visit.

There was an incredible amount of pixelation on 721=DISCHD tonight making it unwatchable. Same goes for 746=FNCHD - a whole hour of The Factor completely trashed.

I had the same problem with MSNBC 743 last night at 5 pm -- about the first 15 minutes was very badly pixellated. (Hey, at least the left and the right are having the same problems for once :) )

I've also had intermittent problems with Comedy HD 760 and FX HD 717, but not nearly as bad as MSNBC was last night.

I had the same problem with MSNBC 743 last night at 5 pm -- about the first 15 minutes was very badly pixellated. (Hey, at least the left and the right are having the same problems for once :) )

I've also had intermittent problems with Comedy HD 760 and FX HD 717, but not nearly as bad as MSNBC was last night.

I also had the issue with HGTV HD (757) yesterday, so it sounds like it was quite a few channels. All channels seem okay now.

Does anyone know if there is any hope that Cox will carry Universal Sports during the Olympics? It looks to me like quite a bit of the stuff that was on Uni HD last games is on Universal Sports this time.

I don't see it listed here (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cox-offers-customers-expanded-coverage-of-the-2010-olympic-winter-games-83674347.html) in the (corporate) Cox press release, but perhaps some of the programming will be available On DEMAND - small consolation for those without a Cox DVR, of course.

For some reason I never noticed it before (perhaps because the channel is labeled as KNBCDT4), but channel 805 is indeed Universal Sports. It is not HD, but at least it is there.

Are you thinking of the tuning adapter? As far as I know, a cable card install still requires a tech visit.

Sorry, I was thinking of the TA...........I should read the posts more carefully.

For some reason I never noticed it before (perhaps because the channel is labeled as KNBCDT4), but channel 805 is indeed Universal Sports. It is not HD, but at least it is there.

Thank you so much! The daily figure skating show was what I wanted, and it's there. Better SD than nothing.

I lost 3 1 hour HD shows yesterday on the DVR due to the crazy software. The box showed 26% free, which should have been well over 4 hours of HD. I was watching the Daytona 500 live, but they had to delay it due to a track problem, and I had to leave. I cleared the buffer, and the show had 1 hour left. Since I knew it was going to go over, I added an extra 2 hours, and hit record. So that ended up being a 3 hour recording, as I expected. However, the box saw that I was recording a 4 hour show with an extra 2 hours, for 6 hours total. So as soon as the record light came in, it deleted 3 of my older shows to make room for a 6+ hours show. It didn't care that 3 hours of the show were already gone, and couldn't be recorded. That's just crazy. :mad:

I've noticed it deletes shows right at the start of the recording. I've never liked that, since sometimes I'm ready to watch one of the shows, and I'd prefer to deleted it myself before the space is needed, but that's not possible with the current software. But to delete shows for space that is NOT needed is just crazy!

I lost 3 1 hour HD shows yesterday on the DVR due to the crazy software. The box showed 26% free, which should have been well over 4 hours of HD. I was watching the Daytona 500 live, but they had to delay it due to a track problem, and I had to leave. I cleared the buffer, and the show had 1 hour left. Since I knew it was going to go over, I added an extra 2 hours, and hit record. So that ended up being a 3 hour recording, as I expected. However, the box saw that I was recording a 4 hour show with an extra 2 hours, for 6 hours total. So as soon as the record light came in, it deleted 3 of my older shows to make room for a 6+ hours show. It didn't care that 3 hours of the show were already gone, and couldn't be recorded. That's just crazy. :mad:

I've noticed it deletes shows right at the start of the recording. I've never liked that, since sometimes I'm ready to watch one of the shows, and I'd prefer to deleted it myself before the space is needed, but that's not possible with the current software. But to delete shows for space that is NOT needed is just crazy!
It's the main reason that drove me away from Cox DVRs. I couldn't count on being able to record NFL games over the weekend without losing content already recorded during the week - and that was back when bit rates were actually true HD from Cox. Now many years later and just recently looks like Cox will finally get a decent sized DVR deployed once/if the software to enable MRV finally gets pushed out. Still for some people that won't be enough either, so I wonder if the update may actually bring about esata expansion capability?

And it looks like the rumor is Tivo has something new to announce soon. That will be interesting.

I lost 3 1 hour HD shows yesterday on the DVR due to the crazy software. The box showed 26% free, which should have been well over 4 hours of HD. I was watching the Daytona 500 live, but they had to delay it due to a track problem, and I had to leave. I cleared the buffer, and the show had 1 hour left. Since I knew it was going to go over, I added an extra 2 hours, and hit record. So that ended up being a 3 hour recording, as I expected. However, the box saw that I was recording a 4 hour show with an extra 2 hours, for 6 hours total. So as soon as the record light came in, it deleted 3 of my older shows to make room for a 6+ hours show. It didn't care that 3 hours of the show were already gone, and couldn't be recorded. That's just crazy. :mad:

I've noticed it deletes shows right at the start of the recording. I've never liked that, since sometimes I'm ready to watch one of the shows, and I'd prefer to deleted it myself before the space is needed, but that's not possible with the current software. But to delete shows for space that is NOT needed is just crazy!

Ahh, I remember this problem well. Some would say to simply save the programs you don't want to lose. And they are correct, you will not lose those programs, but it won't let you extend the time for the NASCAR event - even though one knows there is ample space to record the event. This used to drive me crazy.

14TB in RAID is more than enough for me

Is it just me or has the OD quality dropped drastically? Namely with NBC HD. We're still without a DVR, humorously enough, so I just calmly turn to the on-demand, works well in my opinion. Anyway, the other day both NBC HD under My Primetime was missing, and Cable Networks HD was "unavailable", for about 10 hours or something like that (was gone before work, came back, still gone, then tried it an hour later and there it was). Just now, I started watching last weeks episode of Chuck, and noticed the intro was blurry, the cartoon one that used to be sharp as though it were a direct transfer of a render (which i'm sure it is in actuality). Chuck itself doesn't have the best picture, but the introduction is very crisp, however now it appears blurry.

I also watched Thursday's Community and The Office, found that they, too, were a bit lacking as opposed to how they looked before. Tried a few other things randomly as well, it all looked a tad blurry. Did they switch from 1080i to 720p? Or did they just cut back on the bandwidth?

UPDATE:
It was just me, after-all. I noticed "480p" was lit up on the cable box as opposed to the "1080i" indicator, went into the menu and saw that 480p was selected, not 1080i. I have no idea why this would be reset, but when I exited On-Demand, cable was set to 480p as well (the 1080i indicator was on earlier and the TV was showing "1920x1080i" in the upper corner). Set them both, turned the box off and then back on to see if it stuck, and it did. MYSTERY SOLVED.

I lost 3 1 hour HD shows yesterday on the DVR due to the crazy software. The box showed 26% free, which should have been well over 4 hours of HD. I was watching the Daytona 500 live, but they had to delay it due to a track problem, and I had to leave. I cleared the buffer, and the show had 1 hour left. Since I knew it was going to go over, I added an extra 2 hours, and hit record. So that ended up being a 3 hour recording, as I expected. However, the box saw that I was recording a 4 hour show with an extra 2 hours, for 6 hours total. So as soon as the record light came in, it deleted 3 of my older shows to make room for a 6+ hours show. It didn't care that 3 hours of the show were already gone, and couldn't be recorded. That's just crazy. :mad:

I've noticed it deletes shows right at the start of the recording. I've never liked that, since sometimes I'm ready to watch one of the shows, and I'd prefer to deleted it myself before the space is needed, but that's not possible with the current software. But to delete shows for space that is NOT needed is just crazy!

Go to the HD Tivo with one M-card and an external WD hard drive. You'll never be able to fill up the HD storage.

Hmmmm...Wondering if its Cox or my many years old DVR? I've seen quite a bit of pixelation lately, often on 704 (Olympics) and others. I did just watch a movie on 700 (HBO) and it was fine, even after I paused it for 1/2 hour, but come 8pm switch to 704 and I get issues. Hit me during the snowboard halfpipe, and even during the Audo commercial where one car was pixelated.

Hmmmm...Wondering if its Cox or my many years old DVR? I've seen quite a bit of pixelation lately, often on 704 (Olympics) and others. I did just watch a movie on 700 (HBO) and it was fine, even after I paused it for 1/2 hour, but come 8pm switch to 704 and I get issues. Hit me during the snowboard halfpipe, and even during the Audo commercial where one car was pixelated.

I'm also seeing more breakup than I used to. I'm in San Clemente.

I just spoke with a technical representative with Cox who said that the increased tiling (pixelation), audio blanking and black screen is due to corrupted code in the Motorola set top boxes. It is my understanding from our conversation that this will not be remedied until at least the end of March. Apparently Cox does not take customer dissatisfaction with poor quality seriously! It is unfortunate that Uverse is not available here in Irvine as yet or I would switch to that platform. I am not ready to make a switch to Dish or Direct although that is becoming tempting! I have been complaining about this tiling and poor video quality issue for months! I think Cox is too focused on their rollout of wireless services and are putting other technologies on the back burner. :mad::confused:

I just spoke with a technical representative with Cox who said that the increased tiling (pixelation), audio blanking and black screen is due to corrupted code in the Motorola set top boxes. It is my understanding from our conversation that this will not be remedied until at least the end of March. Apparently Cox does not take customer dissatisfaction with poor quality seriously! It is unfortunate that Uverse is not available here in Irvine as yet or I would switch to that platform. I am not ready to make a switch to Dish or Direct although that is becoming tempting! I have been complaining about this tiling and poor video quality issue for months! I think Cox is too focused on their rollout of wireless services and are putting other technologies on the back burner. :mad::confused: Any specific channels where you are noticing this a lot? There was that one period of a day or two where I had the problems on multiple channels but haven't noticed excessive problems recently for my TiVo recordings.

Yeah, it's been better since I posted...

12 days and no posts? Everyone asleep?

12 days and no posts? Everyone asleep?

It means everything is perfect in Cox OC land :eek:

I'm still waiting for the multi-room DVR with the larger hard drive that was coming out by the end of 2009. I think we passed that up. :D

I second that where, is the multi-room DVR already :mad:

My wife has been noticing some bad tiling on BravoHD. She stated it was present only on 1 TV though so I swapped some coax and the problem was much better (but not eliminated). With the SDV TA in the mix I have an extra cable to check but I ran out of spares.

In another room i had some signal problems on other channels as well about the same time. I tightened down all my connections and the problem seemed much improved.

Yeah, been seeing bits of it again..various channels.

Question, they ever fix the issue yet with the Software recognizing all 500GB in the newest boxes? The Pacific starts this Sunday on HBO, would love to get all 10 episodes on the HD. Ha Ha....

I just spoke with a technical representative with Cox who said that the increased tiling (pixelation), audio blanking and black screen is due to corrupted code in the Motorola set top boxes. It is my understanding from our conversation that this will not be remedied until at least the end of March. Apparently Cox does not take customer dissatisfaction with poor quality seriously! It is unfortunate that Uverse is not available here in Irvine as yet or I would switch to that platform. I am not ready to make a switch to Dish or Direct although that is becoming tempting! I have been complaining about this tiling and poor video quality issue for months! I think Cox is too focused on their rollout of wireless services and are putting other technologies on the back burner. :mad::confused:

Ahhhh.... I've been absent from this forum for several months. I couldn't resist commenting on this posting.

I switched to DISH about 3+ yrs ago. Been totally 100% satisfied. I've got two 5yr old technology DVR boxes each with 2-room viewing and 500GB apiece. Works great.

Cox couldn't care less about its customer base. Too bad. They went private around 5 yrs ago. They thought they could quickly 'spruce up' the place and then go public again and make a big killing in the market. But technology raced ahead of them and they remain stuck. They don't have any money to solve customer dissatisfaction problems or improve their outdated equipment. Cox customer service looks like its still poor - just like I experienced it many years ago.

So perhaps you wanna try DISH. I hear they are getting ready for the 4-room DVR box so they can keep up with Verizon FIOS and ATT U-verse. I can't see Cox coming up with enough $$$ to invest in new Motorola technology. If the Moto stuff is as bad as the current stuff .......

...I've been absent from this forum for several months.

Primarily because you were asked by the moderator of this thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17404477#post17404477) to stop bashing Cox and promoting DISH. :rolleyes:

Anyone have any secrets to dropping costs down on Cox? My bill just shot from 155 to almost 200. I used to be able to call them and they would give you the pay channels for $10 a month. $62 for internet service....insane.

Anyone have any secrets to dropping costs down on Cox? My bill just shot from 155 to almost 200. I used to be able to call them and they would give you the pay channels for $10 a month. $62 for internet service....insane.

You may want to switch from Premier to Preferred for Internet. Most find the latter speed to be fine.

As for cable, I, too, used to get the movie channels for $10 per month - total. They stopped giving that out a few months back, so I just get the approx. $12 plan with Netflix, which includes one BD out at a time and unlimited streaming. I haven't looked back since.

You should be able to get them to knock $15 off your total bill. I've been successful with that for months. It is harder now, though; I have to elevate it to a supervisor or manager.

edit: also, negotiate the $15 off BEFORE you drop the movie channels - better leverage. And then call back later to cancel the movie channels.

I have been member for a long time, this is my first post. I have several HDTV'S, A Vizio, Septre, and Samsung. I do not have and do not want to have an external box. I do use a Sony HDD HD recorder.
My question has to do with channel reception. My CBS digital is on channel 2-1, many others are similar. I do not know where to get a lineup for myself, any help will be appreciated.
Also, is there a limit to the number of TV's that can operate through the single cable coming into my Mission Viejo home? Any way to improve the reception?

I have been member for a long time, this is my first post. I have several HDTV'S, A Vizio, Septre, and Samsung. I do not have and do not want to have an external box. I do use a Sony HDD HD recorder.
My question has to do with channel reception. My CBS digital is on channel 2-1, many others are similar. I do not know where to get a lineup for myself, any help will be appreciated.
Also, is there a limit to the number of TV's that can operate through the single cable coming into my Mission Viejo home? Any way to improve the reception?

This site (http://www.dtv.gov/stationlist.htm) should help you with the channel numbers. Just put in your zip code at the top/left.

As for multiple TVs, you need an antenna amplifier as close to the antenna as possible. There are many amplifiers out there, including inline amps that may be better suited for you if you don't have power close to the antenna.

I had last 4 weeks of "Damages" recorded from FX-HD that I just got around to watching. Currently that's the only show from that channel I'm recording. All 4 episodes had fairly significant pixelation and audio dropout in parts to the point that it was sometimes annoying. So I'm guessing that other shows on that channel also have that problem. It's not a signal issue as checking my diagnostics they are all in very good range, so it's a Cox transmission problem. Anyone else seeing this on that channel?

I have been member for a long time, this is my first post. I have several HDTV'S, A Vizio, Septre, and Samsung. I do not have and do not want to have an external box. I do use a Sony HDD HD recorder.
My question has to do with channel reception. My CBS digital is on channel 2-1, many others are similar. I do not know where to get a lineup for myself, any help will be appreciated.
Also, is there a limit to the number of TV's that can operate through the single cable coming into my Mission Viejo home? Any way to improve the reception?

Are you looking for a the channel lineup of what you get when you don't have a box? I have a list here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=17928713&highlight=#post17928713)

I concur on Damages, a great show, on right after Jack. My FX has been dropping off completley on a regular basis. I've had to call Cox for a full re-boot, and it has taken over an hour to work. It seems like FX is so bit starved it barely comes on the system.
Nat Geo HD also looks very bad, if the camera moves the picture breaks up. HD Theatre, HDNet, and HDNet Movies also should look better, especially as I am paying extra for them...

I had last 4 weeks of "Damages" recorded from FX-HD that I just got around to watching. Currently that's the only show from that channel I'm recording. All 4 episodes had fairly significant pixelation and audio dropout in parts to the point that it was sometimes annoying. So I'm guessing that other shows on that channel also have that problem. It's not a signal issue as checking my diagnostics they are all in very good range, so it's a Cox transmission problem. Anyone else seeing this on that channel?

Yes, I've had problems on FX with Damages, Nip/Tuck and Archer. One episode of Nip/Tuck was completely unwatchable.

I know this topic is mostly TV info, but I figured I'd ask. My Cox Internet connection often goes out for a minute or two, mostly in the afternoon during the week (i.e., after school). It comes back pretty fast, but can be very annoying. The TV feed doesn't seem to be an issue. I had Cox out, and they said everything looks in order, but they did give me a new Cable Modem. That didn't help. It's not computer or OS related, since when it happens, it hits all computers in the house at the same time. We have 2 Macs, and 2 Windows boxes, plus an iPhone and an iPod Touch.

Any ideas before I call Cox again?

Can someone summarize where Cox service using a Tivo with cablecards stands? I'd love to know if the tuners are available (sounds like they are) and which channels have been lost without one. I did some searches, but I couldn't get a full sense of what is going on.

i recently noticed that the Tennis channel and Versus was no longer accessible to me, which leads me to believe I am behind the curve on this. i received a letter stating tuning adapters were coming, but not a follow up when they arrived.

Thanks, -Paul

I know this topic is mostly TV info, but I figured I'd ask. My Cox Internet connection often goes out for a minute or two, mostly in the afternoon during the week (i.e., after school). It comes back pretty fast, but can be very annoying. The TV feed doesn't seem to be an issue. I had Cox out, and they said everything looks in order, but they did give me a new Cable Modem. That didn't help. It's not computer or OS related, since when it happens, it hits all computers in the house at the same time. We have 2 Macs, and 2 Windows boxes, plus an iPhone and an iPod Touch.

We suffer from the same malady and it is very annoying since I work from home and we are very web centric as a family. I notice it right after lunch a lot, but there are periods throughout the day when everything gets extremely slow for several minutes and then is fine. I added a timer to power down my modem and router in the middle of the night and was considering having it do that during the day as it seems if I pull the plug and restart everything it usually (but not always) improves.

I wish I had a solution, but am glad to know it is not just our house. let me know what you find out.

Can someone summarize where Cox service using a Tivo with cablecards stands? I'd love to know if the tuners are available (sounds like they are) and which channels have been lost without one. I did some searches, but I couldn't get a full sense of what is going on.

i recently noticed that the Tennis channel and Versus was no longer accessible to me, which leads me to believe I am behind the curve on this. i received a letter stating tuning adapters were coming, but not a follow up when they arrived.

Thanks, -Paul

The tuning adapters are now available for no charge. I haven't done a comparison, but I believe that all channels, except VOD, are available via a Tivo with cable card(s) and a tuning adapter.

The only minor annoyance that I know of when using the tuning adapter with a Tivo is that it won't record suggestions on SDV channels.

Other than that, the two tuning adapters I have have been working flawlessly on a Tivo Series 3 and Tivo HD since they were released in Orange County.

The tuning adapters are now available for no charge. I haven't done a comparison, but I believe that all channels, except VOD, are available via a Tivo with cable card(s) and a tuning adapter.

The only minor annoyance that I know of when using the tuning adapter with a Tivo is that it won't record suggestions on SDV channels.

Other than that, the two tuning adapters I have have been working flawlessly on a Tivo Series 3 and Tivo HD since they were released in Orange County.

Thanks PJ. Can you or anyone else tell me...


What date the adapters were first released
What channels have switched


Thanks! A cox rep said she would credit me back for the channels we've been missing from when they were switched over.

One thing I find annoying is the lack of volume leveling. This is especially annoying at night when you're trying to watch TV late and quietly. Has it gotten worse or am I just noticing it more? Seems to happen a lot on History and A&E for me.

Thanks PJ. Can you or anyone else tell me...


What date the adapters were first released



I'm pretty sure it was around mid-November? I think I picked mine up the day after Thanksgiving.

Thanks PJ. Can you or anyone else tell me...


What date the adapters were first released
What channels have switched


Thanks! A cox rep said she would credit me back for the channels we've been missing from when they were switched over. Around November the TA were released. Essentially all triple digit SD channels are switched and a number of HD channels as well. Cox doesn't release a list of exactly what is switched (though they did list channels in a snail mail to affected customers at one point) and while there is a way to determine if a channel is switched or not through TiVo diagnostic menus one can only do so 1 channel at a time so it's too painful for someone to have to go through every channel to check, plus it may change at Cox discretion any time. The TAs are free and work perfectly and don't take up too much room, so no reason not to have one.
EDIT: For those who like TiVo suggestions one side effect is that with TA connected you basically don't get any. Doesn't bother me in the least as I don't like/use suggestions, but to those who do that is a factor to consider.

Around November the TA were released. Essentially all triple digit SD channels are switched and a number of HD channels as well. Cox doesn't release a list of exactly what is switched (though they did list channels in a snail mail to affected customers at one point) and while there is a way to determine if a channel is switched or not through TiVo diagnostic menus one can only do so 1 channel at a time so it's too painful for someone to have to go through every channel to check, plus it may change at Cox discretion any time. The TAs are free and work perfectly and don't take up too much room, so no reason not to have one.
EDIT: For those who like TiVo suggestions one side effect is that with TA connected you basically don't get any. Doesn't bother me in the least as I don't like/use suggestions, but to those who do that is a factor to consider.

I've learned to live without them. :) You do get a few, but only non-SDV channels IIRC, so very limited.

Around November the TA were released. Essentially all triple digit SD channels are switched and a number of HD channels as well. Cox doesn't release a list of exactly what is switched (though they did list channels in a snail mail to affected customers at one point) and while there is a way to determine if a channel is switched or not through TiVo diagnostic menus one can only do so 1 channel at a time so it's too painful for someone to have to go through every channel to check, plus it may change at Cox discretion any time. The TAs are free and work perfectly and don't take up too much room, so no reason not to have one.
EDIT: For those who like TiVo suggestions one side effect is that with TA connected you basically don't get any. Doesn't bother me in the least as I don't like/use suggestions, but to those who do that is a factor to consider.

Cox lists Switched Digital Video channels in their guide with a single asterisk (*)

*Digital channels included with service level noted; Requires a twoway
capable device (Tuning Adapter) and CableCARD rental or a digital receiver rental from Cox to view these channels.

Here is the link to your guide: http://ww2.cox.com/wcm/en/residential/datasheet/orangecounty/03102010_OC_channelLineup.pdf

Cox lists Switched Digital Video channels in their guide with a single asterisk (*)

*Digital channels included with service level noted; Requires a twoway
capable device (Tuning Adapter) and CableCARD rental or a digital receiver rental from Cox to view these channels.

Here is the link to your guide: http://ww2.cox.com/wcm/en/residential/datasheet/orangecounty/03102010_OC_channelLineup.pdf There is no marking on individual channels identifying which ones are switched. For example there are a number of HD channels that are NOT switched and quite a few that are, but there is no indication of which is which in that pdf file you link to or anywhere online that I can find.

There is no marking on individual channels identifying which ones are switched. For example there are a number of HD channels that are NOT switched and quite a few that are, but there is no indication of which is which in that pdf file you link to or anywhere online that I can find.

Try this one, http://ww2.cox.com/residential/orangecounty/tv/channel-lineup.cox
although I think this list is missing several. I used the online chat and asked the CS Rep to email the list, which he did right away. You might give that a try also.

Has anyone seen or heard of testing on the new Cox Passport Guide UI & Multi-room DVR and Cisco SA8600HDC, Supposedly Orange County is one of the first on the list.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18338316#post18338316

http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/23/cox-finally-coming-out-with-multi-room-dvr/24101/

Has anyone seen or heard of testing on the new Cox Passport Guide UI & Multi-room DVR and Cisco SA8600HDC, Supposedly Orange County is one of the first on the list.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18338316#post18338316

http://gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/2009/10/23/cox-finally-coming-out-with-multi-room-dvr/24101/

No new news as far as I know, but I did comment on your question (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18385107#post18385107) over on the Cox HDTV thread about the (dead) link.

My mom had to call Cox earlier today. The screen went black but you could hear audio. She called support and got directed to Ohio. Apparently cox rolled out an update last night that is causing a lot of problems. Looks like their support center in San Diego got overwhelmed

Yeah. Both of my DVR's reset at around 3:13 AM on March 31. At least one of them reset 5-7 times. I thought the box might be dying but thankfully I haven't had any issues.

Looks like they added channel EPIX 310. I was hopeful this would be offered in HD since the channel is listed as such on there (epix) website. Sadly its just regular crappy old SD

My info now reads:
Echo 3.1.023 Built May 11 2009, 14:42:48 (FW 18.75, CMP 1653)
It also lists Multi-Room DVR HMA info.

Yeah. Both of my DVR's reset at around 3:13 AM on March 31. At least one of them reset 5-7 times. I thought the box might be dying but thankfully I haven't had any issues.

Looks like they added channel EPIX 310. I was hopeful this would be offered in HD since the channel is listed as such on there (epix) website. Sadly its just regular crappy old SD

My info now reads:
Echo 3.1.023 Built May 11 2009, 14:42:48 (FW 18.75, CMP 1653)
It also lists Multi-Room DVR HMA info.

Here's a welcome change I see, before I had a green bar on the right side of my screen and a vertical "tear" along the left side if the box was in 1080i mode and my TV was in "screen fit" mode. This is now gone so I don't have to zoom my picture out to 16X9. I can now do a 1 to 1 pixel display (zero overscan). I'm happy.

My mom had to call Cox earlier today. The screen went black but you could hear audio. She called support and got directed to Ohio. Apparently cox rolled out an update last night that is causing a lot of problems. Looks like their support center in San Diego got overwhelmed

Yeah, I got in the living room yesterday about 6am and found my Box hung up...no buttons would respond. So I pulled the power cord, waited a few seconds and put it back in and powered up. Took a few minutes to reload data but has been cool since. (Not counting the picture freezes at times.....)

On the internet while I was filling out the Google application that MV has put out to be one of the Cities to get Googles 100MB Internet service, I was surprised that when I tested mine on my Laptop Wi-Fi'd to my Router that I got over 13MB down and over 2MB up....at 7pm. Better then I expected!

And if your in MV, you should also fill in that Google application, the more the better. Check out the MV websites for info. A lot of things media wise could work out real well with 100MB service!

Maybe it is just me, but my PQ appears to have improved since the update.

Maybe it is just me, but my PQ appears to have improved since the update. Well it's hard for it to get worse than it already is! :D

And if your in MV, you should also fill in that Google application, the more the better. Check out the MV websites for info. A lot of things media wise could work out real well with 100MB service! Looks like deadline for applications was Mar 26th according to Google. Looking at map charting responses looks like parts of Texas, Northeast and Florida are more likely candidates than here...

Looks like the firmware update affected the firewire port. When I shutoff my computer, the DCH-3416 reboots. :mad:

Anyone else have that issue, or is it just me? It started happening right after the update, but at first I thought it was a onetime glitch. But it happens everytime.

Dear lord, last night's episode of Stargate Universe was 12Mbps
** EDIT **
Just noticed that all of Syfy is now 12mbps. This is really pissing me off

Looks like the firmware update affected the firewire port. When I shutoff my computer, the DCH-3416 reboots. :mad:

Anyone else have that issue, or is it just me? It started happening right after the update, but at first I thought it was a onetime glitch. But it happens everytime.

Things are definitely different since the changes. I don't know if I've had that exact problem but every time I set CAPDVHS on a timer to record when the recording finishes my DVR shuts down.

I recently had my PC's hdtv tuner card do a scan of the OTA channels. Well it looks like FOX "KTTV" has finally succumb to the peer pressure and added a subchannel like the rest of the drones. Actually they added 2 subchannels. So CBS is the last "pure" substantial network HD channel standing. I guess it could be worse. I just noticed that LA18 has 8 subchannels and 57 and 44 both have 9. Not shockingly the PQ is beyond horrid. I fear for Football season and I want to throw up :mad:

...Well it looks like FOX "KTTV" has finally succumb to the peer pressure and added a subchannel like the rest of the drones. Actually they added 2 subchannels...
Actually 11-2 is a subchannel of KCOP 13 and 11-3 is a subchannel of yet another station (KAZA?). They apparently did this because of difficulty some had receiving VHF 11 after the switchover. These channels are just mapped to 11-2 and 11-3. KTTV still has no subchannels.

Actually 11-2 is a subchannel of KCOP 13 and 11-3 is a subchannel of yet another station (KAZA?). They apparently did this because of difficulty some had receiving VHF 11 after the switchover. These channels are just mapped to 11-2 and 11-3. KTTV still has no subchannels.

I wish that was correct but the channels are listed as Fox SD and Fox SD2 by my tuner card program. Also they both contain a FOX 11 myfoxla.com watermark logo and are airing the exact same program as the main KTTV channel.

The only saving grace is that the sub-channels are SD only and FOXHD is 720p. For OTA stations, following CBSHD, FOXHD has the next best bandwidth for my recordings still. Let's hope they don't go the way that ABCHD did...
Compared to some of the national "HD" channels on Cox such as SyFyHD & USAHD the OTA stations other than ABCHD are still much better. A lot of those don't deserve "HD" at all, but rather "MD" or "SHD" (**itty HD).

I wish that was correct but the channels are listed as Fox SD and Fox SD2 by my tuner card program. Also they both contain a FOX 11 myfoxla.com watermark logo and are airing the exact same program as the main KTTV channel.

See these entries from the LA OTA group:
11.2 is 13.2:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17991132&postcount=6738

Relationship between 11 and 13:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=18038095&postcount=6842

11.3 is on KAZA's (47) stream:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=18131629&postcount=6945

I am conisdering dropping one Cox HD receiver and replacing it with a new HD Tivo Premiere.

Can anyone confirm that they:
Paid $55 for Cox to "install" a Cable M-Card?

...that the card costs $1.99 per month

...that there is NO "Digital Gateway" fee in Orange County

...that I can plug Cox raw coax into the Tivo's antenna input and receive the clear QAM channels?

...that the SDV box Cox supplies will pull in all currently available HD channels
so the Tivo can record them?

If Cox didn't charge such a ridiculous amount ($7.50 per DVR and $9.99 per DVR recording fee), then I'd just stay with Cox. Their fees killed it.

Is there any good reason to NOT go the Tivo route? Thier interface is great.

Can anyone confirm that they:
Paid $55 for Cox to "install" a Cable M-Card?

Something like that, yeah. You might be able to sweet talk them into waiving it.

...that the card costs $1.99 per month

Correct


...that there is NO "Digital Gateway" fee in Orange County

Right, I think they just changed that. Though somehow I am now paying more than I used to...

...that I can plug Cox raw coax into the Tivo's antenna input and receive the clear QAM channels?

Don't know, sorry. moyekj might know.

...that the SDV box Cox supplies will pull in all currently available HD channels
so the Tivo can record them?

Correct! I have had very good luck so far *knock wood* with the tuning adapters.

If Cox didn't charge such a ridiculous amount ($7.50 per DVR and $9.99 per DVR recording fee), then I'd just stay with Cox. Their fees killed it.


For me it was the size of the hard drive that I couldn't take anymore.

Is there any good reason to NOT go the Tivo route? Thier interface is great.

Not as far as I'm concerned. I love my TiVos.

I am conisdering dropping one Cox HD receiver and replacing it with a new HD Tivo Premiere.

Can anyone confirm that they:

...If Cox didn't charge such a ridiculous amount ($7.50 per DVR and $9.99 per DVR recording fee), then I'd just stay with Cox. Their fees killed it.

Is there any good reason to NOT go the Tivo route? Thier interface is great.

I will add to Whitearrow's excellent response that one does not switch to a TiVo for $ savings. Last I checked the breakeven period is around 36 months. As you so wisely pointed out, the interface (and other functionality) should be the primary motivators.

I am conisdering dropping one Cox HD receiver and replacing it with a new HD Tivo Premiere.

Can anyone confirm that they:
Paid $55 for Cox to "install" a Cable M-Card?

...that the card costs $1.99 per month

...that there is NO "Digital Gateway" fee in Orange County

...that I can plug Cox raw coax into the Tivo's antenna input and receive the clear QAM channels?

...that the SDV box Cox supplies will pull in all currently available HD channels
so the Tivo can record them?

If Cox didn't charge such a ridiculous amount ($7.50 per DVR and $9.99 per DVR recording fee), then I'd just stay with Cox. Their fees killed it.

Is there any good reason to NOT go the Tivo route? Thier interface is great.
2 notes in addition to responses to your queries already:
1. Keep in mind that *currently* there is no known method to upgrade Premiere internal drive, so if you want plenty of space go with the XL or live with the flaky esata expansion. I'm sure it won't take too long for someone to figure out how to expand internal drive, but as of today it can't be done.

2. You wouldn't use antenna input to tune clear QAM. Antenna input is for NTSC & ATSC over the air tuning only. You would use cable input for clear QAM, but series 3/4 TiVos are almost useless without a CableCard so you don't want to go that route.

I'm happy with my original S3 units with OLED display and no plans to upgrade to Premiere any time soon despite enticing upgrade deal of $500 for a Premiere with lifetime service.

EDIT: Scratch 1. Looks like internal drive upgrades are now very close to reality already for Premieres:
http://www.wkblog.com/tivo/2010/04/weaknees-upgrades-the-tivo-premiere-to-4tb/

I am conisdering dropping one Cox HD receiver and replacing it with a new HD Tivo Premiere.

Can anyone confirm that they:
Paid $55 for Cox to "install" a Cable M-Card?

...that the card costs $1.99 per month

...that there is NO "Digital Gateway" fee in Orange County

...that I can plug Cox raw coax into the Tivo's antenna input and receive the clear QAM channels?

...that the SDV box Cox supplies will pull in all currently available HD channels
so the Tivo can record them?

If Cox didn't charge such a ridiculous amount ($7.50 per DVR and $9.99 per DVR recording fee), then I'd just stay with Cox. Their fees killed it.

Is there any good reason to NOT go the Tivo route? Thier interface is great.

I have had a TiVo HD on Cox OC for years and loved it. Once I got the tuning adapter it has been just fine. That being said, the new TiVo Premiere is a huge let down for me. Nothing new worth mentioning at all. It is just a polish update. The lack of additional tuners is a deal breaker for me. I will likely be going the Moxi route. It has 3 tuners, no service fee and true multi room support. They've come a long way and it is worth a look. It supports the same M-card and Moto tuning adapter as the TiVo.

I am conisdering dropping one Cox HD receiver and replacing it with a new HD Tivo Premiere.

You may want to look at a 3-Tuner Moxi HD DVR also, before making any decision. Moxi does not charge a subscription fee for the guide.

Moxi® 3–Tuner HD DVR: http://moxi.com/us/home.html
* Record 3 Shows at Once
* 500 GB Hard Drive (expandable to 6.5 TB)
* Add a Moxi Mate for Access in Additional Rooms

My issues with Switched Digital Video do not affect the Motorola Tuning Adapter, and you will have access to all 3 tuners.

Moxi Review starts at 18:00 min into video.
xXgxIW5fOCI

Best of luck.

You may want to look at a 3-Tuner Moxi HD DVR also, before making any decision. Moxi does not charge a subscription fee for the guide.

Moxi® 3–Tuner HD DVR: http://moxi.com/us/home.html
* Record 3 Shows at Once
* 500 GB Hard Drive (expandable to 6.5 TB)
* Add a Moxi Mate for Access in Additional Rooms

My issues with Switched Digital Video do not affect the Motorola Tuning Adapter, and you will have access to all 3 tuners.

Best of luck. With TiVo you can avoid monthly fees as well with Lifetime service purchase. Monthly service is just another option if you want to pay less up front, not a requirement. My biggest issues with Moxi are:
1. No way to transfer recorded shows to a PC in their natively encoded form. (This by itself is a deal killer for me).
2. No advanced wishlist support (with keyword boolean operators)
3. No OTA support.
4. Netflix implementation relies on PlayOn which means you need a PC to interface with and also means no HD Netflix streams are supported.
The advantages you list are indeed pluses over TiVo but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for my needs.

With TiVo you can avoid monthly fees as well with Lifetime service purchase. Monthly service is just another option if you want to pay less up front, not a requirement. My biggest issues with Moxi are:
1. No way to transfer recorded shows to a PC in their natively encoded form. (This by itself is a deal killer for me).
2. No advanced wishlist support (with keyword boolean operators)
3. No OTA support.
4. Netflix implementation relies on PlayOn which means you need a PC to interface with and also means no HD Netflix streams are supported.
The advantages you list are indeed pluses over TiVo but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages for my needs.

Whether or not you pay your TiVo fee upfront or periodically doesn't change the fact that the fee does not exist in any form with Moxi. Just food for decision making thought...

The inability to transfer recordings to PC is a bummer for me also.

The only thing really hanging me up in my decision to ditch TiVo and their 2 tuner limit is the possible inability to swap out the internal HDD that was so easy to do on my TiVo HD.

Whether or not you pay your TiVo fee upfront or periodically doesn't change the fact that the fee does not exist in any form with Moxi. Just food for decision making thought... My point is that if you buy a TiVo with lifetime service the price is comparable to buying a Moxi. If you choose to buy a TiVo with monthly service the upfront fee for the hardware only is much cheaper than Moxi. i.e. TiVo with lifetime service (and hence no monthly fee) is in same price ballpark as Moxi, so the argument that there is no fee with Moxi is moot as you have that same option with TiVo. Looking at it yet a different way, the Moxi only has lifetime service option and the cost of that is built in to Moxi purchase.

My point is that if you buy a TiVo with lifetime service the price is comparable to buying a Moxi. If you choose to buy a TiVo with monthly service the upfront fee for the hardware only is much cheaper than Moxi. i.e. TiVo with lifetime service (and hence no monthly fee) is in same price ballpark as Moxi, so the argument that there is no fee with Moxi is moot as you have that same option with TiVo. Looking at it yet a different way, the Moxi only has lifetime service option and the cost of that is built in to Moxi purchase.

I hear what you are saying but it's 40% more for a TiVo. $200 is a decent chunk of change which you could spend on a Moxi Mate and get an entire additional room of your house equipped as well.

TiVO Premiere + Lifetime service = $700
Moxi 2T = $500

... and the TiVo stiffs you with an insulting 320GB drive compared to 500GB.

I hear what you are saying but it's 40% more for a TiVo. $200 is a decent chunk of change which you could spend on a Moxi Mate and get an entire additional room of your house equipped as well.

TiVO Premiere + Lifetime service = $700
Moxi 2T = $500

... and the TiVo stiffs you with an insulting 320GB drive compared to 500GB. That's true, I forgot for new users lifetime is $400. For me the Premiere + lifetime would be $500 right now with the 50% lifetime discount offer.

That's true, I forgot for new users lifetime is $400. For me the Premiere + lifetime would be $500 right now with the 50% lifetime discount offer.

That's what it is for me too since I'm a current TiVoer also =) tvmaster doesn't have that luxury since hes coming from his crappy cable provider.

That's true, I forgot for new users lifetime is $400. For me the Premiere + lifetime would be $500 right now with the 50% lifetime discount offer.

But Lifetime means the life of the Tivo, doesn't it? and the subscription is for a single Tivo, two Tivos equals 2 subscriptions, right? If you upgrade to a newer model Tivo you have to pay another subscription, right?

I realize the Tivo community is a dedicated bunch and will probably be buried with their Tivos. I am a completely unbiased consumer, since currently I own neither a Tivo or a Moxi. But I am swayed to the Moxi as soon/If the FCC mandates IP protocols for Switched Digital Tuning.

But Lifetime means the life of the Tivo, doesn't it? and the subscription is for a single Tivo, two Tivos equals 2 subscriptions, right? If you upgrade to a newer model Tivo you have to pay another subscription, right?

I realize the Tivo community is a dedicated bunch and will probably be buried with their Tivos. I am a completely unbiased consumer, since currently I own neither a Tivo or a Moxi. But I am swayed to the Moxi as soon/If the FCC mandates IP protocols for Switched Digital Tuning. Yes, new TiVo means new subscription, though for additional units you do get $100 off lifetime (so $300 instead of $400). But for Moxi that is no different as well. New 2 tuner Moxi unit means another $500.
In any case Moxi certainly is a cheaper solution, especially if you go the Moxi Mate route instead of getting additional Moxi units. Depending on what is important to you it can be both a cheaper and better option than TiVo. I listed reasons why it's not for me but for some people the reasons I list wouldn't matter.

I've also being keeping a close eye on MCE with the upcoming 4-tuner Ceton card. That would be my next choice before Moxi. But there are still some issues for that solution for me:
1. The only available extenders for multi-room viewing are Xbox360s which aren't exactly cheap (though I guess not much more than Moxi mates)
2. There is no advanced wishlist capability there either.
3. Power consumption of the combined PC + extenders would be much more than dedicated DVR solutions.
4. Hassle of having to deal with PC platform, software updates, etc.

Yes, new TiVo means new subscription, though for additional units you do get $100 off lifetime (so $300 instead of $400). But for Moxi that is no different as well. New 2 tuner Moxi unit means another $500.
In any case Moxi certainly is a cheaper solution, especially if you go the Moxi Mate route instead of getting additional Moxi units. Depending on what is important to you it can be both a cheaper and better option than TiVo. I listed reasons why it's not for me but for some people the reasons I list wouldn't matter.

I've also being keeping a close eye on MCE with the upcoming 4-tuner Ceton card. That would be my next choice before Moxi. But there are still some issues for that solution for me:
1. The only available extenders for multi-room viewing are Xbox360s which aren't exactly cheap (though I guess not much more than Moxi mates)
2. There is no advanced wishlist capability there either.
3. Power consumption of the combined PC + extenders would be much more than dedicated DVR solutions.
4. Hassle of having to deal with PC platform, software updates, etc.

I would love to look into the HTPC route but the M-stream HD capable capture card situation is just "Meh" at best. It's really sad. The 4-tuner Ceton looks tasty but any word on what the MSRP is going to be?

I would love to look into the HTPC route but the M-stream HD capable capture card situation is just "Meh" at best. It's really sad. The 4-tuner Ceton looks tasty but any word on what the MSRP is going to be?

With the Ceton InfiniTV 4, you can get the same 4-tuner functionality, along with an improved user experience, for a Suggested Retail Price of only $399.00 Ouch!!! You can preorder them right now, expected release May 31st.
http://www.cetoncorp.com/buy.php

With the Ceton InfiniTV 4, you can get the same 4-tuner functionality, along with an improved user experience, for a Suggested Retail Price of only $399.00 Ouch!!! You can preorder them right now, expected release May 31st.
http://www.cetoncorp.com/buy.php Actually $400 for 4 tuners ($100/tuner) I consider an excellent price for a CableCard tuner, especially compared to the ATI CableCard single tuner card that was selling for $250 each! If you happen to already have a Windows 7 MCE PC and an Xbox360 lying around the entry price for that 4 tuner solution can be far cheaper than other 4 tuner solutions. For me though I would have to buy a Windows 7 PC (only have laptops currently and none with Windows 7) and would probably need at least 2 Xbox360 extenders, so the price quickly adds up, then there are still limitations I listed compared to what I have now.

Yeah. Both of my DVR's reset at around 3:13 AM on March 31. At least one of them reset 5-7 times. I thought the box might be dying but thankfully I haven't had any issues.

Looks like they added channel EPIX 310. I was hopeful this would be offered in HD since the channel is listed as such on there (epix) website. Sadly its just regular crappy old SD



pretty nearly all of the EPIX movie content is available in hd from on demand - there's a new EPIX HD channel there. Also, there's a new hd on demand channel for VUTOPIA which has a lot of classic movies on in HD (Amadeus, One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc). (No charge for either of these.)

pretty nearly all of the EPIX movie content is available in hd from on demand - there's a new EPIX HD channel there. Also, there's a new hd on demand channel for VUTOPIA which has a lot of classic movies on in HD (Amadeus, One flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc). (No charge for either of these.)

Thanks. Yeah. I noticed that also. I just forgot to mention it here.

Anyone in my area (Rancho Santa Margarita) have U-verse? How is the HD picture? I'm thinking of replacing Cox with it, the price looks pretty good.

Anyone in my area (Rancho Santa Margarita) have U-verse? How is the HD picture? I'm thinking of replacing Cox with it, the price looks pretty good.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch anything related to AT&T with a ten foot pole

Anyone in my area (Rancho Santa Margarita) have U-verse? How is the HD picture? I'm thinking of replacing Cox with it, the price looks pretty good. How many HD programs do you want to be able to record and/or watch at a time for your whole household? For longest time U-verse would only let you record a max of 2 HD programs in whole house. I think that is up to 3 now, but only because they use over-compressed HD channels with a 6 Mbps limit (yes that's H.264 not mpeg2 but still way over-compressed). The ads of watching 4 programs at a time are very deceptive IMO and make no mention of the HD channel limitations. Who watches SD TV much anymore these days? Everything I watch is now available in HD (though some of it is Cox "HD" which hardly qualifies). Other problem with U-verse (and satellite solutions) is no offloading of recordings to PC, but not everyone cares about that so much.

Is it just me or is CBS totally dead?

(waaaah Amazing Race!)

Is it just me or is CBS totally dead?

(waaaah Amazing Race!) TELL ME ABOUT IT!! Just sat down to watch Amazing Race and saw a black screen on 702. Tried digital version of 2, also black. Tried analog version of 2, also black! Is there a contract dispute between Cox and CBS or is the local station transmissions dead?

I have no idea. My analog tv's channel 2 had a blue screen with some message about the communication, but no clue, really.

Figures they are all back now way after Amazing Race finished. I'm watching it right now from cbs.com...

Did channel 2 (CBS) ever came back? I still don't have Ch 2 as of now (7 AM).

EDIT: Now I get ch 2..

Yeah, CBS went down for over 12 hours. Not sure if the sat uplink got messed up or what. My parents couldnt get ahold of Cox's tech support

I reported the CBS outage this morning before my post here. Don't know if my CSR gave me a run around or not. She said I am the first person to report the problem when I told her CBS has been out since 8 PM Sunday.

CBS was down for me also. Its back now. Although Showtime HD had some downtime today. I really hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence. Very annoying.

CBSHD was fine for me last night and recorded 4 shows from 8-10pm. It was the night before that it was down (along with the digital SD version and analog version).
Showtime is also owned by same parent company of CBS Viacom so looks like the trouble channels of late are all Viacom related... I hope there is not some kind of contract dispute issues going on. CBSHD is by far my most recorded channel and is also the best quality of the local broadcast stations so any problems with it I usually notice fairly quickly.

Can you imagine if CBS had gone out a few hours earlier on Sunday during the Masters? OMG, there would have been a revolt.

Can you imagine if CBS had gone out a few hours earlier on Sunday during the Masters? OMG, there would have been a revolt. I wish it had happened during Masters. That way it would have got attention and perhaps been fixed in time for Amazing Race. :D

Hey Guys,

After 12 years away I am moving back to CA, specifically back to RSM. I have not so fond memories of Cox, and switched to DISH way back when because of them.

My new place in RSM won't have line of sight to satellite TV, so my choice is between Cox or U-Verse. I am pretty demanding on HD PQ, is Cox HD decent? Anybody been able to compare to U-verse (which from the forums appears to generally suffer from low bandwidth, macroblocking, and crushed blacks).

All Cox and or U-verse input appreciated!

Rob

Hey Guys,

After 12 years away I am moving back to CA, specifically back to RSM. I have not so fond memories of Cox, and switched to DISH way back when because of them.

My new place in RSM won't have line of sight to satellite TV, so my choice is between Cox or U-Verse. I am pretty demanding on HD PQ, is Cox HD decent? Anybody been able to compare to U-verse (which from the forums appears to generally suffer from low bandwidth, macroblocking, and crushed blacks).

All Cox and or U-verse input appreciated!

Rob
Only way to know for sure is to try both. I think DirecTV followed by FIOS are top choices for picture quality, obviously neither being an option for you. U-verse for sure is not a good choice when it comes to quality seeing as all their feeds are transcoded to H.264 and HD bit rates are capped around 6 Mbps max so that they can squeeze them in to their very limited DSL bandwidth. That translates roughly to about 12 Mbps equivalent in mpeg2 going by rule of thumb that H.264 can give you same quality with half the bandwidth of mpeg2. Plus restriction of at most 2-3 HD channels that can be viewed/tuned at a time for your whole household eliminates them from consideration for me.
You can peruse this thread for Cox quality concerns. For the most part for OTA HD channels Cox is passing them through as is (and ABCHD OTA broadcast from LA totally sucks here). Some of the national HD channels like SyFy HD & Discovery HD are really bad in my opinion. The fact that you can find 3 1080i channels per QAM on Cox now for several QAMs means several of the national HD channels are maxed out around 12-13 Mbps which is hardly good enough. It's not necessarily the local headend that is the problem either, I think that is how they are delivered from the Cox backbone, so there is nothing local headend can do to improve the quality. There are other channels such as CBSHD & TNTHD which are still around 18 Mbps or so much higher quality. It's really a mixed bag at this point.
But if your choices are between U-verse and Cox only it's a no-brainer to go with Cox IMO.

All Cox and or U-verse input appreciated!
Rob


But if your choices are between U-verse and Cox only it's a no-brainer to go with Cox IMO.

Agreed. U-verse has a decent enough picture quality (as compared to Cox anyway) but other limitations including the limited ability (2, I believe) to record and/or watch simultaneous HD content is a deal breaker.

Welcome back, Rob. Couldn't stand the heat in Austin?

Thanks guys for the input on Cox and U-verse, some very interesting and helpful points brought up! I suppose I must now mention Syfy HD and Discovery HD and HBO, along with various OTA HD, are my favorite channels to watch. Also 2 HD streams is fine, we usually only have one HD TV on at a time (and maybe recording something else simultaneously).

What I am hearing is the nod might go to Cox for overall HD PQ, but for what I like to watch U-verse might deliver better overall PQ (especially if the OTA HD feeds are better). With the current U-verse deals, its far cheaper the first 12 months than Cox for the programming/internet options I would order (and also a bit cheaper on an ongoing basis). I understand they are currently rolling out 3HD/1SD stream service, although I wonder what that will do to overall PQ if they don't have more bandwidth for it.

Wife's job transfer is driving me out of Austin :). And the company I worked for folded so I am out of work (anybody need a computer guy?). But it does get HOT here :eek:.

Just to be clear, the OTA HD channels will be better quality over Cox than U-Verse. Cox passes on the ATSC broadcasts pretty much untouched while U-Verse transcodes them on the fly to H.264 with limited bit rates before you receive them, so there is no way the U-Verse OTA channels will look better than what Cox provides. May not be much worse but certainly will not be better. As far as cost I have little doubt that overall a U-Verse package is cheaper than Cox, so it that is a primary concern and you don't mind degraded HD channels (at least the OTA channels) then that is probably the right choice for you. If your primary HDTV is no bigger than 40" then you will probably not notice much degradation of HD channels either so that is something else to factor in the decision.

Thanks for the clarification on OTA (important since my primary HD display is 60"). I mistakenly combined the comments about Cox passing them on as is and ABC local OTA sucking.

If Cox OTA is passed on "as is" directly from LA (vs poor local OTA reception), that would definitely give the nod to them. Even with the U-verse first year cost savings of $500 (when you are unemployed you start thinking where can I save cashola) :D .

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that when I FF at the highest rate the box will start and stop rather than holding a consistent speed like it use to. FF speed 1 and 2 are OK. Anyone else notice this or is it just my box acting up? I'm suspicious because of the recent firmware update.

BBC America HD - Where is it?
Cox has made this available in over 20 U.S. communities, including Santa Barbara, but still no Orange County or San Diego. What's the delay.
Start emailing if you ever want to see this channel in Orange County.
We can get ALL the boring news channels in HD, but no Doctor Who, Top Gear, Torchwood, etc.
Go to Cox Orange County website and demand BBC America HD

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that when I FF at the highest rate the box will start and stop rather than holding a consistent speed like it use to. FF speed 1 and 2 are OK. Anyone else notice this or is it just my box acting up? I'm suspicious because of the recent firmware update.

I have noted the hesitations in FF, even at the lowest speed, for the past couple of weeks. I also was worrying about a problem with the DCT6416 III, now 3 1/2 years old. Let's see if anyone else is having these problems...

BBC America HD - Where is it?
Cox has made this available in over 20 U.S. communities, including Santa Barbara, but still no Orange County or San Diego. What's the delay.
Start emailing if you ever want to see this channel in Orange County.
We can get ALL the boring news channels in HD, but no Doctor Who, Top Gear, Torchwood, etc.
Go to Cox Orange County website and demand BBC America HD

I believe this is still the link where one may post such a request:

https://www.cox.com/support/ocpv/emailchat/emailus.asp

Anyone know how much extra per month the "Sports & Information Pak" is?

Anyone know how much extra per month the "Sports & Information Pak" is?

Depends. Any one pak is $12.50, but you get three for $15.95 and four for $18.95.

http://ww2.cox.com/residential/orangecounty/tv/pricing.cox

It also looks like a certain number of paks are included depending on which Advanced TV package you go with. See above link.

I have noted the hesitations in FF, even at the lowest speed, for the past couple of weeks. I also was worrying about a problem with the DCT6416 III, now 3 1/2 years old. Let's see if anyone else is having these problems...I have noticed the same issue lately. I was wondering why it was forwarding slower and pausing while doing so. Irritating. It's always something.

I have noted the hesitations in FF, even at the lowest speed, for the past couple of weeks. I also was worrying about a problem with the DCT6416 III, now 3 1/2 years old. Let's see if anyone else is having these problems...

I'm now noticing this on all speeds also. Time for us to call Cox and complain. Let me guess, "No one else has ever reported this problem." :p

I believe this is still the link where one may post such a request:

https://www.cox.com/support/ocpv/emailchat/emailus.asp

Thanks - I've sent Cox support, sales, you name it, requests for over three years - instead, we seem to get packages from large content providers that must arrive at Cox in a "bundled" price. Therefore, things like BBC HD and Current TV are unlikely to arrive first. Current TV will never arrive, as Al Gore has some money in it, and Cox donates heavily to the "other" party.
Cox rarely replies when you enter things at that link, but it doesn't hurt to try.
Now that they've decided to discontinue support for Usenet, I guess they're going to give us "what" exactly in return? I guess they'll just use that pipe for more PPV.

Oh, apparently Cox Arizona is adding BBC HD, likely just as Doctor Who has finished. I'm now down to just one Cox converter from four (all replaced with Tivo and Cablecards), and have disconneted Cox phone service as well (too expensive). I wonder why people keep paying Cox when there are so many other ways to get the same info, and in the case of my Tivo's, much, much better.

I'm now noticing this on all speeds also. Time for us to call Cox and complain. Let me guess, "No one else has ever reported this problem." :p

Did you ever call Cox Support to ask them about their Usenet News servers? You might as well have been speaking Venutian to them. I guess that's why they are finally taking Usenet away from us in Orange County at the end of June. That and the RIAA and MPAA likely presured them to do it.

Thanks - I've sent Cox support, sales, you name it, requests for over three years - instead, we seem to get packages from large content providers that must arrive at Cox in a "bundled" price. Therefore, things like BBC HD and Current TV are unlikely to arrive first. Current TV will never arrive, as Al Gore has some money in it, and Cox donates heavily to the "other" party.


Way too conspiratorial for me. The "bundl[ing]" you speak of has long been an issue with cable TV, long before the "other" party lost control and long before Gore became so green. Like I said, way too conspiratorial for me, but to each his own.

I wonder why people keep paying Cox when there are so many other ways to get the same info, and in the case of my Tivo's, much, much better.

For the same reason you do: there are not a lot of other (simple) options. As for your TiVo, without Cox, it wouldn't get the "same info" that Cox provides, just as my TiVo doesn't.

Way too conspiratorial for me. The "bundl[ing]" you speak of has long been an issue with cable TV, long before the "other" party lost control and long before Gore became so green. Like I said, way too conspiratorial for me, but to each his own.

For the same reason you do: there are not a lot of other (simple) options. As for your TiVo, without Cox, it wouldn't get the "same info" that Cox provides, just as my TiVo doesn't.

Ok, maybe a tad rash, but Cox blatantly lies to it's customers. When I asked Cox via email why the didn't carry Current TV, I was told it was due to "lack of space", i.e, Cox had none available (at least that's what they said in the email they replied to). Withing the next 12 months, they added at least 20 new channels, including several religious channels which I personally feel should be pay-per-subscriber. Their true colors were apparent, green or otherwise. Cox replied to my request while Bush was in power. What's truly sad about Current TV not being available in Orange County, is that CSUF has a large television and film four-year grad program which would benefit from the youth-oriented involvement offered by Current TV. Many students would be able to produce programming. Most students I asked didn't even know what Current TV was, because they had never seen it.

Cox is a monopoly, controlling the only broadband service available to 3 million people in Orange County. If you want broadband, it's with Cox. As someone who comes from the early days of cable, we were given carte blanche to be the ONLY company (not Cox, but another cableco) regulated to supply the pipe. No one else was allowed to play on the telephone poles at that time. What we need is for the FCC to allow someone else access to Cox's lines, just as cableco's were allowed to run their wires how they did. Cox just raised the price of my convertors 50% in a down economy, the ones that have been in my house for eight years, and paid for long ago. It's a cash grab, and I am hoping to eliminate all of Cox that I can. Cox treats Tivo customers with contempt. They are in business to rent inferior DVR's. When Reagen deregulated the TV industry, it created Clear Channel and now the Comcast controlled NBC-Universal. We, the viewers, have little choice. Why do I need TWO plug in devices to make a Tivo work? I didn't need two devices to make a VCR work. Sorry, I'm mad as hell and don't want to take it any longer.

Excuse me for not having the time for reading the whole >206 page form. If I missed anything important, please respond with a quote. I know a guy who works for Cox, and here is everything I know of or have experienced before.

Cell Phone
-Cox Screwed Up on Release Date. It will use Sprint cell towers and Cox will carry 3 Motorola handsets. No clue on which ones.

TV - This is a long one
-Whatever version of Passport Echo (3.1 or 3.5) they use on the Motorola DCX3400 runs like Sh*t. NEVER run older software on newer hardware.
-The DCX3400 firewire port is scrambled. I know it is not my computer that I tested it on (PowerMac G4 MDD) because I exchanged it for a DCT6416 and it works perfectly.
-The Tru2Way NDS guide is majorly delayed. They could use that OR the Tru2Way version of Passport Echo.
-Even if your STB does 1080p, it is limited to 1080i in software.
-Cox analog support (where you plug a cable from the wall directly into the TV) will end in February of 2012
-For every analog channel cox deletes, they can add 3 HD channels or 10 SD channels.
-If you have a 500gb drive in your box, it is formatted down to only 160gb. Soon, Cox will charge you to re-partition the drive. Sucks for me because I just got a DCT6416.
-ALMOST all Motorola STBs are capable of the new software.

and that is all I can remember for now. If you have a question about ANYTHING (cox, directv, tivo, computer, electronic devices, disneyland, pepsi, etc...) just ASK!!!

Soon, Cox will charge you to re-partition the drive. Sucks for me because I just got a DCT6416. This statement caught my attention. Where did you get that information from? Cox OC has promised to deliver Multi Room DVR for a long time, the last prediction being December of last year which obviously did not materialize, and I've not heard of a new date for launch. There has been some curiosity if Cox was going to charge extra for Multi Room DVR but no official information on that front.

Hmm, never found the need to re-partition a drive.

Is it just me or has anyone else noted really crappy service today, on many channels I've been experiencing macro blocking to frozen pics, move to another channel, come back and it says the channel is off the air atm. I've seen it on HBO, NatGeo, USA, Speed, and others. (all HD versions)

Hmm, never found the need to re-partition a drive.

Is it just me or has anyone else noted really crappy service today, on many channels I've been experiencing macro blocking to frozen pics, move to another channel, come back and it says the channel is off the air atm. I've seen it on HBO, NatGeo, USA, Speed, and others. (all HD versions)

Didn't see anything out of the ordinary at least on Fox (711) and ESPN2 (716). I watched both at length today.

No significant issues with NBA games on ABC & TNT HD today that I noticed. BTW TNT HD is one of the highest bit rate channels available via Cox in 17-18 Mbps range and it's very obvious when watching how superior it is to other channels covering NBA.

Hmm, never found the need to re-partition a drive.
I think that post was with regards to enabling the new software that will re-partition 500GB drives in the newer Moto DVR units to take advantage of space beyond the current 160GB limit - probably same software that will allow for multi-room viewing.

I have looked at some other discussions without much luck so I thought I'd try here since this is specific to Cox. I have had the DCT6412III for years and it finally went bad so I just picked up the DCX3400. I am wondering the following:

1. Are any of the USB, eSata, FireWire, or Ethernet activated for external hard drives or data transfer or networking?

2. I understand from previous posts that this model has 500gb drive but only 160gb is currently accessible. Are we stuck waiting for Cox to make available the remaining space or does someone know a workaround?

3. Are there any specific issues / tricks I should know about the 3400?

I apologize if this information is elsewhere. Most of what I found was specific to Comcast.

This statement caught my attention. Where did you get that information from? Cox OC has promised to deliver Multi Room DVR for a long time, the last prediction being December of last year which obviously did not materialize, and I've not heard of a new date for launch. There has been some curiosity if Cox was going to charge extra for Multi Room DVR but no official information on that front.

I have a friend who is training at cox, and he said that there will be a charge ($5.95/month he says, unless they change it) for the, to repartition the drive. They probably will either do it remotely (without losing your recordings) or have you exchange your box with no transferring. He said he didn't know anything about multi-room dvr, except that is was coming "later this year". I presume it will come along with the new NDS guide, and some older boxes might have to be replaced.

I have looked at some other discussions without much luck so I thought I'd try here since this is specific to Cox. I have had the DCT6412III for years and it finally went bad so I just picked up the DCX3400. I am wondering the following:

1. Are any of the USB, eSata, FireWire, or Ethernet activated for external hard drives or data transfer or networking?

2. I understand from previous posts that this model has 500gb drive but only 160gb is currently accessible. Are we stuck waiting for Cox to make available the remaining space or does someone know a workaround?

3. Are there any specific issues / tricks I should know about the 3400?

I apologize if this information is elsewhere. Most of what I found was specific to Comcast.

1. Esata and Ethernet are dead. USB (only tried the one in the front) is limited to power. I was able to charge my old iPod nano (gen2) iff of it, but my iPhone and iPod classic did nothing. FireWire is there for a reason different than you think; plugging it into your computer (Mac with FireWire sdk 2.6 or pc with media center (I think) allows you to watch and record tv from the box.
2. This is not cox doing is, it is the OLD passport echo it runs. We might see bigger re-partitioned drives when NDS is loaded.
3. Even though I said that FireWire is for video, it is scrambled (at least on my powermac). I tried it in kttv so it's not the channel. Also, sometimes when you attempt to play a recording, you are taken back to the channel you were watching. If this happens it means your box is screwed up. All of them are. The cox guy I spoke to when I traded the box in said there is also a fast-forwarding issue, but I have not seen this. Also, the box is capable of 1080p, but is limited in software to 1080i.

That is all I know off the top of my head. Let me know hoenthis box works for you! If you ever trade it in, try to get a DCH 3416. One of my relatives has this box and they never have issues.

In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that when I FF at the highest rate the box will start and stop rather than holding a consistent speed like it use to. FF speed 1 and 2 are OK. Anyone else notice this or is it just my box acting up? I'm suspicious because of the recent firmware update.

Which box do you have? My DCT6416 does this also, but my DCX3400 never did.

which box do you have? My dct6416 does this also, but my dcx3400 nerve did.

dct6416

dct6416

Its just like editing HD on an old 2003 PowerMac compared to editing HD on a brand new Mac Pro. They both work fine, but the Mac Pro obviously runs it better.

A couple of questions
1) A recent post mentions end of analog support and thus no direct cable coax connections in Feb 2012. Can anyone else confirm this? Kinda sucks, I would need to get 2 more cable boxes I guess for lesser used sets. My bill is already out of hand

2) Is it just me or does the scroll of stock prices ( at bottom of screen ) on 744 seem iffy, kinda in/out of clear focus at times?
( watching on a Pioneer Kuro )
All other scrolls on all other channels seem fine


In the last couple of weeks I've noticed that when I FF at the highest rate the box will start and stop rather than holding a consistent speed like it use to. FF speed 1 and 2 are OK. Anyone else notice this or is it just my box acting up? I'm suspicious because of the recent firmware update.
I have noticed this also, FF3 and FF4 seem to get very inconsistent. Only fix for me is to hit play and then FF again

A couple of questions
1) A recent post mentions end of analog support and thus no direct cable coax connections in Feb 2012. Can anyone else confirm this? Kinda sucks, I would need to get 2 more cable boxes I guess for lesser used sets. My bill is already out of hand
Cox made a commitment to provide analog channels at least until 2012. I haven't seen any official post that means come 2012 they will drop analog completely.
My guess is if they do then Cox will offer a very low priced converter box with analog output as an alternative, similar to what Comcast is doing for their all digital locations. i.e. Instead of $5/month perhaps somewhere in the order of $2/month rental charge. I still have 3 TVs in the house used by wife & kids that are using direct coax feed for analog channels only, so would not look forwards to that change either...

I have noticed this also, FF3 and FF4 seem to get very inconsistent. Only fix for me is to hit play and then FF again

There's a 4th fast forward speed?

Cox made a commitment to provide analog channels at least until 2012. I haven't seen any official post that means come 2012 they will drop analog completely.
My guess is if they do then Cox will offer a very low priced converter box with analog output as an alternative, similar to what Comcast is doing for their all digital locations. i.e. Instead of $5/month perhaps somewhere in the order of $2/month rental charge. I still have 3 TVs in the house used by wife & kids that are using direct coax feed for analog channels only, so would not look forwards to that change either...

Cox could also offer the option to purchase at cost (about $50) an inexpensive STB like this one: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/video/ps8611/ps8612/ps10771/7016863.pdf

FCC Grants DTA Waivers To Four Vendors: http://www.multichannel.com/article/328866-FCC_Grants_DTA_Waivers_To_Four_Vendors.php
"The FCC "concluded that such devices will serve the public interest by furthering cable operators' migrations to all-digital networks... and would not jeopardize the development of the competitive marketplace for navigation devices" from consumer-electronics companies, the Media Bureau said in the Aug. 24 ruling."

There's a 4th fast forward speed?

Sorry, I was counting normal play as the 1st speed
You are correct, 3 FF speeds
I have troubles with smooth FF on both the 2nd/3rd speeds

Sorry, I was counting normal play as the 1st speed
You are correct, 3 FF speeds
I have troubles with smooth FF on both the 2nd/3rd speeds

No worries. I haven't used my Cox DVR in the bedroom in a while, so thought perhaps they snuck in a new feature.

Cox made a commitment to provide analog channels at least until 2012. I haven't seen any official post that means come 2012 they will drop analog completely.
My guess is if they do then Cox will offer a very low priced converter box with analog output as an alternative, similar to what Comcast is doing for their all digital locations. i.e. Instead of $5/month perhaps somewhere in the order of $2/month rental charge. I still have 3 TVs in the house used by wife & kids that are using direct coax feed for analog channels only, so would not look forwards to that change either...

I have a friend who has directv, and he says that boxes for old analog TVs are free but HD cost more. If cox could include the digital gateway in the basic plan and just give people free boxes (or like you said $2 a month), then this will make their customers more happy and more likely to stay, and obviously make them more loyal, because cable companies will do almost anything to keep their customers. Oh ya, I think the KCBS outage was cox specific.

A couple of questions
1) A recent post mentions end of analog support and thus no direct cable coax connections in Feb 2012. Can anyone else confirm this? Kinda sucks, I would need to get 2 more cable boxes I guess for lesser used sets. My bill is already out of hand

2) Is it just me or does the scroll of stock prices ( at bottom of screen ) on 744 seem iffy, kinda in/out of clear focus at times?
( watching on a Pioneer Kuro )
All other scrolls on all other channels seem fine



I have noticed this also, FF3 and FF4 seem to get very inconsistent. Only fix for me is to hit play and then FF again

Directv does them for free, why can't cox? As for CNBC, it is either the channel or your TV. Since I am a fox business/news person, I couldn't tell you unless I watch it tomorrow morning. By the way, fox news has a bar at the bottom with news updates, and that rolls just fine on my Sony Bravia. Check FNC 746 and see if it is the same.

I'm watching Bones right now and the signal switched to Standard Def...and back to HD and back to SD and back to SD...you get the picture

I'm watching Bones right now and the signal switched to Standard Def...and back to HD and back to SD and back to SD...you get the picture

Ok now it's back to normal

I thought about posting this in the "HDTV Technical" section, but since I'm asking as a OC Cox subscriber, hopefully this thread is appropriate for my questions.

I'm considering purchasing a peripheral, HDHomeRun, that connects to the coaxial running from the wall and streams the feed to my laptop over WiFi. However, I'm having a difficult time figuring out what channels I should expect to receive with a direct connection to the coaxial and if they'll be HD.

When I check what channels I'll get via cable using the "What channels will I receive?" link on HDHomeRun's homepage, it lists about 70 QAM channels. However, most are duplicates or throwaways. It is mainly the 3 major networks and PBS that is of interest--all in HD. Cox Cable's list of available QAM channels looks much like HDHomeRun's list.

However, when I connect the coaxial cable running from the wall of my home directly into a TV (without the set-top box), I get considerably more channels; I get the basic cable portion of my digital TV subscription, which means there's the major networks, 24/7 cable news channels, etc. (I believe I am subscribed to the "Advanced TV Preferred" plan, which includes HD channels.)

1) So when I plug the coaxial cable into the HDHomeRun, which set of channels should I expect to receive: the QAM set listed by SiliconDust and Cox Cable's QAM channel lineup or the lineup I know I get with a TV directly connected to the coaxial?

2) And a related issue. Perhaps key to understanding this discrepancy: are the basic cable channels one gets via direct connection to a coaxial cable synonymous with QAM channels? Or are these 2 distinctly different things?

3) Or is the difference in the channel lineups because the first set of channel data (HDHomeRun & Cox's) presents what you would get if you connected the QAM tuner (HDHomeRun) directly to the coaxial without even a basic cable subscription? But if you had at least a basic cable subscription you should expect to receive the same channels over this QAM tuner peripheral as you would when connecting a TV directly to the coaxial?

Despite considerable time reading up on all this, I remain quite lost. Thank you for any help.

Libertine, it's really quite simple. You will be able to tune all the analog versions of the channels (i.e. most channels below 100). For digital channels (using QAM) you will only be able to receive unencrypted ones, known as clear QAM. Most recent posted listed of clear QAM channels in this thread were:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showpost.php?p=17735925&postcount=5929
Cox has been moving things around quite a lot in the past year or so and can do so whenever they want, so the list changes over time. Basically anything but local broadcast digital channels can be encrypted by Cox so in general you shouldn't expect anything other than those to be unencrypted.

Also note that HDHR will eventually be releasing a 2-tuner CableCard solution capable of tuning encrypted digital channels (via CableCard) later this year. Ceton is going to release a 4-tuner CableCard solution next month. For now only Windows 7 Media Center Edition PC software can be used for tuning and decrypting encrypted digital cable channels via a PC. Anyone that does this needs certification from CableLabs and on PC side only Microsoft has this permission currently. With those solutions everything you subscribe to and can tune with Cox set top box can be tuned via your PC (with help from $1.99/month CableCard and free Tuning Adapter).

Omg, I just now tried hdmi on my dct6416, and it doesn't work! I'm going to cox in irvine today to see if they have a dch3416.

Does anybody know if I plug my cablebox into a Windows 7 media center box through FireWire, does media center see the box and use it for tv signals? I ask because I am going to rebuild my old computer into a htpc and don't want to buy a card with a cable card slot in it. They are very expensive, if you haven't seen them.

You will be able to tune all the analog versions of the channels (i.e. most channels below 100). For digital channels (using QAM) you will only be able to receive unencrypted ones, known as clear QAM.

That makes sense. I've been reading up so much, but haven't come across that info yet. In fact, I thought all this time that all forms of analog had been phased out; I was only familiar with NTSC, the over the air analog. From a quick googling just before replying, I see the FCC is promising to support analog cable at least until 2012. What is the name of the tuner that is associated with analog cable (in the same way NTSC=OTA analog, ATSC= OTA digital)?

So when a secondary TV in the home is connected to the coaxial directly, without a set-top box, and receives all the basic cable channels, that means it receives it because it's both an analog feed and because the owner of the home has at least a basic cable subscription? Or is simply an analog tuner in the TV sufficient to receive those basic cable stations?

I'll likely postpone an HDHomeRun purchase for now, since I won't be able to get those analog (basic cable) channels.

And thanks for the CableCard info.

So as I was exchanging my box for a DCH3416, I asked the Cox worker about the status of everything. He said that the NDS Tru2Way guide might come after the Scientific Atlanta upgrade. For those who don't know, in other parts of the U.S. they have Scientific Atlanta boxes instead of motorola. Before April 20, all of them ran a software called SARA. From April 20 through June (i forgot the exact date) all of those boxes are getting upgraded to Passport Echo 5.1 (I think the Motorola boxes run 3.1 or 3.5). Otherwise, he said their systems are 100% ready to go they just need to hit the switch. He also said that the cause of the DCX3400 problems is because of old software. He said you must have a DCX3400 for Tru2Way NDS software. Then he said they have absolutely no clue about when cellular service is coming, but he said OC is first. Anything I missed that you want me to as next time? Also, anyone know if FIOS will ever come?

What is the QAM256 frequency for USA/USA hd in xxx.x format

What is the QAM256 frequency for USA/USA hd in xxx.x format
USA=23.x
USAHD=83.x

Can't give sub-channels as different tuners assign different sub-channel #s and I'm using TiVo Diagnostics which just give me the tuning frequencies which can be mapped to RF channel #s.

I have a Moto DCH 3416 STB.

When I play back recorded shows, I get intermittent pixelization, freezing pic and interrupted sound.

I am going to COX in RSM to swap my STB/DVR out for another box and am asking the members here this question:

Which STB I should request as a replacement?

Is the DCH 3416 still considered to be the best all around box COX has available?

Does COX have a new STB that they may have in stock that I should ask for?

I record alot of long sports events (NASCAR etc) and movies for later viewing and tend to fill up the DVR quite often.

I believe my current STB has a 160 GB HD. Do any of the other newer STBs available at COX have larger ones?

Thanx for any help with this issue!

Chuck

I have a Moto DCH 3416 STB.

When I play back recorded shows, I get intermittent pixelization, freezing pic and interrupted sound.

I am going to COX in RSM to swap my STB/DVR out for another box and am asking the members here this question:

Which STB I should request as a replacement?

Is the DCH 3416 still considered to be the best all around box COX has available?

Does COX have a new STB that they may have in stock that I should ask for?

I record alot of long sports events (NASCAR etc) and movies for later viewing and tend to fill up the DVR quite often.

I believe my current STB has a 160 GB HD. Do any of the other newer STBs available at COX have larger ones?

Thanx for any help with this issue!

Chuck

The new box I think is more stable. It also has a larger hard drive.

The new box I think is more stable. It also has a larger hard drive.

Do you know the make/model # of this "new box"?

Do you know the make/model # of this "new box"?

It is black...looks very different

Do you know the make/model # of this "new box"?

I believe it is the Motorola DCX3400 (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+(Set-tops)/All-Digital+QAM+Set-tops/DCX3400_US-EN).

I just did some research on the AVS Forum re the Moto DCX 3400 STB.

Although it appears to have a larger HD built into it (either 320GB or 500GB are mentioned in posts on the Forum but the Moto Specs (linked to above) indicate 160GB standard with an optional upgrade to 250GB) current software will only allow access to 160GB of it (same as my current DCH 3416 box!)

But, at least I would gain access to that higher capacity with upgraded software (firmware) that may become avialable here at COX OC at some later date.

Another confusing issue is if there is a digital clock that can be made permanently viewable on the LCD screen on the front of the unit. I find this clock to be most useful in my den where I have my big screen and no other clocks.

Other minor glitches are mentioned but that is the case with both STBs.

Can anyone who actually has a DCX 3400 comment on some of these issues.

Best would be someone who had a DCH 3416 and swapped it out for a DCX 3400. That person could then report on a comparison of the two units and I would use that info to help me decide if I want to swich to the DCX 3400 or just swap out my problem DCH 3416 for another DCH 3416?

That STB has a clock that is always visable. I have one downstairs that I am getting rid of once the parts for my HTPC come in

The question is when.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/cox-plus-package-brings-advanced-trio-ui-500gb-multiroom-dvr/

That article references Cisco hardware, so not sure if it's relevant to Cox OC or not. For the longest time one could not mix Moto & Cisco (formerly Scientific Atlanta) hardware interchangeably, but perhaps with the Tru2way implementation that is no longer the case, though I don't think Cox OC offers any Cisco set top boxes. Could be the software works on latest Moto hardware as well even though the article makes no mention of that.

That article references Cisco hardware, so not sure if it's relevant to Cox OC or not. For the longest time one could not mix Moto & Cisco (formerly Scientific Atlanta) hardware interchangeably, but perhaps with the Tru2way implementation that is no longer the case, though I don't think Cox OC offers any Cisco set top boxes. Could be the software works on latest Moto hardware as well even though the article makes no mention of that.

I believe this affects all of Cox:

Plus Package will debut in select Cox markets in the second quarter and will be deployed to Cox's entire footprint by year-end.

Here is some more discussion about it in March of this year on the Las Vegas, NV - HDTV thread (although veggas mentions both the Cisco and Moto boxes which seems to contradict the Cox press release):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18329034#post18329034


Also this from the Cox release:


Cox is using tru2way-based Cisco 8642 HD/DVR and 1642 HD receivers to deploy Plus Package and these will be used in all Cox markets, including Cox's Motorola environments.

What do you know, my friendly cox freind-in-training and I was right?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/cox-plus-package-brings-advanced-trio-ui-500gb-multiroom-dvr/

Update
Beaten to the punch!

The question is when.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/c...multiroom-dvr/

What do you know, my friendly cox freind-in-training and I was right?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/10/cox-plus-package-brings-advanced-trio-ui-500gb-multiroom-dvr/

Update
Beaten to the punch!

Either that or your friend frequents the Cox HDTV thread. :)

I believe this affects all of Cox:



Here is some more discussion about it in March of this year on the Las Vegas, NV - HDTV thread (although veggas mentions both the Cisco and Moto boxes which seems to contradict the Cox press release):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=18329034#post18329034


Also this from the Cox release:

So check this out, the Motorola DCXX3400 boxes (all black boxes) are also Tru2Way capable, thus allowing them to also run the Trio guide. Infact, they share many of the same features as the Cisco box. Man I wish I knew if the box could tune above 860 mhz. I don't see why not.

Either that or your friend frequents the Cox HDTV thread. :)

Or the guy who trains him does.

So check this out, the Motorola DCXX3400 boxes (all black boxes) are also Tru2Way capable, thus allowing them to also run the Trio guide. Infact, they share many of the same features as the Cisco box. Man I wish I knew if the box could tune above 860 mhz. I don't see why not.

I suppose it could be tru2way, but I don't see it mentioned in the product spec sheet (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+(Set-tops)/All-Digital+QAM+Set-tops/DCX3400_US-EN).

I suppose it could be tru2way, but I don't see it mentioned in the product spec sheet (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+(Set-tops)/All-Digital+QAM+Set-tops/DCX3400_US-EN).

Now I am reading on multiple news sites that even motorola markets must have the Cisco boxes for Plus subscribers, and moto boxes for everyone else. I wonder if external esata drives work like they do in other markets with cisco boxes. Other than that, all it means for me is another trip to the cox store for the boxes, frys for a 6 pin-4 pin FireWire converter (the box only has 4pin), and and ugly (compared to dcx boxes) Cisco boxes.

I suppose it could be tru2way, but I don't see it mentioned in the product spec sheet (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+(Set-tops)/All-Digital+QAM+Set-tops/DCX3400_US-EN).

motorola dcx boxes have 1Ghz tuners

Now I am reading on multiple news sites that even motorola markets must have the Cisco boxes for Plus subscribers, and moto boxes for everyone else. I wonder if external esata drives work like they do in other markets with cisco boxes. Other than that, all it means for me is another trip to the cox store for the boxes, frys for a 6 pin-4 pin FireWire converter (the box only has 4pin), and and ugly (compared to dcx boxes) Cisco boxes.

what websites

what websites

From http://www.multichannel.com/article/452387-Cox_Rigs_Trio_Big_Screen_Guide.php

The Trio guide runs on Cisco's Axiom OCAP middleware. Necessary said it was "unlikely" Cox would port the guide to the Motorola set-top platform this year. Cox is about 55% Cisco and 45% Motorola. In Moto systems, the Trio guide will be deployed on the Explorer boxes using a Motorola-based CableCard.

http://business-news.thestreet.com/link/?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/OnUJ2C2c1sY/;;;http://business-news.thestreet.com/technology-news/2010/05/10/a/625952680-cox-plus-package-brings-advanced/;;;http://business-news.thestreet.com/technology-news/2010/05/10/a/625952680-cox-plus-package-brings-advanced/

For the hardware Cox is bringing a Whole Home DVR solution to bear based on a Cisco 8642 HD/DVR with 500GB (3x more than the sizes currently offered) of storage, and MoCA-connected 1642 HD receivers, which are also necessary to tune to the new HD channels on the way delivered over Switched Digital Video (SDV) in the 860-MHz band.

Sounds like a can of worms using a Cisco set top box in a Moto headend. Cox has struggled in the past with Moto headend & Moto boxes let alone trying a mixed environment.
They seem to be making a big deal out of the so-called "Trio" screen which looks way to busy to me. I still don't understand all the focus on the UI while basic features such as multi-room viewing, disk space expansion, web scheduling, etc. continue to be delayed - for 5 years! To me the UI is secondary at best and I try and use it as little as possible. With a DVR I don't spend countless hours browsing for stuff to watch, I've already recorded more than I can ever watch...

I wonder how difficult it is to port "trio" and all of the other features to motorola hardware. This Cisco 8462 sounds like a complete copy of the DCX3400 to me.

Sounds like a can of worms using a Cisco set top box in a Moto headend. Cox has struggled in the past with Moto headend & Moto boxes let alone trying a mixed environment.
They seem to be making a big deal out of the so-called "Trio" screen which looks way to busy to me. I still don't understand all the focus on the UI while basic features such as multi-room viewing, disk space expansion, web scheduling, etc. continue to be delayed - for 5 years! To me the UI is secondary at best and I try and use it as little as possible. With a DVR I don't spend countless hours browsing for stuff to watch, I've already recorded more than I can ever watch...

Yes, it seems Cox is focusing more on the GUI and the "whole home DVR" viewing experience" and less on the actual features of the software. I can't even imagine how this will all work on the Moto boxes. And as we've mentioned, with only two tuners and the rest receivers, recordings would be limited to two at a time (unless multiple DVRs can be chained together, but that'll be at a steep cost). I guess this is what happens when it takes way too long to roll out something like this. They've been working on this for years.

Heck, even if later versions include more "TiVo-like" features, my guess is they won't work well, particularly when one considers Cox' history on buggy operating systems.

I'm so happy I have my TiVos.

Maybe we will get this instead

http://hd.engadget.com/2010/05/11/motorola-rolls-out-the-latest-hd-dvr-the-dcx3501-m/

Maybe we will get this instead

http://hd.engadget.com/2010/05/11/motorola-rolls-out-the-latest-hd-dvr-the-dcx3501-m/

Doesn't seem likely based on the Cox press release (http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Cox-UI-whole-home-DVR-Plus-Package-tier-051010.aspx) yesterday.

Doesn't seem likely based on the Cox press release (http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Cox-UI-whole-home-DVR-Plus-Package-tier-051010.aspx) yesterday.
Interesting they will deploy new HD channels > 860MHz which means my original S3 units won't be able to tune them (you should be OK with THD unit which tunes to 1GHz). I probably will have little interest in the new HD channels but I suppose if absolutely necessary I may have to take the dreaded TiVo Premiere leap, or maybe go the Ceton HTPC route.

Interesting they will deploy new HD channels > 860MHz which means my original S3 units won't be able to tune them (you should be OK with THD unit which tunes to 1GHz). I probably will have little interest in the new HD channels but I suppose if absolutely necessary I may have to take the dreaded TiVo Premiere leap, or maybe go the Ceton HTPC route.

Yes, saw that, too, but didn't know of the S3s limitation. Perhaps by the time all this comes around, the Premiere will be better. Besides, based on Cox' track record, they won't have all this fully deployed by year's end. Let's just hope for your sake they don't shuffle some of the HD channels you do like to the new frequency range.

You could also pick up a TiVo HD on eBay.

Yes, saw that, too, but didn't know of the S3s limitation. Perhaps by the time all this comes around, the Premiere will be better. Besides, based on Cox' track record, they won't have all this fully deployed by year's end. Let's just hope for your sake they don't shuffle some of the HD channels you do like to the new frequency range.

You could also pick up a TiVo HD on eBay. They won't move current HD channels to > 860MHz as many people with older Moto boxes not capable of > 860 MHz tuning would have issues, and I doubt Cox is going to phase out all older digital boxes any time soon.
THD units are too underpowered (slower CPU & less dedicated memory than the original S3 units) so if I stay TiVo it would probably be with Premiere. I'd be perfectly happy with the SD GUI which supposedly flies on the new hardware (don't care about HD GUI at all).
TiVo is still running the $500 for box + lifetime service special for current lifetime owners so I would probably go with that option.
I would really miss the OLED panel showing what is recording though (and the clock!)...

They won't move current HD channels to > 860MHz as many people with older Moto boxes not capable of > 860 MHz tuning would have issues, and I doubt Cox is going to phase out all older digital boxes any time soon.
THD units are too underpowered (slower CPU & less dedicated memory than the original S3 units) so if I stay TiVo it would probably be with Premiere. I'd be perfectly happy with the SD GUI which supposedly flies on the new hardware (don't care about HD GUI at all).
TiVo is still running the $500 for box + lifetime service special for current lifetime owners so I would probably go with that option.
I would really miss the OLED panel showing what is recording though (and the clock!)...

Perhaps they won't move them now, but they could move some of the lesser watched HD channels eventually. And if one of those "lesser watched HD channels" is one's favorite, well, there you go.

I'm with you on the clock - as soon as I ditched my Cox DVR in the main room, I put in a cheapo digital clock. Had I not had the Cox DVR, it's doubtful I would have even thought about putting a clock with my equipment. Creatures of habit, we are. :)

LOL. When I switched to TiVo I looked all over for a digital clock that wasn't too big, too small, too bright, etc. Took me a while to find something I liked.

LOL. When I switched to TiVo I looked all over for a digital clock that wasn't too big, too small, too bright, etc. Took me a while to find something I liked.

I went through three until I found one I like. :)

I went through three until I found one I like. :)

Where did you find one? I need to get one for my HTPC

Where did you find one? I need to get one for my HTPC

Target - $10.

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae203/phdeane/DSC_9279.jpg

It's grey on the left, on top of my Denon AVR. It's actually brighter than it appears in this photo, but the flash washed it out. Don't worry; it's not too bright, hence the reason I went through three.

Does it handle Daylight Savings automatically like the TiVo clock? :D I set all other clocks in the house based on TiVo clock time whenever time changes happen.
Target - $10.

http://i972.photobucket.com/albums/ae203/phdeane/DSC_9279.jpg

It's grey on the left, on top of my Denon AVR. It's actually brighter than it appears in this photo, but the flash washed it out. Don't worry; it's not too bright, hence the reason I went through three.

Does it handle Daylight Savings automatically like the TiVo clock? :D I set all other clocks in the house based on TiVo clock time whenever time changes happen.

No, but like most modern digital clocks, it has a simple DST (offset) switch - much easier than moving the clock forward, and much, much easier that moving the clock back. :)

You know I am very disappointed in cox with their choice of set top. Not only are they ugly as hell, the 1462 (or whatever the cisco non dvr is) will not work in my house. Here is why.
Room one-current box:DCX3200- the entertainment center is full so the only place i put the box is behind the tv. Now I have nowhere to put:o the new box (unless I trash the receiver, but that's not happening).
Room two-current box:DCX3200- currently we have a small desk with the box on the floor and the tv on the wall. This box is too big to put anywhere.
Room three-current box:DCX3200- this setup is the box on the edge of the table (the desk in corner of wall) with monitor on top of box, with Mac mini and other stuff next to it. Could I mount the box on its side?
Room four-current box:DCH3416- this will fit.

So ya all i can say is i have no room for these oversized boxes.

DirecTV beat Cox to the punch with release of their whole home DVR solution:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/wholehome#_h

So at this point Cox needs to release their solution just to stay competitive.

DirecTV beat Cox to the punch with release of their whole home DVR solution:
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/directv/technology/wholehome#_h

So at this point Cox needs to release their solution just to stay competitive.

Yes, saw that on engadget the other day. It's pretty cool. You can watch two programs while recording two others; has a single, unified playlist; and you can add another DVR for more capacity.

Competition is good.:)

As of a few months ago I now have Cox triple play (i.e. TV, internet, phone), but the monthly savings for triple play is only $5/month which works out to be an embarrassing low 3.8% of total monthly bill. Anyone getting better discount rate than that?

I am still getting the $ 10.00 Bundling Discount, Intanet, TV, and Phone. I also do have their very weak, and expensive HD DVR. The new Moxi is looking better and better, with no monthly fee.

Thanks. What is that as a percentage of the total monthly bill, or what's your total monthly bill if you don't mind disclosing?

So that DirecTv solution can only record 2 at a time...the one coming to Cox is 3...sure I currently have to pay for 2 DVRs but I love have 4 tuners. I'm not sure I'm really digging these new whole home solutions when I'm going to have issues recording shows on certain nights.

So that DirecTv solution can only record 2 at a time...the one coming to Cox is 3...sure I currently have to pay for 2 DVRs but I love have 4 tuners. I'm not sure I'm really digging these new whole home solutions when I'm going to have issues recording shows on certain nights. According to this (http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Cox-UI-whole-home-DVR-Plus-Package-tier-051010.aspx) the Cox multi-room DVR is a Cisco Explorer 8642 (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/video/ps8611/ps8612/ps8613/7017062.pdf) which only has 2 tuners according to specs, so don't see how you can record 3 programs at once. It's not clear if you can have 2 multi-room DVRs in the house and have them see each other as well as client boxes seeing both, but in any case you would need more than 1 box to get more than 2 tuners.
At least 4 tuners is a requirement for me, and some nights where NBA games are I need 5 tuners so I sometimes resort to recording on my old ReplayTVs to get 5th or 6th concurrent recording.

EDIT: I see perhaps where you got the number 3 from. It's for viewing purposes, not recording. In the article I linked above:
With the multi-room DVR service, Cox subscribers can watch up to three different programs simultaneously on any TV in the home from a single DVR unit via MoCA 1.1.

As of a few months ago I now have Cox triple play (i.e. TV, internet, phone), but the monthly savings for triple play is only $5/month which works out to be an embarrassing low 3.8% of total monthly bill. Anyone getting better discount rate than that?

I'm also getting the whopping $5 which for me amounts to...drum roll...2.9% of my total bill - yes!

My latest discount of $15 per month expired about two months ago. I simply didn't have the energy to call Cox for another six-month discount. I may do so again soon. This is my first time in nearly ten years with Cox in which I don't have a discount of $15 or greater.

According to this (http://www.cedmagazine.com/News-Cox-UI-whole-home-DVR-Plus-Package-tier-051010.aspx) the Cox multi-room DVR is a Cisco Explorer 8642 (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/video/ps8611/ps8612/ps8613/7017062.pdf) which only has 2 tuners according to specs, so don't see how you can record 3 programs at once. It's not clear if you can have 2 multi-room DVRs in the house and have them see each other as well as client boxes seeing both, but in any case you would need more than 1 box to get more than 2 tuners.
At least 4 tuners is a requirement for me, and some nights where NBA games are I need 5 tuners so I sometimes resort to recording on my old ReplayTVs to get 5th or 6th concurrent recording.

EDIT: I see perhaps where you got the number 3 from. It's for viewing purposes, not recording. In the article I linked above:

Other than the CED article you linked, I don't believe I've seen that it can do three viewings. In fact, the 8642 data sheet (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/video/ps8611/ps8612/ps8613/7017062.pdf) says otherwise.

Dual tuning, Dual Record, Pause, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Record one program while viewing or recording another, software controlled.

As for multiple DVRs, it looks like it is supported. From the data sheet (http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/video/ps8611/ps8612/ps8613/7017062.pdf):

Whole Home DVR enables sharing and managing of video services throughout the home to *other connected DVRs*, set-tops and consumer electronic devices using standards-based connection and security technologies (optional software).
Now, whether the "(optional software)" will support it is another issue.

"Dual tuning, Dual Record, Pause, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Record one program while viewing or recording another, software controlled. "
I think that is just to clarify that if you are viewing live TV then there is only 1 other tuner available for recording, a concept that many non-techies still struggle to understand.

For multi-room streaming essentially the network bandwidth available via MoCA plus some protocol overhead should be the only limiting factor. So let's say something in 80Mbps neighborhood (of course that can vary quite a lot depending on quality of coax in use, plus connections) which means with Cox "HD" channels and their low bit rates (8-19Mbps range with probably around 11Mbps average) there should be plenty of room for 3 or more HD streams at a time (more for SD streams). Perhaps the software limits up to 3 at a time to guarantee against potential bandwidth problems and customer complaints...

Of course the limit to number of streams at a time may also be tied to I/O & CPU contraints of the master DVR server - in fact that sounds more plausible than the network bandwidth limitations.

Damn, if I wasn't stuck in a two year (now one and a half) agreement with cox, I would easily have DirecTV. Damn salesmen! They will do anything to keep you.

Damn, if I wasn't stuck in a two year (now one and a half) agreement with cox, I would easily have DirecTV. Damn salesmen! They will do anything to keep you.

Bummer, the lack of a comitment is one of the few advantages of going with Cox. I always see 6-month promotions. What did you get for going with two years?

As of a few months ago I now have Cox triple play (i.e. TV, internet, phone), but the monthly savings for triple play is only $5/month which works out to be an embarrassing low 3.8% of total monthly bill. Anyone getting better discount rate than that?

My bill shows a $15 credit per month for all 3, but they did require the household line maintenance insurance for $3.95 a month, so I figure I'm saving $11. We were thinking about dropping the land line and going with ooma.