# Everything Else > Arts & Entertainment >  Cox Whole Home DVR

## easternobserver

Anyone switched to the whole home dvr from Cox?  Has your experience been good or bad?  Is there any lag with the new program guide?

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## Jon27

> Anyone switched to the whole home dvr from Cox?  Has your experience been good or bad?  Is there any lag with the new program guide?


We got it at our new house.  It's pretty neat.  The new program guide is cool.  It is also pretty convenient watching recorded shows in other rooms.  The DVR is 500Gb, and they told me that you can add any external hard drive to the main box to increase storage.  Have not seen a lag in the program guide.  It happened once, but the internet upstream was out in our area.  Once that was fixed, it stopped.  Here are the downsides:

Can't pause TV in other rooms.  You can if you start recording the show, then you can pause it.
No picture in picture on the new set up.
Still can only record 2 shows at one time.  I think you can record 2 shows, and still watch a recording though.
HD Zoom function is gone.  Had to set the Harmony remote up to use the picture size function on the TV.  This is no big deal if you can do that.
No clocks on the other boxes, but there is one on the main DVR.  You'd be surprised how much you miss this.
TV Caller ID still only works sporadically.  I still can't figure out why Cox can't get this one right.

Despite all of that, I'm happy with it.  Being able to watch the shows I recorded in another room (wife always has the living room TV on her stuff  :Smile:  ) makes up for everything.  I'm sure since this is new technology, there will be much more to come.  I still can't see switching to Direc TV, Dish, or AT&T.  Cox still has them beat on HD channels, internet/phone bundling, and local service in my opinion.  If you want to know anything else about it, just ask.

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## BoulderSooner

have had it sense the fall and am very happy with it ... 

my experience is very much like superchris

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## OkieHornet

my experience is the same as superchris also. i did have one issue with the receiver box, not the main dvr, when i tried to play back some recorded shows. the connection between the 2 boxes was not hooking up 100% and i couldn't get dvr'd shows to play. cox came out and worked some magic and it's fine now.

i also had another issue with just watching non-recorded shows on that receiver box with volume cutting out and cox came out again and set up a new box and tried some other things and turns out, it was my tv's hdmi connection. i got to keep the new box, though, and it is a new version and it does have a clock on it.

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## Jon27

> and it does have a clock on it.


Ok, I'm jealous!  haha

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## OkieHornet

> Ok, I'm jealous!  haha


and it really is amazing how nice it is to have it! sometimes it's the small things in life...

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## SoonerQueen

If I could record more than 2 things at once, I would get it. Some nights it seems like all my shows are on at once. Guess I'll just keep what I have.

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## Jon27

> If I could record more than 2 things at once, I would get it. Some nights it seems like all my shows are on at once. Guess I'll just keep what I have.


I know what you mean about that!  Cox does have the On Demand for TV shows.  They air a few nights after the original.  I've used it a few times when I've missed something.  I'm not crazy about the layout of On Demand.  It's really hard to find things.  I haven't messed with it since the new DVR went it.  It seems a little different.

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## SoonerQueen

> I know what you mean about that!  Cox does have the On Demand for TV shows.  They air a few nights after the original.  I've used it a few times when I've missed something.  I'm not crazy about the layout of On Demand.  It's really hard to find things.  I haven't messed with it since the new DVR went it.  It seems a little different.


CBS shows aren't on On Demand. You have to watch them online.

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## Jon27

> CBS shows aren't on On Demand. You have to watch them online.


I forgot about that!!  CBS needs to get off their high horse.

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## euphjay

Does the whole home DVR cost any more per month than the standard DVR from Cox?

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## Of Sound Mind

> Does the whole home DVR cost any more per month than the standard DVR from Cox?


Yes, it costs more. But the convenience is worth it to me.

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## OkieHornet

i think it's $5/month more? and there's an $80 one-time charge to come out and hook it up - there's no self-install.

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## SoonerDave

A few things that need clarification:

First, when Cox told me there was no self-install option, and their install was $85, I said "no thanks." I will wait until there's a self-install option. All it boils down to is pointing the "remote" or "client" set-top boxes to the main box, and making sure the main box can see the clients and the Cox headend. 

Second, I was told by a little birdie that a self-install option is on the way and could be available as early as this summer or early fall. They want people on it.

Third, I was also told by Cox directly that the two-recording limit is overcome if you have multiple client boxes. Each client can direct the "home" DVR to record up to two shows. So, if I have the "main" DVR and, say, two set-top boxes, I could theoretically record six shows simultaneously. The Cox rep went to great lengths to ensure I understood that part. What it boils down to is the client boxes just route a stream to the main box, and the main box records it. I am sure there are bandwidth constraints that cap the number of shows that can truly be recorded simultaneously.

As soon as the self-install option is available, I'll be all over it. I *loathe* the program guide on the current boxes. The unified guide might be worth $5/mo as it is.

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## BoulderSooner

> A few things that need clarification:
> 
> First, when Cox told me there was no self-install option, and their install was $85, I said "no thanks." I will wait until there's a self-install option. All it boils down to is pointing the "remote" or "client" set-top boxes to the main box, and making sure the main box can see the clients and the Cox headend. 
> 
> Second, I was told by a little birdie that a self-install option is on the way and could be available as early as this summer or early fall. They want people on it.
> 
> Third, I was also told by Cox directly that the two-recording limit is overcome if you have multiple client boxes. Each client can direct the "home" DVR to record up to two shows. So, if I have the "main" DVR and, say, two set-top boxes, I could theoretically record six shows simultaneously. The Cox rep went to great lengths to ensure I understood that part. What it boils down to is the client boxes just route a stream to the main box, and the main box records it. I am sure there are bandwidth constraints that cap the number of shows that can truly be recorded simultaneously.
> 
> As soon as the self-install option is available, I'll be all over it. I *loathe* the program guide on the current boxes. The unified guide might be worth $5/mo as it is.


the cox rep didn't know what he is talking about ...     the main dvr only has 2 tuners ... you can only record 2 shows at once ..       i have my main dvr   and 3 client boxes ... and i still can "only" record 2 shows at once

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## SoonerDave

> the cox rep didn't know what he is talking about ...     the main dvr only has 2 tuners ... you can only record 2 shows at once ..       i have my main dvr   and 3 client boxes ... and i still can "only" record 2 shows at once


There's some sort of serious info disconnect, then, because as I understood it the two-tuner limit was overcome by the fact that the "client" box simply took the data for the show to be recorded from one of its *own* tuners and then streamed it to the DVR, which then did the physical recording apart from its own tuners. So, theoretically, the DVR could be recording two shows through its own two tuners, plus up to two streams from a client. That would make the practical constraint bandwidth related, not tuner related...

Then again, perhaps they were simply lying through their teeth to make a sale...I mean, it is a cable TV company  :Smile: 

*Edit*: Read on some Cable/tech forums from about two years ago, when the WHDVR was first being spun about, that the kind of streaming I'm mentioning above may or may not be enabled. So there's at least an inkling of what I'm mentioning above, but by no means any kind of confirmation. I did find that the theoretical bandwidth limit of EoC is something slightly in excess of 110Mbps - not sure about practical/usable, and if they stream H264 from point-to-point it would imply about 8Mpbs needed for an HD stream. So if you guesstimate about 50% practical from the theoretical, ~50 mpbs, that would equate under best-case conditions to perhaps 5-6 simultaneous streams flying around. And it just so happens that Cox advertises "up to 5 different shows at a time, even HD," so I think I'm at least in the ballpark.

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## Swake2

If you get more than one host box you can record more than two programs. For a fee.

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## duckman

I saw a billboard yesterday for Cox that said "record up to 16 programs at once with Whole Home DVR"
I'm sure it was just another one of Cox's lies though. Cox is also always about 5 years behind with their technology. I NEVER see myself switching back to Cox from Uverse.

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## hey hey

the hosts are the actual dvrs so each host has two tuners it can use to record. so if you have up to 8 hosts networked together you can record upto 16 shows at the same time. but each host incurs a dvr fee, thats where the clients come in, essentialy each client is a standard box able to use the dvr functions when networked to another dvr, but they also have their own single tuner.

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## SoonerDave

Alright, then, let's change the question a bit: Has anyone bought/used their *own* DVR on Cox? If so, what kinds, and what levels of success/failure have you had? Can you even *use* a non-Cox DVR on their service?

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## BBatesokc

> Alright, then, let's change the question a bit: Has anyone bought/used their *own* DVR on Cox? If so, what kinds, and what levels of success/failure have you had? Can you even *use* a non-Cox DVR on their service?


I use a Elgato EyeTV HD DVR with my Mac in my office. It only works if you have your room setup so that the wiring is conveniently located, but I like it. Allows me to record straight to my Mac and then I can either watch the content on my Mac, stream it to a 'real' TV in the house or even stream it via the Internet to any iDevice while I'm on the road. I can even watch live streamed TV through it anywhere. Not without its glitches, but overall I like it. We also have COX with DVR too though.

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## kevinpate

Don't have Cox, but surprised to hear it can't record but two shows at once.  U-Verse has been able to record 4 at once for each of the 3+ years I have used it.  I don't have Direct, but their Hopper pitch on tv is for 6 shows at once.  More than I need, though for bigger households I can see some utility in that extra capacity.

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