Another reason why I love my new TiVoHD and why Cox Communications can suck it!
7 September 2007A little history here:
Many, many moons ago I purchased my first TiVo. A 20GB Series 1 recorder. This was back when Cable DVR’s didn’t exist and Digital Cable was still a developing technology. TiVo was glorious in its ability to record my shows and it’s super easy setup of scheduled recordings, handling overlaps with grace. The ability to set recording priority, to me, made TiVo the perfect television recording device ever made.
Fast Forward three years later. My Series 1 has mutated into a Dual 120GB recorder with built in WiFi for network connectivity. My love for TiVo is just as strong as the day I first brought it home. In three years, after all my modifications, it was still just as stable and had never given me a single issue. It performed its thankless job and gave me absolutely no grief.
But the clouds of change were on the horizon.
I had purchased my first HDTV. A Mitsubishi 50″ Rear Projection HDTV. My world had become awash with terms like HDTV, Dolby Digital, 1080i. My poor Series 1 recorder was unable to speak this new language and fell victim.
With these new times came a new DVR. The only offering out here in San Diego was the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD. DEPENDING on the Cable Provider and the DVR software they’re using, this can be a half-way decent box. I know that Time Warner in San Diego uses Pioneer Passport Echo as their DVR software. Not nearly as friendly as the TiVo interface, it did have some basic features like program recording priority and ‘Season Pass’ management. In addition to the basic features that TiVo had, this DVR also supported HD recording.
A few years later, we moved to North County San Diego which is only serviced by Cox in my area. Cox also has the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD, but their using Pioneer Passport as their DVR software. This software is terribly out of date and looks like it hasn’t been updated in YEARS! The DVR functionality has about as many features as a VCR. Sure, it has dual tuner, but if you had a third overlapping recording, it’d ask you which recording to permanently cancel. It couldn’t handle simple logic like, “Just record these two shows over this one”.
And this was my frustrated, teeth grinding life for a little over a year.
That was until TiVo announced the new TiVoHD which was at a decent price ($299) and had the ability to record HD! At last, my previous TiVo’s great grandson had come to rescue me from the icy grasp Cox had on my balls.
This brings us to present day.
While my wife opted to toss the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD out the window, I told her that unfortunately Cox wants this floppy turd of a DVR back so it can torment another customer.
I called Cox this morning to gleefully order my CableCARDs. I thought to myself, “How hard could this be? They should be 100% willing to cooperate because I’ll still be a paying customer. Worse case, they’re losing about $5/mo because I won’t be using their DVR service.” Little did I know how frustrating the process would be.
The first operator I speak to gives me the following words of Wisdom:
- The Cox DVR is just as good, if not better than the TiVoHD because of the following reasons:
- It doesn’t use CableCARDs so the picture Quality is Better (Bull flop!)
- It can record two shows at once just like the TiVoHD (True, but god forbid you have three that overlap)
- The TiVo is one way, meaning it can’t do Pay-Per-View or OnDemand (True.. but..)
- CableCARDs are fragile and break frequently (Yes, if you try and eat them)
- TiVo charges $20 per month which is twice what Cox charges for an HDDVR (Three Year Pre-Pay, $8.30/mo)
The only point from the above list that holds any water is the one-way capability. Recently this has been brought to light by the tech community and the cable providers and TiVo are currently working on a solution. This doesn’t matter much to me as I don’t use OnDemand much these days and I’ve never purchased any Pay-Per-View.
The next thing they told me simply blew me out of the water.
A Cable Technician will have to be sent out to setup the CableCARDs. It’s too complicated for a home user to set this up, so they actually have to send someone out. Oh yeah, and there’s a $50 installation fee.
What the fuck? When I order a DVR from Cox, it gets shipped out to me by UPS and I’m supposed to set it up on my own. Wiring it into my TV, Home Theater and Cable all by myself. Cox seems OK with this. But a CableCARD? A device that only requires me to just plug it into the front of my TiVo for it to work?
Well, it seems that the act of inserting a CableCARD into the TiVo is too technical of a task for a mere mortal to perform, so they have to send a technician out to perform this heroic task.
So my advice to anyone out there reading this that’s thinking about purchasing a TiVoHD??
Do it! It’s just as great, if not better, than my Series 1. The video quality looks great and there’s tons of new features.
When calling your local cable company, just do this:
- Say you’re returning the DVR. Don’t give a reason, just say you’re done with it. If they persist, tell them it took money from your wallet and borrowed your car without asking.
- Ask for two CableCARDs. Again, don’t give a reason. You’ll be 100% better off.
Cheers!
5 Responses to “Another reason why I love my new TiVoHD and why Cox Communications can suck it!”
September 12th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
I think you mean Cox uses SARA software (not passport.) I hate it too. It’s a pile of garbage. I’ve heard of other people in other states (with Cox/SARA) getting major updates, as well as them testing the new TiVo software for the 8300HD’s:
http://www.tivoblog.com/archives/2006/08/24/cox-cable-and-tivo-announce-deployment-agreement/
Now I’m just waiting to see if they’ll actually produce said update..
September 12th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
Oh yeah, check this out, too:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/tivoblog/~3/155740888/
I might just buy a Series 3! Hrm. Tempting.
September 23rd, 2007 at 4:18 am
Tivo is way better than Comcast DVR…Which is very over rated..
June 19th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Thank you for writing this! I have been searching for information about Cox Tivo San Diego. I’ve been a DirecTivo user for years now, and was sad to switch to Cox.
Quick question: do you have to pay for two Cable Cards? Or does the $2/month cost cover both of them?
Thanks!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I believe if you have a Cox M-Card you only pay for the one card (even though it decodes multiple digital cable streams).
I know that when I had two single stream cable cards, I had to pay the rental fee for both.
Best of luck with Cox! Once you’re able to get everything installed, the TivoHD (or Series3) works great!