Cox DVR, and HD Playback

[Darth Llama]

So, I have this issue with my DVR that I'm wondering if anyone here has heard of. First i'll start with the specifics.

I have Cox Cable with HD Service.

I have the Cox DVR. It's the Scientific Atlantic 8240 HDC. It's hooked up via Component to a Vizio VW47LF 1080p LCD.

The issue is, when I DVR something in HD like a basketball game, when I play it back, it periodically pauses for 1-2 seconds during playback. During this pause, the audio continues uninterrupted, and when the pause is over, it jumps to the spot where the audio is. Sometimes it will happen as frequently as once very 8-10 seconds making fast paced events like a basketball game virtually unwatchable. This problem does not occur on SD recordings, only on HD. If I record something in standard definition, it plays just fine.

I realize that my solution is more then likely going to be to exchange the box, but I thought I would post here to see if anyone else has had this issue. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

So, I have this issue with my DVR that I'm wondering if anyone here has heard of. First i'll start with the specifics.

I have Cox Cable with HD Service.

I have the Cox DVR. It's the Scientific Atlantic 8240 HDC. It's hooked up via Component to a Vizio VW47LF 1080p LCD.

The issue is, when I DVR something in HD like a basketball game, when I play it back, it periodically pauses for 1-2 seconds during playback. During this pause, the audio continues uninterrupted, and when the pause is over, it jumps to the spot where the audio is. Sometimes it will happen as frequently as once very 8-10 seconds making fast paced events like a basketball game virtually unwatchable. This problem does not occur on SD recordings, only on HD. If I record something in standard definition, it plays just fine.

I realize that my solution is more then likely going to be to exchange the box, but I thought I would post here to see if anyone else has had this issue. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Replacing the box does nothing. I have the same issue.

 

[abomb]

Ditto. Cox and their DVR suck.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Ditto. Cox and their DVR suck.

Cox sucks in comparison to what?

 

[Linderbee]

Cox sucks in comparison to what?

Dish Network.

 

[Darth Llama]

Wow, so this is something I just have to deal with then?

Kinda sucks because I was going to DVR the Cardinals games this year and watch them back when I get home from the stadium.

I guess I'll just record the games in SD then, it's not nearly as good, but that pause every 8 seconds just plain sucks. So strange, because other then that, the DVR rocks for everything else.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Wow, so this is something I just have to deal with then?

Kinda sucks because I was going to DVR the Cardinals games this year and watch them back when I get home from the stadium.

I guess I'll just record the games in SD then, it's not nearly as good, but that pause every 8 seconds just plain sucks. So strange, because other then that, the DVR rocks for everything else.

My delay is about 2-3 seconds at the most.

 

[Darth Llama]

My delay is about 2-3 seconds at the most.

Yeah, the delay lasts about 2 seconds, but sometimes it happens as frequently as every 8-10 seconds. It will play fine for 10 seconds, pause for 2, play for 10 seconds, pause for 2, etc. If it happened every minute or two, I could deal with that.

 

[nidan]

I think the answer is they suck in comparison to just about any alternative

 

[phxrising]

I do not have this problem with cox...

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I do not have this problem with cox...

Do you use any sort of receiver to amplify your sound? Or is the Cox box going straight to the TV? Are you using coax or optical digital sound?

 

[O]

I would try a hard reset of the box.
Pull the power cable for thirty seconds then plug it back in.
It may work or it may not but that's all I've got.

 

[82CardsGrad]

I think the answer is they suck in comparison to just about any alternative

In all my years of being a consumer, I had never experienced the degree of ineptitude I was dealt when I first used Qwest... Definitely in my top 3 alltime worst customer experiences ever.
Cox has been significantly better in every way compared to the mayhem and dysfunction over at Qwest...

 

[Bada0Bing]

I have the same service and mine does this maybe once every few days, for maybe half a second. Nothing like you're describing.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Yeah, the delay lasts about 2 seconds, but sometimes it happens as frequently as every 8-10 seconds. It will play fine for 10 seconds, pause for 2, play for 10 seconds, pause for 2, etc. If it happened every minute or two, I could deal with that.

If you are talking about TNT, that channel is horrible and notorious for that, but it has gotten better. I always take the Cox 9 HD feed over the TNT feed. Other than that, I don't see this issue. I get the delay if I use the pause button on the DVR. I don't lose signal again until I pause it again.

 

[abomb]

Cox sucks in comparison to what?

My original non-HD TiVo.

It had at least a dozen features that my Cox DVR doesnt.

 

[82CardsGrad]

My original non-HD TiVo.

It had at least a dozen features that my Cox DVR doesnt.

Didn't realize you were talking strictly about "equipment"...

 

[abomb]

Didn't realize you were talking strictly about "equipment"...

Sorry, yes, the DVR and software offering of Cox blows ass.

 

[Chaz]

Have Cox check the signal to your box.

I had a problem with channels skipping/pausing. They sent a guy out to replace sections of cable and splitters to get the signal numbers into the correct range.

So far so good with the picture issues since then.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

I got a new plasma, so upgraded to Cox HD DVR. Not only is it doing exactly what is described in the first post in this thread, but about half the channels are completely black and don't show up at all. Changing the box CAN help, because I know several people who got it to work right on the third time switching out the box.

Don't listen to them if they tell you to switch all of your cables. It is definitely the box, and you need to hammer the hell out of them until they fix it. I have a guy coming out tomorrow, and I will be the world's most irritating customer if they don't fix it the first time out.

 

[O]

For those that don't know there is a great site, Arizona HDTV Forums, owned and operated by one of the posters here on this site, Lloydian.
There is a wealth of information over there.


This is the address to the site;
http://www.landlpcservices.com/phpBB2/index.php


Here is a Tips & Tricks thread about the 8300HD (which I assume most of you have). Good reading!
http://www.landlpcservices.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=46


Here is a thread about my fight with Cox to get a problem fixed.
http://www.landlpcservices.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=249


If you have a problem and they send someout to "check your wiring, etc", it is a subcontracter and for the most part they don't have the knowledge or experience to troubleshoot the obivious.
If the problem continues after that initial visit it is probably at the pedestal that feeds your neighborhood. Only Cox employees can service a pedestal.
If the subcontractor can't fix your problem then it's in the pedestal or further back to the unit that serves the pedestals.
If the problem persists demand that a Cox technician come out, not a subcontrator, that can check out your pedestal or beyond.

 

[Darth Llama]

I'll try hard reseting the box. I need to also check and see if it's just a specific channel that does this. Now that I think of it, last week, I missed American Idol, so I DVR'ed it in HD and come to think of it, it played fine.

The problems I am having might just be isolated to TnT, as it seems to happen primarily during basketball games, and I record most of those off TnT. I'm going to spend a few days recording various HD from different channels and see what happens.

When I had the cable jack installed, I got to talking to the guy that installed it. He was trying to learn some things about computers and noticed I had a pretty nice set up. We talked for a while, I helped him out, and he hooked up my connection pretty good. He double checked all my levels, did several tests and replaced my splitters with higher quality ones for free. I'm pretty sure I'm good there, since he not only improved my signal strength, but my internet speed as well. If it's just something that happens on a certain channel, I'll just deal with that and be done with it. Going to the Cox store to replace a box is such a pain. There are always so many people there, and it takes forever.

Thank you to everyone who replied, this has given me some ideas of things to try.

 

[O]

I'll try hard reseting the box. I need to also check and see if it's just a specific channel that does this. Now that I think of it, last week, I missed American Idol, so I DVR'ed it in HD and come to think of it, it played fine.

The problems I am having might just be isolated to TnT, as it seems to happen primarily during basketball games, and I record most of those off TnT. I'm going to spend a few days recording various HD from different channels and see what happens.

When I had the cable jack installed, I got to talking to the guy that installed it. He was trying to learn some things about computers and noticed I had a pretty nice set up. We talked for a while, I helped him out, and he hooked up my connection pretty good. He double checked all my levels, did several tests and replaced my splitters with higher quality ones for free. I'm pretty sure I'm good there, since he not only improved my signal strength, but my internet speed as well. If it's just something that happens on a certain channel, I'll just deal with that and be done with it. Going to the Cox store to replace a box is such a pain. There are always so many people there, and it takes forever.

Thank you to everyone who replied, this has given me some ideas of things to try.

Corrected and Uncorrected blocks.
Check them in the diagonistics screen.

 

[Darth Llama]

Corrected and Uncorrected blocks.
Check them in the diagonistics screen.

Not sure what you mean. Can you elaborate please?


On a side note, taped 2 hrs of HD tonight on Fox, playback is perfect. Seems to be a problem with specific channel(s.) I'm gonna keep testing.

 

[ShuHanGuanYu]

Corrected and Uncorrected blocks.
Check them in the diagonistics screen.

Mine both show to be zero. When I first looked, it showed a 532 and then went to zero. Now I can't get them to show anything other than zero. We'll see where the first visit goes tomorrow, though it sucks that I can't be here for it.