Forum Discussion

tomb993's avatar
tomb993
New Contributor
6 years ago

Response time of Contour 2 box?

I'm curious what the normal response time to pushing buttons on the remote.  For example, when viewing the guide and you press page down, how long should it take to populate the next page?

Background: We recently noticed that it could take 10 or 15 seconds to respond to pressing play or pause when watching a recorded program.  This was very annoying!  I think that issue was caused by low signal, as it seems to have been remedied via upgrading the cable, connections, etc.

But I still see it take a few seconds to load the guide when I press page down, it can take a few seconds to show what recorded shows I have or a few seconds to show what is scheduled to be recorded.

What is the normal response time for these things?

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III

    I'm not glad you have this issue, but I'm glad you opened a post about this issue.

    I previously hijacked a post (Call History) complaining how Contour has become sluggish while responding to inputs from my remote control.

    Of course, the standard reply from Cox was it's my fault:  I've allowed my cables to loosen; I've failed to replace my set-top box; I've failed to schedule a technician.  Why is bad service always my fault?

    I first noticed the sluggishness in September.  After rebooting and refreshing to no resolve, I attributed the sluggishness to a then-recent software update (v103.1.0).  I had another update on 7 Oct (v104.1.0) but the box is still sluggish.

    This is an issue with Cox.  Cox either can't fix a bug in their software or something is causing latency on their CATV system (noise, congestion, bottlenecking, mismanagement).

    This could be a regional glitch.  I'm in Northern Virginia.

    forums.cox.com/.../92742

    • thecat18's avatar
      thecat18
      New Contributor III

      I had the issue of slowness & stuck in fast forward, seems like pushing the blue power button off & on fixes it, but it will stop your recordings I think.

      • Bruce's avatar
        Bruce
        Honored Contributor III

        A power button?  That's a luxury.  Most cable boxes don't have power buttons because they're designed to stay powered.

  • Now this is very interesting.  I just went to my Contour 2 and my guide is stuck like yours.  For a full minute before,  I was able to go up/down and the response was great.  Then the next second, I got a notice on the TV that Cox is having problem so, the box started to reboot.  Now it is still stuck, even when I did a hard power cord reset.

    I noticed that this happened last week and after 2 days, everything recovered.  Here is the other strange thing....I have 2 DVR's and my 2nd Contour 2 DVR box has NO Problem.  Could it be the BOX?  I changed the batteries last week when I had the problem the first time.  I see other post on this forum, about channels stuck....no baseball for some!  I also remember checking my ABOUT for my DVR, was v104.1.0 last week

    • Allan's avatar
      Allan
      Moderator
      @Ekhawaii, If this issue is happening with only one box, then it is probably the box. I recommend swapping the box at the nearest Cox retail store. If you still have issues with the service after swapping the box, I would then recommend having a tech come out and take a look. Allan, -Cox Support Forums Moderator.
      • tomb993's avatar
        tomb993
        New Contributor

        It could also be the connections to this box.  There could be a weak link in one of the cable connections.  You could swap the boxes and see if the problem moves with the box or stays with the location.  You could also re-seat all the connections to the box with the problem.

  • JudyG's avatar
    JudyG
    New Contributor II

    My system has been "lagging" for lack of a better word for the last several weeks.  This time around.  It seems to happen every couple months or so and lasts for a week or two, this time it's been longer.  Despite being told yesterday that my issue was fixed four different times, the issues are still occurring today.  Same issues, except my channel won't change.  If I re-boot the system, sometimes that clears it, sometimes not.  I am so frustrated with these recurring issues.

    • Allan's avatar
      Allan
      Moderator
      @JudyG. Ongoing issues can certainly be frustration and we can take a closer look. Please send us an email with your full name and address to cox.help@cox.com. Thanks. Allan - Cox Support Forums Moderator.
  • CrystalS's avatar
    CrystalS
    Former Moderator
    Due to the numerous amounts of outside factors to affect the remote response time. I would like to you to disconnect the coaxial cable and the power cord wait for 3 minutes, and then reconnect the coaxial cable first and then the power cord. Crystal
    • tomb993's avatar
      tomb993
      New Contributor

      Could I please repeat my original question?  What is the normal response time supposed to be?  As I mentioned, I have resolved a major response time problem.  Response time is much better.  But now I would like to know what is supposed to be normal.  For example, when pressing page down on the guide page, how long should it take to populate all rows?  Or when selected recorded programs, how long should it take to display all recorded programs?

      Mine is taking 1 to 3 seconds for those examples, which is quite possibly normal.  But I don't know what normal is supposed to be.

      • ekhawaii's avatar
        ekhawaii
        Contributor

        tomb933, as I've posted earlier, I have had this problem.  But all is well now, but I will remember to try the cable reset as well as a power cycle.  I did not do anything other than a cycle of power.  My 2nd DVR had no problem when this 1st one was have issues, so COX implied there could be a box problem or like you said, resetting the line.....have not moved these lines in a long time so how they um-tighten is beyond me.

        As to my times....when good, using a single up/down on the guide is a second or less....almost like a scroll.  Using the page up/down, it takes about 1-2sec or less to populate the 2 lines of missing entries.  When I was having problems, it would stay there for 5-10sec or more, then quickly catch up.  Another user has a thread about the guide not even changing at all....got to be the box.

  • tomb993's avatar
    tomb993
    New Contributor

    I recall hearing that the DVR doesn't process button presses immediately.  The information is sent down the line to Cox's servers, which then send a command back to the DVR.  Is this correct?  It would explain why I was not able to watch previously recorded shows when there was a Cox service outage.

    • KevinM2's avatar
      KevinM2
      Former Moderator
      Hi Tomb993, the Contour 2 remote utilizes both RF (radio frequency) and IR (infrared). The content you have on the DVR is stored on the hard drive itself. The Contour 2 remote should not have any type of delay at all, especially the type of delay you are describing. I recommend making sure there are no loose or damaged connections in the home. This includes any splitters you may have as well. Please also change the batteries and reprogram the remote to the receiver. Here are instructions on pairing the remote:

      www.urcsupport.com/.../

      If the issue persists, please reach out to us at cox.help@cox.com, Facebook, or Twitter. Our next course of action will be to send out a service technician to the home. -Kevin M. Cox Support Forum Moderator
      • tomb993's avatar
        tomb993
        New Contributor

        Thanks Kevin, but that doesn't really answer my question.  The remote communicates with the DVR via RF and IR, but that's not my question.  I see the green light flash on the DVR when I push a button, that indicates the DVR has received the request from the remote.  My question is, does it process this request internally and immediatly?  I heard that the request is send down the line to Cox servers, which then send it back to the DVR for processing.  For example, if I press pause while watching a recorded program, the green light flashes indicating the DVR has received the request, but then the "pause" request is sent to Cox's servers which then send the actual instructions for carrying out the pause action to the DVR, and the recording gets paused.