Forum Discussion

bonzai2023's avatar
bonzai2023
New Contributor II
2 years ago

terrible delays

We have had Contour for 3 years and continuously have issues. During the day - usually between the hours of 6 am - 7/8 pm, our Contour TV is so slow. We often have to press our remote control buttons 20-30 times before it recognizes our choice (change channels, go to guide, go to apps, etc.) and the voice recognition doesn't work at all. Just gives us the "can't hear you" sound whenever we've pressed the microphone button. It is not a battery issue with the remotes, we've had our equipment upgraded 3 times (boxes and remotes) and the issue still persists. We are very frustrated because we've had techs out here 5 times, and the issue is still there. The only reasons we haven't left Cox is because Direct TV's customer service is terrible and it's such a pain to switch carriers. Can anyone help with our issue?

  • Speedskater's avatar
    Speedskater
    New Contributor III
    2 years ago

    Yep!

    When watching the last 25 minutes of the current channel, the remote control functions react promptly.

    But when watching a recording (especially a long recording) the responses are extremely slow!!!

    It often takes about 20 seconds for a response.

    Sometimes it gets confused and restarts the recording and occasionally it will jump to the end.

    It also can't deal with a recording of the current channel.

  • Speedskater's avatar
    Speedskater
    New Contributor III
    2 years ago

    My guess is:

    The last 25 minutes of the current channel is stored in the Contour Set Top Box, so the remote control commends act normally. But recording are stored in the 'cloud'. So each remote control command has to be sent to the 'cloud'.  This most likely is due to a system design error. And can't be corrected at the user end.

    • CurtB's avatar
      CurtB
      Valued Contributor III
      2 years ago

      The remote command delays when viewing near the end of recordings in process occur for recordings on a local hard drive too.

      I suspect the command-response is to ensure users have an active Cox account.

      • Speedskater's avatar
        Speedskater
        New Contributor III
        2 years ago

        I don't think that the newer mini-Contour has a hard drive. The mini-Contour does not have a clock or a Red LED indicating that it is recording or a Green LED indicating that it received a remote control command.

  • WiderMouthOpen's avatar
    WiderMouthOpen
    Esteemed Contributor
    2 years ago

    I wonder if it would be possible to switch the remotes from RF to IR to see if that clears up the problem. To have the remote work in IR mode, unpair it using the instructions below. This will disable voice control but should at least give you basic line of site function. 

    1. Press and hold the Setup button on the Cox remote for three seconds, until the red LED turns green.
    2. Enter 9-8-1.

    To pair it again, follow the instructions found here.

    • bonzai2023's avatar
      bonzai2023
      New Contributor II
      2 years ago

      Considering the remote works with no issues when doing "non-contour-related" functions like volume, on/off, etc. Would that indicate this is not a "remote-related" function? These delays are terrible during the day, but seem to be reduced or end completely the later it gets in the day. So frustrating!

      • WiderMouthOpen's avatar
        WiderMouthOpen
        Esteemed Contributor
        2 years ago

        I was trying to see if it was possible to isolate a remote>box problem compared to a box>Cox problem. However if the problem only comes up when it's hot out or something similar it is probably something between the box>Cox. The old boxes had physical buttons on the box you could use to isolate such issues, but not anymore.

  • CurtB's avatar
    CurtB
    Valued Contributor III
    2 years ago

    What you described is a symptom of a signal issue somewhere between your cable receiver and the Cox server.  When you press a button on the remote or use voice control, the receiver sends a command to the Cox server which sends a response back to your receiver.  A weak signal can cause a delay in the server response.  A lengthy delay might cause a response to time-out and never be received.

    Does your cable box ever lock up and require a reboot to resume activity?

    Did any of the techs check your signal strength?

    Note: Minor delays not caused by a signal issue may occur when viewing near the end of a recording in process.

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    2 years ago

    I've haven't had to repeat a command 20-30 times, but I understand the problem.  Contour sometimes gets "sluggish" and then "lost" with dots crossing my screen.  It takes a bit to change a channel.