Cox Communications is an authorized TV, Internet, and phone service provider. Today, we’ll be taking a look at their TV service in particular and give our honest opinion of it.
Stay tuned to find out all you need to know about Cox — its pricing, channel selection, as well as the quality of their customer service. Then you can decide whether it’s worth giving a shot or not.
Here’s the Skinny on Cox’s TV Service
Overall, Cox is not a bad choice. For one, Cox offers 2 TB of HD storage with Record 6 DVR, which is great. And even though their initial pricing is higher than their competitors’, they don’t increase their prices much after the promotional period ends. Another great thing about Cox is that updating to HD channels is free.
Still, there are a few things that Cox can improve on. For one, Cox has only one package option, and the channel count within that package is not impressive. In addition, many customers have had complaints regarding Cox’s customer support, as well as the pricing of their tech support. Long story short — Cox’s overall pricing is way above the average.
Advantages
- no intense price jumps
- 2 TB of storage with Record 6 DVR
- HD channel upgrades are free
Disadvantages
- overall high pricing
- limited package and channel options
- poor customer service
How Much Does Cox Cost?
You can find the full pricing list on Cox’s official website, but we’ll give you an example here, as well.
The yearly Contour TV cable plan costs around $64, but you can get it cheaper if you opt for one of Cox’s bundles that also involve Internet and phone service. As you can tell, this price is quite high when compared to the prices of other cable services. Be that as it may, we do appreciate the upfront honesty.
Besides, as we mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are no sudden price jumps after the promotional period expires, which is admirable. Most companies, including the notable DirecTV, start charging twice as much after the first year, if not more. The price increase of Cox’s Contour TV package is only 30%.
Are There Any Additional Costs?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. There are plenty of additional costs to be aware of with Cox.
First of all, the biggest fee you’ll have to pay is the termination fee. If you want to stop using Cox before your contract has expired, you’ll have to pay a whopping $240 (minus $10 for every month you actively used it). This information can only be found under their Terms & Conditions, which is disappointing.
Then there’s also an HD receiver for which you’ll have to pay an additional $8.5 a month after the first year. Furthermore, a DVR will set you back around $13 – $20, depending on the DVR you choose (Record 2 or Record 6).
Finally, let’s talk about additional technical costs. Unless you’re a subscriber of their Complete Care Plan and paying an additional $10 a month, every technician visit will cost you around $50. So, no matter if it’s your own fault or not, you’ll need to set aside a lot of money for reparations. That’s why we suggest you go with the Cox Complete Care Plan right away. You never know when something can go wrong, so it’s better to be prepared. The Cox care plan covers all kinds of technical procedures.
What Packages Does Cox Offer?
Until about a year ago, Cox had 5 different package offers that you could choose from. Unfortunately, they were scrapped, and Cox now has only one stand-alone TV package option. There are 2 more options, but they’re included in bundles along with Internet and phone service. Let’s focus on the stand-alone TV package here.
The package is called Contour TV, and although it is the only option, it comes with some cool features. First of all, you get 140+ channels, and you can choose from 6 TV channel lineups. In addition, you can record shows with any device (including a PC, laptop, or tablet). Also, streaming TV shows is quite easy with Cox On Demand.
What Channels Does Cox Offer?
Even though Cox TV cannot boast with the immensely wide variety of channels as, say, DirecTV can, its entire selection is worth watching. If you ever had a TV plan with more than 200 channels, you know that most of your time will be spent switching between channels. Eventually, you settle down with a dozen or so channels you watch regularly, with all the other channels serving mostly as background noise.
Also, don’t you hate when the channels are split into various packs, and you end up buying at least three additional packs to cover everything you watch? Cox TV offers only one bundle — you get everything in a single package, which some customers may actually prefer.
Currently, you can choose between more than 150 different TV channels, as well as about 100 radio stations. Instead of putting premiums on the most popular channels such as HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. you get them all bundled in the pack. As for other channels, they include the most popular programs in the US — CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, as well as international programs such as BBC.
What About HD and Sports Channels?
In addition, you don’t have to pay a premium for HD. Even though many SD channels have their HD counterparts, contributing to the total channel count, they are unlocked by default. Keep in mind that not every channel has an HD option, even if most of them do.
As far as sports packages are concerned, Cox TV has got you covered. In addition to the entire ESPN lineup, you get NHL Network, NFL Network, NBA TV, as well as NBC, CBS, and FOX sports channels. Of course, it goes without saying that you get all of the sports channels in HD, to ensure perfect picture clarity on game day.
Cox TV Equipment and Characteristics
If you decide to go with Cox TV to fill out your entertainment cravings, one of the great perks you get is the Contour DVR cable box. It comes in two varieties — the Record 2 DVR, and the Record 6 DVR.
Record 2 DVR
If you like watching what’s on TV right now, and you only record your programs for later if it’s something special, Record 2 is a better choice for you than Record 6.
The Record 2 DVR cable box has almost all of the features of its bigger counterpart, the Record 6, but at a fraction of the cost. It got its name from its ability to record two different channels at once. For example, if you’re away from the TV when both a big game and your favorite show are on TV at the same time — you can record them both using the Record 2 DVR and watch them later.
In addition to the smart, simultaneous recording, you can manipulate your TV programs as if they were recordings. You can pause, rewind, skip forward to live, etc. Additionally, you can use your smartphone as a recording controller. If you forgot to set your DVR to record, you can now do it from anywhere.
If you go with the Record 2, you get 500 gigabytes of recording storage. That translates to about 120 hours of HD footage or 230 hours of regular footage.
Record 6 DVR
On the other hand, if you enjoy watching your TV shows whenever you like, you might need some more recording power. We’re talking about the Record 6 DVR cable box. It’s bigger, better, and stronger than its counterpart in every way.
For example, Record 2 can simultaneously record 2 channels at the same time. Even though that could be considered remarkable, Record 6 can do triple the work — six channels at a time. Hence its name, Record 6. It might seem like overkill, but those of you who like to take your time watching your favorite shows will appreciate it.
Additionally, you get four times the recording storage than what you get with the Record 2. Instead of 500 gigabytes of storage, you get a whopping 2 terabytes. In plain words, that is 340 hours of non-stop HD footage.
If you’re not watching in HD, that’s an even 1000 hours. In a single box, you could record more than a month of continuous video. To put things in perspective, you could have all seasons of Friends, Game of Thrones, and The Office on your drive and still have a month of storage left over.
Still, don’t forget that both Record 2 and Record 6 DVRs come at an additional cost, which can go from $12.99 to $19.99.
Additional Options
If you prefer watching TV on the go, you can also install the Cox TV Connect app, available for iPhone and iPad devices. Through it, you can watch, rewind, and record all of the channels you get on your TV. Nowadays, you don’t have to wait to get home to watch TV — you can do it anytime and anywhere.
Cox TV Customer Support
If you ever have trouble using any of the devices and services provided to you by Cox TV, you should contact Cox customer support. Depending on the severity and urgency of your trouble, you can use different ways of reaching out to the support team.
How Can You Reach Support?
For starters, you should check the Online Self-Service page on their website. It handles the most frequently asked questions the customers might have. Honestly, in most cases, it’s the perfect place to start diagnosing your issue. If the tips don’t help, or your problem is not listed, you could check out the Cox Community Forums. The chances are that someone somewhere had the exact same issue you currently have. Those issues frequently get solved in the forums, and your answer might be somewhere in there.
If both the Self-Service page and the Community Forums fell short of solving your problem, you can contact the staff. Even though there are great chances that you could fix the issue yourself, don’t hesitate to ask for help. You can contact the support staff via live chat on the website, or you can send an email. Additionally, you can contact support directly via the phone number listed on the website.
Cox Complete Care
As we mentioned, you can pay extra for Cox Complete Care, which improves the support level substantially. If you do so, Cox will cover every problem you encounter, from software glitches to frayed cables.
However, the reviews show us that Cox’s customer support is lacking, especially when it comes to the live chat on the website. The technicians are slow to reply, and their answers are oftentimes confusing and not helpful. That’s why we suggest you call the staff instead.
Overall, Cox’s support staff is poor, not to mention slow. You’ll probably wait a day or two before you get an email reply. Calling the phone line usually results in quite a bit of hold time.
Bottom Line
All in all, Cox TV is not the worst TV service provider you can choose, but it’s not optimal, either. Although it does come with some cool features, it’s definitely not worth the price.
The premium options, such as the Record 6 DVR and Cox Complete Care are splendid. They take the whole TV experience to the next level. However, you need to pay extra for those. And even though we love the fact that upgrading to HD channels is free, we have to criticize Cox for charging extra for everything else.
If you don’t mind paying for all the extra features like the Record 6 DVR, Cox can be a satisfying option for you. However, when compared to other cable companies, it certainly falls behind not only for its high pricing but also its lack of customer support and package options.