We analyzed features, prices, and more to help you decide if the Contour Record 6 DVR feeds your TV needs.
Price: $20.00/mo.
Storage: 250 hours in HD
Simultaneous recordings: 6 shows
1-855-399-1553Data effective as of post date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
By Amy YoungApr 3, 2024 | Share
The Contour Record 6 DVR is an optional service you can add to your Cox Contour TV plan to record and store your favorite shows for an additional $20 a month. While it provides 250 hours of HD storage and allows you to record up to six shows simultaneously, it’s not the cheapest option available.
Cox also offers two other DVR plans, the Record 2 and the Record 24. Like the names suggest, the Record 2 only allows two simultaneous recordings and the Record 24 allows up to an astonishing 24.
All of the Contour Record services also require a Contour Box to work, and while your first one is usually included in your TV plan, additional boxes are $8.50 a month each.
Data effective as of post date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
Cox offers three flavors of Contour Record DVR service: the 2, the 6, and the 24. We think that of the three, the 6 is probably your best bet if you’ve got a household with multiple people sharing one cable plan. Sometimes two simultaneous recordings are just not enough.
We’d love to get 1,000 hours of HD storage, but that $30 monthly price tag is just too steep. Especially if you have to pay extra for equipment.
Also, while it’s not offered as an official plan, new customers will receive 12 free months of Record 1 Starter DVR service, which, going by the name, offers only one DVR stream at a time. That’s not great, but at least it’s free for that first year. Your Cox TV plan will increase about $40 per month after the first year as well, though, so it’s a bummer that your free DVR service will disappear, much like the Avatar, just when you needed it most.
Your first Wired HD Contour box should come free with your plan, but if you want to upgrade or add an additional box, it’ll cost you $8.50 a month. That’s on top of the fee for one of the Record Service plans listed above.
Data effective as of post date. Pricing and speeds are subject to change. Not all offers available in all areas.
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*Varies by location and package. Xfinity charges about $8.50 monthly for the box and an additional $10-$20 per month for additional cloud storage.
For those binge-watchers and folks with multiperson households, the Cox Contour Record 6 is an option that makes sense. However, while its storage is hearty and you can fill your library with a ton of shows, some competitors offer more for less.
If you’re looking for the best value, the DISH Hopper 3 offers twice as much HD storage as the Cox Contour Record 6 for a fraction of the price. DISH also offers over twice the amount of simultaneous recordings.
DIRECTV Genie technically comes included with your regular DIRECTV plan cost, but you have to pay $15 a month for “HD, DVR, and Whole-Home Services.” So it’s the kind of free where it’s not free at all, actually. On the bright side, as of 2023, DIRECTV finally comes with a two-year price lock.
The Xfinity X1 box is $8.50 per month, or $7.50 in some locations. It comes with 150 hours of built-in HD storage, but Xfinity also allows you to upgrade your cloud DVR storage with or without the X1 box. These add-ons range from $10 to $20 per month for up to 300 hours of recording. Unfortunately, whether this is a better deal than Cox Contour is largely dependent on your location and package.
Wondering what deals are available in your area? Use our zip code tool below:
For more information about Cox Contour and its competition, check out our guide to 2022’s Best DVRs.
If premium features are more of a concern than the price of being a Cox customer, then the Record 6 might still be right for you.
There’s nothing like seeing everyone in a household with a smile on their face. And not having to fight over what to watch can help those grins stretch from ear to ear.
Do you have a big family or a home with multiple residents? The Cox Contour Record 6 can record up to six shows at once—you can kiss DVR battles goodbye.
While that sounds great, do take a minute to ask yourself if you think that much recording is necessary. Some competitors give you nearly the same features without the $20 per month price tag if you don’t need that many recordings.
For instance, the DISH Hopper 3, which is only $10 a month, lets you record 16 programs simultaneously.
Available on Android, Amazon, and iOS devices, the Contour TV app lets you watch live TV and Cox On Demand on your phone or tablet.
You can manage, set, and download your DVR recordings with this app. You can also watch your recorded content.
Think of it as a mobile companion to your DVR—you can watch and manage content from any location.
While you get up to 250 hours of HD video and 1,000 hours of SD storage space with the Cox Contour Record 6 DVR for $20 a month, this is another time when Cox isn’t in the lead with the best deal. The DISH Hopper 3 comes in at $15 per month and gives you 500 HD storage hours.
Picture this: It’s late at night, and you’re cozy on the couch in front of the TV. You want to watch a whole movie, but stretching out on your mattress starts to sound good. No problem. Pause the show, grab your phone or tablet, climb in bed, pull up your movie on the Contour app, and pick up right where you left off.
The Contour app allows multiple people in a household to watch whatever they like at any time. If you’re planning to watch from additional TVs in the home, here’s another chance for Cox to add a fee. Additional Contour DVR receivers are $10 a month. We’d recommend using the app instead. You’ll find similar charges with other providers, but some are a bit cheaper. For instance, an extra DVR box for the DISH Hopper 3 costs $7 a month.
Pro tip: Your internet speed helps determine how many users can be active online at one time. With Cox’s highest speed internet option, Go Super Fast, an unlimited number of users can enjoy Contour TV simultaneously. Cox offers additional internet plans to bundle with your TV service that are ideal for two to nine users.
Your kids might pull a fast one and try sneaking out of bed to watch TV. With parental controls, you can choose days or times to lock the TV so they can’t access inappropriate content. Using a PIN you create, the power is literally in your hands.
As TV fans, we all know what it’s like to fall into the what-to-watch rabbit hole. Fortunately, you can search for a specific title or a genre, and the Contour Guide will recommend similar shows and movies you might enjoy.
The Contour Box Voice Remote will let you boss your TV around to your heart’s content without wasting time typing. One button push controls voice activation. It’s sensitive to sound; you don’t have to shout for it to hear you — unless you’re having a party, then you may need to speak up.
If you are using your fingers to flip between shows and don’t want to start at square one every time, press the Last button to bring up the nine shows and movies you’ve watched most recently. It’s one nice part of the Cox package that doesn’t come with an additional fee.
The Cox Contour Box with Cox Contour Record 6 DVR is more spendy (and wordy) than Xfinity’s X1 and DIRECTV’s Genie, and your simultaneous recordings are limited to six. The DISH Hopper 3 wins overall on price, storage, and the number of shows you can record at the same time.
If you’re stuck on Cox as a TV service provider, the Cox Contour Record 6 DVR is a decent addition to your plan. Examine the Cox Contour TV packages and plans to see which one offers the channel lineup you like best.
