Digital Video Recorders (DVR): Direct TV or Cox

Digital Video Recorders, or DVRs, are changing the way people watch television. With a DVR you can watch any television program on your own schedule by recording it and watching it whenever you want. You can record one program at a time, or set your DVR to record every episode in a TV series. You can also fast forward through commercials on your recorded programs giving you the luxury of watching your shows in a lot less time. But which DVR is right for you?

I have used both the Cox DVR and the Direct TV HD DVR and have found them to be very similar. Both DVRs allow you to record two shows simultaneously; watch a recorded show while recording two other shows; record one show while watching something else; and pause and rewind live TV. And both DVRs have a search feature for searching for a specific show or keyword.

The Direct TV DVR has a few features that the Cox DVR doesn't have. With Direct TV you can set your DVR to record a show from the internet using your computer or mobile phone. Direct TV also has a bookmark feature that allows you to mark a place in a TV program so that you can come right back to that same spot later. And Direct TV has a feature called "fast forward correction" where it actually jumps back a few seconds so that you don't miss anything.

However, based on my experience the Direct TV DVR box is extremely slow. There is a delay of a few seconds whenever you click on anything, which sometimes causes you to make the wrong selection. It's also extremely slow when scrolling through the Guide or the DVR List of recorded shows. This was never an issue with the Cox DVR.

The Direct TV DVR can record up to 100 hours of programming, and the Cox DVR can record up to 80 hours of programming. But keep in mind that this will vary if you're recording HD programs, since these programs take up a bit more space.

When I had the Cox DVR, the monthly fee was $12.00 - this is for the rental of the DVR box plus the DVR programming. Direct TV's monthly fee is just $5.99, but you have to purchase the DVR box outright. However, contact Direct TV to see what kind of specials they have. We were actually able to get out DVR for free.

So hopefully there's enough information here for you to decide which DVR system to go with. Also note that with Direct TV you'll have to purchase a satellite dish as well. You will not have this expense with Cox. But once you start using a DVR, you will wonder how you ever got along without it!