The Contour boxes are not as user friendly as the regular HDTV recorders. There is not an option to click on a show that is currently playing and search for future episodes to record. You must go to search and type in the name to search. Every. Single. Time. You. Want. To. Search. Something. This alone makes for a bad experience if you're used to the ease of the "old" HDTV recorders. I love the ability to add users and customize the experience. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being able to record 6 shows at one time, but there are still some user interface issues that should be addressed before Cox gives these out to customers without a warning. The warning being: Your whole experience is about to change, for good and bad.
My husband is not techie and the Contour experience is definitely different from a "normal" TV user's way of recording, watching, handling the DVR List, and search and save options.