Is Cox Contour Stream Player Free?
For the TV services, they have Contour TV with features such as live TV, On Demand, and apps. The Contour Stream Player is another device you can use with Contour TV by Cox to watch content on other TVs in your house, a device relatively new in the market. However, is the Cox Contour Stream Player a Cox free trial for their customers? Let us look at the distinctions more conveniently.
The first question that arises in everyone’s mind is what is a Contour Stream Player.
The Cox Contour Stream Player is a compact box similar to other streaming devices, for instance, Roku or Amazon Fire Stick, which gets connected to television through an HDMI port. With this, you can get all of the features of the Contour TV service on other TVs in your residence without cables or cable boxes.
Thus, with the Contour Stream Player, you can view live TV, have access to On Demand movies and shows, watch your favorite apps, including Netflix and YouTube, and view DVR videos on any connected TV within your house. The user interface and experience are similar to your typical Contour receiver box with a Contour digital remote.
The Contour Stream Player relies on the coaxial cable installed in your home as well as your home’s WiFi to get signals from the main Contour receiver. This implies that separate cables are not required to be run to the extra TVs requiring service with the help of Stream Player.
Is It Free for Cox Contour Stream Player?
The Cox Contour Stream Player itself is free for Cox customers provided they are using the Cox cable internet or television services. Still, to make use of the Contour Stream Player, you must have an existing Contour TV subscription that works actively.
That is why when you subscribe to the Contour TV service with Cox, the company will give you up to two Contour Stream Players free of charge without any extra charges every month. It provides you with the ability to view your Contour TV features and channels on up to two other TVs besides the ones connected to your Contour boxes.
Several Contour Stream Players beyond the first two is $2.99 monthly per player.
Personally, there is at present also an offer where you have to order Contour Stream Players and have them installed for free ($72) if you order new qualifying Contour TV and internet packages.
Are You to Get Contour TV for the Stream Player?
In other words, the Contour Stream Player is intended to work in tandem with the Contour TV service and replicate that experience on other TVs, so, naturally, you do require an active Contour TV subscription to utilize the Stream Player.
The Contour TV service ranges from $70 per month for the base package as of the time of this article. Although there are many more package options with even more channels that are relatively expensive than the basic monthly fee.
This is why, while Stream Player does not have a fee for one or two in a home, you will have to pay the regular price for Contour TV service – plus the additional outlet price for more than two Stream Players. Nonetheless, no method exists to directly purchase and utilize only the Stream Player without a Contour TV subscription.
It is important to approach the Contour Stream Player as an additional device to the Contour TV service rather than as a streaming device on its own. With no content and features to provide for the users, Stream Player essentially has nothing for the clients when not using the Contour service.
What is Required To Use Contour Stream Player?
Since the Contour Stream Player needs to connect to your home’s coaxial cable lines and WiFi to access the content from your Contour service, there are requirements beyond just having an active Contour subscription:
- The fast Cox internet service.
- In-home WiFi connection
- Cables that go to all areas of your home; Coaxial cables in your home
- At least one standard Contour receiver and remote must be connected to the system to be able to use its functionalities.
- Second, we have HDMI input on additional TVs.
The use of the Contour Stream Player is to enable you to bring your Contour TV service that comes from your Contour boxes to other rooms in your house. It requires wiring through the entire house and the internet to achieve this.
From a functionality standpoint, the Stream Player is an extender or a client – if the main Contour service is not present on standard set-top boxes, the Stream Player has no information to relay to the extra TVs.
Flik 010720019 Stream Player vs Mini Boxes
In addition to Contour Stream Players, Cox provides “Mini Boxes” which also work similarly to the Stream Players in the sense that they enable you to watch Contour TV on further TVs but past the primary tuners.
However, Mini Boxes differ here in that they integrate Cox’s QAM tuners and do not rely on your home’s internet connection. This implies that in the event one does not subscribe to Cox Internet, Mini Boxes are the preferred solution for adding Contour service to other rooms.
That being said, the Mini Boxes do come with a monthly service fee like additional Stream Players after the first two – so they are not entirely free of charge. You don’t receive Mini Boxes like where you can have one or two Stream Players bundled with your Contour subscription.
So therefore, all in all, for the majority of Cox customers with high-speed internet, the Contour Stream Player is going to be the better way to bring Cox to other TVs because the equipment is free and no new wiring is required. However, those are advantages that Mini Boxes provide, allowing you to add more outlets without the need for an Internet connection.
Is It Possible To Utilize Stream Player Without Hulu Television?
However, as the Contour Stream Player is intended to provide an extension and enhancement of your Contour TV services in your home, there is no purpose or benefit to having the device without an active Contour subscription.
It serves as a content source and software feature for your additional televisions and without Contour TV in your home, the Stream Player wouldn’t have anything to send to your other TVs.
Next, some clients have enquired if they could utilize the Contour Stream Player as a fundamental streaming gadget for Roku or Amazon Fire TV Stick with no Contour TV.
However, since the Contour Stream Player is developed to run Cox’s software for the Contour service, and is not like a smart TV running operating system such as Roku or Android TV, you cannot download additional apps such as Netflix or Hulu on the Contour Stream Player.
It is only when connected to Contour TV that the Cox Stream Player has no apps, channels, or features, it can provide. However, it occasionally freezes and requires the Stream Players to be connected to your Cox Contour TV subscription, coaxial cables, and WiFi in your home.
In Summary
The Cox Contour Stream Player is designed to enable you to share your Contour TV across more of the TVs in your home beyond the main set-top boxes without the need for additional cables and gear.
Contour Stream Players are free for the first two streaming players in a home if purchased with an active Contour TV subscription. Subscribing more players beyond the first two players was charged $2.99 per month.
However, the Contour Stream Players only function if you have the Contour service – if you do not subscribe to Contour, the Stream Players are barren and Void of any content or apps.
Therefore, to answer the main question of the article – yes, the basic Contour Stream Players themselves are free if bundled with the Contour TV package. However, you cannot use the Stream Player devices without having the Contour TV service, which puts users at a minimum cost per month for using this equipment.
It’s mainly aimed at giving end users of Contour another option to expand live TV and DVR capabilities to other rooms in a home without having to purchase more boxes and cables. However, it is not an exclusive streaming media device meant for cord-cutting individuals. Streamer Player is only compatible with Contour TV service active in your household.
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