Hehe, sounds like Cox!

Stage 1 - Digital Cable to High Definition:
I was around for this one. First off, the guy installing the thing had no idea what he was doing. Eventually, he was able to get it "set up". By that I mean it displayed an image and produced sound. However, instead of rigging it up through the surround receiver, he had it rigged up through the TV speakers. Apparently the giant speakers in my living room are just for show...

Stage 2 - HD to HD-DVR:
Okay, this is REAL EASY. Replace the existing box. Just plug the cables into the new box. My girlfriend was recovering from surgery, so she was around the house. Perfect, I didn't need to take any time off, she could be there to make sure he didn't steal the TV or whatever. She called me up in a panic. Nothing worked. The guy left with the TV black!

Neither guy had ANY CLUE what he was doing, it was awful. I don't know what people without technical knowledge do... It would really suck to have HD's 5.1 surround signal coming out of the 4 2" drivers in the TV...