Digitize This

  January 9, 2018, we were told is the day we Spectrum customers will need to be digitized or our television sets will receive no pictures. A Spectrum Receiver will be sent free of charge (for one year anyway) to adapt any set not already connected to a box or smaller receiver. The installation will be easy, and help will be available if needed.
   When I first heard of this, I called Spectrum to find out our status.  We have 3 TV's in the house.  The set in the living room is connected to a box, so okay there. The set in the far bedroom has a small Cisco adapter, I think it's called. The rep reviewed our records and said that is okay also. So the set in the middle bedroom plugs into the outlet and will need the Digital Receiver.
  At first, I thought why bother. One person doesn't need 3 TV's. But then I realized that my exercise bike is in that room, and though I only use it at best for 30 minutes a day, during Jeopardy usually, there is no way I'm ever going to pedal for half an hour without watching TV. So I ordered the unit, which came in only a few days, in a somewhat surprisingly large box.
   So I set about to install it. The directions said it was simple and I found it to be quite so, though I really don't know the difference between a COAX Cable and a HDM1 Cable. But they were labeled and so I took Step A and connected the coax cable from the cable outlet to the "Cable In" port in the back of the receiver. (The hardest part of the installation was disconnecting the present cable from the back of the television--it was very firmly attached.) Step B was connecting the HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV, and Step C was connecting the power cord to the Spectrum receiver and plugging it into the wall.  All went very smoothly so far, clear directions and sketches having been provided.
   Wait 10 minutes and press Power and the system will automatically download, read the instructions.  That was all part of STEP 1: CONNECT and so far, so good.
   STEP 2: ACTIVATE  is where the problem began.  I opted to call the number provided and said the magic word--"activate."  Nothing happened.  It was late at night, but I called the live number and went through the usual checks of holding and pressing buttons,  singly and simultaneously, etc. Finally the rep said it may take up to 60 minutes so I gave up and went to bed.
    In bed, I tried to turn on that set, the one with the smaller adapter box, but it now displayed the same "No Signal" box as on the other TV.
    This morning, I called the customer service line and the rep went through all the various procedures as before plus a number of others.  He kindly assured me that there was no fault with the installation, that testing the signal showed I had done an excellent job. He apologized for not being able to help any further and offered to send  tech to my house this same day.
   Cody arrived at 5:30, a little late because his previous job had taken over 2 hours. He walked into the first bedroom, pressed the remote and the TV came on. I was amazed, but he said he had sent the signal from the driveway before he came in, and it worked.
   Now for the other TV, the one that purportedly didn't need a new installation as it already had an adapter.  He took a look behind the set, at the connections,  and said that though the box was there, the TV had never been connected to it, was receiving only through the TV and that's why it stopped working. He connected it with a shorter cable, went to the basement to do something with the cable down there, and now, just like magic, we have 3 working televisions.   Cody said he doesn't know why Spectrum didn't just send someone out to homes in the first place. I gather their Techs are getting a lot of work out in the field.