When I got back from a prolonged overseas trip, one of the first things I wanted to do was watch some bad American television. I ordered a pizza for the first time in months and got prepared for an evening of mindless relaxation, but when I turned the knob on the TV (yes, I know, I didn’t even have a remote control) there were no channels!
“What’s up with that?” I said to myself, “What good is a TV without TV channels?”
I ate my pizza and went back to my anthropological research, determined to figure out what had happened to my television as soon as possible. But as usual I became absorbed in my work and a few weeks passed before I even thought about TV. Then one morning I noticed the thing staring at me from the corner, a layer of dust on its screen. I tried switching it on again and the result was the same, so I called a friend.
Turns out that while I was gone they had completely changed how TV is broadcast, switching from analog to digital. Evidently the transition was a big subject of trepidation among many Americans, mainly older folks like myself, and I had missed it entirely. They had even delayed the transition to allow slower people to get the right equipment, but apparently not by enough because two million households lost access to TV, me being one of them.
When I heard that number two million, it actually struck me as rather small given the total number of TV watchers in the US. I had to wonder if it was because they were oblivious to the switchover like me, or didn’t make the “digital transition” for financial reasons.
Apparently on the 12th of June, 2009, digital TV broadcasts replaced analog broadcasts. It was now necessary to take a number of steps to make one’s TV compatible with the new system. One either had to buy a digital-to-analog converter box, a new TV that was digital, or subscribe to a satellite or cable service.
My first reaction was anger. I assumed that the transition had been typically created in the name of venal interest. Being a liberal and against big business, I was annoyed and prepared to assume a position of opprobrium. I was actually ready to refuse to ever watch TV again! But my friend informed me that there were in fact many advantages to digital TV and that the transition was definitely beneficial to everyone, nothing to get up-in-arms about. Also, apparently the government was handing out coupons to help poorer folk afford the new converter equipment, so really there was no reason to get upset.
It was time for change, and at first I decided to go the cheapest route and get a converter box and a new antenna. I was told to get a so-called HDTV antenna, but when I spoke with someone else at an electronics store, he said that I needed an antenna that received both VHF and UHF signals and that many HDTV antennas didn’t perform as well. It was also thankfully pointed out that I wouldn’t be able to see high-definition TV on my analog television.
Since I don’t watch that much TV, I decided I would take some more time to figure out the best and least expensive course of action. There are a lot of new channels that I’ve never tried, some of which might appeal to the scientist in me, and it’s not like I can’t afford the services.
Also, when I was in Europe I got used to having high-speed Internet access and it might behoove me to upgrade my old dial-up service.
Taylor Jensen writes about Dish Network and is considered an expert in the field of satellite Dish TV. Taylor Jensen is always keeping you updated on Dish Network packages and Dish Network deals. http://usdish.com/specials.html
