Archive for April 11th, 2008

The saga of the rabbit ears

Friday, April 11th, 2008

It’s been about a month since I bought my big-screen TV. Since then, I’ve used it only to watch DVDs or videos over the Internet via my computer… The biggest win isLost online in HD!

I really wanted to get a satellite dish, but there’s this small problem: a big tree between my balcony and the satellite. I have a political aversion to getting cable TV through Comcast (the local monopoly) because they’re twice as expensive as satellite, and plus they’re evil. And more evil. And I could go on, but you get the point.

So tonight after work, I picked up a pair of rabbit ears so that I could at least pick up some TV. In many ways, I almost needed not have bothered. Why?

Channels in Spanish that I don’t understand: 3

Channels in Chinese or other asian language that I don’t understand: 3

Channels where the reception is so bad they’re not worth watching: 6

Versions of PBS: 3 (including one in Spanish)

Other: 3

Of the three “Other” channels, one was showing Cops, one was showing Wrestling, and one was showing something that I couldn’t even figure out. None of them had great reception, but at least they were watchable… more or less.

I also find it interesting that none of the traditional “networks” seem to be broadcasting in HD. Almost every Spanish or Chinese channel had an HD version, and all the PBS channels were in HD.