There is a lot of hand-wringing by the government over the reasons why Australians are so slow about switching to digital television. I'll give them the answer for free: it's because they're making us pay. If, four years ago, the government had mandated that all new TVs sold be digital-integrated, there wouldn't be half as big a problem as there is now. The fact that you have to fork out a couple of hundred extra for an ugly set-top box is what makes most consumers think twice, and if the government wants to achieve its aims, it should be ensuring that consumers don't have to think at all. Allowing retailers to keep selling televisions that would essentially be defunct in under a decade was a very short-sighted move indeed.
The only thing that has given me pause for thought as to whether Gam and I should buy a set-top box is the fact that the new Chaser News Alert is being shown only on ABC2. Now that's just mean, taunting us like that... I think we'll just download it.
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I bought a set top box. Discovered something pretty quick about it. Rabbit Ears don't work so good plugged into one? Why is that? Cause when the signal is around 80% it does this.
'Today in the news, 23 people were SCRONK-WEEE. The island is reeling from the HONK_ZCCCCRRRRRR-FZKFZK-BARGE. Tourists are now leaving in droves.'
Massive, nasty, incredibly loud static noise rasping across the sound of your TV.
So basically without a proper roof aerial - forget about it. That and I have six analogue TV's that I'd have to convert. No thanks.
Why are they pushing digital? Sounds like a government plot. Like when Telstra abandoned the analogue signal for mobile phones in the bush (which had as I understand it excellent coverage) and went with the lesser digital signal instead.
Damned photomen assholes.
Wow, no wonder people are slow to take it up... you mustn't be the only one it has backfired for!
Our set-top box does the same thing - we get that horrible popping noise that sounds like it's going to blow the amplifier, and sometimes the picture just stops. Completely.
It's worst on SBS, and always seems to happen right when the dialogue is getting intense, or just when you're about to get some of that famous SBS nudity and adult content... One time I even changed channels from SBS and went back several hours later, to find the same image frozen on the telly! Very strange.
Rooftop aerial, here we come :(
And they're still wondering why most of us won't have switched to digital by 2008? Even I didn't know it was that bad!
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