Comments on: NBC’s Olympic Coverage Puts an Exclamation Point on a Recent FCC Speech http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/nbcs-olympic-coverage-puts-an-exclamation-point-on-a-recent-fcc-speech.html A Netzine About Ideas Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:29:02 -0600 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Lori http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/nbcs-olympic-coverage-puts-an-exclamation-point-on-a-recent-fcc-speech.html/comment-page-1#comment-10254 Lori Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:16:17 +0000 http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/?p=447#comment-10254 Watching Canadian TV is feeling more and more conspiratorial every day. Being a Detroiter, I grew up on Canadian TV. I recently got my "DTV converter box," as I'm <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/netizen" rel="nofollow">not made of money</a> and can't afford cable/satellite, or even internet access (greetings from the Warren [MI] Public Library). Digital TV has been quite a disappointment. I gain a few "side channels" with weather reports, B-list "retro" TV and other largely throwaway content, while I lose the three networks that don't insult my intelligence: <a href="http://cbc.ca/" rel="nofollow">CBC</a>, <a href="http://www.tvo.org/" rel="nofollow">TVO</a> and <a href="http://radio-canada.ca/" rel="nofollow">Radio Canada</a>. I have not yet figured out whether my inability to get these channels is due to their not broadcasting in digital, or lack of signal strength. It seems people are learning the hard way that digital TV requires more power to drive a usable signal (although the quality of a usable signal is excellent). It seems, all other things being equal, more antenna gain is needed to get the same channel lineup. CBC and Radio Canada (its francophone sister network) are the official Olympics network in Canada. They have always offered Olympics coverage that is far superior to NBC, and the two channels are not usually simulcasts of each other. Much less human interest stories and other BS, let alone the profound stupidity of the (and now, on a <i>much</i> lighter note...) <i>Today Show</i>. TVO (TV Ontario) is a viewer-supported (and also province-subsidized) educational network with such legendary programs as <i>Big Ideas</i>, which features college lectures from leading Ontario universities, and <i>The Agenda</i>, an intelligently done politics-themed talk show. Also, they're big on documentary films. I'd donate, but I'm living hand-to-mouth as it is. At least Canada has adopted the (same) ATSC format for digital broadcasting. It would truly be horrible if they ended up broadcasting in a different format. I read on the web that CBC Windsor has reserved channel 36 for digital broadcasting. I don't know if they're using it yet, but I tune in every few days, and will soon try to shoehorn an antenna into my attic. For now, I'm glad I shelled out a few clams above the $40 stipend and got a model with 'analog pass-through.' Watching Canadian TV is feeling more and more conspiratorial every day. Being a Detroiter, I grew up on Canadian TV. I recently got my “DTV converter box,” as I’m not made of money and can’t afford cable/satellite, or even internet access (greetings from the Warren [MI] Public Library). Digital TV has been quite a disappointment. I gain a few “side channels” with weather reports, B-list “retro” TV and other largely throwaway content, while I lose the three networks that don’t insult my intelligence: CBC, TVO and Radio Canada. I have not yet figured out whether my inability to get these channels is due to their not broadcasting in digital, or lack of signal strength. It seems people are learning the hard way that digital TV requires more power to drive a usable signal (although the quality of a usable signal is excellent). It seems, all other things being equal, more antenna gain is needed to get the same channel lineup. CBC and Radio Canada (its francophone sister network) are the official Olympics network in Canada. They have always offered Olympics coverage that is far superior to NBC, and the two channels are not usually simulcasts of each other. Much less human interest stories and other BS, let alone the profound stupidity of the (and now, on a much lighter note…) Today Show. TVO (TV Ontario) is a viewer-supported (and also province-subsidized) educational network with such legendary programs as Big Ideas, which features college lectures from leading Ontario universities, and The Agenda, an intelligently done politics-themed talk show. Also, they’re big on documentary films. I’d donate, but I’m living hand-to-mouth as it is.

At least Canada has adopted the (same) ATSC format for digital broadcasting. It would truly be horrible if they ended up broadcasting in a different format. I read on the web that CBC Windsor has reserved channel 36 for digital broadcasting. I don’t know if they’re using it yet, but I tune in every few days, and will soon try to shoehorn an antenna into my attic. For now, I’m glad I shelled out a few clams above the $40 stipend and got a model with ‘analog pass-through.’

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