Digital TV

The switch was finally made last Friday, from analog TV to complete digital broadcasting. A few channels decided to get ahead of the game and switch early. For everyone in northern Wisconsin, I remember WAOW making the switch way back in February, and I know Channel 7 did as well too.

In fact, the switch was supposed to be in February, but they switched it to later for fear of people not being ready. My first reaction was too bad. If they’re not ready then, they wouldn’t be ready now, in June. Guess what?

 

They weren’t. The FCC has been dealing with thousands of calls about disruptions on their TV, failures in installing digital converter boxes (most of which were able to be fixed by ‘reseting’), etc.

Why can’t Americans follow instructions, or go online to help//FAQ forums, or God forbid, try and figure out how to fix the problem themselves before resorting to bitching about it. Honestly, I love this nation, but so often I have problems with the people.

There used to be a time when American students were near the top in the world in testing scores. That was like, back in the Greatest Generation. And now, we’re near the bottom. Even our best can’t beat the other countries’ bests. Embarassing.

What’s the cause? I like to refer to one of my favorite books – Heart of Darkness. (this is the part where all of friends sigh reluctantly. Very reluctantly), (I also just saw Apocalypse Now, great movie). We have lost that needed reflection into not only what we’ve become as a society, but as individuals. Are you OK with spending hours playing video games? Are you OK with ignoring the fact that you spend hundreds on clothes? Look, I’m not perfect either. But perhaps this nation has plenty of room for improvement, it fails to acknowledge it.

BTW, props to the FCC for finally manning up and just making the switch. The rest of us appreciate it.