The Sopranos Swan Song
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- June
- 14
In Tuesday’c column, I wrote about the last episode of “The Sopranos” which was a pretty neat trick since I don’t subscribe to HBO.
A lot of people don’t subscribe to HBO, incidentally, and I heard from many of them.
In fact, a lot of people still don’t subscribe to cable. I’ve read that 20 million households in America are without cable, and therefore only watch limited broadcast TV with the help of old-fashioned roof anttenae and rabbit ears. But get this—Congress apparently has signed off on a deal which will eliminate all analog airwave transmission and replace it with digital spectrum. That’s better for high-definition television, something that is really being foisted on consumers.
By going digital, everyone who uses the old rabbit ears will go dark in a couple of years or go unless they get these costly converters installed. The federal government will give out vouchers to subsidize the purchase of the converters.
I don’t know, but doesn’ this sound like a snafu in the making? You just know a lot of people won’t get the word about this in time and then will go absolutely nuts when they can’t tune in to “The View” or some other junk.
Not only that, but how come taxpayers are footing the bill?
And who’s getting the converter contract? This is something to keep an eye on.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 14th, 2007 at 5:56 pm by Phil Reisman.
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Phil Reisman is a veteran journalist and native of Westchester County. He began his career in 1977 as the head copy boy of a startup New York City newspaper that quickly went belly up. Reisman was not to blame for the newspaper's failure, or so he claims.
I don’t have cable, and, oddly enough, I’ve been learning much more than I ever wish I needed to about digital tuners, 720p, 1080i, for a gift television purchase.
In this case, I figure, “sure, we should move ahead.” Yes, it’ll mean that my TV won’t work without a converter, but it’ll free up some of the airwaves. (And, TVs are one of those technology products that keep getting cheaper every year.)
Does this mean I’ll have to replace my DVDs and players with HD-DVDs and players the way I replaced VCR tapes and players and 8-TRACKS and records with CDs before that? Sounds like another industry scam only this time the government is along for the ride.
Since my subscription to HBO was forced on me by kids who “had to” watch the Sopranos—and then moved out & got married, leaving me with a $120 a month carbuncle on my butt for ten years….. I can now paraphrase the late great MLK…. Free at Last, Free at Last, TV I watch iz gwan be Free at last !
I had the wife cancel HBO on Monday morning.
(I wonder if she did it?)
2 words.
The Dish.
Direct TV
i left cable and never looked back.