Compulsory Digital TV

[silverclaws]

Does anyone get the feeling we are being herded by what is put on tv for us to watch, get everyone in one place then brain wash them.

 

[FluffyChicken]

But the decoder box, it must be plugged in and at least on standby all the time or the programming is lost, tell me again, was the government drive at one point to suggest we do not waste energy and turn off stuff we are not using, then they bring in digital tv, I have got an additional heat source in my flat now, has anyone noticed the heat that thing generates, probably a very good reason why they don't last.

I couldn't agree more. Alsmost everything in my house is in standby because nothing has a proper make or break switch. Only my kettle and my toaster actually switch off properly, my washing machine doesn't so thats in standby too. When I my old CRT TV died I bought a new LCD one, the new LCD one had and Energy Star sticker because its green and energy effcient. I looked in the manuals, for both TV's, at the power consumpstion figures and the new one uses more when on than the old one. In standby however the new one is far more efficient which is probably why it has the Energy Star. Fine, except the old TV was never in standby because it had a proper on/off switch and the new one doesn't so is allways in standby. Moreover the new flat panel tv had crap sound because it was too thin to fit decent speakers, meaning I had to go out and by a set of PC speakers and guess what! When you switch them off you can still hear the power supply humming like a good'un. I had to chop the lead and fit a inline table lamp switch.

Those goverment adverts are targeting us as the problem for leaving everything in standyby. They should go after the manufacturers and make them fit proper switches. That won't happen though cus big clumsy make or break switches are old fashioned and not cool. Imagine one on the front of a PS3 rather than the touch sensitive thing it has now. The PS1 was the last one to have a proper on/off switch.

My new (last year) 37" FreeView/FreeSat Panasonic TV has a proper on/off switch.

The cheap little FreeView boxes need to be on standby as they get their EPG cheaply, you pay for what you get

It's far better quality than the analogue was and I like some of the extra channels and features of FreeView. Been using 'digital'since OnDigital days. I choose not to watch what I don't want to watch, no herding.
I also don't watch a lot of TV

I suggest some take control of their own lives and choose to watch what they want if it's being broadcast.



Of course TV is a social shaping tool. Adverts, TV programs targeted at slimming, getting fat, jumping, how to speak, add numbers etc..
It's why our society and language is different to say China's
why we have different fasions and why some people support the expensive to watch 'local' football teams with not 'local's actually playing for them, rather than proper local sunday leagues

 

[JamesM]

An actual proper switch and not just a push button with the power symbol on it? Is it on the front or side where they intend for you to use it or on the back like on a PC PSU where it's not ment to be regularly used?

When I switch my PC off the monitor goes into standby and the light goes from green to orange. When I press the power button on the front to switch it off the LED goes out. A few other circuits probably shut down but it's still consuming power. It's still in standby because it's standing by waiting for me to press that button again. The button is just connected to an I/O line on a microcontroller. It's not making and breaking the power connections. Same as the button on the front of the PC, my TV, DVD and washing machine etc.

 

[silverclaws]

I must add that normally I don't actually watch tv, I live alone in one room, so the tv is on in the background whilst I am doing something else. I change channels when the noise irritates me, or more lately turn the thing off as I am beginning to enjoy silence, ( except when the cat farts).

But sometimes I just want to veg in front of the tv, put the moving pictures to the noise and I am finding very little worth watching, it is either I have seen it before, or it is just utter crap. Even the news repeats itself every 15 minutes and all that does, watching the news, is wind me up at the evil in the world.

I have also had problems with the tv licensing people before, so I am kind of vitriolic about the tv that we are fed.

If you haven't got a tv, did you know you had to have a tv license to receive BBC radio, I didn't know that so had to get a license and seeing as I had to get a license, I got a tv.

 

[Easy_Rider]

Contractual reasons iirc.
Which of course given they carry them over their service then it isn't out of their control other than 'five' will not stump up whatever fee.
I do forget the actual reason though, it's the classification of Free to Air (BBC/ITV/C4) and Free to View (five and Sky) etc..


EDIT there is some info here and how to get the five stuff
http://www.sam-radford.me.uk/ftv.htm

Manually programming Channel 5 works. But I have to go to it through the menu and "other channels" list rather than just "105"

I'll see what else I can get now, cheers

 

[brocklanders023]

I got the whole Sky package inc broadband, phone, and TV when I moved into my new house 'cos we can't get freeview. The TV side of things costs about £20. I've found I don't really watch much telly, and what I do watch tends to be on the BBC. Just watched the last episode of 'History of Horror' on BBC4 and really enjoyed it. Think I might back off on to Freesat once I've had it a year but think they'll stick my phone line rental and broadband up if I do. The buggers. :evil:

 

[Kestonian]

Contrarily, I would pay the licence fee to get iPlayer outside the UK

(as it is, I pay a few quid a month to get it anyway)

 

[FluffyChicken]

An actual proper switch and not just a push button with the power symbol on it? Is it on the front or side where they intend for you to use it or on the back like on a PC PSU where it's not ment to be regularly used?

When I switch my PC off the monitor goes into standby and the light goes from green to orange. When I press the power button on the front to switch it off the LED goes out. A few other circuits probably shut down but it's still consuming power. It's still in standby because it's standing by waiting for me to press that button again. The button is just connected to an I/O line on a microcontroller. It's not making and breaking the power connections. Same as the button on the front of the PC, my TV, DVD and washing machine etc.

Yes on the side, real proper switch (a push latching switch).

Of course my computers screen don't have them, annoying as they are of course the more convenient of the two to have the real off switch on them :roll:

Another thing to remember when you have FreeSat though, hook the LAN internet connection up as well and you also get iPlayer (in beta testing still I think , ITV Player on its way soon)

Just popped to the freesat site and they now have freesat+, freesatHD etc. ?odd as my 'freesat' as it was also picks up HD and playes HD ?
Me thinks they've added HD to make it sound good and add another layer of confusion :roll: