A Little to the Left...Hold It!
No, there isn't much on television these days. Despite the rise in the number of channels since the begining of digital terrestial television (TDT here in Spain) the same garbage is being shown on all of them, more or less. There are only a couple of shows I definitely watch, aside from the daily news. Otherwise, the television is off while I'm alone in the house. So what's the problem?
The problem is our location. Just as it is nefarious for internet and cell phone coverage, it's equally nefarious for television reception. At the beginning of last winter we lost five channels. They just disappeared, including the channel that had the most objective news program. However many times I retuned the television to try to find them, they haven't reappeared. And now at certain hours for the last few days, the rest of the channels disappear, to reappear an hour or two later. So I can be watching the news and it disappears, leaving me blinking at an empty black screen. Or I can be watching one of the only programs I follow and I'm left hanging. I can't stream anything on my computer because my internet allowance for the month would be reduced to tears in just a week. So I'm left with a cliffhanger ending. Except I won't know what fell off the cliff until the reruns come on.
The thought of calling a technician has crossed my mind. But the technician who already changed our antenna when TDT first appeared shook his head when everything was being set up and said we would probably get interference because of reception problems in the area. If he turned the antenna in one direction, we could see some channels better than others. But we weren't able to see all the channels. He said we were lucky to be able to see anything. If I call another technician he'll probably laugh in my face and say it'll be easier if I move the house.
I've gotten used to the fact that when it rains hard, we lose reception. When the wind blows above a certain speed, we lose reception. And now, when the temperature hits a certain degree, we lose reception. Our antenna has more sensitivity than a cat's whiskers. And it seems that the more the technology, the more we still depend on nature being just right to be able to use it.
The problem is our location. Just as it is nefarious for internet and cell phone coverage, it's equally nefarious for television reception. At the beginning of last winter we lost five channels. They just disappeared, including the channel that had the most objective news program. However many times I retuned the television to try to find them, they haven't reappeared. And now at certain hours for the last few days, the rest of the channels disappear, to reappear an hour or two later. So I can be watching the news and it disappears, leaving me blinking at an empty black screen. Or I can be watching one of the only programs I follow and I'm left hanging. I can't stream anything on my computer because my internet allowance for the month would be reduced to tears in just a week. So I'm left with a cliffhanger ending. Except I won't know what fell off the cliff until the reruns come on.
The thought of calling a technician has crossed my mind. But the technician who already changed our antenna when TDT first appeared shook his head when everything was being set up and said we would probably get interference because of reception problems in the area. If he turned the antenna in one direction, we could see some channels better than others. But we weren't able to see all the channels. He said we were lucky to be able to see anything. If I call another technician he'll probably laugh in my face and say it'll be easier if I move the house.
I've gotten used to the fact that when it rains hard, we lose reception. When the wind blows above a certain speed, we lose reception. And now, when the temperature hits a certain degree, we lose reception. Our antenna has more sensitivity than a cat's whiskers. And it seems that the more the technology, the more we still depend on nature being just right to be able to use it.
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