Digital Television

This appears to be an enormous scam propagated by the government in cahoots with the cable, satellite and other TV companies, electrical retailers and manufacturers, satellite installers, marketing companies, home shopping companies and others. Didgital television does not give a vast amount more choice. With the exception of a few extra chennels (BBC 3, 4 and CBBC), there is actually nothing on the other hundred fo channels. I have Sky, which for a large fee (about £500 a year) I get 600-odd channels. Most of them are rubbish - foreign or Asian-language channels, p0rn (about 30 channels now...), shopping, religious, cartoons or very low quality television filled with repeats. We regularly watch about 15 of the channels - BBC1, 2, 3, Sky One, Living, Sky Sports and Movies occasionally, C4, E4, UK Gold and, if I can't avoid it, ITV.

There are some lies associated with the marketing of digital TV:

1. It is better quality. Yes, if the signal is getting through. However, slightly sub-optimal analogue TV is perfectly watchable. Sub-optimal digital TV has the screen broken into blocks and is impossible to watch. The synchronisation of sound with pictures always seems to be off on certain channels as well.

2. The whole country wants 24 hour news. I don't believe that for one moment. What is wrong with a twice-nightly broadcast with the salient points, of well-researched, well-presented news. By all means if there is something happening of national importance (which may happen once every 2-3 years), then interrupt normal programming. The plethora of 24 hour news means that the smallest things are dissected ad nauseum, with any number of "experts" and opinions which are usually pretty worthless. I do, however, feel that BBC Parliament is worth while as a public service - even if no-one watches continuously it is important that our elected representatives are monitored...

3. It is cheap. Why should people pay £50 that they can't afford for something that should be free?

4. There is more choice. Yes there are more channels, but by the time you remove the ones that you don't watch or have no interest in, then there are only a few channels left to look at. The extra channels from the mainstream companies (ITV2, ITV3, BBC3, BBC4, E4) mainly show repeats or altenative viewing times - not really extra programming, or at least not as much as an "extra channel" woudl lead you to believe.

5. You can get vast number of radio stations. Yes - true, but I for one can't stand listening to the radio on the television. I can get Planet Rock and 5Live though the TV, but I only ever listen to them through my separate digital radio.

The extra stations and channels also mean that people who really should not be seen on TV get on there very often. It also means that "mainstream" radio stations such as 5Live fill their schedules with opinion from the great public, almost all of whoom (and I include myself) have opinionated, badly researched and often just inocrrect views. These are presented as "fact"...