Analog to digital...about two years

It has been about two years since the switch from analog signals to digital signals. We were promised a lot and frankly have received little. The whole process, as I have discussed before, was questionable and basically a means for the Federal Government to make some bucks and it has somewhat backfired.

We were promised more channels and better quality...not always the case for us that use the convertor box. Substation transmissions yield a plethora of Public Broadcasting reruns, how to programs on gardening, home improvement, decorating, and crafts. There are the endless travel and culinary programs. Some stations offer a dedicated weather channel that supports commercials and infomercials. There are two movie channels dipping into the Columbia and MGM [United Artists, American International, independent productions] film libraries. But how much of the Three Stooges, Benny Hill, and "beach" movies can one absorb and the perpetual reruns of crappy "B" [or less] movies. And don't forget the hundreds of "Paid Programs" and no less than five religious stations.

The broadcast quality is a problem: Aspect ratios will differ from one channel to another...full screen to a CinemaScope ratio. And one is constantly doing what one did in the 1950s--adjusting the antenna.

Overall...a failure.