Post 110010

I'm sat here trying to watch teatime TV (the inestimable showbiz machine that is Paul O'Grady, in fact). However, it's pouring with rain and blowing a gale outside and, while the reception on terrestrial TV is slightly snowy, it's still perfectly watchable. On digital, however, the picture keeps freezing for up to 10 seconds at a time, rendering it unwatchable. It was the same with Radio 3 this lunchtime. It's Mozart week, but trying to hear the great maestro's work was almost impossible.

The government is insisting we all switch to digital reception. To help us make the switch, the terrestrial transmitters are being switched off. Now, this isn't a knee-jerk "this bloody government, so called" objection to being told what to do. It's an observation that if digital transmissions are to become universal, there's going to have to be far more investment in transmitter power to overcome the British weather because at the moment, it's true what they say: a bit of bad weather and Britain grinds to a halt. In future, this may include the one medium that can provide information and advice in times of, er, bad weather.

110010 is 50 in binary, by the way.