I totally HATE those things. They take up half the damn screen. :mad:

I hate when they put bugs on the screen that advertise other shows. But I REALLY hate when they advertise the show I am already watching.

Advertising (and station logo) bugs were the last straw for me a few years back. I stopped getting cable TV. (And, my rabbit ears pick up nothing in my current location, so I am essentially TV-less.) I haven't looked back, and I don't regret it a bit. There are a number of shows I can watch for free the next day on my computer, and a very tiny number of shows I might even pay a couple of bucks for on iTunes. Or, if enough trusted friends tell me it's a must see, I'll watch the DVDs a few years after the buzz has died down. It works great for me, even if it means I'm disqualified from a lot of "water cooler" conversations.

But that BUG thing. AAARGH! Of course I hate it. EVERYBODY hates it! So why does it persist? I thought the free market was supposed to vanquish sh!t that everybody agrees sucks. It just seems to get worse and worse.

Anyway, off the TV grid and happy.

I can usually ignore them, but they are getting more and more annoying.

I've had a couple of experiences lately where the ads covered important info about what I was watching (subtitles, etc).

I like it when artists mock their contractual obligations to include product placement. 30 Rock does it best.

JACK
These Verizon wireless phones are just so popular, I accidentally grabbed one belonging to an acquaintance.

LIZ
Well sure, because that Verizon Wireless service is just unbeatable. If I saw a phone like that on TV I would say, like, "Where is my nearest retailer so I can get one?" [To camera] Can we have our money now?

I really love 30 Rock. (It's one of those shows I eagerly catch online.)

30 Rock is funny. Although not everyone does get it. {that is is meant to be funny}.

Ah, to be rid of the telly. Watching t.v. last night, I caught a snippet of 'Tori and Dean' {as in Spelling}. They were in their new house, new kitchen, deciding what to do with the kitchen. She says what she wants...and then a t.v. in that corner. Her hubby is like No way!!! If we had it your way, we'd have a t.v. in every room, on the fridge!! {I thought, be careful what you say because they do make them....}. He went on a bit more about why he didn't want t.v.'s in every room and I loved it. Just because you can have it doesn't mean you should.

I have to add here that I removed the t.v. from out kitchen for over 3 years. Then some show came on the Hubster had to watch and the t.v. hasn't left. :(

This is a bit off topic, but, since you brought up cable and rabbit ears, anyone have a comment about the new digital box thing that is supposed to happen in February? Coincindentally right after George leaves office? Who is making the money off of that one?

I am a bit bugged by it. I mean, what about, yeah, the people who only watch t.v. with those rabbit ears? Screw them? Hello, some people can not afford a t.v., period, are lucky to have an old b&w.... I may be late to this argument {sorry if there is a thread already} but dang, it seems like a heck of a whole lot of people in this country are being told to bugger off.

Unless....if you hear the commercials..{oo, a link!} they say that in Feb you may not be able to get any chanels. Hmmmm.

When I took TV Production back in 1985 the switch to digital date was known then so it's nothing at all new.

There are programs where you can get a converterbox and use your rabbit ears still. They run those commericals every 5 minutes at my moms and I think I've only seen one here. I was guessing that in rural areas more people use rabbit ears than here?

What I'm trying to find out is if you have non-digital cable (aka no cable box) will you need a converter box now, or will they force you into digital cable?

I think we have a thread about this somewhere on LoT.