Fellow members: Have you ever been on an overseas trip and been sick in your hotel room? You turn on the TV and find absolutely nothing familiar, even remotely familiar on the tube??? For the first three days, I had no internet in my room. TV was loaded with praise for the obama administration for funding health care for the poor (like it was a done deal). Of all the things I have purchased over the years, this Slingbox has been the best value for the money. My MacBook is locked to the hotel room desk and Time Warner Cable has been connected to it ever since I got a room with internet connection.
I remember my trip to Ireland and the only TV was something called Sky Channel, which was terrible with most of few channels going off at 10 or 11PM. We are definitely spoiled here in the USA with our access to programing of great variety and depth. I have a number of English patients and they all say they can watch more football (English Premier League) than they can back home.
Been there Tom. I found CNN Europe to be worse than the BBC. 250 yrs. later those clowns still don't know what's going on in the colonies.
Never a more true statement has been spoken! Also, the poor programming is not the worst part for the actual citizens of Ireland. Just like you and I have to license our vehicles, Irish citizens have to license their TV usage. I'm not talking about cable, if any such thing as cable exists. If they own a TV, they have to pay 150 Euro (about $225) per year for using it. If they go two months past the date to renew, they have to pay 500 Euro penalty plus the licensing fee.
I have been to Italy a half a dozen times and watched more soccer than God intended man to watch. The international history channel was interesting though, it showed WWII from the side of Germany...I did enjoy the lovely Italian ladies in their wonderful nude commercials... RC