The Masked Engineer

You might not have noticed that there's a word in every language for someone who makes predictions. That word is idiot.

Good old analog NTSC is supposed to die one second after 11:59:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2006 (and, if the FCC had its way, it would be a year earlier than that). Will it?

What I really want to rant about this month is good old high definition. The problem is defining definition and figuring out how high is high -- that and some other stuff.

You might not have noticed that, if you want recent commercial-free movies on video, there are better places to look than broadcast TV.

You might not have noticed that summer's over. Congress is back in session, and it's time to knuckle down and complete the DTV transition.

You might not have noticed that leeches and maggots have been in federal government news recently. Yes, this month's rant is about Hurricane Katrina and DTV.

You might not have noticed that HDTV is great, and that's a problem. I don't mean that it's a problem that you ain't noticed that HDTV is great.

Big is good… small is not to be trusted, except, of course, when small rules the day, and big is a liability.