by: Becky Jacobs
The introduction of the VCR changed so much for the television viewer. Before the introduction of the VCR, you had to watch the show when it was broadcast by the network – that was your only option. If you recorded your favorite show, you were able to watch it when you wanted to – and as many times as you wanted to. All you needed was a blank video tape and a VCR. That has all changed with the DVR.
A DVR, or Digital Video Recorder, is technology that takes all the great features of a VCR and places it in the digital age. Instead of multiple tapes, you have a single hard drive. Instead of degrading tape quality issues, shows are now recorded digitally that can last forever. Instead of programming a VCR through a complicated interface of tiny buttons on a remote control, you can program your DVR through a simple point and click interface, possibly even from your home computer.
In addition to the ability to watch your shows whenever you want to, there is another benefit to the DVR that most people only mention quietly – the ability to quickly forward through your commercials. With everything being digital, a 30 second skip can be done with the click of a button. Imagine getting back 10 minutes of your life back for every hour of television your watch!
DVRs come in many shapes and sizes. There are set-top boxes that go right on your television set. They don’t require any other products to work. Some brand names of these options include Tivo and ReplayTV. Many satellite companies (and digital cable companies) such as Dish Network and Direct TV have options as well. Microsoft Windows Media Center is an option for Windows users. There are also options for the Mac and/or Linux user.
Once you have a DVR record your shows, you can watch them whenever you want. Some systems even let you transfer the content to a DVD or your laptop.
The Digital Video Recorder (DVR) changes everything for the television viewer. I hope you can join the revolution.
About The Author
Copyright AKDVR.com
Becky Jacobs has been a fan of the DVR since she realized it would let her watch Seinfeld whenever she wanted to. Her site, http://www.AKDVR.com, is quickly becoming a hub for all things DVR.
Friday, June 22, 2007
WARNING to Home Based and Small Business Who Want to Buy Television Cable Advertising
by: Dr. Letitia S. Wright, D.C.
Most small businesses will not even try to advertise on television. It’s too expensive and the audience is too broad. The ads on television are not targeted enough. Think back to the last time your entire family was gathered around a television set. It was fun family time, but think of how different each member of your family is. The children at different ages want different things. The parents depending on their age and occupations could be concerned with wildly differing issues. Was there a grandparent or aunt or uncle there too? Each person has entirely different attitude and interests, yet the commercial was tailored for only one person out of that group. The message is wasted on the rest of the family who don’t care about the product or the problem it solves.
There are ways that a small business and even a home based business can get on television and get their message to the market they are after. First of all, know your client. Know everything you can about who you are selling to. If you think your product is for everyone, this article will not help you. If you know everything about your target market, you will know where to find them. Where they hang out, what they read, eat, wear and watch. Who influences them, who angers then, who inspires them, who informs them. That where you want to be also. On television, check out the shows and cable channels that speak to your audience. For my show, The Wright Place TV Show, Lifetime, O network and WE channel are where a lot of my viewers will also be.
Copyright 2005 - Dr. Letitia Wright, D.C.
About The Author
Dr. Wright is a Stevie Award Finalist for 2004 and the host of The Wright Place ™ TV Show seen in 5 million homes in Southern California and on the internet at www.wrightplacetv.com. Get Your Free Special Report: 19 Secrets To Effective Television Advertising That Cable Companies Don't Want You To Know by emailing info1080-91878@autocontactor.com
info@wrightplacetv.com
Most small businesses will not even try to advertise on television. It’s too expensive and the audience is too broad. The ads on television are not targeted enough. Think back to the last time your entire family was gathered around a television set. It was fun family time, but think of how different each member of your family is. The children at different ages want different things. The parents depending on their age and occupations could be concerned with wildly differing issues. Was there a grandparent or aunt or uncle there too? Each person has entirely different attitude and interests, yet the commercial was tailored for only one person out of that group. The message is wasted on the rest of the family who don’t care about the product or the problem it solves.
There are ways that a small business and even a home based business can get on television and get their message to the market they are after. First of all, know your client. Know everything you can about who you are selling to. If you think your product is for everyone, this article will not help you. If you know everything about your target market, you will know where to find them. Where they hang out, what they read, eat, wear and watch. Who influences them, who angers then, who inspires them, who informs them. That where you want to be also. On television, check out the shows and cable channels that speak to your audience. For my show, The Wright Place TV Show, Lifetime, O network and WE channel are where a lot of my viewers will also be.
Copyright 2005 - Dr. Letitia Wright, D.C.
About The Author
Dr. Wright is a Stevie Award Finalist for 2004 and the host of The Wright Place ™ TV Show seen in 5 million homes in Southern California and on the internet at www.wrightplacetv.com. Get Your Free Special Report: 19 Secrets To Effective Television Advertising That Cable Companies Don't Want You To Know by emailing info1080-91878@autocontactor.com
info@wrightplacetv.com
The Coming Television Revolution
by: Terry Mitchell
The revolution is just getting started and will begin to make its mark this year. By 2010, it will begin to take off. By 2025, it will be the standard for all TV viewing. It's called Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV for short. IPTV works with a set-top box connected to any broadband interface and to a TV. It will allow users to choose among thousands (and eventually hundreds of thousands) of hours of programming, including movies, sports, classic TV, etc., and download their selections from the internet to the hard drive of the set-top box. Initially, set-top box hard drives will be able to store up to 300 hours of programming at a time, but capacity will expand as the technology becomes more refined. Also, download times will become shorter and shorter as broadband connection speeds become faster and faster. Eventually, a two-hour movie will be fully downloadable in a couple of minutes. Once the programs are downloaded to the hard drive, they can be viewed on the connected TV at any time via a DVR-type interface provided by the set-top box.
Besides the convenience of an all video-on-demand (VOD) environment, IPTV will provide a much wider range of programming than broadcast, cable, and satellite TV, or even major video chains, could ever provide. Because the programming is available from the internet, it will be almost completely unlimited and unconstrained. Programming from all over the world will be available along with every imaginable genre of niche programming. Also, previously unreleased independent films that have been sitting on shelves for years due to the lack of a distribution source will suddenly become available to the masses via IPTV. Films that previously could not be made at all will become a reality and be available on the IPTV services. Long forgotten films and TV shows will have new life breathed into them by IPTV. To top it all off, much of this programming will be eventually be available in high definition (HDTV)!
Most IPTV platforms will be divided into "channels", but not the same kind of channels that we have grown accustomed to with traditional TV services. In this case, a "channel" is defined as a division of an IPTV service by individual content provider. Each content provider carried by a given IPTV platform will have its own guidelines for delivering programming on its channel. Some will provide their content for free to everyone who owns a given IPTV product. Some will be subscription based, i.e., everything on their channels will be available for a monthly or annual subscription. Others will be all pay-per-view. Still others will provide a combination of all of the above.
Several entrants into this market have either already debuted or plan to debut sometime this year. Among those are Akimbo (www.akimbo.com), DAVETV (www.dave.tv), TimeShifTV (www.timeshiftv.com), and VCinema (www.vcinema.com). Please see their respective websites for more details, as each one will offer a slightly different variation of IPTV technology. In addition, a joint venture between TiVo (www.tivo.com) and NetFlix (www.netflix.com) will be starting up later this year. TiVo plans to eventually make the entire Netflix DVD library available to its customers on an on-demand basis via a broadband connection to a TiVo box and a TV. Other potential IPTV contenders will be announcing their intentions over the next year or two. One of these nascent IPTV services headquartered near my home has already started placing "help wanted" ads in my local newspaper.
Within the next 20 years, all the fuss over broadcast TV indecency will become irrelevant, as there will be very little other than news and live sporting events on broadcast TV. The major networks will shift most of their entertainment programs to IPTV to avoid all the broadcast content restrictions currently being enforced by the FCC. Eventually, broadcast TV will cease to exist. Cable and satellite services as we know them will also become extinct. Yes, there will still be cable and satellite platforms, but they, along with DSL and wireless internet services, will exist merely as conduits for bringing broadband internet into homes and offices. There won't be any more cable and satellite TV, per se. The now 60-year-old paradigm of television schedules in which programs air at specific times on specific days of the week will pretty much be a thing of the past. Everything, except what's left of broadcast TV, will be exclusively available on demand via an IPTV platform.
These developments in no way mean that all TV programming will become more risqué. While there will be plenty of risqué programming available to those who want it, there will an almost unlimited supply of family and religious programs available. With a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment options at your fingertips, there will be something available for all tastes. IPTV may not turn out to be a TV utopia, but it's at least going to come close that ideal.
About The Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
terrymitchell@verizon.net
The revolution is just getting started and will begin to make its mark this year. By 2010, it will begin to take off. By 2025, it will be the standard for all TV viewing. It's called Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV for short. IPTV works with a set-top box connected to any broadband interface and to a TV. It will allow users to choose among thousands (and eventually hundreds of thousands) of hours of programming, including movies, sports, classic TV, etc., and download their selections from the internet to the hard drive of the set-top box. Initially, set-top box hard drives will be able to store up to 300 hours of programming at a time, but capacity will expand as the technology becomes more refined. Also, download times will become shorter and shorter as broadband connection speeds become faster and faster. Eventually, a two-hour movie will be fully downloadable in a couple of minutes. Once the programs are downloaded to the hard drive, they can be viewed on the connected TV at any time via a DVR-type interface provided by the set-top box.
Besides the convenience of an all video-on-demand (VOD) environment, IPTV will provide a much wider range of programming than broadcast, cable, and satellite TV, or even major video chains, could ever provide. Because the programming is available from the internet, it will be almost completely unlimited and unconstrained. Programming from all over the world will be available along with every imaginable genre of niche programming. Also, previously unreleased independent films that have been sitting on shelves for years due to the lack of a distribution source will suddenly become available to the masses via IPTV. Films that previously could not be made at all will become a reality and be available on the IPTV services. Long forgotten films and TV shows will have new life breathed into them by IPTV. To top it all off, much of this programming will be eventually be available in high definition (HDTV)!
Most IPTV platforms will be divided into "channels", but not the same kind of channels that we have grown accustomed to with traditional TV services. In this case, a "channel" is defined as a division of an IPTV service by individual content provider. Each content provider carried by a given IPTV platform will have its own guidelines for delivering programming on its channel. Some will provide their content for free to everyone who owns a given IPTV product. Some will be subscription based, i.e., everything on their channels will be available for a monthly or annual subscription. Others will be all pay-per-view. Still others will provide a combination of all of the above.
Several entrants into this market have either already debuted or plan to debut sometime this year. Among those are Akimbo (www.akimbo.com), DAVETV (www.dave.tv), TimeShifTV (www.timeshiftv.com), and VCinema (www.vcinema.com). Please see their respective websites for more details, as each one will offer a slightly different variation of IPTV technology. In addition, a joint venture between TiVo (www.tivo.com) and NetFlix (www.netflix.com) will be starting up later this year. TiVo plans to eventually make the entire Netflix DVD library available to its customers on an on-demand basis via a broadband connection to a TiVo box and a TV. Other potential IPTV contenders will be announcing their intentions over the next year or two. One of these nascent IPTV services headquartered near my home has already started placing "help wanted" ads in my local newspaper.
Within the next 20 years, all the fuss over broadcast TV indecency will become irrelevant, as there will be very little other than news and live sporting events on broadcast TV. The major networks will shift most of their entertainment programs to IPTV to avoid all the broadcast content restrictions currently being enforced by the FCC. Eventually, broadcast TV will cease to exist. Cable and satellite services as we know them will also become extinct. Yes, there will still be cable and satellite platforms, but they, along with DSL and wireless internet services, will exist merely as conduits for bringing broadband internet into homes and offices. There won't be any more cable and satellite TV, per se. The now 60-year-old paradigm of television schedules in which programs air at specific times on specific days of the week will pretty much be a thing of the past. Everything, except what's left of broadcast TV, will be exclusively available on demand via an IPTV platform.
These developments in no way mean that all TV programming will become more risqué. While there will be plenty of risqué programming available to those who want it, there will an almost unlimited supply of family and religious programs available. With a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment options at your fingertips, there will be something available for all tastes. IPTV may not turn out to be a TV utopia, but it's at least going to come close that ideal.
About The Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
terrymitchell@verizon.net
How To Choose The Right Television For You
by: Duane Smith
Watching television has progressed from a luxury that only few had in their homes in the middle of the last century to the point where most consumers not only have one television, but often they may have several. And television programming has expanded greatly from just the three big networks to a whole host of other channels as well.
And along with this growth of interest in televison programming the technology of televisions has been steadily improving too. Today we have lots of choices to make when we are deciding to buy another television. Should it be an analog or digital TV? HDTV enabled or ready? Plasma or LCD screen? All of these decisions can seem to be confusing, but if you just understand a few basics about TVs you should be able to make the right choice for what will suit you best.
Let's start by discussing whether you should buy an analog or digital capable TV. Analog TV is simply TV you have been used to in past years. The signals are sent and received in analog format and it has worked fine for a long time. It has it's drawbacks though because analog TV signals can only hold so much data for the screen and sound, and an analog signal can degrade easily. Never fear though, analog TV will be fine for use for many years to come even after other technologies dominate. The good news is that analog TV sets are very cheap and you can get a lot for your dollar.
Digital TV signals allow the data sent by the TV station to be much more dense and include more information without very much degradation of signal. So digital TV usually makes for a much better picture and sound, especially on DVDs. Plus digital TV has made it possible for the newer standards of high definition programming. For the absolute best picture and sound the TV station should be broadcasting in high definition (or HDTV), and your TV should also be able to receive and process that HDTV signal and display it on on a high definition enabled screen. If all of this criteria is met the effects are just stunning.
But many TV stations are not yet broadcasting in HDTV format because it requires them to invest lots of money in new equipment to do so. They have to have enough of a market to make it worth their while. So in the meantime, we have some stations who do broadcast in HDTV and many who still just send out analog signals. However, all TV stations will have to comply with federal guidelines to be HDTV compliant within the next couple of years, so high definition TV is here to stay and will only grow in importance.
In the meantime, you have your choice of buying an HDTV "capable" "enabled" TV if you choose to buy a digital TV. An HDTV capable TV means that it can process digital signals (like DVDs) but in order to display the high definition signal it will require you to purchase an additional tuner which you can buy later at any time. On the other hand, HDTV enabled simply means that the TV is fully capable of displaying high definition picture and sound right out of the box. The choice is yours. Either bite the bullet and get the whole HDTV enabled enchilada now, or defer it a while longer until HDTV programming is more standard.
You also hear a lot about plasma and LCD screens these days. The screens we have been used to for years are called CRTs, and they have worked just fine, but the main advantage of plasma and LCD screens are that they can be very thin to produce, usually they are only 2-3 inches wide and that makes them able to be mounted in many places that CRT screens just can't go. If you need that kind of screen, just bear in mind that plasma and LCD screens are still very expensive. There is nothing wrong with just getting a good CRT screen or a rear projection screen in the meantime as they can be had for not a lot of money and can still produce a great picture depending on the manufacturer.
There is more to all of this telivision technology, but what we have covered should give you a good idea of what the different TV terms mean and arm you with enough information that you can now confidently choose the television that will work best for you.
About The Author
Duane Smith - All About Televisions is a site that provides free information, resources and tips on HDTV, plasma tvs, high definition television, LCD tvs, projection televisions, digital video recorders and much more.
all-about-televisions.com
Watching television has progressed from a luxury that only few had in their homes in the middle of the last century to the point where most consumers not only have one television, but often they may have several. And television programming has expanded greatly from just the three big networks to a whole host of other channels as well.
And along with this growth of interest in televison programming the technology of televisions has been steadily improving too. Today we have lots of choices to make when we are deciding to buy another television. Should it be an analog or digital TV? HDTV enabled or ready? Plasma or LCD screen? All of these decisions can seem to be confusing, but if you just understand a few basics about TVs you should be able to make the right choice for what will suit you best.
Let's start by discussing whether you should buy an analog or digital capable TV. Analog TV is simply TV you have been used to in past years. The signals are sent and received in analog format and it has worked fine for a long time. It has it's drawbacks though because analog TV signals can only hold so much data for the screen and sound, and an analog signal can degrade easily. Never fear though, analog TV will be fine for use for many years to come even after other technologies dominate. The good news is that analog TV sets are very cheap and you can get a lot for your dollar.
Digital TV signals allow the data sent by the TV station to be much more dense and include more information without very much degradation of signal. So digital TV usually makes for a much better picture and sound, especially on DVDs. Plus digital TV has made it possible for the newer standards of high definition programming. For the absolute best picture and sound the TV station should be broadcasting in high definition (or HDTV), and your TV should also be able to receive and process that HDTV signal and display it on on a high definition enabled screen. If all of this criteria is met the effects are just stunning.
But many TV stations are not yet broadcasting in HDTV format because it requires them to invest lots of money in new equipment to do so. They have to have enough of a market to make it worth their while. So in the meantime, we have some stations who do broadcast in HDTV and many who still just send out analog signals. However, all TV stations will have to comply with federal guidelines to be HDTV compliant within the next couple of years, so high definition TV is here to stay and will only grow in importance.
In the meantime, you have your choice of buying an HDTV "capable" "enabled" TV if you choose to buy a digital TV. An HDTV capable TV means that it can process digital signals (like DVDs) but in order to display the high definition signal it will require you to purchase an additional tuner which you can buy later at any time. On the other hand, HDTV enabled simply means that the TV is fully capable of displaying high definition picture and sound right out of the box. The choice is yours. Either bite the bullet and get the whole HDTV enabled enchilada now, or defer it a while longer until HDTV programming is more standard.
You also hear a lot about plasma and LCD screens these days. The screens we have been used to for years are called CRTs, and they have worked just fine, but the main advantage of plasma and LCD screens are that they can be very thin to produce, usually they are only 2-3 inches wide and that makes them able to be mounted in many places that CRT screens just can't go. If you need that kind of screen, just bear in mind that plasma and LCD screens are still very expensive. There is nothing wrong with just getting a good CRT screen or a rear projection screen in the meantime as they can be had for not a lot of money and can still produce a great picture depending on the manufacturer.
There is more to all of this telivision technology, but what we have covered should give you a good idea of what the different TV terms mean and arm you with enough information that you can now confidently choose the television that will work best for you.
About The Author
Duane Smith - All About Televisions is a site that provides free information, resources and tips on HDTV, plasma tvs, high definition television, LCD tvs, projection televisions, digital video recorders and much more.
all-about-televisions.com
Television's Mysteries
by: TV Crazy Man
The Twilight Zone of other Television Programs
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. That's what Rod Serling would say. It appears to me that the Twilight Zone may have affected more than the 30 minutes it controlled every week those many years ago. So with the keys of your imagination lets journey farther into the Outer Limits of television and discover that the weird and the bizarre were not just limited to the great classic sci-fi hits like the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits. Nor is the unexplained always presented on Ripley's Believe it or Not.
The Mysterious changing Andy Taylor
What happened to Andy Griffith from the black and white days of the Andy Griffith Show to the days of color? It is common knowledge the black and white episodes with Barney were more funny and entertaining, but why did Andy suddenly change from a loveable country bumpkin, who was always wise but never serious, to a almost bitter man that seemed to even lose his country accent?
Is the original answer for this something that belongs in the Twilight Zone? Did the writers of the show have an intriguing plot to reveal that just never came to be? What could make a man change so drastically from the changing of black and white to color? Is there a scientific explanation? Could the answer be as bizarre as a UFO kidnapping? Was Andy Taylor replaced with a clone? Were we watching two different dimensions of time and space?
I have some more reasonable explanations, but you be the judge. Perhaps Andy had attempted to quit smoking which made him grumpy in real life. Perhaps he was trying to impress the equally grumpy Miss Crump or should we say Miss Grump. Why, oh why, didn't he marry the lady druggist? Perhaps none of this would have happened.
The changed Andy happened about the time Barney Fife left town. Did the antics of Don Knotts keep Andy in a good ol' home town mood? Or did the emergence of the Jughead hat wearing Goober affect Andy in a way that can't be explained. After all, just before the show turned color, Andy threatened the life of Goober, after he put a car together right inside the court house.
So what do you think? Was it aliens, a lack of nicotine, Goober, Gomer, Miss Crump, or no Barney? You be the judge, I just present the facts as I know them.
The Disappearing Son on Happy Days
What about Chuck on Happy Days? How could a mother and father completely forget they ever had a son? But if you watched the recent Happy Days reunion if then there was no reasonable explanation given as to why Chuck just disappeared. In the final episode of Happy Days, Mr. C even relates to the audience how he was happy to have raised two children, not three as we know really happened. Is this another case of alien abduction? There is precedence for this strange phenomenon. If you have seen the recent movie The Forgotten, you can see how aliens can put the mind whammy on parents, making them completely forget their kids for purposes of evil alien experiments on parental mindsets. Surely the explanation cannot be as simple as the writers were just too lazy to keep up with the fact that the Cunninghams had another son beside Richie. Perhaps the strange powers of the Fonz were not simply from his cool as we were told. Maybe the Fonz himself was an alien with the power of mind control over other humans, including the power to snap his fingers to bring herds of screaming girls to his side. Now that I think of it, no wonder people think Elvis is still alive. Maybe he too was from another world. Could it be Elvis and the Fonz were part of a rival gang from Ork preparing for the arrival Mork from Ork?
More Unexplained Phenomenon
There are many more strange and bizarre unexplainable phenomenon on television.
Where did all the deputies go after the first episode of the Dukes of Hazzard? Clearly there were more than Enos and Rosco in the pilot episode.
On the last episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a baby arrives just for the closing moments of the show, just because the Kents want a child. No explanation is ever given. Is it then just coincidence that Dean Cain would soon host the new Ripley's Believe It or Not?
How can Metropolis be in Kansas as it is only a couple of hours away from Smallville on the popular WB hit Smallville? On one episode Clark climbed a water tower with a friend and they could actually see Metropolis without X-ray vision. In the past it has always been accepted that Metropolis represented New York City.
After 9 years of episodes, can anyone truly say that any of the bizarre happenings on the X-files were ever explained. What mind control did they use to force us to watch year after year with no answers? I beg of you Chris Carter make a movie or something that can explain all of this unexplained phenomenon.
On The Greatest American Hero, a 1980's tv show about a teacher who gains Superman like powers by wearing a super suit from aliens, there was one strange occurrence. The Greatest American Hero's main character Ralph Hinkley inexplicably becomes Ralph Hanley. What happened? Well even though Ralph got his super suit from aliens this was no alien conspiracy. After the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinkley, they decided to rename the main character to avoid any association with the John Hinkley.
I'm sure there are many more unexplained events on television throughout the years, but was it all by television writers, or did Rod Serling's Twilight Zone infect the rest of TV history as well?
About The Author
TV Crazy Man - http://tvcrazy.net - Find trivia, t-shirts, dvds, videos, books, cds, games, toys, and lots more about your favorite tv shows, comic book superheroes, cartoons, and Saturday morning favorites
The Twilight Zone of other Television Programs
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. That's what Rod Serling would say. It appears to me that the Twilight Zone may have affected more than the 30 minutes it controlled every week those many years ago. So with the keys of your imagination lets journey farther into the Outer Limits of television and discover that the weird and the bizarre were not just limited to the great classic sci-fi hits like the Twilight Zone and the Outer Limits. Nor is the unexplained always presented on Ripley's Believe it or Not.
The Mysterious changing Andy Taylor
What happened to Andy Griffith from the black and white days of the Andy Griffith Show to the days of color? It is common knowledge the black and white episodes with Barney were more funny and entertaining, but why did Andy suddenly change from a loveable country bumpkin, who was always wise but never serious, to a almost bitter man that seemed to even lose his country accent?
Is the original answer for this something that belongs in the Twilight Zone? Did the writers of the show have an intriguing plot to reveal that just never came to be? What could make a man change so drastically from the changing of black and white to color? Is there a scientific explanation? Could the answer be as bizarre as a UFO kidnapping? Was Andy Taylor replaced with a clone? Were we watching two different dimensions of time and space?
I have some more reasonable explanations, but you be the judge. Perhaps Andy had attempted to quit smoking which made him grumpy in real life. Perhaps he was trying to impress the equally grumpy Miss Crump or should we say Miss Grump. Why, oh why, didn't he marry the lady druggist? Perhaps none of this would have happened.
The changed Andy happened about the time Barney Fife left town. Did the antics of Don Knotts keep Andy in a good ol' home town mood? Or did the emergence of the Jughead hat wearing Goober affect Andy in a way that can't be explained. After all, just before the show turned color, Andy threatened the life of Goober, after he put a car together right inside the court house.
So what do you think? Was it aliens, a lack of nicotine, Goober, Gomer, Miss Crump, or no Barney? You be the judge, I just present the facts as I know them.
The Disappearing Son on Happy Days
What about Chuck on Happy Days? How could a mother and father completely forget they ever had a son? But if you watched the recent Happy Days reunion if then there was no reasonable explanation given as to why Chuck just disappeared. In the final episode of Happy Days, Mr. C even relates to the audience how he was happy to have raised two children, not three as we know really happened. Is this another case of alien abduction? There is precedence for this strange phenomenon. If you have seen the recent movie The Forgotten, you can see how aliens can put the mind whammy on parents, making them completely forget their kids for purposes of evil alien experiments on parental mindsets. Surely the explanation cannot be as simple as the writers were just too lazy to keep up with the fact that the Cunninghams had another son beside Richie. Perhaps the strange powers of the Fonz were not simply from his cool as we were told. Maybe the Fonz himself was an alien with the power of mind control over other humans, including the power to snap his fingers to bring herds of screaming girls to his side. Now that I think of it, no wonder people think Elvis is still alive. Maybe he too was from another world. Could it be Elvis and the Fonz were part of a rival gang from Ork preparing for the arrival Mork from Ork?
More Unexplained Phenomenon
There are many more strange and bizarre unexplainable phenomenon on television.
Where did all the deputies go after the first episode of the Dukes of Hazzard? Clearly there were more than Enos and Rosco in the pilot episode.
On the last episode of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, a baby arrives just for the closing moments of the show, just because the Kents want a child. No explanation is ever given. Is it then just coincidence that Dean Cain would soon host the new Ripley's Believe It or Not?
How can Metropolis be in Kansas as it is only a couple of hours away from Smallville on the popular WB hit Smallville? On one episode Clark climbed a water tower with a friend and they could actually see Metropolis without X-ray vision. In the past it has always been accepted that Metropolis represented New York City.
After 9 years of episodes, can anyone truly say that any of the bizarre happenings on the X-files were ever explained. What mind control did they use to force us to watch year after year with no answers? I beg of you Chris Carter make a movie or something that can explain all of this unexplained phenomenon.
On The Greatest American Hero, a 1980's tv show about a teacher who gains Superman like powers by wearing a super suit from aliens, there was one strange occurrence. The Greatest American Hero's main character Ralph Hinkley inexplicably becomes Ralph Hanley. What happened? Well even though Ralph got his super suit from aliens this was no alien conspiracy. After the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinkley, they decided to rename the main character to avoid any association with the John Hinkley.
I'm sure there are many more unexplained events on television throughout the years, but was it all by television writers, or did Rod Serling's Twilight Zone infect the rest of TV history as well?
About The Author
TV Crazy Man - http://tvcrazy.net - Find trivia, t-shirts, dvds, videos, books, cds, games, toys, and lots more about your favorite tv shows, comic book superheroes, cartoons, and Saturday morning favorites
Astonishing Victorian-Era Golf Book Predicted Bullet Trains and Television
by: Steve Smith
Did you hear about the curious little book, first published in 1892, that predicted bullet trains, digital watches, television and women's liberation and other wonders decades before they came to pass?
It's a book that burst into the news in January, 2005 when a rare first edition was sold at auction for more than $2,000.
The oddest thing about the book is that it is not a work of science fiction, as we would generally understand that term, nor some obscure tome of religious prophecy. Instead it's a novel about, of all things, golf.
Written by a 19th-century professional Scottish golfer named J. McCullough, about whom little is known, "Golf in the Year 2000; or, What We Are Coming To" also predicted the advent of golf carts and international golf contests.
Published under McCollough's pen name, J.A.C.K., the book chronicles the adventures of a character named Alexander Gibson who falls into a deep sleep in 1892. He awakens 108 years later into a world, where, among other things, women dress like men, run businesses and hold most of the top positions in government.
Gibson also learns, to his considerable delight, that women do all the work in this society while men play golf full time. Upon being informed of this, he cries out that it's "the dream of my former existence come true! I am, indeed, a lucky man to see it. ... The world is evidently getting things ship-shape. ... Oh, how I would like to wake up some of my old chums. I know a few who would appreciate the arrangement."
But Gibson finds that his beloved golf has been radically transformed as well. He must adjust to the existence of driverless golf carts, golf clubs that automatically register their user's score and jackets that yell "Fore!" whenever the golfer begins to swing. He finds the jackets to be particularly annoying, but it's the rule at every club in Britain: you can't play unless you wear one.
He also watches -- via a television-like device that works through an elaborate mirror arrangement -- a golf competition between Britain and the United States, much like the Ryder Cup (an event which did not begin until 1927).
And, he learns that wars have ceased, at least among the European nations, because international disputes are now settled by ... golf matches.
One thing about golf hasn't changed, Gibson reflects following a round of golf in which he emerges the victor--and has to listen to his defeated opponent grousing about bad luck. "The same old excuses, I thought. Among all those inventions, surely they might have got something new in that line."
The main character's adventures in the year 2000 also include taking a ride in an underground tubular railway, familiarly called the "tub," and reading about a London-to-New York speed record of two hours and 32 minutes, achieved by a bullet-type train traveling underneath the Atlantic Ocean.
Little things, too, amaze him: He no longer has to shave every day; instead, he brushes a miraculous compound of some sort over his cheeks once a week and this is sufficient to keep down his beard. Similarly, he employs a hairbrush that keeps his hair at whatever length he prefers, so he never needs to visit a barber (which is good, since barbers no longer exist).
The appeal of "Golf in the Year 2000" is perhaps stronger today than it was when it was first published. Golfing fans enjoy it for its humorous commentary on the sport as practiced in the 19th century and in the "future" (our present). General readers have fallen in love with it, too. Not only is it fun to go through it count author McCullough's hits and misses on the predictive front, the book is suffused with a Victorian charm treminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes story.
Now, the world is rediscovering this little gem of a book.
In January of 2005, news services reported that an American collector named James Espinola had paid $2,240 at auction for a first edition of "Golf in the Year 2000". Although Espinola is in the process of selling off his own immense collection of golf memorabilia, he was quoted as explaining that he can't resist buying the occasional "odd thing" at auction--and this was one of those things.
The Edinburgh auction house of Lyon and Trumbull had estimated that the book would fetch less than a quarter of what it ended up bringing. The firm's golf specialist was quoted as saying that the final price took them "a bit by surprise."
Although original editions of the book are rare, it has occasionally been reprinted in facsimile editions. No one thought to make it available to the vast audiences of the World Wide Web, though, until recently.
On February 26, 2005, a little over a month following the news about the auctioned first edition, "Golf in the Year 2000" made its debut on the Web at www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com. The full text of this strange and engaging book is finally available for anyone, anywhere to read, free of charge.
At the conclusion of the book, the main character declares that he does not intend to wake up and find himself back in 1892 again, with his amazing adventure having all a dream. "No, no; I'm in 2000, and in 2000 I mean to stay." Like him, the quirky tale of his adventure seems to have found a secure place in our time.
About The Author
Steve Smith is a writer and editor living near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the United States. His Web sites include Tops 4 Tennis at www.tops4tennis.com and Golf In The Year 2000 at www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com
Did you hear about the curious little book, first published in 1892, that predicted bullet trains, digital watches, television and women's liberation and other wonders decades before they came to pass?
It's a book that burst into the news in January, 2005 when a rare first edition was sold at auction for more than $2,000.
The oddest thing about the book is that it is not a work of science fiction, as we would generally understand that term, nor some obscure tome of religious prophecy. Instead it's a novel about, of all things, golf.
Written by a 19th-century professional Scottish golfer named J. McCullough, about whom little is known, "Golf in the Year 2000; or, What We Are Coming To" also predicted the advent of golf carts and international golf contests.
Published under McCollough's pen name, J.A.C.K., the book chronicles the adventures of a character named Alexander Gibson who falls into a deep sleep in 1892. He awakens 108 years later into a world, where, among other things, women dress like men, run businesses and hold most of the top positions in government.
Gibson also learns, to his considerable delight, that women do all the work in this society while men play golf full time. Upon being informed of this, he cries out that it's "the dream of my former existence come true! I am, indeed, a lucky man to see it. ... The world is evidently getting things ship-shape. ... Oh, how I would like to wake up some of my old chums. I know a few who would appreciate the arrangement."
But Gibson finds that his beloved golf has been radically transformed as well. He must adjust to the existence of driverless golf carts, golf clubs that automatically register their user's score and jackets that yell "Fore!" whenever the golfer begins to swing. He finds the jackets to be particularly annoying, but it's the rule at every club in Britain: you can't play unless you wear one.
He also watches -- via a television-like device that works through an elaborate mirror arrangement -- a golf competition between Britain and the United States, much like the Ryder Cup (an event which did not begin until 1927).
And, he learns that wars have ceased, at least among the European nations, because international disputes are now settled by ... golf matches.
One thing about golf hasn't changed, Gibson reflects following a round of golf in which he emerges the victor--and has to listen to his defeated opponent grousing about bad luck. "The same old excuses, I thought. Among all those inventions, surely they might have got something new in that line."
The main character's adventures in the year 2000 also include taking a ride in an underground tubular railway, familiarly called the "tub," and reading about a London-to-New York speed record of two hours and 32 minutes, achieved by a bullet-type train traveling underneath the Atlantic Ocean.
Little things, too, amaze him: He no longer has to shave every day; instead, he brushes a miraculous compound of some sort over his cheeks once a week and this is sufficient to keep down his beard. Similarly, he employs a hairbrush that keeps his hair at whatever length he prefers, so he never needs to visit a barber (which is good, since barbers no longer exist).
The appeal of "Golf in the Year 2000" is perhaps stronger today than it was when it was first published. Golfing fans enjoy it for its humorous commentary on the sport as practiced in the 19th century and in the "future" (our present). General readers have fallen in love with it, too. Not only is it fun to go through it count author McCullough's hits and misses on the predictive front, the book is suffused with a Victorian charm treminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes story.
Now, the world is rediscovering this little gem of a book.
In January of 2005, news services reported that an American collector named James Espinola had paid $2,240 at auction for a first edition of "Golf in the Year 2000". Although Espinola is in the process of selling off his own immense collection of golf memorabilia, he was quoted as explaining that he can't resist buying the occasional "odd thing" at auction--and this was one of those things.
The Edinburgh auction house of Lyon and Trumbull had estimated that the book would fetch less than a quarter of what it ended up bringing. The firm's golf specialist was quoted as saying that the final price took them "a bit by surprise."
Although original editions of the book are rare, it has occasionally been reprinted in facsimile editions. No one thought to make it available to the vast audiences of the World Wide Web, though, until recently.
On February 26, 2005, a little over a month following the news about the auctioned first edition, "Golf in the Year 2000" made its debut on the Web at www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com. The full text of this strange and engaging book is finally available for anyone, anywhere to read, free of charge.
At the conclusion of the book, the main character declares that he does not intend to wake up and find himself back in 1892 again, with his amazing adventure having all a dream. "No, no; I'm in 2000, and in 2000 I mean to stay." Like him, the quirky tale of his adventure seems to have found a secure place in our time.
About The Author
Steve Smith is a writer and editor living near Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in the United States. His Web sites include Tops 4 Tennis at www.tops4tennis.com and Golf In The Year 2000 at www.golf-in-the-year-2000.com
Why You Should Buy A Plasma Television
The plasma television has many advantages and benefits for you and your entertainment needs and wants. The plasma tv gives you incredible picture quality, it has a sleek design, and it is HDTV compatible.
Plasmas provide sharper images and more vibrant colors. You can display both HDTV and DTV signals as well as computer signals such as XGA, SVGA, and VGA.
Plasmas Superior to Both CRT's and LCD
Plasma screen televisions provide sharp, clear pictures, plus no image distortion. CRTs can't match this. Plasma tvs have brighter pictures and provide a better viewing angle at 160 degrees, than LCDs. For the best technology in display panels, choose plasma technology.
High Resolution
Plasma display televisions have higher resolution than most standard TV sets. They are able to display full HDTV and DTV signals as well as XGA, SVGA, and VGA signals from a computer. If a plasma has a resolution of 1024x1024 it can display images from 1080i and 720i HDTV resolution, plus 480i and 480p HD signals.
Flat Screen
Plasma display televisions have screens that are completely flat. There is no distortion of the image even at the edges and corners. Plus to increase your viewing fun, the flat plasma screen tv provides an amazing 160-degree viewing area.
Ultra Thin Design Saves Space
Plasma televisions can hang on almost any wall. You can even hang them from your ceiling. Other advantages of plasma screen tvs are high ambient light tolerance, distortion free images, entirely digital techology, not affected by magnetism, and can be attached to a ceiling or wall, or used as a freestanding fixture.
About The Author
Jeremy Hier
Find out about the top plasma televisions by reading our reviews at http://www.best-plasma-televisions.com
Plasmas provide sharper images and more vibrant colors. You can display both HDTV and DTV signals as well as computer signals such as XGA, SVGA, and VGA.
Plasmas Superior to Both CRT's and LCD
Plasma screen televisions provide sharp, clear pictures, plus no image distortion. CRTs can't match this. Plasma tvs have brighter pictures and provide a better viewing angle at 160 degrees, than LCDs. For the best technology in display panels, choose plasma technology.
High Resolution
Plasma display televisions have higher resolution than most standard TV sets. They are able to display full HDTV and DTV signals as well as XGA, SVGA, and VGA signals from a computer. If a plasma has a resolution of 1024x1024 it can display images from 1080i and 720i HDTV resolution, plus 480i and 480p HD signals.
Flat Screen
Plasma display televisions have screens that are completely flat. There is no distortion of the image even at the edges and corners. Plus to increase your viewing fun, the flat plasma screen tv provides an amazing 160-degree viewing area.
Ultra Thin Design Saves Space
Plasma televisions can hang on almost any wall. You can even hang them from your ceiling. Other advantages of plasma screen tvs are high ambient light tolerance, distortion free images, entirely digital techology, not affected by magnetism, and can be attached to a ceiling or wall, or used as a freestanding fixture.
About The Author
Jeremy Hier
Find out about the top plasma televisions by reading our reviews at http://www.best-plasma-televisions.com
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