Dear Loyal Customer,
Well here we are almost halfway through 2022 and already we have a new federal government, a new contagious disease, rising prices and if you watch the news it seems interest rate hikes are just the beginning of more bad news. One could be forgiven for thinking the world has gone mad!
Fortunately for those of us who live here on the Sunshine Coast we are somewhat insulated from most of the madness. But just like the words of the song “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone….” we need to realise we all have a part to play if we want our way of life to continue for us and our families.
Free to Air Television
I wanted to address the subject of Free to Air Television and ask for you to consider the future of Free to Air TV, because if we don’t support it, we will eventually loose it.
In Australia, we are rather lucky in having the 5 main Free to Air stations and if we put aside the politics for a moment, there are some key benefits of our Television system which can easily be overlooked.
Firstly, the TV transmission is completely free to you, you just have to have an antenna and a TV to watch it and you can watch it for 5 mins or 24 hours in full High Definition and it costs nothing all the time. Everything else we watch these days – be it Foxtel, YouTube premium, Stan, Apple+, Netflix, etc. we pay for directly with a monthly subscription and that cost adds up!
Per Year Costs: Foxtel from $300, Netflix $132-$276, Stan $120-$228, Apple+ $96, Disney+ $144, YouTube Premium $180. If you had all of them on the standard plan you are looking at $792 for the year
So that is zero yearly cost versus $792 and yet we wonder where all our hard earned money goes.
Secondly, nothing is ad free these days so if you pay for it and have ads – not so good, but if it is free and has ads, well that is the tradeoff as the ads pay for the service, not you. Now I know the ads are too frequent and annoying, but still, it is free!
Thirdly, there are some real benefits to a) having a TV station like the ABC with no ads (except their own shows) which have a lot of Australian made content and Australian oriented stories and comedy plus with a bit of English TV content as well, which a large section of Aussies can relate to.
b) Having SBS which is a really excellent multicultural station with a generous cross section of programming, comprehensive international news station and excellent documentaries and international movies.
c) The commercial stations still do a good job with sports coverage and also provide some of the only remaining local news services and local ads which you may laugh but sometimes l find local ads informative as to what is happening commercially or politically in my area.
Now I am not going to defend the news shows which have turned into the same world wide formula of bland entertainment but there is still some variations in the opinions and information presented with the occasional glimmer of real reporting. And yes, there is censorship and bias but at least it is obvious.
What I will point out though, is that with the Free to Air news at least there is no hidden algorithms working out and feeding you just the information it thinks you want and so subtly shaping your opinions. Now that last point is just my opinion, but I think it is a benefit to Free to Air TV.
Finally, in the area of real world safety, emergency and coverage and reliability, the TV network has tremendous value as a broad communication service that can reach huge areas of the country instantly even when there is physical situations (storms, floods, fire, etc) and even power grid interruptions, the transmission systems can keep working and affected areas can still receive some visual communications with the use of generators even though internet services may be down. Again, this is something that is always there and we assume it will always, but if not supported it will disappear.
So that is my plug for the Free to Air TV services, and of course, I have to declare a commercial interest in this field which is fairly obvious from the business name.
My humble request is, that if this strikes a chord with you, then please encourage others to read this and perhaps mention it around the BBQ and encourage others to keep supporting Free to Air TV
And for those who think that Free to Air TV has had its day, you should look out for next month’s newsletter where I will discuss the benefits of Steam Engines (joking!)
What we do…
I thought it would be a good idea to list out some of the products that we supply and install in case we can help you with some of these items…
TV Brackets
We are pleased to advise that we now have back in stock, Sanus TV Brackets covering the range from Computer Monitor brackets and Small TV brackets up to the large triple action full motion brackets for Large TVs, with mounts suitable for up to 95” TVs and flat/tilt brackets for TV’s up to an amazing 110”. We have found these brackets are really well made and they have a number of adjustments and clever features as standard that make them very easy to use. We’re able to get the TV position just perfect and it’s so simple to remove the TV for servicing or upgrade in the future. Here is their webpage for more info Sanus
Motorised brackets
We can supply and install the range of Ultralift motorized TV brackets and projector lifts. Ultralift is the premier manufacturer of these beautifully engineered Australian made brackets. They have a range of standard brackets but also can produce customized items as well. Here is the link to their webpage.
If you are looking for quality motorized brackets these are the ones to use. Ultralift
Thanks for your support.
Until next time Keep smiling.
Phil and the Sunshine Antenna Service team.