Good Morning friends, Olbermann question........

[yy4me]

Because of recent events in my life, I have had to drop extended cable TV service. The only thing I miss is KO at 8PM. I know if I go to his web site, I can sit and watch the prior nights program. I have to sit in front of this machine on a hard chair and, after a days worth of hard chair, I'd like to be able to put the show on a DVD and sit in the old, soft chair, put the disk in the player and watch. I have no knowledge of or any other equipment to do it any other way. Can this be done?

I never put anything on DVD and am at a loss as how to do it if it can be done.

I know, your first thoughts are, how can this be? Well, at my age, life's experiences with the computer are very basic.

Since I had the machine fixed, everything works just fine and I don't want to mess it up again.

Any sympathetic DUer willing to give me a minute and let me know how to do it?

Many thanks from this old Granny!

[DaveJ]

1. Hmm. I get KO on basic cable.

Besides stealing cable, the best recommendation I can offer is wiring up your home.

You say your machine is fixed and fine, but if it could output your PC to your TV so you could sit in a more comfortable place, I think it would be worth the trouble. I have an old laptop I obtained for free that does that, it's no big deal.

If your PC isn't already equipped, I think you should go to a computer supply store (or eBay or Amazon) and get a video card with TV output for around $50. Then whatever appears on your computer monitor can also be connected to your TV, as long as the TV is a fairly recent model.

[charlie]

2. Probably not for much longer

Since last fall, MSNBC has moved to the digital tier on a number of major cable providers. The explanation is always that it was done at MSNBC's behest. Why the piecemeal migration I don't know, but digital is where they're heading.

[RoyGBiv]

3. Not at their behest exactly ...

Contract negotiations went sour, and the MSNBC execs developed a strange tactic for dealing with it, which was basically "Yeah, well go ahead and put us on digital and see if we care ..." which the cable companies have turned into "they asked for it."

I left the industry just when this was all getting started, so I don't know all the details, but that's how it got started. MSNBC didn't *want* to be on the upper channels. (Low numbered channels are always the goal, digital or not.) But, they were wanting a lot of other things that their draw didn't justify in the cable company execs' minds. Battle ensued. As usual, the consumer lost.

[charlie]

4. Well, that's interesting

So the industry flacks who were saying it was MSNBC whut dunnit were just being diplomatically peevish. That's too funny. Especially since they were compelled to explain because they were being accused of moving Olbermann out of the reach of progressives of modest means for politically sinister reasons.

Mad at MSNBC *and* catching hell as rightwing conspirators from customers, no wonder their statements were so pointedly terse. Thanks for the backstory, Roy.

[RoyGBiv]

5. It has been said ...

... that a PR representative from a cable/satellite company has a harder job than the White House Press Secretary.

I'm the one who said that, FWIW, but I base it one what I saw our PR people doing.

I never wondered why they were insane. Either the job made them that way, or they came into it with the affliction already and listed it as a skill on their resume.

FWIW, it's all about money, and MSNBC is no less a player than the cable companies. IIRC, one of the things they wanted was to quadruple their per subscriber charge. ESPN is the only channel that can really get away with something like that, and even they have to go through contentious battles for it.

And the consumer always loses.

I'm glad I have the knowledge of the industry I have, but I'm not sorry to be rid of it. I felt like a snake-oil salesman most days.

[charlie]

6. If you're overstating it

it can't be by much. The chasm between cable PR's public spiel and performance is as wide as any White House mouthpiece ever had to paper over. Public regard for cable companies is bulleting down into used car territory. It's funny how turbo capitalism managed to bring the blinkered reality of Soviet political ideology officers to these shores.