HDTV is a sick joke

I could not agree more that HD Television is being wasted in this country (Publisher’s Letter, September 2008). I am sure that I am not the only one who is fed up with the unprofessionalism of our so-called "free-to-air" networks.

I note that there is still no HD programming in any newspaper guides. The people who print the guides probably have good reason though, when you consider that the networks consistently change programs at the last minute, making guides useless anyway. The networks can’t even get their own EPGs right half the time, so what chance do we have?

The Government does not appear to give a toss about this appalling situation. It will continue unless people get off their butts and demand change. If not, HDTV will go nowhere as the networks will only put in the minimum money and time that they need to. The Government is going to cop a beating if they don’t wake up. When they switch the analog system off we will be left with a substandard service and they are the ones that will pay the price of voter anger.

Tony Joyce,
Macquarie Fields, NSW.

Return shot on fuel consumption conversion

As one who has supposedly "shot himself in the foot" (Mailbag, September 2008, page 4), I would like to make a further comment.

While I concur that Allan Hornsby has performed the maths correctly, 81 litres is the absolute minimum quantity of fuel required. To make the maths simple, I rounded the figure up to 100 litres; the additional 19 litres is my reserve.

Perhaps I should have been more explicit in my previous letter on the subject. It is highly unlikely that either a journey would be exactly 900km or that the fuel consumption be exactly 9L/100km! The aim was to show how simple it was to use the "fuel consumption" figure. If either mpg or km/L values are used then the more difficult division process is required (900 divided by 11 [approx.] ). If Allan fills up with exactly 81 litres for his journey, then I foresee him walking with "can in hand" to the nearest fuel outlet.

Ray Smith,
Hoppers Crossing, Vic.