Television DigitalSwitch.ieTime is running out if you're not ready for the digital television switchover. Next Wednesday, October 24th, the analogue television channels that you're watching will be switched off when all Irish terrestrial TV will be broadcast exclusively in digital format.
If you have a digital TV set, then you’re fine, otherwise head over to the official website and get all of the details. The set-top box isn’t enough on its own; you’ll still require a decent TV aerial to connect to it. If you’re in an area where current reception is already spotty, you might need an outdoor aerial installed.
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App
Aertv
With the digital switchover less than a week away, you might not have gotten round to buying the required set-top box to receive channels on your non-digital TV. In the meantime, you can always watch RTÉ One and Two on Magnet’s free, streaming Aertv web app. This is also a good website to bookmark for when you’re abroad and would like to watch Fair City or Xposé live. It also streams over 3G on smartphones. Handy.
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Movies
Frankenweenie
Tim Burton is the king of macabre, stylised (and often slightly camp) gothic horror. Such a pity then that recent outings such as Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have been a bit rubbish. Edward Scissorshands and the Nightmare Before Christmas notwithstanding, a little known short called Frankenweenie is easily his best work. This Vincent Price and Frankenstein-inspired stop motion classic has been remade as a feature film and here are some lovely online 3D set tours to explore.
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Dress up
Pet Halloween Costumes
Halloween’s not an opportunity for children (and adults) to get dressed up in fun, silly costumes. No, no, it is also the time of year when we can legitimately put clothes on our pets without getting (too many) strange looks. Observe the peeved expressions of humiliated cats and dogs as their insane owners dress them up as items of food or science fiction characters. The AT-AT dog costume is utter genius.
