Remember when over the air digital TV came in and unless you had a new TV you needed a converter box to watch the digital channels as analog channels went dark? Did you know it's happening again? But worse.

While the FCC just recently extended (to 2026 I believe) the required time for the existing (ATSC 1.0) system to stay operational, the new ATSC 3.0 system is loaded with encrypted DRM even on basic channels in many cases.

And get this, it appears that the external converter boxes currently available for this that can actually deal with that DRM reportedly require an Internet connection to work!

You read that right. To receive an over the air ATSC encrypted channel -- even a basic broadcast channel -- reportedly appears to currently require an Internet connection.

Now you might be asking, what the bloody hell is the point of over the air TV if you need a damned Internet connection to watch it?

And the answer is: I don't have a clue.

I'm trying to learn more. Stay tuned. No pun intended.