Boxer TV

I had posted previously about our TV set in the stuga. Currently, we can pick up the state broadcaster, SVT, along with two commercial channels. We're pretty well covered with news and other uplifting fare on SVT, along with constant reruns of "Scrubs" and "Two and a Half Men" on the commercial channels.

Like all TV's sold in Europe over the past few years, ours has the capability to receive paid programming through an internal smart card. Each country in the EU has at least one provider of encrypted broadcasts which can be unlocked through the provider's card. Swedish subscription TV is from Boxer, and they have a range of channels which can be unlocked.

I borrowed Camille's Boxer card when we were over at Christmas and tried it on our TV to see if it worked. Sure enough, it did, and I found a wide range of channels we were able to receive.

Boxer sells a product that I suspect is designed for stuga owners. Their prepaid card costs 795kr (about $115) to buy, and then it can be filled up online in monthly increments. We could, in theory, have the card in our TV, and then call ahead to turn it on when we go to the house for a month.

I say "in theory", because I was just barely able to convince Sooz to install a TV for last year's World Cup. She has reservations, and rightly so, about coming out to our peaceful island getaway and spending time watching lots of TV. So, for now at least, my Boxer test was just a technical exercise.