Quote:
Originally Posted by sortie
If you think crooks are going to wake up one a day and give up on stealing cable then you are wrong. They will crack this box just like everything else.
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There is nothing illegal about using after market cable boxes. Using a stolen box of course is illegal but buying boxes that have chips or cards in them is 100% legal. Assuming you are paying for standard cable.
FCC rules make it illegal for a cable companies to force users to use their boxes. There are specific laws which are meant to protect consumers which allows you to use aftermarket boxes. It's not stealing it's enforced by the FCC.
The cable companies got around it in the past by putting what they call "traps" on the line to block signal. Once everything goes digital, they will be able to block out any channel they wish and after market boxes will for the most part be useless.
On the other hand people who use carded Satellite boxes are breaking the law, because satellite TV is not covered under the same FCC restrictions.
btw I pay for my digital DVR and all the channels because it's not worth the hassel to me.. I'm just saying it's not illegal.