|
|
This guide was written to educate interested parties on Cable Television
descrambling, descramblers and some of the various methods used to defeat scrambling methods on
premium cable or pay cable television stations. The author of this guide
is simply exercising every Americans First Amendment right, Freedom of
Speech. The intent of this writing is not to defraud or promote the
theft of cable services. This guide should not be interpreted as legal
advice, if you have legal questions contact a lawyer or your local
authorities. Be warned that stealing cable services is illegal, and
there are severe penalties for anyone caught doing so.
As noted in the previous chapter, there are two different types of
converters: addressable and non-addressable. We will begin this chapter
by explaining addressable converters.
When the term "addressable" is applied to a converter, it means that
some of the converter's functions can be manipulated from a remote
location via the cable input line. The remote location is usually a
computer at the cable company's central office. Common functions that
can be changed by the cable companies include adding and canceling movie
channels, turning on P.P.V. events and completely turning off subscriber
boxes. In more modern cable systems, the cable company can even send
messages to individuals or groups by addressing their specific cable
box. In the event that a subscriber is not home when a message is sent,
the converter stores the message so that it can be viewed on the TV when
the subscriber returns. Up until now, communication has only been
one-way (meaning that the cable company can "talk" to the converter, but
the converter can not send information back to the cable company). New
boxes are capable of both receiving information from and sending
information back to the cable company. This new technology will allow
the cable company to monitor viewing habits of subscribers and will also
allow them to control theft of services more easily. It is certain that
many people will be opposed to this sort of technology that will allow
the cable company to spy on you and see what programs you are watching.
Some of you may wonder how the cable company is able to "address"
individual boxes. The answer is that each addressable converter has a
unique electronic serial number that is programmed into the
microprocessor inside the box. When the cable company wishes to change
the functions of your
converter, they use their computer to send out a signal through the
cable lines that looks for your serial number, or "address." Although
the signal passes through all of the cable lines and reaches every
persons converter on that system, it only makes a change to the
converter whose serial number matches the one in the computer's
instructions.
If you are not sure whether or not you have an addressable converter,
there are a couple of simple ways to check. First, look on the bottom of
your converter and read any information that is found there. You are
looking for something that reads "....addressable converter....". If you
cannot find anything on the bottom of your box, check the user's guide
that the cable company should have provided you with when they issued
you your converter. Read through this guide and it should tell you if
the converter is addressable. If you still can not find it, call your
cable company and ask to order a premium movie channel. Ask them if it
can be turned on immediately, or if they have to come to your home to
turn it on. (If they can turn it on immediately, you have an addressable
box.)
Non-addressable converters cannot be controlled by the cable company. A
converter that is non-
addressable can only pick up the basic cable channels, unless the
converter is being used in conjunction with a filter system, which will
be explained in the next chapter. Cable companies will sometimes issue
non-addressable converters to customers who do not order movie channels
and who do not have cable-ready TV sets. A non-addressable converter is
much cheaper than an addressable converter, so if a person does not have
a cable ready TV and does not subscribe to any premium stations, it is
more economical for the cable company to provide a non-addressable
converter. If you have a choice, go with an addressable converter
instead of a non-addressable one.
|
VIEW CART/CHECK OUT
